1992Junior Aspper ran a 13 sec. e.t. in a FWD Honda.
1993Junior Aspper broke into the 12-sec. barrier by running a 12.85.
1994Myles astonished the crowd with a 12.21-sec. e.t. Back then, everybody corrected their e.t. for Palmdale's high elevation, so many considered Myles' CRX the first 11-sec. Honda.
1995Darin Ishitani, from the Honda Service Center, became the first FWD to break the 11-sec. barrier on the track. By season's end there were a handful of 11-sec. cars.
1996From '95 through '96, Dave Shih was always able to make more power than anybody else, but was never able to get it to the ground. His car finally broke the world record at the beginning of '96 with an 11.36; at the end of '96 he jumped into the 10s.
1997By the end of the 1997 season, a man we all know today finally joined the 10-sec. club alongside Dave Shih, Tony Fuchs, Travis T, Elton Lo and Viet Lam. Though his entrance was very late, his leadership ability would shine in '99. That man is Stephan Papadakis.
In the middle of the same season the 10-sec. barrier was broken again when Tony Fuchs ran a controversial 10.58. At the same event Travis T's CRX ran back-to-back 10-sec. runs, 10:82 and 10.89.
1998The Pomona Winter Nationals had an import exhibition match with Steph (10.91) and Tony Fuchs (10.61). This marked the first time we see a match with two 10-sec. Hondas.
Dave Shih became the first to unveil a FWD tube chassis Honda. It didn't do the car much justice, but it was able to lay a foundation for a new division of FWD imports. The CRX was also the first FWD to break the 120-, 130- and 140-mph barriers. Although the true potential of the CRX was never realized, it brought technology that is still used today. Bigger slicks (26 in.) changed the engine's angle for straighter axles and incorporating a staging brake to FWD performance.The year also saw the first one-piece front end on the PitCrew Civic, piloted by Charles Madrid. Lisa Kubo became the first woman to break into the 10-sec. zone.
1999What was normally laughed at became industry standard: 9s in '99! Wheelie bars revolutionized FWD performance, thanks to team Bergenholtz. Elapsed times dropped almost a full second and 60-ft times were reduced by almost two-tenths. Home video revealed that Team Bergenholtz became the first 9-sec. FWD Honda during a shakedown test session at Pomona.
Until now, the "World's Fastest" title never left California. Kenny Tran dominated the tracks in Texas, but this season marked the first time he would race out of State and come home with the World's Fastest title. This was also the first time Lisa Kubo ran in the 9s, and it would also mark the first time we would see the clocks flash 9s in semi-final race.
This year was also Steph's time to shine. His tube-chassis Civic would rewrite the e.t. and trap speed record books by the middle of the season; 9s were the norms for Steph by season's end.
2000Lisa Kubo had a remarkable season by running consistent 9s while breaking FWD world records. Sean Glazar would prove that you don't need a Honda to run in the single digits. His 4G63-powered Mirage would tackle the 1320 for 1 year, and 9-sec. e.t. were his goal.
2001Stephan makes history by becoming the first import to hold a reign on FWD e.t. and mph by being the first FWD import to run in the 150-, 160-, 170- and now the 180-mph range, as well as setting a record e.t. of 8.12.
A'PEX would unveil its tube-chassis front-drive to compete in the States. This became Steph's first treat for the world record, and at the time his best time was an 8.42. The A'PEX Integra would run as fast as 8.63.
Christian Rado became the third FWD to enter the 8-sec. barrier by running an 8.98, while Shaun Carlson became the fourth 8t-sec. warrior with the Maguire's Focus by running 8.76.
Newcomer Gary Gardella would pull off 9-sec. e.t. in under a year's time. At the beginning, he would run 11.0s, and by the end he would run a 9.14. Without a doubt, Gary is the Rookie of the Year.
The front-drive unibody title would also fall out of the Honda camp and be claimed by a Dodge Neon. Darrell Cox's Neon would dominate the track with its two-speed automatic transmission.
2002I'm positive we'll see a 7-sec. FWD tube chassis and an 8-sec. unibody.