Rain failed to stop the hot track action as modern and classic muscle cars fought it out in New Orleans. Describing a place as sub-tropical is just a fancy way of saying it's probably going to rain while you are there. It doesn't seem to matter when OPTIMA's Search for the Ultimate Street Car, presented by Advance Auto Parts arrives in New Orleans, because rain always seems to make an appearance. That's not a problem for this series, because all the vehicles that compete run 200+ treadwear tires and the only time they don't run is if there is lightning in the area. The second of seven regular season stops was moved up to an April date in 2021, but competitors still saw rain for a good portion of the QA1 Autocross on Saturday. Sunday brought sunny skies and drier conditions for the Falken Tire Road Course Time Trial and the Peak Performance Challenge, which were definitely appreciated. Since the first stop was in Las Vegas, most of the competitors in New Orleans were hitting the track for the first time in 2021. The few who made it to both events were rewarded with positions near the top of the season-long points battle and New Orleans proved to be a points bonanza for nearly everyone in attendance. Of the competitors who ran the first two events, all but one saw higher point totals in New Orleans, than Las Vegas. This was due primarily to the fact that the Las Vegas event had a sold-out field, while New Orleans did not. That left more points for those in attendance. The one exception was 2020 regular season champ, Jake Rozelle's 2003 Corvette running the Holley EFI GTL Class. Rozelle is chasing perfection- a 500-point score and came within five points of grabbing it in Las Vegas. He took the top spot and 100 points on the QA1 autocross and Falken road course and came within a point of doing the same on the Peak Performance Challenge, but came up five short on the Lingenfelter Design & Engineering Challenge. Rozelle grabbed the top spot in Vegas, but those points are always the toughest to come by and while most would be ecstatic with 95 points en route to 494 points on a weekend, there had to be some disappointment for Jake. However, with one more strong finish, Rozelle will make it nearly impossible for defending OUSCI champ, CB Ramey or anyone else in the series, to catch him for either the Holley EFI GTL Class championship or the overall regular season title. Ramey was scheduled to run in New Orleans, but noticed an oil leak as he was getting ready to leave Texas. Unfortunately, it wasn't an easy fix, so his weekend on the track was done, but Ramey still came over to enjoy New Orleans and see some friends. Jason Bottenfield and his '69 Camaro was one of the other competitors who saw a huge jump in points from Las Vegas, grabbing 54 more points in the Classic Car Liquidators GTV class in New Orleans. However, it wasn't enough to get past 2018 GTV class champion, Dusty Nixon, who brought his '79 Camaro out of retirement and promptly punched his ticket back to Las Vegas. Two other competitors who benefited greatly from running the first two events were Jonathan Blevins and Kong Chang in the GT class. Those two Shelby Mustangs now sit atop the point standings, poised to make it a tall task for anyone else to challenge them as the season moves on. They will have their chance as the series resumes in late-May at Willow Springs and limited space is still available. If you'd like to get in on the action in your street car or just check out these events in person, head over to www.DriveOPTIMA.com 2021 Optima Ultimate Street Car NOLA Results: GT Class (post-1989, 3,200+ pounds, 2wd sedans, 4-seater coupes, trucks, etc) 1. Jonathan Blevins, 2008 Ford Mustang 2. Dave Schotz, 2020 Chevrolet Camaro 3. Dennis Healy, 2015 Ford Mustang Classic Car Liquidators GTV Class (pre-1990, 3200+ pounds) 1. Dusty Nixon, 1979 Chevrolet Camaro 2. Jason Bottenfield, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 3. Wayne Atkins, 1985 Chevrolet Camaro GTS Class (post-1989, 3200+ pounds, two-seaters & awd vehicles) 1. Michael Levitas, 2014 Porsche GT2RS 2. Richard Forsythe, 2008 Chevrolet Corvette 3. Marshall Reinert, 2000 Chevrolet Corvette Holley EFI GTL Class (non-compacts under 3200 pounds) 1. Jake Rozelle, 2003 Chevrolet Corvette 2. Stephen Lucas, 2011 Chevrolet Corvette 3. Troy de la Houssaye, 2021 Audi TT RS No-Limit Engineering GTT Class (Trucks & SUVs over 3200 pounds) 1. Nick Angell, 1971 Chevrolet C10 GTC Class (two-wheel drive compacts, 107-inch wheelbase or less) 1. Doug Wind, 2004 Dodge SRT-4 2. James Garfield, 2019 Honda Civic Type R 3. Andrew Scott, 1993 Ford Probe Spirit of the Event Award: Marshall Reinert, 2000 Chevrolet Corvette 2021 OPTIMA Search for the Ultimate Street Car Schedule Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 20-21 NOLA Motorsports Park April 10-11 Willow Springs International Raceway May 28-29 Atlanta Motorsports Park June 19-20 Utah Motorsports Complex July 17-18 Road America August 20-21 NCM Motorsports Park October 9-10 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational LVMS November 6-7 The post Optima Ultimate Street Car 2021 Hits the NOLA Motorsports Park Hard! Gallery appeared first on Hot Rod Network .