While the SEMA show tends to dominate the automotive-biased headlines from Las Vegas the first week of November, the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational event is just as much a part of the series of events. Over the course of 2022, the OUSCI team have been scouting for the best cars and drivers to come compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and to park up at SEMA. The invitational event is judged based on five points: a road rally that establishes the street-ability of the vehicles with a 25 to 100 mile route that requires vehicles to comply with road laws, environmental laws and regulations, and safety laws and regulations. Acceleration and Braking tests the driver's ability to manage traction, braking ability and car control in a tight turn. The Autocross section determines driver ability to negotiate tight turns and slow-speed direction changes, while the Road Course competition shows how close a street car can perform in road racing conditions. Finally, the Design and Engineering brings in an engineer's eye and judges a vehicle's modifications versus the stock form and whether those modifications enhance or reduce the comfort of the car as a daily driver. Fit, finish, innovation, and balance is what wins this section.

For 2022, 95 vehicles competed, with ten of those vehicles competing in the "Lucky 7" Outlaw class, which is where professional drivers. This year, OUSCI had four different fuel types competing. In addition to all of the gasoline-powered machines, Henry Crawn's 1968 Ford F-100 represented the diesel crowd, two Teslas carried the EV banner, and Mike Copeland's hydrogen-poweered 1948 Chevy 3100, driven by Aaron Oberle, rounded out the fleet.

If you want the full breakdown of the results from OUSCI 2022, be sure to CLICK HERE to see the full breakdown, by class and by event!