2003 Speedwell Footwear IDRC West Coast Nationals

Aguilar, Yallon, Ladwig, Franco and Saruwatari Start the Season with Big Wins

The 90-day winter vacation for racers seemed to come and go in record time for many of the nation’s top racers. A few racers took the time to find horsepower and tweak their chassis to perfection. Some other racers concentrated on building new cars for new classes. Still others took vacations from their car, dusted off the cobwebs and came to the party dressed in the same clothes in which they ended the 2002 season.

The New Deal

A new IDRC sponsor on the scene, Speedwell Footwear introduced their brand and product line to the import industry with a display that featured the company’s latest offerings. IDRC event fans were asked to give their opinions on the Speedwell styles that will be hitting stores at the end of March.  

New guaranteed payouts and new Pro-Am classes outlined the 2003 focus for the IDRC series. “We feel that the NHRA Sport Compact Series is targeting the big sponsors and big-budget racers. The IDRC will be focusing on all of the racers, from the grassroots privateers to the racers fortunate enough to have all their bills paid by the sponsors. We believe that this will allow us to lead once again in racer participation and event attendance,” says IDRC Marketing Director Christi Nishiyama.

All-Motor Class Presented by Modified Magazine

2002 IDRC National Champion Erick Aguilar was one of the racers that got little rest over the winter break. This hard work seemed to have a tremendous payoff as his Honda qualified in the number-one spot. Over the course of the event, Erick would prove to be a half-second quicker than the next-quickest Honda, while being almost a full-second ahead of the main body of Hondas in the 16-car field.

Scott Kelley from the VW camp also made a great deal of progress over the break. Joining the Venom Racing team along with his father Larry, Scott had assembled a new engine combination that allowed him to run his quickest times ever at Palmdale. Scott’s 10.88-second blast earned him the number three spot behind another VW piloted by Danny Cerny. 2002 IDRC Runner-Up Shawn Geers found himself in the number four spot while Aguilar’s teammate Norman Aubry was the second quickest Honda in qualifying.

When Sunday rolled around the field of 16 was quickly halved and quartered in the first two rounds. By the Semis, a pair of Hondas and a pair of VWs would remain. Erick Aguilar would take on Shawn Geers while Danny Cerny would face Aaron Schley. Aguilar would get a slight holeshot advantage (.477 vs. .492) and carry the advantage to the finish line running a 10.62 to Geers’ 10.96. Cerny would get the jump on Schley (.597 to .644) and also carry the lead from start to finish with a 10.91 to Aaron’s 12.589. In the finals, Aguilar would square off against Cerny. When the lights flashed, Cerny reacted first (.531 vs. .569), but Cerny’s 11.13 wasn’t enough for the 10.74 laid down by Erick Aguilar.

BFGoodrich Tires Street Class Presented By RACER magazine

The new Pro-AM RWD class diluted this popular street class as the strong left their traditional habitat to prey upon the weak. However, the giants of this class were on hand to wage war. Ari Yallon made the Texas trek as Utah’s Karl Martin brought out his RX7.com Mazda also. The duo qualified in the number one and number-two spots ahead of the Easy Street Subaru  WRX piloted by Ali Afshar. By the semis the three remained along with Ryan Carwin and his Toyota Celica. In these pairings, Ryan’s Celica would surrender to Ari Yallon, as Ali upset Karl when he blistered the BFGoodrich G-force Drag Radials as he went 10.34 at only 119mph. By the final, Ari knew that Ali’s WRX had a little more in it then Ali was letting everyone know. With both cars staged, Ari did not hesitate to take the holeshot advantage (.521 vs. 653) and carry this enroute to a 9.74-second blitz. Despite the outcome, Ali was a happy loser as his car ran a personal best of 10.02. One week later, Ali managed to dip into the 9s, making him the world’s quickest WRX.    

Quick Class Presented By Performance Auto & Sound Magazine

The big news in this class was the surprise visit by the GM Racing team along with the Sunfire driven by Marty Ladwig. The team appeared with no warning and brought along a “ginormous” GM display that was squeezed into a packed manufacturer’s midway.

