Danny Popp Wins!!!!!!

[Rick D]

That's all I have so far from Aaron and FB!!

Update from Optimas FB page!
Congratulations to everyone for another fantastic ‪#‎OUSCI‬!
Congratulations to the 2014 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational champion, Danny Popp! Congratulations to runner-up Dr. Brandon Ranvek & third-place finisher, Betim Berisha

[mfain]

Thanks Rick. Any idea who had the fastest road course time?

Pappy

[CamaroMike]

Congrats, looked like a fun weekend out there

[Spiffav8]

Great weekend!! Danny was super fast!!

[Rick D]

Anyone know how Mark did?

[camcojb]

Thanks Rick. Any idea who had the fastest road course time?

Pappy
Pretty sure Danny was the fastest on the road course. :thumbsup: He definitely earned the win, was the class of the field on the road course.

[camcojb]

Anyone know how Mark did?
Mark drove his butt off as usual. He won the "fastest American Iron pre-1980. It was very cool seeing how fast he'd pass people on the back straight. :lol:

[CarlC]

Mark drove his butt off as usual. He won the "fastest American Iron pre-1980. It was very cool seeing how fast he'd pass people on the back straight. :lol:

It was hilarious how fast he would reel in cars out front of him, and sneaky quiet as well.

We gave him gas ;-)

[chetly]

Fastest as in fastest lap time or top speed? From where I was watching there was a certain blue mustang that would pull away from him on the back stretch until it came time to start braking.

[camcojb]

Fastest as in fastest lap time or top speed? From where I was watching there was a certain blue mustang that would pull away from him on the back stretch until it came time to start braking.
You mean the one blocking him? :lol:

Mike Maier is VERY fast, but once Mark made the pass he put some space between them from what I saw.

[chetly]

Acceleration wise Mark didn't have anything for Mike. It was under braking Mark made up all his time but whatever floats your boat...

[dontlifttoshift]

I didn't know Mike had 1000 horsepower and a torque curve as flat as Kansas......that's awesome.

[RAFTRACER]

Never drag raced with Mark, but I do know I ran up on Mikey, and he pulled me slightly every time on the straights even though I corner exited him. I choose not to bring more power than was required :D

[65_LS1_T56]

Never drag raced with Mark, but I do know I ran up on Mikey, and he pulled me slightly every time on the straights even though I corner exited him. I choose not to bring more power than was required :D

You were on a mission out on track Danny. The car looked and sounded awesome.
Very well deserved, you guys (Ballards included) put some serious effort into it. It paid off. We were all happy to see an American car will the overall!

[LS7 Z/28]

Never drag raced with Mark, but I do know I ran up on Mikey, and he pulled me slightly every time on the straights even though I corner exited him. I choose not to bring more power than was required :D

Danny, You should hang out here more often so we can all brown nose and steal your ideas. :D

You will definitely get the rockstar treatment Stielow and Hobaugh get. Start a couple of build threads on your two blue rockets.

Congrats on the win dude.

[MillerBuilt]

Fastest as in fastest lap time or top speed? From where I was watching there was a certain blue mustang that would pull away from him on the back stretch until it came time to start braking.

http://youtu.be/OuLQF4smprc

[MarkM66]

http://youtu.be/OuLQF4smprc

Ends that debate, :waveflag:

[Sieg]

Never drag raced with Mark, but I do know I ran up on Mikey, and he pulled me slightly every time on the straights even though I corner exited him. I choose not to bring more power than was required :D

Thanks for 'Popping' in and giving some insight DP. :D

The results show that hp isn't everything. What impressed me was the line consistency and amount of corner speed you were carrying in sections that many were having difficulty. Again, nice job of wheeling the car and the enthusiasm and passion you display is a real attribute to all. :thumbsup:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-Sg2XfPN/1/L/i-Sg2XfPN-L.jpg

[Vegas69]

Straightaways looked pretty comparable to me. It was under braking and cornering that was the difference.

