SEMA/Optima Aftermath

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Hey All,

Just wanted to share a few thoughts on the 2017 Optima challenge. First off, a big shout out and thanks to all the folks behind the scenes that put on and run races like Optima and others, giving each of us an opportunity to go to events where we can really stretch the legs of our Pro Touring cars. It's easy for us to show up, throw it down on the track and then pack up and leave, but behind the scenes there's an incredible amount of planning and prep to pull races like this off. For that we at Speedtech take our hats off and express our gratitude for their efforts to move the Pro Touring family and fun forward. Two thumbs up everyone!

During SEMA week we had quite a few folks make the drive northward to drop by the Speedtech facility. It was great meeting you all and having an opportunity to show you around. Our doors are always open to anyone who may be passing through St George, UT and we're always happy to introduce folks to Speedtech Performance.

I wasn't able to make it down to the race myself but several of our crew members were able to go and had an awesome time supporting three great guys with their Speedtech equipped cars. The report was that there was some serious competition but the general feeling was still of friendship, support and fun among everyone. Congrats to all drivers for making it to the race and pushing your cars and skills to the edge to place where you did. A special shout out and congrats to our good friends Nick Relampagos, Brock Makin, and John Woods who all are relatively new to this, have fairly freshly built cars and still fared very well against their seasoned competitors. The coolest thing about these three guys isn't their cars but rather their awesome personalities. If you ever attend an event with them there take a minute to get to know them and you'll make a new friend. If you haven't met their cars, Click Here (http://www.speedtechperformance.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=598/category_id=187/mode=prod/prd598.htm) to learn more.

Congrats to everyone who raced all year and good luck to those that will continue to run the next few races on deck. And here's to a prosperous and blast of a 2018 season!

[nokones]

I heard there was some drama during the Lingenfelter D & E where a bunch of people were pissed about one person violating a rule, that was announced prior to the start of the SEMA show for the cars while in Optima Alley cannot jack up, remove items, or work on their cars; and these bunch of people tried to file a class-action protest on this violation because one person did jacked up their car and removed a wheel, and were told to go-away and the protest was not going to be entertained. I also heard that some of the people that were very vocal about this obvious violation were scored very poorly during the D & E segment when they were judge up in the ranks at previous events. I also heard that the autocross courses were designed to favor the smaller cars and make it more difficult for the larger cars. Is there any truth to these rumor? Is it true that the Evo were favored to win this year? Just curious about the rumors floating around.

[fleming23]

I also heard that the autocross courses were designed to favor the smaller cars and make it more difficult for the larger cars. Is there any truth to these rumor? I
I wouldn't agree with this particular comment. The course was pretty big and sweeping. I do think it may have highly favored all-wheel drive for some of the corner exits but that isn't uncommon for autocross anyway.

[Craig510]

I thought the autox was well laid out, fun, and technical. Nothing overly tight.

The D & E judging seamed fair, but I don’t drive a corvette. The judges actually looked at the cars, fabrication and build quality. There must have been 20 vetts. Pretty easy to get overlooked with a cookie cutter car. Sure they are fast and lots of work goes into each one but it is hard to standout.

[Turbo6inKY]

People need to understand what the Optima series is:

It's a reality TV show designed to sell car parts, batteries in particular. The rules are secondary. It's not supposed to be fair, it's supposed to help Optima sell batteries. Sure, we get to play as a result, and Optima and other sponsors take what would be a $1000+ entry fee and knock it down to less than half that. For that subsidy, we play their game.

All I can say to the people that were there is, "Welcome to Television!"

Being fast is part of it. But you have to tell a story. Ken Thwaits is a master storyteller, and he wove a compelling yarn and walked out with the win.

[Craig510]

And for the first time Ken’s car survived. He probably would have won last year if he hadn’t blown it up. It’s had to win.

[Rod]

I heard there was some drama during the Lingenfelter D & E .

there always is, we call it the ugly baby syndrome, nobody wants to be told there baby is ugly, right, build your car and sell it (speak about it)with passion



The course was pretty big and sweeping. . every few seasons course design changes, to feed the latest, early on the courses were short and quick (low HP and no shifting) next they became long and sweeping (more HP and 2nd gear) now the tracks are long and sweeping with 2 or more 180 turns (medium HP and shifting from 1st to 2nd and back several times)



It's a reality TV show . yes it is just be fast and run several events, have fun, and be a good member of the racing community

[Ben@SpeedTech]

We had 3 guys there with Speedtech equipped cars. All 3 had a blast and enjoyed the event so my post was based on their experience.

I used to get frustrated at competitions for whatever reason, I didn't place well, somebody else had an advantage I didn't agree with, it was over commercialized and leaned towards a certain agenda, etc etc. I think the frustration was part of being human. Worrying about all that got me too stressed out though and I would leave the event feeling like it wasn't any fun. At some point something my son said woke me up and I had to tell myself to remember to have fun. I enjoy it more now, and I have more fun playing with my car and spending time with my teenage kids who also race. I haven't attended an Optima event specifically but I hope to soon and am pretty excited to go up against some great drivers on a well planned out venue. Either way, I'm just glad to have a safe place to push my car to it's limits, and watch my kids do the same.