2010 Optima Challenge Results

[Cobra #3170]

This years Optima Challenge was way less fun than last year. I got my a$$ kicked pretty badly especially on the road course which is where the Ford GT should have been really good. My plan was to set the car up with mild under steer on the road course and then disconnect the front sway bar and reset the rear toe to zero for the autox. I marked the toe links with paint so we could reset them with the rear hatch open and not even jack the car up. I made a quick disconnect for the front sway bar so that it could be disconnected for the autox, these changes together would give lots of needed over steer for the autox. When I went out on the road course the GT was so loose that I almost spun it twice on the warm up lap and then once again on the first timed lap. I then just motored it around to avoid going off and doing some serious damage.
I was 8 seconds off the pace and about 12-13 seconds slower than the car should be capable of running. I was so disappointed that we did not bother changing the car at all for the autox, I was only .7 seconds slower than the winner there, which would indicate how much over steer I had on the road course.
It seems that my brilliant idea for disconnecting the sway bar was not so good since it disconnected itself on the drive through Las Vegas the night before.
They had us drive all the cars in 5:00 PM traffic and then on to Pahrump, (who would want to subject a full on Cobra to that).
I was also too dumb to check the bar the next morning, that coupled with a mis-communication with my crew on tire pressures sealed our fate. I expected to do well on the speed stop challenge (you accelerate and stop within a box that is 600 feet away and fastest time wins) I did OK here with a 4th fastest , all of the first four cars were 6.4 seconds, order was determined by hundredths of a second. The bad news, I had a 6.0 run but slid out of the back of the stop box because I was about .1 second late on the brakes. In summation I should have had more horsepower, bigger front and rear tires, adjustable sway bars, and a smarter engineer/driver. The overall winning car was a very well executed 69 Camaro with a stroked LS9 , it had ABS brakes and ZR1 Corvette tires. The Camaro had about a 100 horses on me and was about 200 lbs lighter, now I know how they felt last year!

The good news for all you Cobra owners, this years fastest road course time set by a very good "Time Attack" blown Corvette Z06 was 2 seconds slower than my Cobra ran last year.

[Tommy]

I'm sorry to hear about the problems you had with this year's car. I guess having 40+ years to sort out the Cobra had some advantages. It also points out the diffiuculty of preparing for a multi-faceted once-a-year event. Better luck next time.

[gsharapa]

Just take the Cobra back next year and let it sit there to remind them what a fast car is really like.....

[Cobra #3170]

Thanks guys,
Believe it or not I ended up third overall even with my lousy road course performance. I would love to go back with either car but it looks like it won't happen because I did not win. There was some talk about inviting all past winners back but so far it looks like I am out for 2011. I am going to put a 4.0 Whipple on the GT along with a rear wing and better suspension tuning next year which should help its performance. We are shooting for 775 RWHP on 100 octane vs this years 600 RWHP. I am putting 13" 6 pot brakes on the Cobra along with wider front wheels with 315x18 tires and revalved shocks next year, so I would be happy if they let either car come back.

Originally Posted by gsharapa

Just take the Cobra back next year and let it sit there to remind them what a fast car is really like.....

[timothale]

Third overall is still pretty good, The video's do show problems, not as smooth as it should have been. Bruce are you going to make a run at Bonneville, put the monster motor in another chassis -body? The old T bucket is still parked in the back of the barn.! ! !

[Cobra #3170]

Originally Posted by timothale

Third overall is still pretty good, The video's do show problems, not as smooth as it should have been. Bruce are you going to make a run at Bonneville, put the monster motor in another chassis -body? The old T bucket is still parked in the back of the barn.! ! !

Hey Tim how is it going? I think that my FE might really wake up the T bucket. What we need to do is build a carbon fiber T with good suspension, brakes and super stiff chassis that weighed about 1500 lbs. That would put the car around 2 to 1 wt to hp and could probably be licensable in Idaho as a
27 T.
I am thinking a sprint car wing and ground effects along with ABS and mid-engine layout. That would really wake up the Optima boys.

[RICK LAKE]

COBRA#3170 That's a great showing for a lightly modified car. I think givin the fact you have more time now to setup the GT, not sure if they will take the chance of a return of you. 3rd time could be a charm and fun to watch. Any chance of them having a DVD on the event? They only show the event 2 times this year on speed. I really like the cobra one first, not that I don't like the GT-40 hauling too. Just remember that the driver was great, car was 90% there but that damn mechanic screwwed everything up again causing the win. Tell him 1 more OOPS and he's fired. If you get a return again, just smile and sneek up on them when they are not looking. One small thought, how much power is the exhaust system lossing at high speed? any way to mount a pressure gauge and check? I know that the 1-3 + pressure is where the most power is made. Maybe a little track time somewhere off the beatin path to hone the reflexes for next year the week before. Couldn't hurt?? Rick L.