[Jr]

What are he specs on Danny popp's motor? I assume lingenfelter something...

[MillerBuilt]

Straightaways looked pretty comparable to me. It was under braking and cornering that was the difference.

No doubt he closed the gap under braking and cornering, but short of bumping him in the straights I think he was simply pacing him until safest opportunity.... a LOT of distance was closed in a short amount of time to think that he was not seriously gaining in the straights as well. (no cars in site in beginning of video, then very quickly were reeled in and passed...)

No doubt hp/torque will prevail in a straight so long as ideal gear ratios and traction are present... oh, and as long as a blue Mustang is not blocking you :idea:

Either way, both cars are unbelievable :king:

[Vegas69]

Only they would know. Based on what I know about each car, acceleration should be comparable. I did notice a bottle neck where two cars were off the track. That was likely a major contributor to him catching up so quickly.

I agree, insane acceleration for both. Watching Mark come down the front straight was ridiculous.

[Matt@BOS]

I bet the power to weight ratios between Mark's Camaro and Mike's Mustang are a lot closer than most people think. Mark's car has insane braking ability and I can only imagine how quickly he could stop that thing with the forward bite that the Falkens have over the Rivals.

Also, race monitor lap times from the afternoon show Mark was faster by .7 seconds or so, if I recall.

[chetly]

Exactly, that video doesn't show anything more than Mark getting around Mike under braking going into a corner. But being an awesom sponsor that Wilwood is, they are going to make a brake kit for the Mustang so we don't have those issues again. Kinda hard to out brake 15" carbon brakes with abs with a $2000 off the shelf brake kit. I think Mike did pretty damn good for what he had.

And Matt is right, you don't need 1000hp and a flat torque curve when you have over 800 and the car is a couple hundred pounds lighter.

So, go :waveflag: somewhere else cause we're not throwing in the towel yet!!!

[sik68]

Danny Popp's runs:

9BXRduZ3f2E

[Jr]

Good god. That vette tried to kill him...a few times.

[GrabberGT]

Thats insane! I find it funny how both Danny and Marks videos remind me of racing Grand Turismo on my PS3. Id never drive like that in real life.

[Vegas69]

Regardless of all the debates about rules and fairness, I see some serious skills behind the wheel here. That video is wicked fast.

[Cris@JCG]

Now just imagine riding in the passenger seat with him! I have been in the car with him & seen him do some things that you thought were not possible.. In Barny & Karl's C5!

Regardless of all the debates about rules and fairness, I see some serious skills behind the wheel here. That video is wicked fast.

[GregWeld]

Now just imagine riding in the passenger seat with him! I have been in the car with him & seen him do some things that you thought were not possible.. In Barny & Karl's C5!



Do everyone a favor -- Don't YOU try driving like Danny... I've watched you move... you just don't have those reflexes.

I think he could drive BACKWARDS faster than I could drive forward.

[Vince@Meanstreets]

Now just imagine riding in the passenger seat with him! I have been in the car with him & seen him do some things that you thought were not possible.. In Barny & Karl's C5!

handful...... wheeling at its finest.

I'd love to see that car at T hill on some 100TW's

[DBasher]

I remember watching him at Laguna, charging down the hill from T9 into T10. Not sure if his brakes were working or not but he'd set that Camaro into a 4 wheel drift and just power through! Kinda like the Duke boys, only way faster!

[Cris@JCG]

True story!

A couple of months ago Danny came West for some driving instruction @ Buttonwillow.. We finished up the day & were heading home.. Danny is driving my truck & trailer with Karl's Vette in it.. I am on the fast lane doing 75 mph in the Challenger with JJ Furillo behind me.. Danny is ahead of us doing about 85 mph texting with his leg holding the steering wheel passing everyone.. I get get caught behind traffic.. could not catch up to him!! Get to the shop he is about to eat sum food & drink a beer.. looks @ me .. what took you so long.. BTW the glow plug light on your truck was on driving up the grade! Karl was trying to find a way to get out of the truck..

