Classic and Modern Muscle Invades Historic Laguna Seca—Action Gallery and Race Results!

There is a fair amount of strategy that goes into OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car, presented by Advance Auto Parts, before a competitor even reaches the track. If their car is close to the 3,200-pound weight-break, do they move over or under? If they are trying to win their way into a trip to SEMA and the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational (OUSCI) at a qualifying event, later-season events are sometimes the better option, as more invitations have already been handed out. If they are trying to accumulate the most points possible, they’ll look to the events that are not sold-out, or are earlier in the season, before some competitors have their entries sorted out.

All of that strategy goes out the window when a track like Laguna Seca shows up on the schedule, especially on a weekend where there are no noise restrictions. Running on a track like that is a coveted opportunity that prompts many to ignore the strategy in favor of the experience. As a result, 100 entries signed up to run at Laguna Seca, some knowing the track was a 53-hour drive away. Regardless of where they came from, by the end of the weekend, we hadn’t heard from anyone who said the Laguna Seca juice wasn’t worth whatever squeeze it took to get there—and if you’ve never driven on their epic corkscrew, then getting to Laguna Seca is definitely worth the extra effort.

A competitor’s best two finishes in the series count toward their season-long point total, and of the 42 entries that had already run somewhere else this season, 39 ended up with a lower score at Laguna Seca. Two that didn’t were Bob Sobey, the defending OUSCI champion, whose 2013 Nissan GT-R tied a series record with 498 out of 500 points to win the GTS Class and Jordan Priestley’s 2021 Tesla Model 3, which finished second and equaled its point total from earlier in the year.

Additionally, the season points chase after three events shows a false dominance by competitors located west of the Rocky Mountains, many of whom have now run two events in their region. That trend will likely continue through the next event in July at Portland International Raceway. After Portland, the three remaining events will be east of the Mississippi River at Road America, Daytona International Speedway, and VIRginia International Raceway.

That sets up an interesting dynamic, as West Coast competitors who choose not to make long hauls to the final three qualifying events are forced to watch from a distance and see if their scores hold up. However, they will likely have a distinct advantage over East Coast competitors, in that both the Thunderhill event earlier this season and the upcoming Portland event look to be smaller, less competitive fields capable of yielding more points. On the other side, Road America and VIR are both sold-out with waiting lists, and Daytona already has 94 entries and will likely follow suit. The smaller venue at VIR will keep that field artificially small relative to the other tracks, but it will also be packed with top contenders who are looking at one final shot to qualify for SEMA and the OUSCI.

That makes the upcoming Portland event seem like the hot ticket, but we’ll see how that plays out in July. Until then, those who made it to Laguna Seca, will relive the experience and maybe watch it again on the livestream replay available on the OPTIMA Network on Roku. If running on world-class tracks in a high-profile series designed for amateur competitors is piquing your interest, head over to DriveUSCA.com to learn how you can get involved in your street car or truck!

Viking Performance GT Class (post-1989, 3,200+ pounds, 2WD sedans, four-seater coupes, etc. )

Classic Car Liquidators GTV Class (pre-1990, 3200+ pounds)

GTS Class (post-1989, 3200+ pounds, two-seaters & AWD vehicles)

GTL Class (non-compacts under 3200 pounds)

No Limit Engineering GTT Class (Trucks & SUVs over 3200 pounds)

GeauxMoto GTC Class (2WD compacts, 107-inch wheelbase or less)

Arrington Performance Lucky 7 Outlaw Class (relaxed aero rules, pro drivers allowed)

Downforce Motorsports GTR Class (factory-licensed replicas)

Summit Racing Spirit of the Event Award

2023 OPTIMA Search for the Ultimate Street Car Schedule

Photos by Jim McIlvaine and Caleb Kelly

Blasphemi, a 1955 Chevy gasser, is one of Roadkill’s all-time greatest project cars. Here it is doing what it was meant to do drag racing—and failing! Sign up for a free trial to MotorTrend+ and start watching every episode of Roadkill! Video created by Little Dot Studios.