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View Full Version : Pro-Touring.com's entry in the 2010 OUSCI



Larry Callahan
10-13-2010, 06:12 AM
https://www.pro-touring.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=33844



Pro-Touring.com is proud to announce our very own Todd Akes and his beautifil 1969 Camaro to represent Pro-Touring.com at the 2010 Optima Batteries Ultimate Streetcar Invitational (http://www.optimainvitational.com/).

I have seen Todd run at the RTTC and I know he will represent us well.

Congrats Todd and do us proud!



Wkas7OaFACc


https://www.pro-touring.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=33839

GregWeld
10-13-2010, 06:55 AM
Congrats todd!

James OLC
10-13-2010, 07:06 AM
Great news - congratulations Todd! See you there!

mdprovee
10-13-2010, 07:19 AM
Congrats Todd, That is really cool.
I know you have wanted this.

MrQuick
10-13-2010, 08:15 AM
way to go Todd we were pulling for you. We are so happy to see you out there.

dropit69
10-13-2010, 08:19 AM
Congrats..!!!!! love the car..

Ron.in.SoCal
10-13-2010, 08:40 AM
B*lls to the wall, Todd! GO kick some Optima butt...:cheers:

pokey64
10-13-2010, 08:42 AM
Awesome! Congradufriggenlations!!! Give em hell!

Rybar
10-13-2010, 10:01 AM
Congrats Todd! I think everybody wants to see you in there!

Give those LSX guys some BBC hell :fingersx:

oestek
10-13-2010, 11:57 AM
Go get 'em Todd! We all love your car, man. Sweet!

ProdigyCustoms
10-13-2010, 12:37 PM
Could not have made a better choice.

Team Prodigy could not be more proud!

Vegas69
10-13-2010, 01:57 PM
Thanks guys!:cheers: To say I'm excited would be an understatement. This is the ultimate opportunity for me. I built the car to use it to it's potential. I take representing Larry and Pro-Touring.com very seriously. I'm going to put my best foot forward and we'll see where the cards fall.

CarlC
10-13-2010, 02:39 PM
Go get 'em Mav!

awr68
10-13-2010, 03:16 PM
Congrats! See ya there!!

Scott Parkhurst
10-13-2010, 03:31 PM
WTG man! Tear it up!

monza
10-13-2010, 03:45 PM
Excellent choice! Best of luck Todd, show them some Payback.

Mr.VENGEANCE
10-13-2010, 03:50 PM
Go todd!!!

slck6t9
10-13-2010, 04:03 PM
Way to go Todd!!
Great choice to represent the site Larry...:fingersx:

454bug
10-13-2010, 07:48 PM
Way to go Todd!!! :cheers:

GREAT CHOICE LARRY!!!

Another aluminum BBC to show them LSX's boys who's boss!!!

In my best Cajun voice, "YOU CAN DO IT"!!!

chr2002ca
10-14-2010, 06:07 AM
Way to go Todd! A well-deserved selection. Go give 'em hell.

John Wright
10-14-2010, 06:46 AM
WooHoo for Todd. Go Git-R-Dun

sr73bu
10-14-2010, 03:28 PM
wow!... awesome car... good luck!

-Sean

justimagine
10-15-2010, 01:55 PM
Could not have made a better choice.

Team Prodigy could not be more proud!

Frank, I tried to PM you but your box is full - PM or email me please. Thanks, Jimi

Flash68
10-15-2010, 02:13 PM
Atta kid. Make some ***** happen Todd!

130fe
10-15-2010, 03:19 PM
Congrats Todd!

Bill Howell
10-16-2010, 05:16 AM
Way to GO Todd. I look forward to seeing you there.

89 RS
10-16-2010, 07:57 PM
Congrats Todd! Well deserved and good luck man.

Vegas69
10-16-2010, 08:10 PM
Thanks guys, the car is up on stands for a thorough inspection. I have a high speed autocross next weekend where I hope to fine tune the car further. I have a couple tricks up my sleeve in the mean time.

DFRESH
10-17-2010, 11:03 AM
Good times ahead brother----this is gonna be amazing---Dave and I are bringing our cheerleading outfits.

Doug

79-TA
10-18-2010, 03:36 PM
Congratulations on the selection. Do you have a good set of 200 treadwear tires picked out?

Vegas69
10-18-2010, 05:08 PM
I've got BFG KDW's on the car.

Roadbuster
10-18-2010, 09:28 PM
Congratulations Todd! How are the KDWs vs the R888s?

