2009 Nevada Open Road Challenge - Optima and the OneLapCamaro - We're Going!
 

Jimi at FM3 Performance Marketing sent this press release out earlier today:

OPTIMA® Batteries to sponsor James Shipka and the One Lap Camaro for 2009 Nevada Open Road Challenge 




April 28, 2009


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 




Milwaukee, WI - OPTIMA® Batteries continues its support for the Silver State Classic Challenge in 2009 with sponsorship of James Shipka and his One Lap Camaro. The One Lap Camaro, a custom-built 1967 Camaro, featured at the 2008 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) convention, the worlds largest automotive industry trade show, will represent OPTIMA® Batteries in it's run across the public highways of central Nevada.


The Camaro was built and designed specifically for competitive sanctioned public highway competitions including the famous One Lap of America 4000 mile endurance race. James' first test of the brutal Camaro came last fall at the OPTIMA® Batteries Ultimate Street Car Invitational where it proved its prowess on the road course and autocross at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park.




OPTIMA® Batteries and James has assembled a top-notch team of OPTIMA® Batteries Ultimate Street Car Invitational veterans, including the reigning 2008 champion, Steven Rupp, Technical Editor of a popular automotive performance magazine and owner of Bad Penny. Bad Penny is a 1968 Camaro that earned the 2008 OPTIMA® Batteries Ultimate Street Car title. Steven will ride shotgun and take on the daunting task of navigator, attempting to keep James and the One Lap Camaro between the white lines and on schedule throughout the 90 mile timed run. Anchoring the rest of Team OPTIMA® is famed road course racer David Pozzi and his SCCA autocross champion wife, Mary Pozzi. They will be using their skill and experience to make sure the One Lap Camaro stays dialed-in for each event including the OPTIMA® Batteries High Noon Shootout - a one-mile top speed challenge. 




”We are very excited about working with James and promoting our continued relationship with the Silver State Classic Challenge Series. Partnering with James and this Silver State Classic event is a great example of our commitment to high performance events that prove OPTIMA® Batteries perform in the most extreme applications." said Cam Douglass, Director of Product Development and Marketing for OPTIMA® Batteries.


The Nevada Open Road Challenge, part of the Silver State Classic Challenge, is a 90 mile timed run on the closed public
highways of Nevada, starting in Ely and finishing in Ash Springs. It begins just South of Lund, at White Pine County just north of mile marker 9, heads South through Nye County, and finishes at Lincoln County mile marker 7. The journey traverses 90 miles of two-lane highway that has recently been repaved and is in excellent condition, with long straights, twisty sections, and dips, which for the faster participants, may result in an airborne experience. The winner in each class is the car that finishes closest to the perfect time for the average speed of their class. Visit www.silverstateclassic.com for more information.



OPTIMA® Batteries are like no other battery in the world. The unique SpiralCell design offers the most advanced technology and provides a strong and clean power source that far surpasses any of today's filled lead-acid batteries. With OPTIMA® under your hood, you can count on a longer lasting battery life under starting and deep-cycle applications. Stop by your local retailer or visit www.optimabatteries.com for more information.




About OPTIMA® Batteries 

OPTIMA® Batteries are manufactured by Johnson Controls, Inc. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI - 
News) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel. 
By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine 
the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees 
creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for 
more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our 
commitment to sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in 
our workplaces and communities, and the products and services we provide to customers. For 
additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com. 


### 


Jimi Day
President & CEO

FM3 Performance Marketing, Inc.
1369 Port Washington Road, Suite 346
Grafton, WI 53024
Ph: 414-702-4939
www.fm3marketing.com

For those of you who don't recognize the name, the group that puts on the Silver State Classic Challenge run two events a year on Highway 318 - the Nevada Open Highway Challenge in May and the Silver State Classic Challenge in September. Both are similar formats and both follow the same course. We'll run in the half mile shootout as well as the one mile High Noon Shootout which is sponsored by Optima.

Obviously we are really excited about this opportunity and Dave and Mary have been working hard on the Camaro's suspension setup to prepare for this and work some of the other bugs out of the car. It's coming together really well and we will give it a run for it's money this weekend at Streets of Willow to see how it likes the improvements.

It should be a wild ride and will be awesome to have Steve navigating and the Pozzi's providing moral, spiritual, and technical support.

I'm probably going to say this more than once but I can not thank Dave and Maru enough for all of their help over the last month. They are two of the nicest people that anyone could hope to work with and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the car comes together.

Cheers!

Congrats James!

What MPH class will you be in? I recall that first timers are limited to 110 MPH Class max with a Tech Speed of 124 or so. However I also recall reading that if you have prior racing exp. that's waved. In anycase I am sure it will be a blast :thumbsup:

:woot:

VIDEO.

:D

VERY COOL!!! :thumbsup:

though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil for thou art with me....


lol


Should be fun.. Don't let the Pozzis know Penny is willed to them since they are working on the One Lap car... ;)

Watch out for the cattle guards and turkey buzzards (seriously). Have fun, it's a great event.

Tom - we're trying to pin down a class now. You are correct, as first timers we are restricted on time and maximum top speed (124). I also have to attend a Rookie School Thursday morning before the event. At this point we're looking to run somewhere between 105 and 115 mph; 110 is a really crowded group so we might just avoid that.

Scott - I don't think there will be any shortage of video. We'll do an in car and an out of car version and try to link them to the telemetry from the data logger. Maybe even the ever popular splitter cam...

It should be a lot of fun Tony.

Thanks Steve - at least you and are on the same page heading into this. lol

I really do appreciate your help with this - it should be a blast and, if I know you, we'll either be reallt confused or really close at the end.

I hear you Neil - I've seen the end result of multiple bird shots... not pretty.

:hail: I have always wanted to do the Silver State. For now, I'll have to live vicariously through you, as will many others around here, I'm sure.

Have fun, and good luck. :thumbsup:

James, check your PMs if you get a chance.

Thanks,