OPTIMA's 2020 Search for the Ultimate Street Car at Pike's Peak International Raceway

Round three of OPTIMA's 2020 Search for the Ultimate Street Car series, presented by Advance Auto Parts, took place on a rather warm and windy weekend at Pike's Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado. The stop marked the third event considered to be on the "West coast," so the points now show a significant number of cars in the series having run three events, while even more have yet to run their first event of the season.

The schedule typically doesn't unfold that way, but with the postponement of the stop at Atlanta Motorsports Park earlier this year, the West coast competitors had a unique opportunity to come out of the gates and set the bar for most of the competitors East of the Rocky mountains. This could create a unique dynamic, as many West coast competitors will now sit back and see if their points lead will hold up over the next four events (a competitor's best three finishes count toward their season-long point totals) to win class championships or coveted entries into the 2020 SEMA Show and the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by Advance Auto Parts.

If a points championship or an invitation to SEMA looks to be in jeopardy, don't be surprised to see a few folks make the long haul back to the final two events later this season at NOLA Motorsports Park and NCM Motorsports Park. We can say that historically, NOLA has proven to be the better option of the two when it comes to picking up points. NCM typically sells out and draws in some of the very top competitors. While those top cars can still post up 480+ or 490+ point totals, many of the others will often see their point totals trend down significantly from where they typically perform at other events.

However, NCM can still give a top competitor an opportunity to lock up valuable points against an adversary, who is looking to post a high total of their own. The next stop on the schedule after Pike's Peak International Raceway is Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville, Georgia on July 24th and 25th. It will be the first visit at this track for the series, so we'll see how folks react to the new surroundings and what kind of ground the East coast competitors can make up on their West coast brethren. You can watch all the action unfold every Friday night on MAVTV, as the series airs each week at 8PM Eastern/Pacific.. If you don't have MAVTV, you can also catch past episodes free and on-demand anytime on the OPTIMA Network on Amazon Fire TV.


GT Class (post-1989, 3,200+ pounds, 2wd sedans, 4-seater coupes, trucks, etc...)
1. Dennis Healy, 2015 Ford Mustang GT
2. John Grow, 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
3. Jonathan Blevins, 2008 Shelby GT500

Classic Car Liquidators GTV Class (pre-1990, 3200+ pounds)
1. CB Ramey, 1987 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Eric Sheely, 1972 Chevrolet Corvette
3. Chris Smith, 1970 Chevrolet Camaro

GTS Class (post-1989, 3200+ pounds, two-seaters & awd vehicles)
1. Austin Barnes, 2009 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Steve Kepler, 2013 Nissan GT-R
3. Jordan Priestley, 2017 Chevrolet Corvette

Holley EFI GTL Class (non-compacts under 3200 pounds)
1. Jake Rozelle, 2003 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Robert DeuPree, 2013 Lamborghini Gallardo
3. Scot Spiewak, 2003 Chevrolet Corvette

GTC Class (two-wheel drive compacts, 107-inch wheelbase or less)
1. Dave Stock, 2006 Mazda Miata
2. Thomas Litton, 1997 Mazda Miata
3. Matt Davis, 2004 Pontiac Vibe

Outlaw Class (relaxed aero rules, pro drivers allowed)
1. Michael Damman, 2009 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Jim Boller, 2010 Chevrolet Corvette
3. Josh Stahl, 1969 Mercedes-Benz SEL

Spirit of the Event Award:
Josh Stahl, 1969 Mercedes-Benz SEL

2020 OPTIMA Search for the Ultimate Street Car Schedule
Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 14-15
Willow Springs International Raceway May 29-30
Pike's Peak International Raceway July 11-12
Atlanta Motorsports Park July 25-26
Road America August 14-15
NOLA Motorsports Park September 19-20