The OPTIMA One Lap Camaro Makes a Podium Finish in Columbus

While much of the attention at the Goodguys PPG Nationals was focused squarely on the OPTIMA Batteries Street Machine of the Year contest, we're happy to report a podium finish by the OPTIMA Batteries One Lap Camaro in the vendor autocross competition.  We'd like to congratulate Brandy from Spectre for taking top honors, while Ryan from Detroit Speed Engineering came in second and our very own David Pozzi finished third.

The competition has been heating up amongst the street machine crowd in autocrossing and the leaderboard in Columbus was certainly evidence of that.  Kyle Stacy Tucker of Detroit Speed Engineering are usually amongst the favorites at any event they attend, but they finished fourth and fifth respectfully, in the vendor division.

Perhaps even more surprising was the outcome of the Street Machine class.  Put Brian Finch, Mark Stielow and Mary Pozzi in any autocross competition and it's typically just a matter of sorting out who finishes where, between first and third place.  That was not the case in Columbus, as Mary was the top finisher of that group, in second place, with Stielow and Finch managed just fourth and fifth respectively.

We think this is a good harbinger for the level of competition we hope to see at the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational.  While the talent of a driver will always be a factor in any competition, we like to think that as the field improves their driving skills collectively, it will be harder in the future for a top-quality car to come up short in the OUSCI, simply because the car's full potential wasn't realized on the track. 

If you have your sights set on competing in a future OUSCI, don't leave yourself short-changed, by focusing solely on building the best street car around.  Even the best cars are only as good as the driver behind the wheel.  That doesn't mean you need to truck your car all over the country to hone your skills either.  Your local SCCA chapter likely holds autocross competitions in your area on a regular basis and that is a great place to learn and practice.