If you're surrounded by all the top names in import drag racing, huge crowds and lots of bikini-clad girls all in the same place on the same weekend, where are you?
Come on, where else but a drag racing extravaganza put on by the International Drag Racing Circuit? The IDRC puts on some of the best drag strip action and entertainment out there and with the recent announcement of a 2001 points championship that is twice the size of the previous year's, it came as little surprise that the season opener was bigger and better than ever.
The 2001 campaign got under way with the Importdrag.com West Cast Nationals at the Los Angeles County Raceway in Palmdale, Calif. The organizers pulled off the near-impossible, as rain threatened the much-anticipated season opener during the week prior to the event. In fact, after a full day of dry weather and awesome qualifying rounds on Saturday, Sunday morning saw the heavens open up and the rain come down, putting a sudden halt to the competition. Amazingly, spectators and racers stuck out the downpour until lunchtime, when it finally gave in and the organizers went straight to work drying and prepping the track. Within no time at all, the surface was declared race-able and the die-hard enthusiasm of everyone paid off, as the IDRC squeezed a full day's worth of awesome heads-up competition into just a few remaining daylight hours.
Importdrag.com Street VIII Presented By Sport Compact CarIn the Street class, reigning IDRC Street VIII champ, Ari Yallon kept up the strong pace of last season by taking the number one spot in qualifying with a 10.631, nearly a full second faster than his closest competitor.
In the first round, the top four qualifiers all advanced through to the semis and set the stage for some door handle-to-door handle action. Yallon was pitched to face off against the number three qualifier, Robert Lives Jr., and number two qualifier, Ryan Carwin, squared off against Roy Narvaez.
Lives Jr. pulled off an amazing upset, cutting a killer light and sending Yallon back to the pits with nothing more than a head start on the trip back to Texas. Narvaez also managed an upset by beating the quicker qualifier, Carwin. Narvaez cut a better light and was able to beat him with a 12.516 to Carwin's 12.514. This set up a final round confrontation between Lives Jr. and Narvaez. Lives Jr. came out on top and went home with his first IDRC Street VIII victory.
DC Sports All-Motor Class presented by Import TunerFor the first time, the DC Sports All-Motor class offered 16 qualifying spots, doubling the level of excitement from the previous fields of eight. Amazingly, 10 of the naturally aspirated racers that qualified did so with 11-second e.t.s, making this the quickest all-motor round-up we've ever witnessed. Some of the top name raw power racers included the likes of Jeremy Lookofsky, Bisi Ezerioha, Scott Kelley, Aaron Schley, Teren King and Joel Mandol.
The first couple of rounds provided few upsets, with all the heavy hitters winning their respective heat races. In semis, the long shots made a mark, when number five qualifier Ezerioha got the best of class favorite and number two qualifier, Lookofsky. Trying to cut a good light, L'Natural red lit, giving Ezerioha the free ticket to the final round. However, number one qualifier Kelley and his VW "Bugpack" had laid down consistent low 11-second passes all weekend and made easy work of the competition on his way to the finals. In the last bout, Kelley defeated Ezerioha's SOHC Honda CRX, running an 11.182 vs. Ezerioha's 11.795.
Nitto Tires Quick XVI Class presented by Turbo MagazineThe Nitto Tires/Turbo magazine Quick XVI competition is still the main event on any race weekend. The Quick Class is also another class dominated by Honda-powered racers. Of the 16 car field, 15 of the racers were Honda-powered.
The only qualifier that didn't boast the Honda badge was Joel Tanzman's Supra, which claimed sole rights to the number one qualifying position by blazing a 9.895 at 137.01 mph in qualifying. With the early morning showers on Sunday threatening track conditions, two of the top five qualifiers decided to call it a day. Lisa Kubo in the Nitto Tires Civic and Jimmy O'Connor in the Venom Civic decided to pack up and head home.
With two potential 9-second racers already out, the door was wide open for the rest of the qualifying field. The surprise of the day was No. 12 qualifier, Heather Zender. She made it all the way to the finals to face off against Kosuke Kida and the Signal Chop Top No. 2 racer. The two battled side-by-side with both screaming to low 10-second times, but Kida was able to edge out Zender for the win, 10.377 to 10.496.
Apex Integration Outlaw VIIIThe Apex Integration Outlaw VIII was packed tight with top-flight racers, including: Stephan Papadakis, Ray Lochhead, Craig Paisley, Christian Rado and Minoyama Takeshi. The quickest and fastest qualifier of the day was Minoyama Takeshi in the Signal Auto Nissan Skyline, who laid down a sub-9-second run with an 8.911 at 158.15 mph.
By Jason Mulroney
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