I think it may have been Rodger from Ironworks who predicted a number of years back that these "fun" events would go the way of drag-week and eventually would eliminate many of the average-joe's from contention. That's ok if it's the way they wanted it to go, but you do have to wonder if the RTTx casual format will be missed by participants.

disclaimer: I don't know crap cause my car hasn't run in 5 years, so there's that...

Gotcha. Saw three time winner on FB. Was thinking it was consecutive.

From a participants point of view if you really just want to hang with buddies and bench race more than thrash on your car the old Run to the Coast is hard to beat. It might not be fair to compare those earlier RTTC events to the Optima events of 2015 but the Optimia events from my perspective were about 10x as fun as the RTTC events. Optima is way more organized and efficient in conducting their events which translates into a lot more seat time, which at the end of the day is what I'm personally paying for. I love the mix of cars at the Optima USCA (as opposed to invitational) events and there are a great group of people that makes the events special. But at the end of the day there is no way in hell I'd continue to fork over $500 if I didn't get a lot of seat time as that is the funnest part :)

I think I said that a few years ago as well. It will always happen. Those of us who sell products and need to prove them are in a hard position. You need to go, you need to do something, but like us, is finishing 47 good or bad?

There were some 40 odd cars behind us, we did not bring a race car and I guess shame on us. But even the 5th gen DSE race car only finished 15th. and Kyle finished 17th
6 of the top 10 were import race cars.
The event is fun and good to see where you actually stack up against some of the fastest cars out there.
When a guy like Mark builds Hellfire and can't get in the top 10, I would say there is little hope a muscle car will ever win the event again.

I agree that it might be cool to have a Muscle Car class. and then at least it would be more reprehensive of what WE LIKE but it also is not all about US

It is called the ULTIMATE Street car and I think the only thing that has gotten away is the "STREET" part of it. An Evo with a sequential 6 speed and FiA race seat, fire system and full cage is not a STREET CAR. but knowing that don't bring a knife to a gun fight and expect to win.
I think its funny that in 2010 my Nova finished 5th over all, then we bring a C10 this year which is even better and finish 47th.
it is all good competition for sure great people, good friends, and all good.

Jimi and crew have done a great job promoting the series and Optima has seen the benefit of it and continues to spend the money on it, with out those 2 components there is NOTHING.

Nuff said!

Well said Blake:thumbsup: As long as the GTV class exists I'd like to see the manufactures showing up and competing. Waaay cooler to see the products getting hammered on then sitting on a shelf!

Defining "street car" is going to be the issue. I remember pitting next to Filip with CorteX in 2011. That car had people crying fowl back then....what's next? Tube chassis, carbon/fiberglass bodied race cars with plates.....can't wait!:lol:

It's hard to appreciate how good guys like Popp and Rozelle are until you watch them in person. I can run advanced class without embarrassing myself, but I can't imagine ever being able to wheel a car like that.

Watching the speed stop the first day, everybody is kind of tiptoeing up to the limit, improving by half a second or so every run. Then Popp comes out on his first run, comes shrieking off the corner in a barely controlled full-on drift, jams it into the box and puts down a time less than half a second from the best all day. I repeat, on his first run. It was awesome to watch.

that's the plan :idea:

Yep, you're right on Blake.

To Chad's point, it probably doesn't matter to most people where they place, as long as the car performs up to their expectations and they get wheel time.

It really is true that if Mark can't get a Top 10, the rest of the classics don't stand a chance.

Thanks for the feedback and discussion. As always, its a tough balancing act to make the events fun, relevant to the industry, a good investment for sponsors, and compelling for spectators. We do our absolute best to manage all of these into something that works for most. We know it's not going to appeal to everyone, but we truly feel we have elevated this hobby into something that has been beneficial to a lot of participants and businesses.

We also feel that for the $500 entry fee, to get the amount of seat time we provide on some of the best and well known tracks around the country is a great value.

Last year, we added a GTV class to make sure that we kept the vintage cars relevant and had a place for them. This series and event was built on the passion and enthusiasm of pro-touring car owners, and we don't want to see them excluded or come out with nothing to compete for. With that in mind, we are considering restructuring the points for 2016 to better recognize real street cars and this will also serve to help the GTV participants have a fighting chance to score well.

The "real street car" is a difficult thing to define. It used to be licensed for the street. We all know now that it doesn't really take much to get a plate and registration - but please don't lay that at the feet of the import car owners. There are plenty of GTV owners that stretch that definition as well. Race car themed is the definition of pro-touring - where does it end and what's acceptable vs. not acceptable?

The OUSCI and USCA series is completely non-denominational, we like all performance street cars. It's inevitable that some are going to outperform others. We don't dictate what kind of car that each participant decides to run - we just provide the playground for all of them to play together. Remember, right from the beginning, our message has always been about safety, fun, education and then competition. We reward the winners with a 10" trophy and some points. No money, no driving contracts, no move to a competitive series, just a trophy. The competition is driven by the participants, not the series.

We provide lots of seat time for a very reasonable price on some of the best tracks around the country. There are a few that take advantage of the rules, and then we tweak them, then there are a few more that take advantage of those - it's a never ending cycle. Don't be angry at the series or series sponsors; maybe have a chat with those that play in the gray area and let them know your thoughts. We will continue to put out the effort to bring you an affordable and fun series of events that are well organized and relevant to our industry. Thanks again for the feedback.

2015 OUSCI stats:

28 - GTV cars - 33% of the field
27 - GT American made (Corvette, Mustang, Camaro, Dodge) - 32% of the field
55 American made and GTV cars - 65.4% of the field
29 - Import cars (Mitsubishi, Porsche, Lotus, BMW, Subaru, Lamborghini) - 34% of the field