For the second consecutive year, Mike DuSold and his 1967 Chevrolet Camaro earned the Ultimate Street Car Champion title at the 12th annual OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational (OUSCI) at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Additionally, Austin Barnes, in his 2010 Dodge Viper earned Second place overall, and Jordan Priestley took Third place in a 2017 Chevrolet Grand Sport Corvette. 

“This is amazing, and I couldn’t have done it without my team,” said Mike DuSold, two-time OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational winner. 

To win the 2019 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, competitors and their vehicles go through a series of challenges. The challenges include the Falken Tire Road Course Time Trial, PowerStop Speed Stop Challenge, QA1 Autocross, the Lingenfelter Design and Engineering Competition, and Lucas Oil Road Rally. 

Each competitor receives points for each challenge they compete in; their scores are totaled to determine the winner in each category. 

The top three winners for the Ultimate Street Car Invitational individual competitions are:

Lucas Oil Road Rally

Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro

• First Place: Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
• Second Place: Chris Smith, 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
• Third Place: Jim McIlvaine, 1969 Mercury Cyclone

Falken Tire Hot Lap Challenge 

Austin Barnes, 2010 Dodge Viper

• First place: Austin Barnes, 2010 Dodge Viper
• Second place: Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
• Third place: Thomas Smith, 2005 Subaru STI

PowerStop Brakes Speed Stop Challenge 

Bob Sobey, 2013 Nissan GTR

• First place: Bob Sobey, 2013 Nissan GTR
• Second place: Steve Kepler, 2013 Nissan GTR
• Third place: John Laughlin, 2019 Tesla Model 3

QA1 Autocross 

Austin Barnes, 2010 Dodge Viper

• First place: Austin Barnes, 2010 Dodge Viper
• Second place: Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
• Third place: Thomas Smith, 2005 Subaru STI

Lingenfelter Performance Design and Engineering Competition: 

Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro

• First place: Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro
• Second place: Chris Smith, 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
• Third place: Jim McIlvaine, 1969 Mercury Cyclone

“Doing something like this takes more than one guy, and I have to give credit where it’s due. We’re really so excited that we could pull this off, and just wait until you see what we have next year,” DuSold said. 

According to OPTIMA Batteries Director of Marketing, Cam Douglass, the series has over 100 cars competing in the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational. He added, “as the popularity of the series continues to grow, we are thrilled to see so many new cars and competitors from all over the country compete in this event.”

Optima also hosts regional series events leading up to the invitational in Vegas. Here are the 2019 regional series class winners:

OPTIMA Batteries GT Class

Jonathan Blevins, 2008 Ford Shelby GT500

OPTIMA Chargers GTE Class

John Laughlin, 2019 Tesla Model 3

GTC Class 

Brian Johns, 1993 Mazda RX7

Recaro GTS Class

Austin Barnes, 2010 Dodge Viper

Holley EFI GTL Class

Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro

GTV Class

Chris Smith, 1970 Chevrolet Camaro

Outlaw Class

Feras Abuqartoumy, 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Overall Series Points Champion

Mike DuSold, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro

 The 2019 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational will be shown on MAVTV on December 6 at 8 p.m. ET.

For more information on the OPTIMA Invitational or the 2020 OPTIMA Search for the Ultimate Street Car Series, visit OUSCI.com.

Photography by Nicole Ellan James