[timothale]

The old T bucket still has the 1916 buggy spring suspensionn It would never work at B' ville. And it's scarry to drive if you put your foot down. Those fence posts get close real fast. I traded off my old engine in the 90's, it now has a mild 300 hp
Fe with 3 carbs. We try to go to B 'ville every year, It's a couple hours from the winter farm and big shop. A new chrome moly chassis and CF body a rule book and you can set some more records. , B ville has 2 groups that sponsor races, The SCTA from Calif, think they own the salt and the Utah locals, Utah salt flats racing association. I wanted to take out the 22 model T speedster but they told me I would have to build a full roll cage, I didn't want to have to mess up a historic racer, I wouldn't go very fast, Flat head 4 banger only puts out less than 30 HP. Idaho is great for building cars, bills of sale for the parts and you get a pink slip listed as tne year of the body. , just too cold in the winter, BLM is trying to kick my wife off part of her Ranch despite having deeds back till the 1800's when it was homesteaded. they comment, " we don't care what the supreme court said, what the laws are, or that you have deeds and the taxes have been paid for 120 years". It's river front property and they want to build a new camp ground , "

[OptimaJim]

Bruce,

Thank you so much for competing in our event the past two years. You have really forced all of our competitors to step up their game. I don't know that any vehicles are necessarily ruled out of future events at this point and there are actually rules in place regarding repeat vehicle entry:

3) Vehicles returning from a previous OUSCI event will only be considered for competition if the vehicle meets one or all of the following:
a) The vehicle has had significant upgrades that must include outwardly visible modifications. The car must look like a different vehicle from 50 feet. If you are unsure, send us “before-and-after” shots. We will tell you if the car looks different enough to be considered.
b) The vehicle has won an OPTIMA regional qualifying event in the current year by the owner or builder of record. That driver who won the qualifier must also be the driver at the OUSCI and meet rule #10.
c) Vehicle won the previous year’s OUSCI (overall winner) and meets the current rules.
d) Race committee may award special dispensation to no more than (5) vehicles per OUSCI.

Rule #10, for the curious:

10) The registered owner or builder of record must drive the vehicle during all events. Builder of record must be an identified individual that is not a professional driver. Builders of record must be identified and approved by OPTIMA before 10/15/2010. No competitive professional drivers will be allowed to compete for awards or the Ultimate Street Car title. As a rule of thumb, the builder of record must have had responsibility for at least 70% of all modifications to the vehicle. A painter, suspension tuner or motor builder is not considered to be a builder of record if they performed only those specific duties on the vehicle. A person who completed ALL of those duties may be considered the builder of record. If the owner of the vehicle is the person who contracted the build through many vendors then the owner is the builder of record. Typically the only person who qualifies as the builder of record is the owner or manager of a shop who modified the vehicle into its current condition from the condition in which it was purchased.

Any announcements regarding the date and network the OUSCI will be televised on will be announced on our Facebook page, as well as any information regarding possible DVD sales.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

[RICK LAKE]

optima jim Jim I see nothing for buying DVD's on that 09 show. I think it took alot of courage to put Bruce's cobra into the maylay of the event. It shows that the cobra is still the base mark for all other cars to compare too. I have seen other articles with a cobra that was under powered or not setup correctly to handle and get plowed over. Even the guys running 550+ cubic motors can't get all that power to the ground without great suspension work. The sad thing is there is a guy, Greg Allen up here in the NE area that runs a stalker with a 2 or 3 rotor mazda motor and about 1,800 of weight that just eats alive anything except for F1 and Nascar cars. Lister is the other Dark horse or a beck Spider would be also another sleeper to bring to the fight. I sure you did take some crap after the event was over but looks well run and the better car won. Rick L.

[timothale]

I think Bruce could sweep the event again, this time with the the GT , given some time to sort things out. I wished I lived closer so I could help Pit like in the old days.there is a lot to keep track of. and the emotion of competing.

[Excaliber]

OptimaJim, I like those rules! They seem fair and reasonable by preventing a single team/owner/driver/whatever from being dominant year after year.

Having said that, of course I want to see the Cobra compete and clean clocks every year!

[gsharapa]

OptimaJim

Maybe you guys should consider an event in the future that takes the top 5 from past events and let them compete with any changes they want to make to their cars. That would be interesting>>>

[OptimaJim]

Rick, I think we were all absolutely floored when we first heard Bruce was going to enter his Cobra. It truly is an amazing car. As far as I know, SPEED has not elected to make their coverage of the 2009 OUSCI available on DVD yet. Our race director, Jimi Day, had indicated a while back that he thought SPEED would at least re-air the event (which they did) and may do so again or consider putting it on DVD in the future. Until then, V8TV was also there in 2009 and produced their own show, which is available on DVD and is totally different than the SPEED production and very well done.

timothale, I think you are right about Bruce winning the event again. I know Bruce wasn't happy with his setup this year and even with his disappointment, he still finished near the top.

Gary, I appreciate your feedback and will forward it on to our event organizers.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries