OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car to air on SPEED

[Desert68]

The show was great! Nicely done and very, very professional. Mercy, if this was the first year, there is certainly a very bright future for this event in coming years.

[PT Sportwagon]

I made sure I got up on early on my day off to watch. Wasn't disappointed. It gave me something to shoot for with the wagon. How ever I didn't see any Buicks? Maybe I'll be the first.

Tim

[Texas 1972 Velle]

Great Show!

[Ron S]

That was an awesome show. Totally showed what our little hobby is about, and the guys and gals who love it. I know I've said it 20 times,but I am SO sorry I missed this one, can't wait till next year. I don't know if any of us can compete with the weight difference in the Cobra though, but who cares the events we have been doing are so cool. Bills quote was the best. Ron

[Larry Callahan]

Well , I saw "part" of it .
It's my Saturday to work here at the Dealership , and I snuck over into the customer lounge and caught the first 15 minutes or so.
I can't wait to get home and see the hole thing .

" Trailers are for boats " .
That's pretty good Bill !!

You may get a kick out of this

http://www.cafepress.com/ProTouring.430049617

[rossmacd]

Just sat down and watched it; it was alot of fun. Something about the production seemed a little weird to me, but I sure enjoyed them talking about the cars a little bit. And I LOVED watching that vette get flogged. Such a beautiful car, and to see it go like snot, what a treat.

[tazzz25906112]

You may get a kick out of this

http://www.cafepress.com/ProTouring.430049617

Now THAT'S some funny **** there Larry.....

Cam, Jimi & Wally, Greg, & Cynthia,,,,,, Thanks for supporting the whole pro-touring culture and making this optima challenge one of the life time experiences/events that one doesn't soon forget when fortunate enough to participate....We're all really fortunate to have this support combined with Larry, Steve and Nick reinforcing just how fantastic our pro-touring events and community can be. Thank you all for the privilege of calling you friends...

[TA219]

What a great show! it was awesome to see all of the cars that I read about in action!

[JEFFTATE]

You may get a kick out of this

http://www.cafepress.com/ProTouring.430049617

That's great !!
I just hurt myself laughing !!
I gotta' get one.
Thanks Larry ..

[rockytopper]

Wow Great Show. Nice to put a face to you PRO PROTOURING FOLKS. I see why you guys love this sport. It made me want to go out and climb in my LS powered cutlass and go have some fun. Then I remembered I got it stripped down to bare metal and it's wet out side. Darn it. I had to go hop in the RZR and get the fustration out. I taped the show and will watch over and over. Only car I wish they had shown more of was the 57 convert they showed backing down the trailer at the first. Any one have a link to more info on that car? My favorite part was the wagon skidding into the dirt during the 0-60-0 competion.

[dadto2jays]

It was a great show....Definetly some great vehicles in there. It was cool to see some of the vehicles I have only seen picts before in action today...

[lftnwhls]

Congrats to all the participants very cool. I really liked Mary swearing.

Where was the Motivator?? I only saw the hood of it behind the Cobra.

[Larry Callahan]

Congrats to all the participants very cool. I really liked Mary swearing.

Where was the Motivator?? I only saw the hood of it behind the Cobra.

They also showed it during one of the 5 or 6 times I ran the 0-60-0 where the timing computer kept failing. On the 5th or 6th run it recorded a number and I opted not to run again to see if I could get a better time. My brake bias was off after bedding the brakes a few days before and I didn't get a chance to re-adjust it. I was hoping at least my spin off into the gravel pit would make the cut but it didn't.

[xxxturbo6]

Classic Bill Howell, and adds it on national telivision to boot !! LOL

But what he don't tell everyone is that his "Trailer isn't far behind the boat!" LOL

Tuned in to watch it again tonight at 4:00 pm..


Scot W.

[gearbanger]

Man that was an awesome show! That looks like so much fun. Those are some of the best looking cars in the world in my opinion, they look so much better running a course than they do sitting in a car show arena!

