Teddy Danh's Full Interview from our previous Irwindale Speedway Tribute Episode.
Teddy Phu-Thanh-Danh is the founder of drift team Auto Factory Realize, was there for opening night of Irwindale Speedway in 1999, and champion of early 2000s Japanese style drift cars.
https://www.youtube.com/@AutoFactoryREALIZE
#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift
Our beloved Irwindale Speedway had its last event and closed its gates for good in December of 2024. It was a very important place for many people's careers and passions, and it was especially important for the sport of drifting in the USA.
In this episode, we provide some history about the track, and we share some details about the sale that lead to its closing.
We also interview several notable people, each with different perspectives, about the closing of the infamous House of Drift.
Interviews:
Teddy Phu-Thanh-Danh - Founder of drift team Auto Factory Realize, was there for opening night of Irwindale Speedway in 1999, and champion of early 2000s Japanese style drift cars.
https://www.youtube.com/@AutoFactoryREALIZE
Daijiro Yoshihara - Formula D Champion from Japan, had many memorable battles at Irwindale Speedway, and considers Irwindale Speedway his home track
https://www.youtube.com/@DaiYoshihara
Kenshiro Gushi - Drifting OG from the San Gabriel Valley and Formula D veteran who had his first sanctioned drift event experience at Irwindale Speedway
https://www.youtube.com/@KenGushiMotorsports
Moto Miwa - Founder of Club4AG and Co-Founder of Drift Association, who hosted the first sanctioned drift event at Irwindale Speedway in 2002 and provided track support for D1GP and Formula Drift
Sabine Hsu - Benson and Nadine's daughter, who saw drifting in person for the first time at Irwindale Speedway
Doug Stokes - VP of Communications at Irwindale Speedway for 20 years, involved in the planning and construction of Irwindale Speedway
Manabu Orido - Drifting legend from Japan, former D1GP judge, former D1GP competitor, JGTC/Super GT/Super Taikyu Champion
Vaughn Gittin Jr. - Multiple time Formula D champion, winner of the D1GP USA vs Japan competition in 2005 at Irwindale Speedway
https://www.youtube.com/@VaughnGittinJr
Be on the lookout in the following days, as we release longer longer length interviews for some of our guests!
00:00:45 Episode Start
00:07:10 History of Irwindale Speedway
00:11:07 Details on Irwindale Speedway being sold
00:17:06 Teddy Phu-Tanh-Danh interview
00:23:26 Staff's favorite memories at Irwindale Speedway
00:31:25 Daijiro Yoshihara Irwindale Speedway
00:37:16 Staff's feeling about Irwindale Speedway closing
00:41:14 Ken Gushi interview
00:49:09 Moto Miwa interview
00:58:00 Sabine Hsu shares her memories
01:01:10 Doug Stokes interview
01:14:19 Manabu Orido interview
01:17:36 Vaughn Gittin Jr. interview
01:20:35 Callista Hsu's essay
01:22:40 Benson's closing thoughts
01:25:00 We will be releasing full length interviews
#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift
Hiroshi Takahashi aka Kaicho is back for part 2 of his interview, and he does not disappoint. Listen as he provides first-hand accounts of significant people and events related to drifting in Japan! Get ready for some serious history lessons! Kaicho discusses many topics, such as Akira Nakai of current day RWB fame becoming the inspiration for Kaicho's drifting style, the origins of the term "missile car" and the infamous jump at Ebisu Minami, learning English from team Hey Man!, the early days of D1 Grand Prix, his battle against Ueo at Tsukuba and so much more. Duck Off runningfree86 x SileightyMania Podcast stickers: https://sileightymania.square.site/product/runningfree86-x-smp-duck-off-sticker/17?cs=true&cst=custom This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire , a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. Follow Kaicho on IG: https://www.instagram.com/runningfree86 Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania #drifting #driftinghistory #driftingpodcast #ae86 #hachiroku #japandrifting #runningfree #hiroshitakahashi #kaicho #runningfree86
Hiroshi Takahashi aka Kaicho is an AE86/hachiroku drifting legend from Tokyo, Japan. He started drifting in 1989 and is a self-proclaimed 2nd generation drifter.
In this episode, Kaicho gives us a history lesson and describes the drifting scene in Japan in the 80s and 90s, and some of the people who inspired him.
He tells us about joining team RUNNING FREE, and shares some stories about teammate Kouichi Yamashita and team leader Shingo Murao as young men in the early 90s.