Venom Racing surprised no one as Bruce Mortensen crashed the gears while capturing the number-one qualifying position with a 9.11 at 157mph. Ladwig earned the two spot with a 9.21-second performance. JJ Olson in his Civic (this month’s cover car), ran a solid 9.43 on an ailing turbocharger. Andrew Tran busted into the 9s with a 9.80 during qualifying while Leevon bumped into the 9s with his 9.97. Qualifying also saw the return of Hawaii’s “Kid Sensation.” After recently relocating to Southern California to work in the R&D department of Apex Integration, Lanny rolled out his Civic for some shake down runs. This Civic was one of the first real-street Civics to bust into the 9s some years ago. Stored in a corner of Hypersports in Hawaii, it was as if the car was locked in a time capsule. So how did 1999 technology fair in 2003? Axles were obliterated left and right. The old-school hot-set-up Accord axles and hubs just couldn’t handle today’s horsepower. Some much needed revisions will follow with this car as Apex Integration will re-debut their EK Civic at upcoming IDRC races.

In the quarterfinals, the top four qualifiers advanced to face each other. JJ Olson would line up against the GM rocket of Marty Ladwig. When the lights flashed, JJ Olson would draw first blood with his quicker reaction time (.497 vs. .565). On this day, his Honda would not have the horsepower to survive as his 9.45 was no match for the 9.00 laid down by the Pontiac. Andrew Tran would also face a giant in the Venom Civic. Bruce Mortensen was poised and ready to send the Utah racer back home. However, the Venom Civic would not be up to the task, as this Civic slowed to a 13.03, while Andrew powered his Civic to a 9.72. In the finals, Tran would face Ladwig. This race would be decided by the transmission. Marty’s Sunfire ran an automatic 9.04 while Tran’s tired clutch would slip him back to the 10.40s.

Pro-Am Classes Presented by TPR Magazine

The Pro-Am classes were well received and well represented in their first outing at an IDRC event. Finally, attention was focused on the cars that most people can afford to build and campaign.

The FWD class seemed to be the biggest success. Even though this was the first running, the top half of the qualifying field was separated by less than three tenths of a second. Kim Johnson of Rancho Palos Verde took the number one spot in his 97 Eclipse with an 11.78-second blast. Stephen Munson, Eitay Bicen and Tim Burhans drove their Hondas to the two through four qualifying spots, respectively. The final would be Honda versus Mitsubishi as Kim Johnson faced Stephen Munson. When the lights flashed, Munson got the holeshot (.633 vs. .667). However, Munson’s B16 couldn’t hang with the 4G63 power of Johnson. In the end, Johnson ran a career best 11.67 at 119.7 mph.

Apex Integration Outlaw Class Presented by Import Racer! Magazine

With the exception of Jimmy O’Connor and the Venom Supra, the Outlaw class that assembled for this event looked as if they were pressed for time in getting their combinations dialed-in for the 2003 season. Ron Lummus only managed a low 9-second pass, before low oil pressure ended his campaign on Saturday. Rene Franco was also well off his pace mustering only a 9.30 in qualifying. Jose Vidal and his R-100 even got out of shape and clipped the wall on a pass. Fortunately, the damage was only moderate to the body of the Mazda and Jose was just a little shaken. Doug Harvey was a surprise attendee with his 67 VW that did anything but go straight as it dipped into the 9s. This car with a sorted-out suspension setup looked as if 8s would not be a problem.

Although Jimmy’s Supra was performing well enough to capture the number-one spot with an 8.31-second sprint, Jimmy was not able to make his round of competition due to an asthma attack. This gave Doug Harvey a competition bye in the semifinals. Jerrold Rhodes and his Outlaw CRX would face Rene Franco and his RX-3 in the semis. In the finals, Franco would out drive Harvey from start to finish while registering a 9.06.

DRAG Sport Pro Class

One man, one car, one big fat payout. Guaranteed payouts were welcomed by Adam Saruwatari and his A&L Racing/Nitto Tire/Enkei Wheels Acura NSX. While Pro cars from around the country were not ready to make the call, Adam and his team took the opportunity to begin the 2003 dial in of the NSX. Once again, the clutch became the focus of the study. The track holding a significant amount of more power that at the finals, the team was challenged to make the combination work. Pass after pass, data was gathered and the car went quicker and quicker. In the end, Adam walked away with some valuable data, a full payout and the respect of the fans that appreciated the show and his commitment to the sport. With the IDRC National Championship point’s lead in hand, Adam is looking forward to meeting up with the NHRA sport compact series best at Firebird for the IDRC’s 50^th race. The Big 50 will take place on March 22^nd and 23^rd at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona. With payouts being doubled for anyone that sets a new IDRC elapsed time record, no one will be holding back.