Registration Begins for OPTIMA® Ultimate Street Car Qualifying Faceoff Events

OPTIMA Batteries Seeks Participants to Fill More Than 200 Spots at Upcoming OPTIMA Faceoff Events: HOT ROD Power Tour, Road America and Sandhills Open Road Challenge

May 3, 2012 (MILWAUKEE) – OPTIMA® Batteries opened registration today for the OPTIMA Faceoff at HOT ROD Power Tour and OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America. Participants for the OPTIMA Faceoff at Sandhills Open Road Challenge will be sourced from previous qualifying events. The events are part of nine total qualifiers where automotive enthusiasts compete to earn a chance to participate in the world-famous OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational that takes place annually in Pahrump, Nevada immediately following the SEMA Show.

The first of these events, the OPTIMA Faceoff at HOT ROD Power Tour, will take place at the conclusion of the HOT ROD Power Tour on June 9, 2012 in Arlington, Texas. The annual HOT ROD Power Tour is an eight day event that takes participants on a 1,375 mile journey from Michigan to Texas, and is billed as the biggest traveling road and car show anywhere in the world.

The OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America is scheduled for June 22-24, 2012 in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. More than 50 participants are expected to attend and each entry will receive two free tickets to the NASCAR Nationwide Series/GRAND-AM Rolex Series taking place at Road America the same weekend on Saturday, June 23.

Finally the OPTIMA Faceoff at the Sandhills Open Road Challenge August 8-12, 2012 will take place in Arnold, Nebraska. Here participants will battle through a challenging 55-mile rally style open road race and tackle a one-mile shootout. The event, which began in 2001, was recently attended by many industry influencers from companies such as BFGoodrich, Detroit Speed & Engineering and Richard Petty’s Garage as part of the OPTIMA Ultimate Power Summit. OPTIMA will select fifteen contenders from its previous qualifying events to participate in the Sandhills Open Road Challenge for one last chance to earn an invite to the OPTIMA Invitational.

“While we aren’t ready to make any official announcements, there may be a little extra incentive for automotive enthusiasts to participate in these qualifying events,” said Cam Douglass, director of product development and marketing for OPTIMA Batteries. “Let’s just say that some of our Faceoff participants might see a little extra screen time when the annual OPTIMA Ultimate Steer Car TV Special begins.”

The “Spirit of the Event” winners from these Faceoff events will join previous Run to the Alamo qualifiers Greg Davidson (2010 Chevrolet Camaro) and Karl Dunn (2007 Ford Mustang), and Run to the Coast qualifier Dale Akuszewski (1964 Sunbeam Tiger) in their quest to be named the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car at the fifth annual OPTIMA Invitational, Saturday, November 3, 2012.

Each of the regional qualifying events will follow a similar format to the OPTIMA Invitational with a combination of segments to include autocross, road course, braking and acceleration, style and design competition and road rally. This year OPTIMA is also integrating a charitable Build-A-Bike component with help from the Golden State Foods Foundation into many of its events. This program will give children the opportunity to build and customize their own bicycle alongside industry veterans and event participants. Over the course of 2012 OPTIMA plans to hold four such events with the first two happening around the OPTIMA Faceoff at Hot Rod Power Tour and Road America.

Those interested in registering for the OPTIMA Faceoff at HOT ROD Power Tour and Road America should visit www.optimainvitational.com to fill out an entry form. Participants may also contact race director, Jimi Day at ousci@fm3marketing.com. For additional information on the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car franchise including ways to get involved as a volunteer or sponsor, please visit www.optimainvitational.com.

Sponsors of the 2012 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational and OPTIMA Faceoff at HOT ROD Power Tour include presenting sponsors K&N Filters and Royal Purple; race event sponsors BFGoodrich, RideTech, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering and Detroit Speed and Engineering; and associate sponsor MagnaFlow. Sponsors of the 2012 OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America include all of the above sponsors with the exception of K&N Filters.

About OPTIMA® BatteriesOPTIMA® YellowTop®, RedTop® and BlueTop® batteries are available through leading battery distributors globally. When looking for OPTIMA Batteries consumers should look for the unique, colored-top and SIXPACK™ design which OPTIMA is known throughout the world. In 2012, OPTIMA added to its product line with the innovative OPTIMA® Chargers Digital 1200 Battery Charger for all automotive and marine batteries. To find out more information or purchase OPTIMA products consumers may visit www.optimabatteries.com. Consumers can also call 1-888-8OPTIMA (1-888-867-8462) for additional information.

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 more than 150,000 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.