Gallery: Mopar Connection Races at 2024 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational

We attend 2024 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational (OUSCI) in Las Vegas during the SEMA show, serving as the grand finale event to the competition series. The event was held in the bronze lot of SEMA and ending at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This event gathered the nation’s best street cars and trucks for a weekend of head-to-head challenges.

Drivers competed across five key segments: First is Design & Engineering, where drivers have 4-minutes to go over their car to a group of judges. Second is the Peak Performance Challenge, which took part over two days in between Optima’s “Unleashed” drifting sessions. This was what the crowd liked to see: basically, a drag race across the parking lot down and back, and must stop in a coned off area. Whoever does it the fastest wins.

Third is the Road Rally, where all of the cars must drive to a location to prove they are street worthy. Fourth is Autocross, which needs little explanation; and lastly, the Falken Tire Road Course Time Trial, which were both held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday after SEMA. This was a little different from past events but was a lot of fun. After running each road course session, all of the cars drove directly into the grid for one run of autocross. This presented a challenge as the cars were hot and didn’t have much time to make adjustments.

All of this to earn enough points to claim victory in their class or even the overall championship. A bonus Operational Speed Supply award the fastest driver with the least number of cones hit throughout the weekend with a care package. With a diverse mix of classic muscle, modern cars, and even a few electric vehicles, this year’s OUSCI showcased a little bit of everything for car enthusiasts.

Representing the Mopars this year was Ken Kelley with a 1970 AAR ‘Cuda. This car is quite impressive, as it’s been heavily modified with an award winning Speedtech Performance ExtReme Track Time Package (consisting of a boxed subframe, fully-articulated independent rear suspension and re-engineered front coil-over suspension) allowing for massive 315 tire and Forgeline wheels to fit under the car. Powering the ‘Cuda is an upgraded Redeye Gen III Hemi engine and a manual transmission.

Mopar Connection Magazine’s own David Kruk was there with his 1970 Super Bee. If you haven’t seen it here in MCM already, David’s car is equipped with QA1‘s front and rear coil-over conversion kits. Powering the ‘Bee is a 6.4L Gen III Hemi and 8-speed automatic transmission. Amid the two-day circuit, David had the honor to race professional driver Tanner Foust in a full electric rally car, which made his weekend.

Speaking of Speedtech Performance, they came out in a big way with 10 Speedtech-equipped rides as well as sponsoring the GTV class. Dominating the GTV Class was Chris Smith and his ’70 Camaro. Smith, representing Smitty’s Custom Auto, had an incredible season, winning not only the GTV class championship but also the overall season points title. His Speedtech-equipped Camaro was a force to be reckoned with.

Hondo Miller – representing Laid Back Apparel – drove his 1969 Chevrolet Blazer to victory in the GTT Class, marking his first win in the series. His Blazer stood out for its size, equipped with a full sound system and a rear bench seat still in tow. Miller showed incredible driving skill, making the most of Speedtech’s suspension and handling components to stay competitive even in a truck.

Dominating the OUSCI was Bob Sobey. His 2013 Nissan GT-R secured its third consecutive overall title this year. While competitors like Dave Schotz in a 2022 Camaro and Chris Smith in his Camaro kept the pressure on, Sobey managed to perform, giving him just enough points to stay on top.

The growing presence of electric vehicles (EVs) in the OUSCI was impossible to ignore this year. Jordan Priestley brought his 2021 Tesla Model 3, finishing inside the top five overall. Priestley’s Tesla was particularly impressive on the Classic Car Liquidators Autocross, where it gave some of the top gas-powered cars a run for their money, proving that EVs are not just competitive but a force to be reckoned with.

The depth of talent in this year’s field was incredible, and as a reminder there are no professional drivers in the series. The drivers hail from all walks of life, competing in a variety of vehicles and anyone can sign up for an event.

Another very talented driver was Ryan Mathews, piloting a 2002 Chevrolet Corvette, who put down some of the fastest laps of the weekend on the Falken Tire Road Course. An additional standout was Lane Farka, who drove his 2015 Porsche GT3 to a strong third-place finish overall. The Porsche’s precision handling and Farka’s consistent driving made him a top contender throughout the weekend. Dayton de la Houssaye, who brought a 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata with an EcoBoost engine swap. Despite breaking an axle, De la Houssaye finished fifth on the road course.

Top 10 Finishers at the 2024 OUSCI