MCMLXIX
10-18-2010, 10:43 PM
Congrats Todd... if you need someone to help you "crew" in the pits I'll be there.... I can also transport extra stuff to Pahrump if you want to bring wheels/tires, jacks, stands etc.... let me know....

Vegas69
10-24-2010, 09:10 PM
Well, all my cards are on the table for the Optima Challenge. I adjusted the valves hot and set the total timing yesterday. She's running great! I really wish I had 2-3 more events to tweak on the suspension and driver. I feel the car is close time wise to how I had it on the R888's.(Within a second) One major difference being the attention needed behind the wheel. I don't remember ever spinning the car out on the 888's except at El Toro. I spun the car out twice today. It's still a little loose out back but I'm out of time. The front cornering grip and the forward bite are excellent. The rear side bite is a little off and I feel I can dial it in with some shock and sway bar changes over a few events. That being said, the car felt pretty damn good today and I was out running most of the folks I have in the past. As usual, it feels great in the twisties at 80-90 mph. This car was made to road race. Tons of power and great brakes. After all this time of tweaking this and that, I'm happy to say that my car races the best in street trim. Meaning, it's fastest on street tires where it rides very compliant on the street. It rides better or at least as good as our daily drivers and hauls the mail. :)

Best run, second fastest time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1uqoS8e5Ag

Lenie
10-24-2010, 10:17 PM
Good luck to ya Todd.

Ron.in.SoCal
10-25-2010, 09:22 AM
Good times ahead brother----this is gonna be amazing---Dave and I are bringing our cheerleading outfits.

Doug

Please don't...

Flash68
10-25-2010, 01:27 PM
Please don't...

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/10/malecheerleader-1.jpg

CarlC
10-25-2010, 01:34 PM
AAAKK! I'm blind!!

Same experience here Todd. Street tires seem to like a little softer spring. More tire = more spring.

youthpastor
10-25-2010, 03:18 PM
Way to go todd!

Vegas69
10-25-2010, 08:16 PM
Thanks everybody BUT Flash.... haha

Vegas69
10-26-2010, 04:25 PM
Big news, after countless interviews, the Iceman has picked his 2 star pit crew members:

Crew Chief: None other than Douglas Renner. Many know him as Dr. Renner, Magazine Horror, Kiss ass of the century, anything for a bone, vulture...etc. I'm confident that having the one and only panel gap spray inventor on my pit crew will knock off AT LEAST 2 seconds per lap. I'm working on getting the radios and head sets so he can coach me around the road course, play by play.

Head Mechanic: Skatinjay27 "AJ" This kid is as sharp as a butter knife. He'll be the glue in the team. His main duties will be making sure the cooler if stocked full of beer for AFTER the event, making sure my visor and windshield are clean, and most importantly, making sure the crew chief isn't off kissing ass for a free t shirt while he's supposed to be helping me!

I think we'll just refer to them as the "Dream Team".

Bill Howell
10-26-2010, 04:45 PM
Big news, after countless interviews, the Iceman has picked his 2 star pit crew members:

Crew Chief: None other than Douglas Renner. Many know him as Dr. Renner, Magazine Horror, Kiss ass of the century, anything for a bone, vulture...etc. I'm confident that having the one and only panel gap spray inventor on my pit crew will knock off AT LEAST 2 seconds per lap. I'm working on getting the radios and head sets so he can coach me around the road course, play by play.

Head Mechanic: Skatinjay27 "AJ" This kid is as sharp as a butter knife. He'll be the glue in the team. His main duties will be making sure the cooler if stocked full of beer for AFTER the event, making sure my visor and windshield are clean, and most importantly, making sure the crew chief isn't off kissing ass for a free t shirt while he's supposed to be helping me!

I think we'll just refer to them as the "Dream Team".
Thanks for the heads up. Now all I have to do is bring a mason jar with me and "fix up" your crew chief. He will be looking for Elvis and not paying attention to the details and the ole charger will move up one more spot...haha

Vegas69
10-26-2010, 05:26 PM
You keep that mason jar away from my crew chief until after the dust settles! haha

James A
10-26-2010, 06:31 PM
Well, after spending some time with Doug this past weekend...... I think he could easily be distracted with a skateboard and a few bogus raffle tickets!! LOL!!! Just messin with ya Doug!! Good times.

tazzz25906112
10-26-2010, 07:04 PM
I couldn't think of a better choice Larry,,,, Todd have a blast you certainly deserve this invite buddy and that car of yours is so sweet.......

