The SileightyMania Podcast - Drifting Interviews with OGs and Pioneers

Doug Stokes's Full Interview from our previous Irwindale Speedway Tribute EpisodeDoug Stokes is Irwindale Speedway's 2nd employee and retired after 20 years as the VP of Communications. He was instrumental in planning and building the track, and was often seen at the major events and early practice events. Fun fact: Doug can be seen in Option Video when Keiichi thought he was the track owner.00:14 Doug intro02:19 Doug’s start with the company that built the speedway and tenure with various owners05:56 The decision to build a racetrack at Irwindale07:49 What was at the property before the speedway was built10:27 Planning the construction of the track itself16:23 The decision to construct the drag strip19:59 Non-racing events held at the speedway23:03 More non- racing events25:49 The first meeting to host drift events at the speedway26:59 Falken Drift Showoff, spectator gets injured but would rather stay and watch the drifting29:49 Moving drift events from the parking lot to the actual track31:04 Memories from the first D1 event32:57 Learning the demographic of drift fans by looking at the cars in the parking lot33:46 How crowded the D1 events were35:59 What made Irwindale special39:26 Irwindale Speedway’s mailbox story42:36 Dealing with a fatality at the track on opening night45:57 Doug will miss the people most from Irwindale Speedway, co-workers and racers.#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift #dougstokes

Dai Yoshihara's Full Interview from our previous Irwindale Speedway Tribute Episode.Dai Yoshihara, a Formula D veteran and champion, tells us that Irwindale Speedway is the first place he drifted in the USA and considers it his home track. In this full interview, he shares some of his highs and lows at Irwindale Speedway, and walks us through an ideal lap at the infamous House of Drift that no longer exists.https://www.youtube.com/daiyoshihara#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift #daiyoshihara

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/@AutoFactoryREALIZEDaijiro Yoshihara - Formula D Champion from Japan, had many memorable battles at Irwindale Speedway, and considers Irwindale Speedway his home track https://www.youtube.com/@DaiYoshiharaKenshiro 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/@KenGushiMotorsportsMoto 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 DriftSabine Hsu - Benson and Nadine's daughter, who saw drifting in person for the first time at Irwindale SpeedwayDoug Stokes - VP of Communications at Irwindale Speedway for 20 years, involved in the planning and construction of Irwindale SpeedwayManabu Orido - Drifting legend from Japan, former D1GP judge, former D1GP competitor, JGTC/Super GT/Super Taikyu ChampionVaughn Gittin Jr. - Multiple time Formula D champion, winner of the D1GP USA vs Japan competition in 2005 at Irwindale Speedway https://www.youtube.com/@VaughnGittinJrBe on the lookout in the following days, as we release longer longer length interviews for some of our guests!00:00:45 Episode Start00:07:10 History of Irwindale Speedway00:11:07 Details on Irwindale Speedway being sold00:17:06 Teddy Phu-Tanh-Danh interview00:23:26 Staff's favorite memories at Irwindale Speedway00:31:25 Daijiro Yoshihara Irwindale Speedway00:37:16 Staff's feeling about Irwindale Speedway closing00:41:14 Ken Gushi interview00:49:09 Moto Miwa interview00:58:00 Sabine Hsu shares her memories01:01:10 Doug Stokes interview01:14:19 Manabu Orido interview01:17:36 Vaughn Gittin Jr. interview01:20:35 Callista Hsu's essay01:22:40 Benson's closing thoughts01:25:00 We will be releasing full length interviews#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift

Hiroshi Takahashi aka Kaicho is 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 Follow us on IG: 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

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

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

Chris Parry, aka Paz, is an AE86 and drifting legend in the drifting scene in the UK. When he bought his first AE86 and started drifting in the early 2000s, Japanese style ae86s and drifting didn't exist in the UK. Over the next several years, Paz owned several different AE86s, and he spearheaded the drifting movement and was a shining light for aggressive driving in low horsepower drift cars in the UK. Paz was a huge fan of Japanese style AE86s, inspired by people like Kaicho Hiroshi Takahashi from Team Running Free, and introduced that style to the UK. Chris talks about the first time Nomuken came to the UK for drifting, his experiences competing in D1 Grand Prix, EDC, and his journey and love for AE86s. 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. To follow Paz: YouTube - @PazzaAE86 Instagram - @pazzaae86 Follow us on IG: @sileightymania #drifting #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #ukdrifting #nightspirit #ukdriftinghistory #ae86 #toyotaae86 #toyotacorolla #hachiroku #toyotahachiroku #86

Chris Forsberg is a US drifting pioneer from Doylestown, PA. He has a 20 year long career as a professional driver in Formula D, and is well-known as a Nissan Z drifting icon. His love for drifting started in the early 2000s with his Mazda FC RX-7 after meeting Tony Angelo. The two would eventually run DGTA, an organization hosting events that would provide a legal alternative to street drifting. Chris towed his car all the way to Los Angeles for the D1 Grand Prix driver search in 2003, and eventually made the decision to buy a brand new Nissan Z as his new drift car. He built the right relationships in LA and worked for Signal Auto as a mechanic and became a sponsored driver, even driving the Signal Twins cars at local drift day events. In this podcast episode, Chris recalls old stories, talks about his journey as a professional drifter, his love of building cars, reflecting on how much drifting has changed in the last 20 years, the lessons he's learned as a 20 year old drifting veteran and what he sees in his future. 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 #driftingpodcast #driftinghistory #chrisforsberg #nissanz #350z #nissan350z #z33 #z34 #driftingpioneer #nissan #chrisforsbergracing 05:51 Growing up in Doylestown, PA 07:45 Meeting Tony Angelo 09:00 Buying his FC Mazda RX-7 13:10 Discovering drifting 19:42 DGTA and meeting Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Ryan Tuerck 23:23 Cross-country trip to Irwindale, CA to try out for D1 Driver Search 27:24 Decision to buy a brand new Nissan 350z 30:52 Establishing a relationship with Signal Auto 36:57 Driving the Signal Twins 180sx and what he learned from it 43:57 Working with Motorex and his journey into Formula D 51:30 Drift Alliance Bad as Hell DVD 52:50 Driving the Falken S15 Silvia 1:01:50 Swapping a V8 into his Z33 1:09:00 Problems with the current state of car builds in Formula Drift 1:18:23 Thoughts on introducing a tire size limit to improve pro drifting 1:26:09 What's next for Chris Forsberg Racing 1:34:00 Losing a chase run because of tire smoke 1:36:05 Does age affect your ability to compete as a pro drifter? 1:37:17 Making a living as a professional drifter 1:39:04 Japan vs. USA - who is better at drifting today? 1:44:09 What skills are you working on as a driver? 1:48:17 Benson Hsu Meets Chris Forsberg at D1 Driver Search in 2003 1:53:08 Car setup advice for new drifters 1:58:10 What do you think your legacy is with drifting? 2:00:47 Appreciating and fostering your business relationships, and investing in yourself 2:05:30 Closing and thank yous

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

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