You have to give it up to Frank Choi and the IDRA for bringing import fans 10 years of intense drag racing action. As many of you might already know, the Battle of the Imports was first held in Palmdale, Calif., originally luring 50 racers and a couple hundred spectators to the event.
Since then, the one-time event has grown tremendously and is now held at different tracks throughout the country with several hundred racers and thousands of spectators at each event. Over the years, the Battle has gained a cult following, with many racers coming from as far east as New York and as far west as Japan to compete. Battle has become the proving grounds for the fastest import racers in the country. This year, Choi has taken it up a notch by mixing in some entertainment along with the usual drama of drag racing.
Jackson Racing and the IDRA has joined forces to bring you an even more exciting event for racers and spectators alike. On September 2-3, 2000, California Speedway hosted an action-packed Jackson Racing Battle of the Imports. The Speedway was filled with high-powered imports, breath-taking show cars, a rockin' concert, rippin' go-karts and the beautiful women always present at the Battle. As usual, the Battle did not disappoint; most of the big name racers were out to grab part of the $25,000 purse.
Many of the Pro-Import racers were skeptical about the 1/8-mile drag, due to the nature of high-powered FWD vehicles. Most of the racecars don't really start hooking up until after the 1/8-mile mark. This was going to be a real test of driver's skill and traction tactics. In a sea of DOHC-powered powerplants, a single-cam qualified at the top of the chart. James West's CRX, which is powered by a 1.6-liter single-cam engine, qualified with a blazing 6.993. James was the only FWD driver to eclipse the sub-7-second mark in either qualifying or competition. The queen of Quick Class, Lisa Kubo was not too far behind with a 7.005, giving her the rights to the number two spot. Battle King, Jojo Callos grabbed the number three spot with a 7.059. Ed Bergenholtz and his STR-sponsored CRX grabbed the number four spot with a 7.115. Whoever said that four-doors belong on a family car needs to talk to Manny Jaramillo. The Fast-N-Eazy Racing-sponsored four-door '89 Civic blasted its way into the number five spot (7.303) and our very own Jason Mulroney's Landspeed-sponsored Civic blazed a trail to the number six spot by blasting a 7.324. Dr. Charles Madrid hot shoed his way into the number seven spot with the STR/Ford Racing-sponsored '99 Ford Focus. That's right, a Ford Focus! Who would've known? Rounding out the rest of the field were Ben Benavides, Adrian Sabori, Leevon Eisele, Heather Zender, Noe Becerra, Kurt Gordon, Mike Malabanan, Joseph Lebron and Jeff Hufana.
In the first round of competition, there were several upsets. James West, Jojo Callos and Charles Mardrid were all given the early boot by the underdogs. Manny Jaramilo gave Kurt Gordon an early shower, while Lisa Kubo took out Leevon Eisele. The second round pitted Heather Zender against Adrian Sabori and Joe Lebron against Manny Jaramillo. Heather and Joe took out their competition and moved on to the third round. Also in the second round, Lisa Kubo squared off against Ed Bergenholtz. Lisa got the better reaction time and was barely quick enough to take the win. Jason Mulroney made quick work of Ben Benavides. This set up the semi-finals with Joe Lebron facing Heather Zender and Lisa Kubo against Jason Mulroney. The Quick-chicks sent the boys home crying as the final was set and it was going to be one good cat fight. Although there were two princesses going into the finals, there could only be one Queen. In the end, the true Queen of the Quick Class prevailed and Lisa Kubo took the Battle crown and the $5,000 purse with a 7.025.
The popularity of the Pro-Street class has definitely exploded in the past season. Just like the Pro-Import class, the Pro-Street racers have taken it up a notch with many of the vehicles specifically built for the class. At the top of the qualifying spot was the AEBS Engineering Orange Juiced CRX, driven by Roger Sangco. Sangco was a force to be reckoned with as he qualified .305-seconds faster than his closest competitor. Jeremy Lookofsky brought out his newly revised toy and captured the number two spot with a 7.814. He still has some bugs to work out, but when he does, be on the lookout. Teren King, a newcomer to the sport, made his presence felt with a 7.882, giving him the number three spot. Old-school supporter, Chris Sharma brought out his '86 CRX to teach the new-schoolers a thing or two about performance. His 7.901 was good enough for the number-four spot. Bisi Ezerioha and his single-cam wonder left their mark with an 8.025, securing the number five spot. Norman Aubry, Adam DeLeon and Mike Escamilla rounded off the rest of the field.
The first round was like dj vu, as the top two qualifiers were eliminated. Roger Sangco and Jeremy Lookofsky both fell to their underdogs in round one. This opened the door for the lower qualifiers. Bisi broke off Roger, while Norman defeated Jeremy. Chris Sharma and Teren King both advanced to the semis. Round two pitted Teren King against Bisi Ezerioha, while Chris squared off against Norman. Teren proved too much for Bisi as he took the win light. Chris, in his old school CRX, also took the win against Norman. The final round paired Chris Sharma against Teren King. Chris was given the easy win, as Teren drew blood too early and red-lit. Chris walked away with $3,000 and a nice trophy.