For the past six years, the hills in Pahrump, Nevada, have been alive with the sound of gunning motors, squealing tires, and the smell of fuel, at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational (OUSCI). This past fall, the sixth annual event was wrought with the same kind of competition in the air, and everyone loved it.

This event, which is the Super Bowl of the autocross for Optima’s yearly challenges, pits the best of the best out on the racetrack, as well as in the autocross. But don’t think that these cars are all track cars that would never survive on the street, because the Detroit Speed Road Rally is also part of the event, and it happened immediately following SEMA.

While we did see plenty of regulars who have made their way onto autocross tracks all year long, we also got to see some new entries – as well as a few entries who were picked as “Golden Ticket” winners at the 2013 SEMA trade show.

Many of these vehicles were at SEMA through Friday, then the test was on: could these cars sit in traffic with everyone else? That’s one of the most important aspects of being an “ultimate street car” – these cars have to be streetable, and if they aren’t then they fall victim to the streets before the real competition ever starts.

It also keeps people from bringing trailered race cars that would never be able to maneuver in traffic, let alone take a couple of potholes or sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic for an hour. The challenge was to get the car to predetermined targets throughout Las Vegas, and some of those cars went from showroom floor immediately to pavement for the Road Rally.

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How often do you see a custom build like these tearing up the race track?

Also part of the competition, the cars are judged on their appearance, too. That means that these cars must not only be streetable, but they should also have full interiors and finished exteriors – or they lose points with the judges. It’s not uncommon to see a race car without an interior, but since this is the Ultimate Street Car Invitational those cars need to look like street cars, too, and that means inside and out.

It’s great to see full custom builds at SEMA, and seeing the craftsmanship that is put into these cars is mind blowing. But Lingenfelter Performance Engineering is a big part of the Design Challenge, and while they look for styling and performance cues with each entry, they’re also looking at the interiors. If a car was left stock, it didn’t score very well – because modifications and performance are key to doing well in the Design Challenge. But removing the interior to make room for roll cages and sheet metal trim is also a deduction. Form and function are going to bring better scores.

After the Detroit Speed Road Rally, the competitors all high-tailed it up the mountain road 58 miles away to the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. Some of those competitors headed out almost immediately following Friday night’s event, and some brave competitors arrived early that Saturday morning. The day was presented by Royal Purple and K&N Filters, with Optima providing the stage for the play by play action.

Breakfast Meeting and Some Cone Talk

At about 7:00am on Saturday, all drivers met in one of the buildings for the drivers meeting, where they were given instructions about flags, the track, the tower, and the competition to take place that day. As early as it was, you could smell the tension in the air and see the camaraderie slowly fading into the fierce competitive spirit as everyone headed out to their cars to prepare for the warm-up laps that preceded the competition.

The 2.2-mile course that was part of that Saturday, November 10, 2013, was just one of 14 layouts at the facility, which boasts tight turns, elevation changes, fast straightaways and some great sweepers. 
Out on the road course, competitors were wound up and hitting high speeds, aiming for the best lap times. Out on the track, the mission was to find the best line, hit it every lap, and then cross the finish line in a time that would beat all comers.

New out this year for BFGoodrich was their Rival tire line, which was designed with Pro-Touring in mind. Many of these events require a 200+ tread wear rating, and BFG sponsored the high-speed road course event because these new tires need to perform in the turns, and at speed. Some of the fastest lap times were achieved with BFG Rival tires, and they were well received by many of the competitors.

Some hit the big track with all they had, and others found that the road race was a bit more difficult than the smaller autocross that they’ve been competing in throughout the year. But this event wasn’t just about how fast you can go, and how well you can hit your apexes, it was also about the autocross – and controlling your car a lot more than just making those turns.

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We saw just about everything on the autocross track: from wagons to pickups, and everything in between.

Up on the paddock, cones were laid out on the tarmac for the autocross and competitors lined up to throw their car through the tight turns, and then at the end of the autocross they had a stop box that meant hitting the binders and coming to a complete stop within the 50-foot-long box. Ridetech sponsors the autocross, and owner/driver Bret Voelkel not only founded the company that manufactures many of the suspension components installed on the cars on the track, but Voelkel is out on the track himself regularly showing everyone just how well Ridetech products work.

For most 1933 Ford Coupes, avoiding potholes is the primary concern. But for Voelkel and his ’33 Ford, avoiding orange cones is part of his repertoire. As you might have guessed, this ’33 Ford Coupe isn’t your average car, and with wide tires all around, adjustable Ridetech shocks and suspension components, and the precision driving of Voelkel behind the wheel, this car is anything but the common ’33 Ford. Always a fierce competitor and one of the top drivers out there, Optima is proud to have Ridetech as a sponsor for the autocross.

Stopping within the box gave drivers a timeslip with a good time, but sliding out of the box gave drivers a red flag that meant their time was considered a DNF – did not finish. Of course, add to their successful runs any and all cones that were misplaced or knocked over during the autocross meant that some time was added to their run.

Who’s Next?