Make sure to stay tuned for part 2 of this interview, dropping 6/11/2024!
Duck Off runningfree86 x SileightyMania Podcast stickers:
https://sileightymania.square.site/product/runningfree86-x-smp-duck-off-sticker/17?cs=true&cst=custom This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire , a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.
Follow Kaicho on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/runningfree86
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https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania
#drifting #driftinghistory #driftingpodcast #ae86 #hachiroku #japandrifting #runningfree #hiroshitakahashi #kaicho #runningfree86
Jonathan Wong, proudly grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. He was introduced to import racing in the 80s by his older cousins. After buying his EF Civic Si, he and his teammates from Team Macross 7 strived to make an imprint on import car culture through car shows and drag racing. He started his career at the bottom at a magazine called Super Street and eventually moved his way up to editor-in-chief. There, he influenced millions of Super Street fans as he helped to popularize JDM style. In this episode, Jon talks about the early days of import tuning in So Cal including drag racing at Battle of the Imports, car shows at Import Showoff, establishing his network through AOL chatrooms, his trouble with his first drifting issue at Super Street, his travels around the world as an editor, and he finally explains why he was fired. This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. Follow Jonathan Wong on IG: https://www.instagram.com/jdmwong
Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania
#drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #jonwong #jonathanwong #jdmwong #superstreet #jdm #jdmhonda #jdmhondas #honda #hondacivic #hondaef #efcivic #jdmcivic #sgv #sangabrielvalley #importracing #importracinghistory
Phill Lee is one of the first street drifters in the Chicago area. He co-founded ClubFR, an organization created to get drifting off the streets and to legitimize drifting in Chicago and the Midwest area. Under his watch, ClubFR has helped produce D1 drivers and Formula D drivers, they’ve hosted the RS-R Drift Festival, Formula D Pro-Am, and most recently, Final Bout. From ClubFR’s inception to today in 2024, Phill played a role in establishing Chicago as an influential force in the USA in terms of drifting culture.
This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.
Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania
#drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #philllee #philliplee #clubfr #midwest #chicago #ae86 #toyotaae86 #hachiroku #toyotacorolla
Robbie Nishida started drifting in the 90s in Japan, forming an all AE86 Team Hey Man! with his friends at Yokota Air Base. He shares stories of the origins of his “drifting team”, how they befriended legends of Japanese drifting such as Nobushige Kumakubo, Dart Izumi Jr., and Hideo Hiraoka.
Robbie discusses his 13 year long career in Formula D as a competitor and how he became an FD Judge. He takes us behind the curtains, and gives us some insight on what it’s like to be a judge and he provides some advice for those who are serious about competition.
This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.
Follow Robbie: @robbienishida
Follow us: @sileightymania
#drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #robbienishida #robbiekiester #heyman #teamheyman #driftteam #ae86 #toyotaae86 #hachiroku #86 #kstyle #kstyletruck #gtr #nissangtr #r35 #driftingr35 #driftinggtr #falkentire #teamfalken #kumakubo #bridgesracing #jerryyangracing
We're pushing the Robbie Nishida release date to next week 1/9/2024. Thank you for your understanding.
Calvin Wan is one of the earliest drifters in the USA, drifting his red Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) in the Bay Area of California. He is a 6 year Formula Drift veteran, driving from 2003 to 2009. During that time, he had multiple podiums, including a 1st place finish in front of his home crowd in Sonoma, being the first import car to win a round of Formula D. He’s also a D1GP licensed driver, author, stunt driver, a drifting judge, and instructor. In this interview, Calvin talks about his humble beginnings, his infamous crash where he totalled his RX-7 in front of the judges at D1 Grand Prix Irwindale, some personal memories of fellow Falken teammate Yoshinori Koguchi, gracing the stage at Tokyo Auto Salon as Falken’s first win in a pro drifting competition, and his time spent drifting several cars on a narrow mountain road on the set of Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift. Follow Calvin on IG @cw_calvinwan Follow us on IG @sileightymania This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken @falkentire, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. #drifting #driftinghistory #driftingpodcast #falken #falkenspotting #falkendrift #falkendrifting #teamfalken #calvinwan #calvinwanracing #mazda #mazdarx7 #mazdafd3s #fd3s #rx7 #mazdafd #formulad #formuladrift
Gary Castillo is an OG who has been a part of the early import drag racing days in the 90s all the way to today’s premier pro drifting series Formula Drift. He started as a mechanic, became a magazine editor then turned into a fabricator.
