Danny Popp Wins 2011 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by DOOM

I like the three class idea Greg.

I like the NO CLASS idea.... Let each car stand for what it is... go out there and beat the bejesus out of 'em... you root for whatever turns you on... because they're all so different and they're all so kool.

You have old - new - pro built - unlimited money built - partly home built - huge power - crate motors - show cars - track cars - pro drivers and first timers. The only thing people don't like - is that "they're guy" didn't WIN. I beg to differ - if you asked the participants - I'd bet not one single person would complain about ANYTHING except that it wasn't a TWO DAY EVENT! HAHAHAHAHA

I guess what I just keep saying is -- EVERY ONE OF THEM IS FUN -- The event is fun. Everyone is a winner... the builders - the drivers - the spectators - the sponsors.... Isn't that the best result?

[jocko124]

Originally Posted by GregWeld

I guess what I just keep saying is -- EVERY ONE OF THEM IS FUN -- The event is fun. Everyone is a winner... the builders - the drivers - the spectators - the sponsors.... Isn't that the best result?

Well said Greg. This is the first time I have attended such an event and it was a blast. Saw a lot of cool cars and skilled drivers.

[SLO_Z28]

Watch what you say Greg, you might lose your high paying job!

[Stuart Adams]

Great event. Had fun hanging out and watching it go down. Their was a variety of cars to see which was cool. Congrats to all who raced, its not easy and not cheap by any stretch.

My only concern is the sponsors that put their whole life into this community. I'm just worried that when half the cars are not cars from the hobby, they take a hit. When you can buy a stock ZR1 and crush a well sorted out, sponsor parts car, that takes a hit to the community IMO.

I realize this is only one race, just trying to not see the people making a living in this stuff get hurt by having half the cars that qualified not supporting the vendors or community.

I think the crew from optima and all the volunteers did an awesome job. Thanks for putting it on, looking forward to next year.

[Ron in SoCal]

This was a great event and everyone's point here is valid, to me at least. I do have a few random observations:

- First off, Danny Popp is one hellofa driver and his car is his perfect match. When he put the throttle down, the car planted and it took off. No major squat, no huge time killing burn out, just all go. On the AutoX - especially the last few turns where the most cones and a spin went down - he just rotated the car where it needed to go. On the road course, it took the real race car (a Spring Mountain 1:40 lapper) more than one and half laps to catch him. Just an observation, but I found it ironic seeing him parked at the DSE pit with the rest of their crew + Finch and Stielow. From a driver/car combo he belonged there although I'm not sure there was one DSE part on his car? Enough said on that...

- On the road course, all the usual suspect PT cars hung it all out. The bus stop on turn 9 upset quite a few cars, although Stielow ran it quite well. On turn one I noticed Kyle Tucker wobble (not slide) quite a bit as he pushed his car as fast as that thing would go! It was awesome.

- The LPE 5th Gen Camaro sounded absolutely awesome. Lumpy and full of compression. I'd love to know what was in that engine!

- The smell of race gas was in the air. I loved it and felt like mis-quoting Apocalypse Now.

- It would've been nice to hear lap times for the last few road course competitors. There was no timer board, so it was up to Matt MSA69 to use his iPhone and he did pretty good! But seriously, what's the big secret? The spread was 1:42 - 1:5x for the top drivers.

- Mr Hobaugh and Mr Maier killed it on the AutoX. They started ahead of Mary and Stielow and Popp and I thought there was no way they'd be beat. Just shows how fast Popp and Mary are in that venue.

Back to the classes discussion...I could care less which way they go, but I'm not sure our cars would ever kill modern technology and the vehicle examples given above, which does prove Todd's point about how good Mark really is. Another point made ahead of me is the sponsor issue. Really, is DSE, RideTech, Raybestos, there for the Corvette crowd? Wilwood and Optima have a small piece of that market for sure.

Looking at Optima, it's the All Star event of our hobby (not including the cars that get automatic invites for various reasons). These cars get faster every year and more race-car-like. Listening to Vinnie (great guy BTW!) and Mike Maier put their cars into first gear made me smile. Try driving those cars on the street! Also, this event has the same issues Bill Howell is dealing with as the RTTx events mature. Put a clock on an event with fast cars and people will find a way to win. No matter what. My point here is treadwear and tech inspections were the only constraints when this event was born. What'd y'all think was gonna happen?

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by SLO_Z28

Watch what you say Greg, you might lose your high paying job!

DOES THAT FLAG MAKE MY BUTT LOOK BIG???

[camcojb]

Great event, Danny Popp deserved the win. Absolutely the class of the field performance-wise. However, if they don't add some rules to determine "street cars" or split them into different classes, then the only way to win this event is get a late model car with full mods and great driver. Our older cars even with a great driver and whatever power level you want cannot compete with them, that's just a fact of life.

It's up to Optima to determine which way this event goes. No matter what, it's a great event and they deserve a ton of credit for putting it on. What they decide to do will determine what cars are competitive in the future. This is totally their decision, and it's their right to do with it as they wish.

[skatinjay27]

I agree with lots of what's been said, but regardless that popp won its amazing that a fully decked out c6 with a super skilled driver won by a tie break of 2 second on a road course time againts a 69 camaro!

And hellz yes greg that fleetline was so cool! I loved the gator!!

[MaxHarvard]

whoa jeez! I make a little comment, step away from the internet for a few days and the flood gates come out!


You guys do make some interesting points about the competition involved and what the sponsors really want to get out of the event. I have to say that I wasn't there so my following statement can be read as such.

I just worry that through the evolution of this event, we'll find ourselves with a pack of Ultima GTR's and Ariel Atoms running around because that's what it takes to win. Don't get me wrong, they are great cars and takes great skill to drive them well. I just hope that whatever it becomes in the future that its something we all can enjoy.

Through time I just hope it doesn't become a group of purpose built race cars that the usual race teams show up to compete. To me the appeal of the event was that it was something someone like me (read: complete novice) could put together a car, run it hard and maybe get some fun out of it. I'm not saying that it's there yet, I would just hate the event to run it's natural course and become unattainable to the middle of the road or even the higher end of the builds around.

Just my $.02

~Eric