We’re deep into the throes of March Madness, which means college basketball lovers all over the country are filling out their bracket predictions in anticipation of a new national champion. Now, high-performance and off-road tire manufacturer Nitto is offering car enthusiasts the same opportunity with its “Battle of the Streets” drag racing competition. Get it right, and Nitto might send you to Vegas for an Exotics Racing driving experience, which sure beats the hell out of office bragging rights. 

Here’s how it works: from now until March 25th, you can go to battleofthestreets.com to submit your bracket, selecting winners and losers from a pool of sweet sixteen speed machines, narrowing it down to a single, ultimate winner. There are four rounds of competition, with the final shootout taking place April 6th. 

The venue of choice is the infamous 6th Street Bridge in downtown Los Angeles, and this competition will be the final production filmed there before the bridge is torn down and replaced. The cars are an assortment of domestic muscle, high-tech imports, and European exotics, some modified, others stock. 

“Nitto Tire has always had a deep connection with enthusiasts” said Stephen Leu, Nitto Tire U.S.A.’s Assistant Brand Publishing Manager. “That is why it means so much to us to be able to bring together so many amazing cars to create a bracket tournament-style event just for our gearhead fans. We have gone out of our way to locate some of the rarest and coolest cars for this video->ke278 and can’t wait to see who comes out on top.”

So then – which car will take the win?

Continue reading to learn more about the Battle of the Streets.

Why it matters

I can only assume each car will be running either NT05 or NT555 tires, depending on their respective bracket. While both compounds are quite gummy, the less-than-ideal street surface will still offer poor grip levels for all that horsepower. That means, with drivers being equal (which they almost certainly won’t be), I can’t help but favor the AWD competitors, including the modified, 700-horsepower GTR. Of course, the 650-horsepower tube-chassis Toyota Dragquoia looks pretty mean too, especially running the higher-traction NT05s.

But who do I think will win it? My vote is for the bone stock Lamborghini Aventador. There’s something to be said about factory reliability, and with NT05 tires and all-wheel grip, traction should be less of an issue.