Bikini-clad college girls on spring break were the order of the day as we passed through the California-Arizona border. I hollered as they drove by and lifted their shirts, but the moment they heard me proclaim, "I work for Super Street," they would frown, give me the bird, and head for the nearest highway exit. Oh, what I would have given to spend a few hedonistic days chasing these vixens, but as luck would have it, we still had many more miles to go. Rather than the sweet scent of pheromones in the air, I would be limited to the quasi-sweet scent of VHT at the track for the BFGoodrich Tires/IDRC Firebird Nationals in Chandler, Arizona. That was a true sacrifice in the name of journalism.
Importdrag.com Pro ClassIn the Importdrag.com Pro Class, Adam Saruwatari squared off against the Venom Tundra piloted by Grant Downing. Although Adam and his NSX took the holeshot out of the start, the Tacoma took them at the finish line with both cars finishing in the 7-second range. Adam was extremely elated, however, as he also set a personal best e.t. of 7.771 at 171.84 mph. This Second Place showing also maintains Adam's position as the current points leader in this class.
APEX Integration Outlaw ClassIn the APEX Integration Outlaw Class, it was the Steph Papadakis show all weekend long. Not only did he edge out Stephanie Reeves and the GM Racing Cavalier, he also took the final win over Ron Lummus with a respectable time of 8.495 at 176.60 mph in the AEM Drag Civic.
Importdrag.com/Turbo Magazine Quick ClassJojo Callos showed plenty of go-go as he once again won the Quick Class in his Civic with a 9.435 at 154.83 mph, over Bruce Mortensen in the Venom Civic. Also worthy of mentioning are the Third and Fourth Place runners-up, Mike Laskey and Mike Carl, who both ran 9-second passes with 9.40 at 155.79 mph and 9.80 at 148.35 mph, respectively. They may not have won this race, but they don't seem to be too far from winning one in the future.BFGoodrich Tires Street Class presented by Sport Compact Car
Ari Yallon was the supreme winner for the BFGoodrich Street Class as he drove his RX-7 to the win over Ryan Carwin. This is a good start for Ari, as he's now qualified to win a $10K bonus check from BFGoodrich if he can win the next two IDRC races-simply because he's running BFGoodrich tires! Ari is also the current points leader for the Street Class category.
Importdrag.com All-Motor Classpresented by Import TunerDuring Saturday's qualifying, Erick Aguilar's Civic (of Erick's Racing Engines) stepped foot into the 10-second All-Motor club with an astonishing 10.683 at 125.16 mph. Later, he faced veteran Doug
Gonzalez, who was already running in the high 10s. But as fate would have it, Erick got the holeshot over Doug and took the victory for the weekend. Bisi Ezerioha also piloted his CRX as the first single-cam-powered Honda in the 10s.
SR-1 Team Drag Challenge presented by Super StreetVicious Racing proved why it's the quickest team in Arizona by winning the SR-1 Team Drag Challenge and prize money worth $1,000.
With personal and world recordsalready falling by the wayside as the season begins, the cream of the crop is sure to rise to the top. It would be nice to see Papadakis Racing break into the 7s before year's end. Next time around, though, I'm going to have to plan my Girls Gone Wild photography sessions either before or after a race, not during.