The roar of import power broke the silence in Fontana, California, as the Import Drag Racing Circuit kicked off the 2011 series at the Auto Club Dragway. Ideal conditions greeted racers, show car participants and attendees at the IDRC West Coast Nationals presented by Motovicity Distribution on April 23, 2011. The cooler than average temperatures gave racers the best opportunity to lay down quick e.t.’s and fast traps.

Motovicity Distribution Quick Class
The Motovicity Distribution Quick Class featured a full field at qualifying, but only five showed up to the first round of eliminations. Santos Renovales outran Behzad Agahzadeh in the first round, ending Agahzadeh’s attempt at the podium. Breeze Grass, Elino Pavia and Top Qualifier Erick Aguilar got easy byes into round two. Aguilar staged his Civic against Pavia’s wheelie-prone Mazda RX3 in what could have been a tight race. However, Aguilar laid down a scorching 8.850 second pass at 152 MPH to retire Pavia to the pits. Renovales eliminated Grass to advance to the finals against Aguilar. While Aguilar seemed the likely winner, having made single-digit passes throughout the competition and even dipping into the 8s, this would not be his day to shine. Renovales’ remained consistent in his Corolla, beating the top qualifier with a 10.404 second pass to capture the win plus an additional cash bonus from Motovicity Distribution.

S.P.E.C. Clutch All Motor Class
The SPEC Clutch All Motor class delivered single-digit passes without any power adders. Scott Kelley was the man to beat, setting the bar with a 9.955-second pass in the Scion xB drag car. Kelley ran an even faster 9.94-second e.t. in the first elimination against Jarrett Lynch, advancing to the finals. Norman Aubry won his battle against Joe Maestas to secure the other spot in the finals. With the finalists staged up at the tree, the light turned green and Aubry locked in a slight reaction time advantage. Kelley cleared the 1320 first with a 9.851-second e.t. for the win and the SPEC Clutch $400 gift certificate to add to his cash bounty.

Hondata Pro-Am FWD Class
In the most hotly-contested category, the Hondata Pro-Am FWD class, the qualifying field was composed entirely of Civics. The top four qualifiers made 9-second passes, setting the stage for an exciting round of eliminations. Unfortunately, second-place qualifier Jeremy Bretschneider and sixth-position David Nguyen did not answer the eliminations call, leaving the field with only six competitors. The eliminations pitted nine second cars against ten second cars. Top qualifier Aaron Teague, “Skunky” and Anthony Di Nallo all continued to make single-digit passes, advancing to the second round of eliminations. Di Nallo got the easy bye into the finals, while Teague and Skunky staged up. Skunky broke while Teague delivered another nine. In the final round, Teague and Di Nallo prepared for battle. Even without his slight reaction-time advantage, Teague cleared the traps 0.219-seconds ahead of Di Nallo to capture the class victory. In addition to prize money, Teague collected a gift certificate from Hondata.

Supertech Pro-Am All Motor Class
Another full field battled for supremacy in the popular Supertech Pro-Am All Motor class. Jerry Guzman set the standard with a 10.387-second pass at 128 MPH in qualifying. In the first matchup, Ricardo Arroyo got the jump on Aweis “TB” Adde with a 0.155-second reaction time. But TB caught him at the beams, finishing over a second ahead and advancing. Guzman was also consistent at the tree, beating fifth seed Byron Alvares in the first elimination. Ismael Mayoral finished nearly two-seconds ahead of Jorge La Torre to capture his spot in the semis. Carlos Alvarez slid into the next round with a bye. In the semi finals, super-consistent TB ran an identical 10.626-second e.t., ending Mayoral’s racing for the day. Top qualifier Guzman strolled into the finals when Alvarez broke during his run. The finals put TB and Guzman on the starting line. TB held steady once again, putting down a 10.716-second pass while Guzman was off his best qualifying time by nearly half a second. TB finished 0.089-seconds ahead of Guzman, earning the second upset victory of the day. For taking the win, TB also took home a $500 gift certificate from Supertech.

Darton Sleeves True Street Class
The Darton Sleeves True Street Class put down consistent passes nearing single digits on street-legal DOT radials. Dean Del A Vie was the top dog in the class, with his Z32 300ZX Turbo unleashing a 10.274-second, 135 MPH pass. He advanced past Daniel Brettran in the first round, locking in a bye in the second round of eliminations and a spot in the finals. Jeff Church took out Mike Carwin in the first round by 0.07 seconds and cruised into the finals when his opponent Alejandro Raxo’s 350Z broke. Del A Vie and Church locked horns in a battle of the 90’s Japanese musclecars. On this day, Del A Vie would prevail, winning the True Street victory and a set of Darton Sleeves.

Kelford Cams Super Comp Bracket Class
It was a packed house for the Kelford Cams Super Comp Bracket Class. Unlike the heads up classes, the brackets are more about dial in and consistency. Many competitors can “run what you brung” in the brackets. The eliminations began with 16 in the brackets, and by way of attrition (breakouts and defeats), the finalists took their spots at the tree for a shot at the class win. Chris Pearce and Ricardo Arroyo were the last men standing in the class. Pearce was dialed in with a 14.1, while Arroyo was dialed in with an 11.72. When the green light came, Arroyo jumped the gun, red lighting the tree and losing the race. Pearce delivered a rock steady 14.22-second pass, earning the class victory cash along with a free set of Kelford Camshafts.

Forum Shootouts
The IDRC decided to mix things up by adding a few unique classes to the West Coast Nationals. Supraforums.com, socalevo.net, iwsti.com, rs25.com and socalsubies.com were given their own shootout classes (Supras, EVOs, Subarus) to compete in. These were heads-up classes complete with full payouts (assuming a full, qualified field). The Supraforums-sponsored Supra class featured a showdown between Mike Carwin and Jeff Church. In the first round of True Street class eliminations, Church beat Carwin and finished runner up in the class. In the finals for the Supra class, a rematch occurred between these gladiators. When the tree lit green, Carwin found redemption, cutting the better light and clearing the beams at the 1320 in 10.847 seconds. This time is nearly two seconds faster than his own True Street e.t., almost a full second ahead of Church and his quickest time of the day, making his victory in the Supra class that much sweeter.

NOS Energy Drink Lifestyles - Fancy Fed Car Show
The IDRC’s new Fancy Fed Car Show presented by NOS Energy Drink drew some sweet rides from around Southern California as everything from JDM-tuned streetcars to luxurious VIP rides were on display within the vendor midway. The NOS Energy Drink booth had plenty for the thirsty, our MC “C Sharp” kept the hype alive while DJ Free rocked fresh tracks throughout the day. Eleven different Fancy Fed plaques were awarded, including two special presentations by Amy Fay and Michelle Tomniczak (Issue #99) for their Import Model Choice Selection.

IDRC… East Bound and Down
The IDRC recognizes the needs of grassroots racers, so it has expanded the series to include a few new stops this year. Round two, the IDRC Sport Compact Nationals, returns to Norwalk Raceway in Ohio on May 29th with round three happening the following weekend (June 5th) at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado. The DSPORT staff is headed to both tracks to capture the action in the battle for track supremacy. Stay tuned.