P.S, Now make sure you put them all on notice that big blocks still got what it takes to get the job done buddy ;-)

Vegas69
10-26-2010, 07:26 PM
Hell yes Albert... She's tuned up and running pretty damn good. See you there.

tazzz25906112
10-26-2010, 07:54 PM
I'll be on the side lines for this year as I didn't get the WarPath finished buddy.... Go have a blast and tell me all about your experience at the RTTC 2 my friend because it surely is an awesome event....
Have no fear, Brian Finch is on WarPath and I'll be showing up with 535 cubic inches of pissed off Poncho aluminum looking to play next year (all things equal on the invite)....

Vegas69
11-07-2010, 01:43 PM
I had a great week with Sema and the Optima Challenge. Big thanks go out to Larry for the opportunity to represent Pro-Touring.com. It was a real honor. The event was run flawlessly by Jimi Day and his crew. The week started out on Monday when Carl and I cruised down to SEMA together and put our cars in the Optima Batteries corral. This event is supported by many great sponsors and I was happy to sticker up my car. In fact, I really like the way it looks in race mode. I had the first TV interview of my life. That was interesting to say the least.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010011-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010002-1.jpg
Up next was the Road Rally part of the competition. The cars had to be driven from SEMA to the Silverton for a photo then out to Pahrump. Extra points were awarded for two photos of Las Vegas landmarks. Naturally, I had to stop by Larry Flints Hustler tittie club. Kelli was with me or I may have lost out on those points. It was the perfect night for a Road Rally. Being the local, I was the first to make it to the Silverton and 2nd to Pahrump.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010038-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010027-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010017-1.jpg
Doug Renner(Dfresh) and Dave Gordon(Flash68) came in on Thursday and stayed with me. We had a great time joking around and ripping on each other. AJ(Skatinjay27) was my other crew member. His only two jobs were to keep media whore Renner in line and away from vendors, and to stock the cooler full of beer. He managed to drop the ball on both jobs. Not only did Renner come back to the pits with a Ring Brothers shirt on, the cooler didn’t have one damn Bud Light in it after the race! I have forgiven him for Renner, that was mission impossible. HAHA

They actually did a great job for me. I had them tech my car and keep it full of gas. They also made my air pressure adjustments. AJ spotted a loose compressor bolt after the road race that probably saved my belt for the rest of the competition.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010086-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010050-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010043-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010086-1.jpg
My first event was the Road Race portion of the event. I have to admit I was a little nervous on the big stage. This was only my 3rd road race and the last time was in April at El Toro. I’d also never been on street compounds. I made a last minute air pressure change that tightened the car up a little to much. The car was really good though and ran flawless. I haven’t seen the results yet but last I checked I was 7th out of 52 cars. Rumor has it I’m around 10th. I’m proud of that with my lack of experience and a car that’s not quite right on street treads. There were some really top quality cars this year. 51 or 52 finished all segments.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010109-1.jpg
1 Warm up lap, 3 hot laps, 1 cool down. My second lap ended up being the fastest. I blew my 3rd over cooking the back straight. I was only .2 slower than my second. That could of been a great lap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q0zu5JViA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4xqtsT-XVM
The Auto Cross portion didn’t go well for me. It was a really tight course with 3 180 degree turns. My car was tight and doesn’t have a great turning radius to begin with. I’m really used to high speed autocrosses. I see 60-80mph at our local SCCA. I need to work on these slow speed courses to keep up with the likes of Stielow, Finch, and DSE.

The speed stop challenge is a favorite of mine. Give it hell and stop as fast as you can. At RTTC in April I posted the fastest time in the field and felt ultra confident. I really had some trouble getting out of the hole here. I had to feather the clutch and slowly put my foot down. The car seems to be transferring plenty of weight. I think I did well at El Toro due to it being a higher speed event where I could take advantage of all my power in 2nd and 3rd. I ended up mid pack in this event and that was disappointing. Stielow rand 6.4x and I ran a 7.0x. Half a second was the difference from first to 25th. I think a better launch and a better shifting tranny will help me in the slower stop challenges. I really feel I got the most out of my car that day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKma45XBTsw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZWF9MAw1Ow
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010176-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010172-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010160-1.jpg
Carl and I had a friendly rivalry going all week. We had the whole Top Gun deal going. I was Iceman and he was Hollywood. I don’t think anybody had more fun than us. I showed up to the Lateral-G party in a wife beater and a pair of blue blockers. I asked him if “He’d figured out who the best driver was?” Carl beat me on the Road Course by about a .5 second and placed well in the autocross. He got me this time. He’s at the top of the list of people I don’t mind getting beat by. Carl, Iceman is gunning for you at the next event. Dave bought me some Payback beer from a brewery in San Francisco. I had to celebrate without a win but it didn’t matter. I had a great time and made some new friends along the way. I completed the event and DROVE my car back home in the same condition I started out with. That's Pro-Touring!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010177-1.jpg
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/OptimaChallenge2010128-1.jpg

