Forgeline customers virtually dominated the 14th annual OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by Advance Auto Parts, in Las Vegas, during the November 5-7 weekend, where they won four of the six championship-eligible classes. This effort was led by Jake Rozelle’s whose 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 was crowned the 2021 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car!
Jake finished near the top overall in each of the four competition segments, including first place overall in the Falken Tire Hot Lap Challenge, third place overall in the QA1 Autocross, fourth place overall in the Peak Performance Acceleration/Braking Challenge, and fifth place overall in the Lingenfelter Performance Design and Engineering Competition. His performance throughout the 2-day competition placed him at the top of the Holley EFI GTL Class (in which his Corvette competes), and – more importantly – the sum of his performances earned him the overall win out of all 91 competitors.
“This win is still sinking in. Up until the moment my name was called, we weren't sure whether we had done it or had come up just short for the second straight year,” said Jake Rozelle, the 2021 OUSCI champion. “Thanks to everyone who helped make this happen. For now, I am living in the moment and enjoying every second. It's been a long journey, but after 8 years, we finally did it. What a ride!”
Jake’s 2021 win marks the tenth year that the OUSCI champion has ridden to victory on Forgeline wheels throughout the event’s 14 year history, including Steven Rupp’s ’68 Camaro in 2008, Mark Stielow’s ’69 Camaro in 2010, Todd Rumpke’s ’06 Corvette in 2011, Danny Popp’s ’03 Corvette in 2014, 2015, & 2016, Ken Thwaits’ ’06 Mitsubishi Evo in 2017 and Mike DuSold’s ’67 Camaro in 2018 & 2019.
Jake's awesome C5 Corvette Z06 is powered by an 800+HP Lingenfelter Eliminator Spec R LS7 and rides on Van Steel suspension, Ultimate Performance-valved JRi shocks, Wilwood disc brakes, 315/30ZR18 Yokohama A052 tires, and 18×11.0 Forgeline one piece forged monoblock VX1R wheels finished in Graphite.
In addition to Jake's overall and GTL class victories, the other 2021 class champions include GTV class champion Efrain Diaz in his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro on Forgeline forged three piece GA3R Open Lug wheels, GTT class champion Preston Folkestad in his 1984 Chevrolet C10 on Forgeline forged three piece GA3 wheels, and GTS class champion Brian Sobey in his 2013 Nissan GTR on Forgeline one piece forged monoblock GS1R wheels. Congrats to all of the 2021 OUSCI champions!
The 2021 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational will be broadcast on MAVTV on Friday, December 3 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. For more information about the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational and the OPTIMA Search for the Ultimate Street Car Series, visit DriveOPTIMA.com.