OPTIMA® Batteries, a leading brand of Clarios, will attempt to set the record of the Fastest Street Legal Minivan. Recent OPTIMA PowerPro Ambassador addition Tanner Foust will be driving a Mercedes Benz r63, powered by OPTIMA Batteries, YELLOWTOP H6 YT for a 1-mile stretch to attempt the Fastest Street Legal Minivan title. Weistec Engineering helped to engineer the street-legal minivan, which included a new 700hp engine.
“I’ve raced in all types of car, but never a minivan. I can’t wait to get out there and prove that minivans can burn some serious rubber too,” said Foust, a four-time X Games gold medalist for RallyCross and Gymkhana, and a two-time Formula Drift champion. “I’m bringing my full book of dad jokes for this ride!”
The attempt at the title for the Fastest Street Legal Minivan will take place this year at the Sandhills Open Road Challenge on August 7. The Sandhills is a remote location with a 55-mile rally-style open road race through the scenic sandhills in Arnold, Neb.
“We can’t wait to see if this minivan, powered by OPTIMA Batteries, has got what it takes to make the new record for the Fastest Street Legal Minivan. It’s been a big year for OPTIMA and to further showcase all the power our products have on the performance of your vehicles with this latest example in the new record-breaking minivan attempt,” says Cam Douglass, director of marketing, OPTIMA Batteries, Clarios.
In addition to attempting the title, OPTIMA Batteries will be hosting its Ride Shotgun events, a promotion that gives enthusiasts a once-in-a-lifetime chance to “Ride Shotgun” with their racing heroes. Two lucky winners will get to ride out their experience the weekend of the Sandhills Open Road Course. Winners were announced last year at SEMA.
Winner Yvonne Juergens will be traveling to Nebraska to ride shotgun with OPTIMA PowerPro Ambassador Betim Berisha in his Porsche GT3 Cup. Berisha is the owner of BBi Autosport and has helped create a wide range of track-ready components for modern Porsche vehicles. In 2019, BBi Autosport’s 900-horsepower, twin-turbo OPTIMA Sponsored Porsche 911 GT3 did a record run at the Pikes Peak Hill climb, setting a new record at the event.
Winner Skip Reagan will be traveling from Texas to ride shotgun with OPTIMA PowerPro Ambassador Mike Weiss. Weiss leads his California-based Weistec Engineering team in Mercedes-Benz research, development, and design to break records and set high performance standards.
The events at Sandhills come amidst OPTIMA’s new website launch and the release of OPTIMA’s H7 battery later this year. 2020 hasn’t slowed OPTIMA Batteries down.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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