Steve1968LS2
11-07-2010, 03:31 PM
Great seeing you at the event Todd.. you're car was badass as usual :)

CarlC
11-07-2010, 06:17 PM
Too much fun! That picture is great. The Karate Kid vs. Tito Ortiz. I'm with Todd, we had a ton of fun. All of us just about busted a gut taking the "fight" picture.

Tom Holt took pics of the final scores and hopefully he'll post them soon. It took them about 15 minutes after the awards ceremony to post them on the TV board. From what I remember:

Mark S. 1st. He only missed winning the road course by something like 0.2 seconds against the StopTech Corvette, but it was given a second session due to catching the car in front of him during the run.

Two participants tied for 9th. Hence no 10th place.

Two participants tied for 11th. I'm one of them.

Rupp finished 13th.

Todd was in a three way tie for 26th.

I hated the brake challenge and autocross. I was cautious on the braking since I did not want to be "that guy" again and wreck a nice new set of tires. Hence I finished with zero points in that event. Whoever designed that autocross should be forced to drive it! (hint Mary.)

My camera for some reason won't download the pics I took. I hope it did not crash and burn. Does anyone have any pics of me/car during any of the events? I now have nothing.

69fbodyproject
11-07-2010, 06:40 PM
Where would a guy be able to find out the results for the event?

Flash68
11-07-2010, 06:47 PM
Too much fun! That picture is great. The Karate Kid vs. Tito Ortiz. I'm with Todd, we had a ton of fun. All of us just about busted a gut taking the "fight" picture.

Tom Holt took pics of the final scores and hopefully he'll post them soon. It took them about 15 minutes after the awards ceremony to post them on the TV board. From what I remember:

Mark S. 1st. He only missed winning the road course by something like 0.2 seconds against the StopTech Corvette, but it was given a second session due to catching the car in front of him during the run.

Two participants tied for 9th. Hence no 10th place.

Two participants tied for 11th. I'm one of them.

Rupp finished 13th.

Todd was in a three way tie for 26th.

I hated the brake challenge and autocross. I was cautious on the braking since I did not want to be "that guy" again and wreck a nice new set of tires. Hence I finished with zero points in that event. Whoever designed that autocross should be forced to drive it! (hint Mary.)

My camera for some reason won't download the pics I took. I hope it did not crash and burn. Does anyone have any pics of me/car during any of the events? I now have nothing.

Carl - very good showing at the event against some major high $ cars. Congrats to you. Good meeting you as well.

Dave

tazzz25906112
11-07-2010, 07:10 PM
Looks like a good time was had by all,,,, congratulations again Todd. Doug you really gotta step it up buddy, Crew chief and no beer???? I don't know did Elvis send you to rehab after the RatPack was done with ya good buddy ROFLMAO....
Have no fear, we're coming back out in a few months and we'll re-train ya cause we know it's just gotta be that west coast sun beating down on your head son LOL...

Ron S
11-08-2010, 03:11 AM
Looks like you all had a blast. Unless you've competed against him, its hard to describe how quiet, yet fast Marks car is. Its a shame the Cobra wasn't there again, I would like to see how he stacked up. If you were 26th, that is nothing to sneeze at, that is some of the fastest cars in the country. Still had to be,a hell of an experience.

I did notice you taking in the cultural side of Vegas in the pictures, no Museums or Libraries for you, right to the Hustler Club. LOL

Vegas69
11-08-2010, 07:34 AM
LOL Ron, we have museums and libraries here? They only gave points to the top 10-15 in every event so my poor finishes in the autocross and speed stop really hurt me. My overall was only road race points. I knew I had no chance at styling points. I know where I need to improve on the car and myself. It was a great competition and I'm looking to race my way in next year!

Steve1968LS2
11-08-2010, 08:12 AM
My autocross deal fubard my score.. that heavy sway bar I "borrowed' made the car push like a 2010.. :(

Overall I'm happy though and ready to get my driving skills up to the level of my car. Thankfully that's cheaper than the other way around.

Great see you all!

Bryce
11-08-2010, 08:50 AM
I would love to be there next year!