Words by Matt Willis
Last week, Tim and I decided to scope out the Import Drag Racing Circuit finals at the Auto Club Speedway. Here, some of the fastest imports in the west gathered to fight it out. And contrary to what you might think, the field wasn’t just fully built/boosted Hondas. There were several retro Toyotas and Nissans, late models, and even a Scion XB in the mix. Despite the moderate turn out, everyone seemed to have a great time and the competition was pretty evenly matched. I did hear there was a scuffle between two teams behind the grandstands that I didn’t catch on camera…all I can say is that I was just waiting for it to happen. The crew did a great job of keeping everyone in line and, although there were many technical/mechanical difficulties between runs, they kept the pace going throughout the day.
Enjoy the shots!
We arrived around 8 or so, following this turbocharged Z06 into the lot. We got our media passes and then headed into the staging area, where the drivers and teams were preparing their cars for battle.
Nice distributorless all-motor setup in this teal hatchback…
Tires of choice…Mickey Thompson’s or Hoosiers. Tire pressures varied but for the most part stayed on the low side…which later posed a threat to many of the cars. I’ll explain it a little bit later…
Tony Tabet’s 10-second turbo Sol…
Cars were getting fired up and called to the sorting grid for practice runs…so we decided to head over to the track.
DSPORT GTR rolling in…
Screaming fast E70 Corolla…
9-second Z…
Axles, clutches, fluid leaks, lost starts…you name it…
The DSPORT GTR’s entertained the crowd in-between classes.
Scott Kelley’s all-motor Scion XB…
The open class cars were ungodly loud…
One of the officials checking the track surface…
Supra MKIV smoking out the crowd…
There was a short intermission for lunch and race prep, so we left the strip and checked out the small trackside carshow.
Beautiful VIP IS…
Mugen Civic Si…
Simple white hatch on polished Slipstreams…
Not a bad 96spec 4-door…
Trans Am…
…with NOS…
The 9-second Z and it’s owner…
FD RX-7…
Eleanor-schemed ‘Maro…?
…still breathtaking nonetheless.
One of my many dream cars…Black Integra Type R on factory gunmetal wheels.
The GTRs…
One of the IDRC Plaques…
That’s it for today folks. More content coming tomorrow. Stay tuned! – Matt
timscribbles.com 
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