Gary witnessed almost the entire spectrum of import car culture in the USA as he watched both import drag racing and drifting go from their illegal street racing roots to professional series. He was a part of the scene as Hondas tried to break into the 9 second quarter mile, and he was a part of drifting when Daigo Saito competed in the first 1000+ hp car in Formula D.
In 1991, Gary Castillo started his journey into import racing by helping his friends work on their cars in San Diego, CA. As import racing was in its infancy in the United States, he shares his memories as Americans were learning how to make their Japanese sport compact cars faster as DIY projects, without the availability of aftermarket support that we see today.
Gary was a mechanic on David Shih’s infamous Silver Bullet CRX (the first 10 second Honda in the ¼ mile) and then became an editor for Turbo magazine and then Import Tuner. He left his job of being an editor to pursue his passion for building cars and was soon building/working on some of the most legendary pro drift cars, such as the RS-R S2000 (Alex Pfeiffer), RS-R Scion tC (Ken Gushi), RS-R Supra (Manabu Orido), and the Bridges Racing SC430 (Daigo Saito) and SC300 (Robbie Nishida).
On top of all that, he is a great guy and an even better storyteller.
Follow Gary Castillo on IG @designcraftfab
Follow us on IG @sileightymania
This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance(UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.
#drifting #driftinghistory #driftingpodcast #importracing #dragracing #battleoftheimports #formulad #formuladrift #turbomagazine #importtuner #garycastillo #designcraft #designcraftfab #daigosaito #robbienishida #alexpfeiffer #kengushi #rsrs2000 #rsrtc #rsrsciontc #bridgesracing #achillesracing #rsrsupra #manabuorido #orido #oridosupra #daigo
12:41 Describing the DIY culture of the import racing scene in the late 80s and early 90s
23:00 Creating the first tube chassis drag Honda with Dynamic Autosports/David Shih and his Silver Bullet CR-X
26:00 The innovation during the Honda race to break into 10 seconds and then 9 second quarter mile
31:35 Joining Turbo Magazine as a technical editor
45:08 D1 drivers from Japan doing a low-key drifting demo at NASCAR
51:06 Learning to fabricate roll cages for drift cars
54:25 Building the RS-R S2000
1:14:15 Building the RS-R Scion tC (the first FF converted FR in Formula Drift)
1:26:20 Building the Falken G35 driven by Calvin Wan
1:35:28 Working with Orido on his RS-R Supra
1:44:38 Working with Achilles Tires/Bridges Racing to build and maintain Daigo Saito's SC430 and Robbie Nishida's SC300
2:17:11 Covering the Blitz R34
IT'S A PODCAST CROSSOVER! Palmer is our feature guest and we're also guests on the Goodestcast podcast dropping 9/7! Please check out our interview on his podcast to see what it's like when the interviewers become interviewed, Goodestcast style. Palmer Sanderson is the youngest guest so far on the podcast, but he is making waves in the drifting community in more ways than one. He became a member of infamous drift team Animal Style in 2013, and has one of the best examples of a Japanese style BMW E36 3 Series for drifting. Palmer and his teammates have been leading the way for ultra close tandem and high speed aggressive driving in American grassroots drifting. Palmer also has a very popular drifting podcast Goodestcast, where he features interesting drifters from all over the world, showcasing the interesting personalities who are behind the steering wheel. Follow Palmer on IG: https://www.instagram.com/goodestcast/ https://www.instagram.com/palmer_sndrsn/ Follow us on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sileightymania/ This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken Tires, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance (UHP) Azenis RT660, Azenis RT615K+ and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com. #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #palmersanderson #goodestcast #goodestco #bmwe36 #bmwe36drift #bmwe36drifting #animalstyle #driftteamanimalstyle #animalstyledriftteam
Rob Riter started drifting in the early 2000s and is a drifting pioneer in the Midwest, specifically the Chicago area. He started drifting in his NB Miata and became a hub for Mazda Miata drifting information and style through his website roadsterdrift.com. A founding member of ClubFR, they helped bring drifting off the streets and onto the track. He became one of the best drifters in the Midwest earning time in Formula D and Pro-Am. He later followed his dreams and moved to Japan, where he documented his experiences in his blog with photos while buying a Nissan S15 and an imported Nissan 240sx with SR20DET and drifting everyday at a local touge and at Japan's infamous drift tracks.