BTW- I might of exaggerated some of the story! :D

Do everyone a favor -- Don't YOU try driving like Danny... I've watched you move... you just don't have those reflexes.

I think he could drive BACKWARDS faster than I could drive forward.

[PTAddict]

Danny Popp's runs:

9BXRduZ3f2E

I've ridden with some former racers, and a bunch of talented amateurs I'm trying to emulate. But even in that context, this looks like wheel work at a whole 'nother level. Congratulations and regards to you, Danny.

Listening to the video, I'm wondering if this another one of those short-stroke LS7 motors like the one in your C3 Vette. Sounds like it's revving at least 1000 RPM higher than I'm used to hearing ...

[ONEBAD78TA]

Now that's letting it all hang out ,,,:king:

[bret]

I've had the privelege of being passed at some point during the year by most of the guys in question here...Danny Popp, Mark Steilow, Mike Meier, Kyle Tucker, etc.
Yes, they have more power and/or less weight than I have, but the real difference is driving ability and sac size. More power/less weight will offer some gains on the straights, but its the extra 100 ft they wait before braking for the corner, knowing exactly where to place the car through the corner, and knowing exactly when they can get on the throttle on corner exit that causes the 5-10 second per lap difference in our times. I think if we were to trade cars they would still hold a similar lap time advantage. I am an adequete driver with a well balanced and well prepped car [67 Camaro]...likely representative of the vast majority of us here. Some of these guys are WAY above that...and are a great resource for driving and tuning knowledge.
I was placed in the expert A group at OUSCI. I have to think that I was there only because I was smart enough to stay out of their way. I made a point out of going out last in each session, with the goal being to A. drive as fast as possible, and B. try to be fast enough not to get lapped. Fortunately the track was long enough and the sessions short enough that I was successfull in that.
My hat is most certainly off to all the OUSCI competitors, especially the Expert A group on the road course. Those guys are as fast as I thought I was before I got there. I now have new goals to acheive!

[Sieg]

I spent a lot of time between T11 & T12, it appeared to be a relatively tricky series to get right. Danny's lines were consistently the tightest and his corner speed in T12 was impressive by comparison.

I said this in an email yesterday and feel it's worth repeating here:
Danny is one that should always be up for the spirit of the competition award, he exemplifies it IMO.

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-xD3pcNj/0/XL/i-xD3pcNj-XL.jpg

[GregWeld]

I've had the privelege of being passed at some point during the year by most of the guys in question here...Danny Popp, Mark Steilow, Mike Meier, Kyle Tucker, etc.
Yes, they have more power and/or less weight than I have, but the real difference is driving ability and sac size. More power/less weight will offer some gains on the straights, but its the extra 100 ft they wait before braking for the corner, knowing exactly where to place the car through the corner, and knowing exactly when they can get on the throttle on corner exit that causes the 5-10 second per lap difference in our times. I think if we were to trade cars they would still hold a similar lap time advantage. I am an adequete driver with a well balanced and well prepped car [67 Camaro]...likely representative of the vast majority of us here. Some of these guys are WAY above that...and are a great resource for driving and tuning knowledge.
I was placed in the expert A group at OUSCI. I have to think that I was there only because I was smart enough to stay out of their way. I made a point out of going out last in each session, with the goal being to A. drive as fast as possible, and B. try to be fast enough not to get lapped. Fortunately the track was long enough and the sessions short enough that I was successfull in that.
My hat is most certainly off to all the OUSCI competitors, especially the Expert A group on the road course. Those guys are as fast as I thought I was before I got there. I now have new goals to acheive!




I'm not sure if my "full on" race car would turn the lap times some of these guys are capable of! And I'm running Hoosier A7's -- and they're on 200 TW "street" tires... Many of them have skills I could only dream of having. All of them are great PEOPLE as well.

I just love seeing everyone have such a great time.

[dontlifttoshift]

you aint cool unless your splitter be on the ground