People loved to follow the cars during each Battle of the Imports. Out of each team, there was a standout racer who always represented with the fastest car. They were Junior Asprer from Redline Racing, Tony Fuchs from Cyber Racing, Myles Bautista from Team Precision and Archie Madrazo from Split Second Racing. In later years, street racers like Dave Shih from Wicked Racing joined the mix. Each one either set or broke quarter-mile records for front-wheel drive cars and rose to celebrity status during the golden age of import tuning. In fact, their cars were more popular than they were as each developed and established his signature style, like Archie's famous yellow front bumper or Tony's white Acura Integra.
They entertained the ever-growing crowd of spectators with their record breaking cars, and they did it all with their own money, their own technological innovations and their undying love for the sport. Kids like me idolized them as they helped popularize the industry from a mere trend in Southern California to a phenomenon that gripped the hearts of young gearheads across the country. Though the records they set are no longer relevant and they've been mostly forgotten, their importance and the impact they left on an industry that continues to grow should always be remembered. I sat down with them, along with Frank, to talk about what they did for this industry.
Super Street: What is the one thing you did for the industry that you're most proud of?
Frank Choi: Opening the eyes of everyone that's part of this industry, which at one point was dominated by domestic V8s. It's flattering that a company like NHRA recognized the sport we started and wanted to be a part of it, even though it's unfortunate with the way things ended.
Tony Fuchs: I was one of four drivers who got to race at an NHRA domestic event in front of thousands of fans, and I broke the world record there at 10.61 at 134 mph. We changed the minds of all the domestic fans once we ran our import cars. We made history and made lots of friends and opened lots of doors.
Myles Bautista: Holding the mile per hour record for Honda several times before corporate stepped in was special. I also have a couple of good friends that I helped mold into car nuts who are now heads of big companies like Kenji and Mike from GReddy. To see them run a big company like GReddy is a big accomplishment. Then I also have a couple of guys who I am proud not to be proud of. I won't say any names but some of these guys use you for parts, knowledge and food then they make a name for themselves and can't even say, "Thank You!" Let's just say I am proud to have helped them and not proud to have met them.
Archie Madrazo: I'm proud that I helped prove that you can actually make front-wheel drive cars fast! I ran a 12.2 at 135 mph on a 1.6L single-cam motor. Not twin-cam swaps or big-bore motors. And it was daily driven!
Junior Asprer: I will not take all the credit for this one. This would have to include the entire Redline team. Thus, I would have to say Redline introducing numerous front-wheel drive racing concepts that seemed odd back then, but are still being used today. Special thanks and credit goes out to the OG Redline members: Orly Alcalde, Kali Nahaku, James Zaldua, Paul Lee, Ian Guerrero, Leif Guerrero, Dave Alcaras, Rex Landero, Calvin Courtland, Mike Davis and Rommel Asprer.
SS: What is your favorite memory of back in the day?
Myles: It would have to be the camaraderie and friendships I have built. I have two guys, Allen and Jonathan, who have been with me from the beginning. We would stay up all week with no sleep just to finish a race car. And this is back when there was no money, no corporate sponsorships involved. Just so we could take home that $20 plaque from Battle of the Imports.
Junior: Witnessing the Battle of the Imports crowds multiply in numbers year after year to the point where it was 110-percent capacity. This was a big milestone for import drag racing.