Putting street cars to task is what the annual Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational (OUSCI) is all about, and if you caught Bryn’s coverage from last weekend’s event yesterday, you’ll have a taste of just how tough the competition is. With a range of tests for drivers to complete and a diverse field of almost 100 invited cars vying for the coveted title, winning is easier said than done – but that’s exactly what Danny Popp did in his Lingenfelter Performance Engineering 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
It’s not the first time that Popp (an experienced SCCA and NASA driver, and winner of 12 national racing titles) has tasted victory at this event – he won in 2011 driving a friend’s car and his been back every year since. For 2014 he was armed with his purpose-built Z06 – a car that’s been autocrossed from brand new, and over the years developed into an uncompromised, street legal performer. Today, the ‘Vette features a Lingenfelter 388ci destroked LS7 engine backed up by a Tremec gearbox, Van Steel suspension, Baer brakes, and Forgeline wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich rubber. It’s a serious machine.
Specs aside, if you want to know what it takes to win the OUSCI, this raw in-car clip of Danny Popp going ten-tenths at the wheel of his Z06 should give you a good idea…
Brad Lord
brad@speedhunters.com
The Optima Challenge: Where Street Cars Go To Fight
OUSCI Official Site