{"id":6123,"date":"2009-11-20T20:38:50","date_gmt":"2009-11-21T03:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/?p=6123"},"modified":"2013-10-10T23:29:56","modified_gmt":"2013-10-11T06:29:56","slug":"2009-optima-street-car-invitational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/","title":{"rendered":"2009 Optima Street Car Invitational"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2F2009-optima-street-car-invitational%2F&amp;media=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2009%2F11%2Fsema.optimainvitational072.jpg&amp;description=2009+Optima+Street+Car+Invitational\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\" rel=\"lightbox[6123]\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"2009 Optima Street Car Invitational\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=2009 Optima Street Car Invitational&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\" data-text=\"2009 Optima Street Car Invitational\" data-desc=\"Whoever came up with the idea to\u00a0put on\u00a0an event that would demonstrate the performance capabilities of the cars being showcased at SEMA was a genius! And that's exactly what the Optima Invitational is all about. Happening the day after SEMA ends, it gives people a chance to put their \"money\" data-image=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational072.jpg\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6327\" style=\"margin: 4px; border: black 2px solid;\" title=\"SEMA Optima Invitational Street Car Challenge\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational072.jpg\" alt=\"sema.optimainvitational072\" width=\"574\" height=\"349\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-6328\" style=\"margin: 4px; border: black 2px solid;\" title=\"Drivers Meeting at the Spring Mountain Racetrack for the SEMA Street Car Challenge\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational1011-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"sema.optimainvitational101\" width=\"292\" height=\"191\" \/>Whoever came up with the idea to\u00a0put on\u00a0an event that would demonstrate the performance capabilities of the cars being showcased at SEMA was a genius! And that&#8217;s exactly what the Optima Invitational is all about. Happening the day after SEMA ends, it gives people a chance to put their &#8220;money where their mouth is&#8221; so to speak. 2009 was just the second year for this event, and the fellows at FM3 made sure that it was pulled off without a hitch.<\/p>\n<p>This year there were 38 vehicles competing for the Ultimate Street Car title along with 14 other cars under the &#8220;exhibition only&#8221; category, making for 51 beautiful cars out at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch on race day. What goes into an Ultimate Street Car you ask? You might say it needs to be well rounded. At this invitational race they competed in 4 catagories: Road Course, Autocross, Acceleration\/Braking, and Styling.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-6326\" style=\"margin: 4px; border: black 2px solid;\" title=\"Grease Girl sits in the drivers seat of a street\/race car at Spring Mountain\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.2009.081-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"sema.2009.081\" width=\"160\" height=\"234\" \/>Having driven the course the day before, I had an extra appreciation for what these cars and drivers were doing. Not surprising to\u00a0many, Bruce Cambern&#8217;s 1966 Cobra took the cake in three of the four catagories. On the Ride Tech Autocross it got time of the day (by at least a second I believe) of 39.546 seconds. In the Baer Brakes Speed Stop it did 6.7 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone was quite surprised however when they tallied all the scores to designate the winner of &#8220;Ultimate Street Car.&#8221; It wasn&#8217;t the 1966 Cobra but last year&#8217;s defending champion &#8220;Bad Penny.&#8221; This announcement surprised most at the awards ceremony since the Cobra had done so well. When I&#8217;d talked to Bad Penny&#8217;s driver, David Pozzi (who also does work\u00a0building the car), earlier in the day he said he was disappointed with the performance of Bad Penny and was expecting better results. In races like this though, it&#8217;s consistent performance and split seconds that separate a winner from a loser&#8230;so Bad Penny, congratulations! <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-6279\" style=\"margin: 4px; border: black 2px solid;\" title=\"Bad Penny takes 1st Place in the Ultimate Street Car Challenge\" src=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational006-400x265.jpg\" alt=\"sema.optimainvitational006\" width=\"400\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational006-400x265.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational006-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational006-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/sema.optimainvitational006.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Bad Penny winning wasn&#8217;t the only surprise of the day, a few cars went down throughout the day in some very interesting ways. For details (come on, we all know crashes are the most exciting thing!) See&#8217;m here: <a title=\"Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/six-ways-to-malfuntion-at-the-optima-ultimate-street-car-challenge\/\" target=\"_blank\">Crashes from Optima Street Car Invitational.<\/a> And roll on over to the <a title=\"Street Car Invitational Gallery\" href=\"http:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/ViewEventImages\/Optima%20Ultimate%20Street%20Car%20Invitational\/\" target=\"_blank\">MyRideisMe gallery page <\/a>to see pictures of all the cars in action, including some really cool Hot Rods such as a 1927 Tucci Roadster, 1933 Factory Five Ford Coupe,\u00a0 Hollywood Hot Rod&#8217;s Model T Roadster Pickup, and even a 1957 Malibu Wagon!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"mr_social_sharing_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<!-- Social Sharing Toolkit v2.2 --><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.myrideisme.com%2FBlog%2F2009-optima-street-car-invitational%2F&amp;media=&amp;description=2009+Optima+Street+Car+Invitational\" class=\"pin-it-button\" count-layout=\"none\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/images\/PinExt.png\" title=\"Pin It\" \/><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><fb:share-button type=\"button_count\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\"><\/fb:share-button><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-count=\"horizontal\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\" data-via=\"myrideisme\" data-text=\"2009 Optima Street Car Invitational\"><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><div class=\"g-plusone\" data-size=\"medium\" data-annotation=\"none\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\"><\/div><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a class=\"mr_social_share_email\" href=\"mailto:?subject=2009 Optima Street Car Invitational&amp;body=https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-sharing-toolkit\/images\/icons_small\/email.png\" class=\"nopin\" alt=\"Email\" title=\"Email\"\/><span class=\"mr_small_icon\">Email<\/span><\/a><\/a><\/span><span class=\"mr_social_sharing\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"linksalpha_button linksalpha_link\" href=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/social\/mobile\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/2009-optima-street-car-invitational\/\" data-text=\"2009 Optima Street Car Invitational\" data-desc=\"Whoever came up with the idea to\u00a0put on\u00a0an event that would demonstrate the performance capabilities of the cars being showcased at SEMA was a genius! And that's exactly what the Optima Invitational is all about. Happening the day after SEMA ends, it gives people a chance to put their \"money\" data-image=\"\" data-button=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/images\/social_share_button.png\" alt=\"Share\" class=\"linksalpha_image\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/www.linksalpha.com\/scripts\/loader_iconbox.js?v=2.4\"><\/script><\/span><\/div><p>Email<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[19,378],"tags":[544,2105,1800,2579,2509,1637],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6123"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6123"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6369,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6123\/revisions\/6369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myrideisme.com\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}