The SileightyMania Podcast - Drifting Interviews with OGs and Pioneers

Moto Miwa's Full Interview from our previous Irwindale Speedway Tribute Episode

Moto Miwa is the founder of Club4AG, co-founder of Drift Association. He's the man behind providing instruction to some of America's first drifting events in the early 2000s as well as providing track support for some of the earliest Option Video and D1GP events in the USA.

00:17 Moto intro
00:37 Creation, function of Drift Association
02:50 U.S. Drift scene before Irwindale Speedway
04:59 Choosing Irwindale Speedway to host drifting events
06:52 Why D1 chose Irwindale Speedway to host events
08:31 The first D1 events held at Irwindale
10:05 The creation of the first drift course in a banked oval
13:16 Watching the first drifting along the walls of Irwindale Speedway
15:15 His favorite D1 memory (Watching Nomuken drift around the newly designed course)
17:27 How Irwindale Speedway’s amphitheater structure creates a sound like no other
19:30 Explaining how drifting’s uniqueness caters to the Irwindale Speedway layout
22:37 Thoughts on Irwindale’s closing
25:16 Moto’s experiences at Irwindale Speedway are collectively special
26:00 Transitioning from running D1 events to Formula D events
27:55 How drivers/vendors in Japan all miss Irwindale tremendously
30:04 How American fans cheered D1 so enthusiastically compared to Japanese fans
31:12 Moto displays his pit shirts from the years

#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift #motop #motomiwa #motohidemiwa #miwamotohide

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

Ken Gushi's Full Interview from our previous Irwindale Speedway Tribute Episode
Ken Gushi is a Formula D/Formula D Japan/D1 Grand Prix veteran and Toyota sponsored driver. In this uncut interview, he shares some memories from Irwindale Speedway and thoughts on how the famous track has helped shaped modern day drifting culture.
https://www.youtube.com/kengushimotorsports
#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift #kengushi #kenshirogushi

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

Teddy Danh's Full Interview from our previous Irwindale Speedway Tribute Episode.
Teddy Phu-Thanh-Danh⁠ is the 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/@AutoFactoryREALIZE
#driftinghistory #drifting #driftingpodcast #podcast #irwindale #irwindalespeedway #tribute #d1gp #d1grandprix #formulad #formuladrift #drift