I wish they would have talked the about the Cobra more. I thought it seemed like they really didn't want the guy there. They didn't talk about the motor much less show it. It seemed kind of whiney to keep talking about how it was "custom built for road racing". Like the camaro, boss mustang, and corvettes weren't?

[Steve1968LS2]

Man that was an awesome show! That looks like so much fun. Those are some of the best looking cars in the world in my opinion, they look so much better running a course than they do sitting in a car show arena!

I wish they would have talked the about the Cobra more. I thought it seemed like they really didn't want the guy there. They didn't talk about the motor much less show it. It seemed kind of whiney to keep talking about how it was "custom built for road racing". Like the camaro, boss mustang, and corvettes weren't?

It had a dry sump 427 FE engine and Bruce said it was somthing like 900 hp.. cool stuff.

The problem with the Cobra was that it was in a different class in terms of weight.

The typical pro-touring car is a mundane street car turned into a handling car. Take Jackass or Penny for example. Those are ill handling car that through the use of aftermarket parts are made to handle.

The Cobra was build AS a race car.. and then made better from there. It should have won and was a bad ass mofo for sure.

Personally I didn't feel that it really was a street car.. could it be driven on the street? yea, but with open side pipes, no windshield, race gas and all that it didn't fit into the spirit of the event. Even the owner stated that it was taken off "street duty" back in 1970.

There was also the driver issue, but nobody protested it so it is what it is.

It was the best handling car there, no doubt

Pointing our facts isn't "whiny".. it's how the event is adjusted for next year. If a bunch of Cobras are going to show up then there's no point in our cars trying to beat them. It's just physics.

[Larry Callahan]

It was also too loud. I'd like to see the decibel meter used next year.

[gearbanger]

It had a dry sump 427 FE engine and Bruce said it was somthing like 900 hp.. cool stuff.

The problem with the Cobra was that it was in a different class in terms of weight.

The typical pro-touring car is a mudane street car turned into a handling car. Take Jackass or Penny for example. Those are ill handling car that through the use of aftermarket parts are made to handle.

The Cobra was build AS a race car.. and then made better from there. I should have won and was a bad ass mofo for sure.

Personally I didn't feel that it really was a street car.. could it be driven on the street? yea, but with open side pipes, no windshield, race gas and all that it didn't fit into the spirit of the event. Even the owner stated that it was taken off "street duty" back in 1970.

There was also the driver issue, but nobody protested it so it is what it is.

It was the best handling car there, no doubt

Pointing our facts isn't "whiny".. it's how the event is adjusted for next year. If a bunch of Cobras are going to show up then there's no point in our cars trying to beat them. It's just physics.

I agree. I guess maybe everyone felt as if they had been screwed. It was cool to watch, and I would have really liked to have seen more of an expose on the Cobra, but still a very cool show.

I still say that a cobra is simply an AC Ace that was souped up for racing, just like a corvette was souped for racing. Mustangs and Camaros are transam cars, so it is all splitting hairs a little bit. But I will agree that the cobra doesn't need the carbon fiber everything and aluminum small blocks with turbos and blowers to get the power to weight where it needs to be.

It is the same treatment that the Chevelles get from the Camaros all the time I guess. Just a physical advantage. Maybe they should add a handicap to your car according to your power to weight ratio. That way you could let everyone play, and not have to allways have a first gen camaro be the winner.

[tommycomfort]

Great coverage! It got my whole family excited for next season. The wife watched it at her firehouse, I watched it at my firehouse, and the kids watched it at home and we all sent text messages back and forth during the show. We needed a motivator to finish our 66 project!
Tom

[68cutlass]

It is the same treatment that the Chevelles get from the Camaros all the time I guess. Just a physical advantage. Maybe they should add a handicap to your car according to your power to weight ratio. That way you could let everyone play, and not have to allways have a first gen camaro be the winner.

Exactly. Being a fellow A-body owner with a big block, I can't really hope to compete with 1st gen camaros with LS motors, or 427 Cobras. We're all competitive and would love to win an event like this, but you have to be realistic about our cars and why we have built them in the first place. If I were constructing a purpose-built race car, there are better platforms to start with than sixties/seventies muscle cars.

-Mark