Mark Stielow wins OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational in his 1969 Camaro

November 9, 2010 (MILWAUKEE) – Last Friday, while the rest of the SEMA exhibitors and attendees packed up and headed home, 52 drivers, their vehicles, sponsors and the entire OPTIMA Batteries team headed southwest one hour to Pahrump, Nevada, to compete in the highly-anticipated OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational presented by K&N and Magnaflow. When all was said and done, Mark Stielow and his highly-modified and beautifully designed 1969 Camaro came out on top, winning the coveted title of OPTIMA Batteries Ultimate Street Car of 2010.

OPTIMA Batteries awarded Stielow and each of the segments winners and runners-up at an awards ceremony immediately following the close of events on Saturday, November 6 at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. The following is a list of winners:

Overall OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car
1st – Mark Stielow, 1969 Camaro
2nd – Kyle Tucker, 1970 Camaro

Raybestos Performance Design Competition
1st – Jim & Mike Ring, 1966 Mustang
2nd – Brent Jarvis, 1965 Corvette

BFGoodrich Hot Lap Challenge
1st – Steve Ruiz, 2004 Z06 Corvette
2nd – Mark Stielow, 1969 Camaro

Ridetech Street Challenge Autocross Competition
1st – Mark Stielow, 1969 Camaro
2nd – Brian Nutter, 2002 Corvette

Baer Brakes Speed Stop Challenge
1st – Mark Stielow, 1969 Camaro
2nd – Paul Arvid “Polly” Blytt, 1986 Pontiac Trans Am

Winners were awarded trophies, plaques and a slew of products and gift certificates equaling nearly $25,000 from sponsors including Magnaflow, K&N Filters, BFGoodrich, Ridetech, Baer Brakes, Detroit Speed & Engineering, Vintage Air, GoPro, Bowler Transmission and Classic Instruments.

Stielow’s ’69 Camaro has had an amazing week, winning both the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car title and the “Best Hot Rod” at the Gran Turismo Awards®, handed out earlier in the week during the SEMA show by Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC. It is the second car that Mark has built using the 6.2L LS9 V8 engine from GM, working with Thomson Automotive. The engine has been tuned to produce over 700 HP, but that’s not the end of the story. The car looks like a classic Camaro from the outside but under this classic body, the car sports a host of performance upgrades including a Detroit Speed chassis, carbon-ceramic Brembo ZR1 Corvette disc brakes, C6 Corvette front suspension on the Art Morrison front sub-frame, trick Rick’s stainless gas tank, and coolers for the transmission and rear-end.

“Winning the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational topped off a great week, and year, for me,” said Stielow. “The competition was more prepared than ever and I felt some pressure going into the event, but I was happy to take home the title in front of my friends and family who came to cheer me on.”

The OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational is an invitation-only event that took place this year on Saturday, November 6 – right on the heels of the leading specialty automotive trade event, the SEMA Show. Held at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada, this Invitational was created to challenge the finest street machines in the world, showcasing the quality, performance and talent of the country's top builders, performance parts manufacturers and car owners.

“This year’s event once again exceeded our expectations in terms of excitement, level of performance and design and the involvement of the entire performance industry,” said Cam Douglass, director of marketing and product development for OPTIMA Batteries. “From muscle cars to hot rods to imports and street trucks, we had builders and owners of the hottest cars in the world out on the track showing that these vehicles really can do what they are built for.”

The entire event, from the pre-SEMA builds to the awards ceremony, was shot for a national TV show, which will air in early 2011 on a national cable network. For full event results, more information on the OUSCI results, TV show, participants, official rules and more, visit http://www.optimainvitational.com/.

About OPTIMA® BatteriesOPTIMA YellowTopÒ, RedTopÒ and BlueTopÒ batteries are available through leading battery distributors throughout the globe. Consumers should look for the unique colored top and six-pack design for which OPTIMA is known throughout the world. For the nearest retailer, consumers can also call 1-888-8OPTIMA (1-888-867-8462) or visit www.optimabatteries.com.OPTIMA batteries are manufactured by Johnson Controls, Inc. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI - News) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel. By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our commitment to sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in our workplaces and communities, and the products and services we provide to customers. For additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com.