By Becca Butler
The largest collection of vehicles participating in the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational will be featured at SEMA Ignited—a new post-SEMA Show event, Friday, November 7, from 4:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m., at The LINQ in Las Vegas.
The coveted vehicles will parade over to SEMA Ignited after being on display during the 2014 SEMA Show's OPTIMA Street Car Alley—a special feature located between the Westgate (formerly the LVH) and the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The vehicles are some of the hottest high-performance street-legal cars in the country. While the search for vehicles to compete in the OPTIMA challenge continues, confirmed cars include:
- Robert Jackson’s ’67 Volvo Amazon: Madill, Oklahoma-based Robert Jackson created a true one-off hot rod with his ’67 Volvo. The shell is all that remains of the original car, as Jackson created the custom suspension (which he now offers as a bolt-in kit for other early Volvo owners) and shoehorned in a GM LS-series V8 for power.
- Dieter-Heinz Kijora’s ’14 Mercedes Benz AMG: Kijora’s HG Motorsports shop is well-known in San Diego for tuning imports (both Euro and Asian) for use on the track. His experience in NASA and the Redline Time Attack refined the driving skill required to push already outstanding cars (like his AMG) to the very limits of their performance capability.
- Kyle Tucker’s ’70 Chevy Camaro: Tucker is no stranger to the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car arena, and his proven ’70 Camaro is outfitted with a full suite of upgrades from his company, Detroit Speed & Engineering. Tucker is a perennial threat to win the overall title, and this year will prove no different.
- Wes Drelleshak’s ’59 Chevrolet Pickup: Drelleshak has been steadily upgrading this truck since he first acquired it a few years back, and 2014 represents the most radical year of improvements yet, with a complete No Limit Engineering front suspension finding its way under the truck. Rumor has it he’ll have a full rear suspension upgrade done in time for the competition.
Open to the public, Ignited will not only provide a first-hand look at the world’s finest vehicles and street machines, the post-Show celebration will also feature demonstrations, celebrities, music, food and fun from the 2014 SEMA Show. Those interested in SEMA Ignited can secure tickets online.
Following SEMA Ignited, the OPTIMA vehicles will compete in the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, November 8–9, at the Las Vegas Speedway. This exciting event is now in its seventh year, and has continued to grow steadily.
Tickets are available for spectators at Eventbrite or at OPTIMAInvitational.com. Tickets are $30 each and include one 2014 OPTIMA Invitational T-shirt, which guests will receive at the event (while supplies last).
 Robert Jackson’s ’67 Volvo Amazon |  Dieter-Heinz Kijora’s ’14 Mercedes Benz AMG |
 Kyle Tucker’s ’70 Chevy Camaro |  Wes Drelleshak’s ’59 Chevrolet Pickup |