If the stress level of the big event wasn’t enough – seeing some of the best competitors either in your mirror, or watching their tail lamps – there was a certain motivator who has made this event one of his regular activities.

Bill Goldberg, former WWE behemoth, was there bright and early in his signature “who’s next” mode, pumping up the competition and feeding encouraging words (at volume, mind you) to those who lined up waiting for the go ahead in the autocross.

It seems the more Goldberg was fired up, the more tire smoke we saw. One unfortunate contender took the motivation a little too far with his Turbo Supra. After his transmission slammed gears a few hundred times, thanks to hitting the rev-limiter on launch, he slowed to a crawl and coasted off the track to be pulled back to camp by one of the utility vehicles.


We jokingly asked Goldberg, “What did you say to that guy that made him do that?” He looked back at us without missing a beat, “I told him to get on it and show me what he could do, just like I did for everyone else,” he told us.

From almost anyone else, that’s encouragement, but from Goldberg? Now that’s just pure, adrenaline-laced, hold my beer and watch this motivation to wreak havoc on the course. No other way to be.

One driver who took the “Who’s Next?” theme to heart was newcomer Rick , who competed in his BMW M6. While we could see the confidence and casual demeanor in veterans like Bret Voelkel, we could tell that Rick was swimming in a new ocean – but was gaining ground and learning the ropes. “It’s a bit intimidating at first, but that won’t deter me at all,” he said.

“I’m already making plans for next year and I know I have to step up my game if I want to be a competitor.” Rick is no stranger to high speed and musclecars, as he has already taken his own Corvette up to 180 mph on the Texas Mile.

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Some cars are for show, some are for go. These cars are for pushing it to the limit - and then a little more. They didn't hold back a bit in Pahrump!

Wilwood Speed Stop Challenge, and some Donuts

After the lunch break, the next competition on the paddock was the Wilwood Speed Stop Challenge, and this event had competitors out on a cone-ridden course that required a few things: go fast, turn, go fast again, turn again, and stop (repeat as necessary). But hitting the binders at the end of the course was just a part of the Wilwood Speed Stop Challenge, because throughout the redesigned course were tighter turns and longer straights.

That meant that the braking system in these cars had to be as top shelf as the rest of the mechanical components, and Wilwood could be found on nearly all of the cars out on the track. You can’t go fast and get a great time if you can’t stop fast, or rely on the brakes to slow you down for the next hairpin turn. If your brakes aren’t up to the challenge – neither is your car, because high performance braking is what the Wilwood Speed Stop Challenge is all about.

After all competitors hit each of the events and got their times entered, we were all entertained by the brutality of a turbo diesel drift truck making some smoke on the track. After a few laps around the course, the donuts commenced near the start line and even more smoke was produced. Just hearing the turbos spool up and the power being put down made for a great intermission while everyone else was preparing for the final event of the day.

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Drifting a truck this big takes a big turbo, and you could hear it spool up all over the track.

The final event of the day was something that could make you both proud and flustered at the same time. Randy Pobst, American racecar driver who has competed in several forms of automotive racing, took to the wheel and ran three laps in each of the top 15 cars.

While some competitors thought they could drive their cars better than anyone, Pobst climbed in the seat and then ran a warm up lap and a cool down lap as bookends to a full speed run at the course. Would he best any of the drivers in their own cars – seeing as how Pobst was getting behind the wheel of those cars for the first time? As they announced: it’s a moment that can make you proud – or make you cry. Pobst proved more than capable, and though he was in a different car for each series of runs, he was consistent and showed us all why he is the man.

And the new Champion is…

By now, the overall winner has been crowned champion, and that person is Brian Hobaugh and his awesome 1965 Corvette. You can’t miss his car because it’s bright red, with steamrollers all the way around, touched off by a clear acrylic spoiler out back. Pulling in fifth place in the Hot Lap Standings, Hobaugh was edged out by last year’s winner Mark Stielow by a mere tenth of a second.

Last year, Stielow edged out Hobaugh’s Camaro by one point for the championship. In 2012 they were about neck and neck throughout the competition, but Hobaugh kicked things into overdrive this year, bringing home first place in the Autocross and the Speed Stop Challenge, giving him an overall score of 86 – enough to take first place over Stielow’s overall score of 76.

It was a long week at SEMA, and a long day at Spring Mountain, but at the end of the day it was hard to believe it was all over as the crowd began to dissipate. By the next morning, it was all over, a new champion was announced, and sponsor rigs could be seen heading into the mountains making their way home. The 6th annual Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational is in the books, but they also gave us some exciting news for next year, and you can expect some new venues to be a part of the 7th OUSCI.

Some new tracks that will be a part of the competition for 2014 will include Road America, Laguna Seca, Daytona, Sebring, and many more. It will make for some great and exciting competition, and we already know that plans are being made for OUSCI 2014. You can catch coverage of the event on MAVTV in early 2014, but in the mean time be sure to check out the official results below, and our gallery from the event in Pahrump at the bottom.

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It was hard to tell who would be the overall winner... the scores were all over the place.