Listen as he recalls memories of those events and talks about the full circle moment of where drifting started in Chicago and today where Chicago's Final Bout has become a worldwide drifting movement.
This episode and all episodes of Season 2 are brought to you by Falken, a supporter of drifting since 2003 and a major reason drifting is where it is today. Check out their ultra-high-performance (UHP) Azenis RT660 and their UHP Azenis FK460 at https://www.falkentire.com.
Episode partners:
Bardabe - Nissan GT-R and Z specialist in the central Texas area
Lot-USA - Bride Japan Master ImporterFollow on
IG:
#drifting #drift #chicago #midwest #clubfr #driftinghistory #miata #roadster #roadsterdrift #finalbout #driftday #robriter #podcast #driftingpodcast #usdriftinghistory #midwestdrift #midwestdrifting #chicagodrift #chicagodrifting #mazdamiata #miatadrift #bensonhsu #nadinehsu #marcmondoy #stevenakamura
LA is a major part of drifting in the Mid-West. You can often find him working at Final Bout and ClubFR events. Before that, he lived in Japan and is a self proclaimed JZX100 otaku. He met and befriended Yokohama drifting legends like Yubo Takahashi and Kuniyaki Takahashi of drift team Night Walkers. He lived that JZX100 life as he owned several (and crashed several).
In this interview, he talks about his experiences in Japan, what it was like learning from Japanese drifters, and why out of all JZX100 chassis variations like the Chaser and the Mark II, his favorite is the Cresta. "Cresta is besta" as he likes to say!
Follow LA on IG: @streetsliders_la
Follow us on IG: @sileightymania
#toyota #jzx100 #jzx90 #jzx110 #drifting #drift #driftingpodcast #podcast #toyotacresta #toyotacrestalovers #cresta #toyotachaser #chaser #toyotamark2 #mark2 #markii #toyotamarkii #clubfr #finalbout
Lindsay Ross is an OG US drifter, starting in the early 2000s. He has always been big on Japanese drifting style and Japanese drift car styling.
One day he met up with Aaron Suarez aka Dousan and the two of them decided to form a drift team called Pink Godzira. The two were one of the earliest US drift teams to properly color coordinate the way drift teams do in Japan and they did it with style.
Take a listen as Lindsay tells us about the origins of Pink Godzira drift team, his experiences as a young drift guy in the 2000s and what he's been up to more recently, including his time at Hoonigan and now RTR with Vaughn Gittin Jr.
Follow Lindsay on IG at @supersick_
Follow us on IG at @sileightymania
Benson Hsu won 1st place at Falken Drift Showoff in Irwindale Speedway on March 02, 2003. It was the first time we'd ever seen a pro drifter on US soil doing drifting demos. Yoshinori Koguchi, Seigo Yamamoto, Fumiaki Komatsu and Kazuya Bai, very famous and influential drivers from Japan, flew in with their cars for demos and judging. It was a day that introduced so many to drifting and inspired a generation of future drifters.
Host Nadine Hsu interviews Benson about the day, asking questions he didn't remember answers to (and some that he did.) He talks about his first time seeing Rhys Millen drift, some drama he had with JIC, being in awe of Koguchi's skill, and how it changed his life.
For some behind the scenes content related to this event, please take a listen to the S1E3 interview featuring Nick Fousekis, the founder of Falken Tire's drifting program and one of the masterminds behind Falken Drift Showoff.
Thank you Falken, Import Showoff, Drift Association and everybody who made this such an amazing event!
Make sure to follow us on IG: @sileightymania
Mark Arcenal, from the Bay Area in California, is an artist and a trailblazer in fashion and car culture. He is a major reason for what is widely known today as "stanced cars".
We talk about his love for both industries and how they influenced his journey to create his website Fatlace and Illest brand. He is an inspirational person to many and this interview will show you why.
For this episode of Storytime, Mark takes us through his ambitious plan to hold a Hellaflush event in the place that inspired his love for his drifting style of cars - Japan. His Hellaflush event at Fuji Speedway was huge and he filled the event with 400+ cars with street cars, drift cars, D1 cars and even the Cyber Evo. He also tells us a little about an incident where he went drifting in a D1 car, causing mayhem with Fuji Speedway management.
Follow Mark on IG: @mrk.rcnl
Follow us: @sileightymania
