The Import scene or Import racing scene refers to the subculture that revolves around modifying imported brand cars (commonly referred to as imports), especially those of Japanese brands, for street racing in foreign countries. Thanks to movies like The Fast and the Furious (2001), it has become a mainstream phenomenon.Car modifying has been very popular among youth in the United States, especially a strong racing culture in California, particularly Southern California. It is considered to be the birthplace of North American drag racing. This area was covered in some depth by magazines such as Turbo and Hi-Tech Performance and Sport Compact Car.
Many enthusiasts in southern California also began to modify their compact cars imported from Japan , following similar trends that originated in Japan. Arising from the street culture, import racing venues eventually arose and huge drag racing events at Palmdale, California often packed in over 10,000 spectators per day. Racers like Stephen Papadakis, Ed Bergenholtz, and Myles Bautista dominated the first import drag racing circuit IDRA (Battle of the Imports) in the mid 1990s. Show car clubs became a huge factor within the import scene: Southern California had Team Forza, Northern California had Z.Team Yossi, while the east coast had the Jade Crew (still active to this day). This Japanese racing scene can be seen in the anime series Initial D, which focuses mainly on mountain pass racing and Wangan Midnight which deals with high-speed expressway racing.
Street racers, known natively as hashiriya (走り屋), infamously in Japan, where they are known as kousoku battle or commonly known as Roulette-zoku as they drive round and round on circular expressways and frequently occur on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo. The most notorious group to be associated with it was the Mid Night Club (which turned into a game based on the actual group) who gave street racing worldwide attention with its 300km/h (186 mph) antics and was known for its high standards and organization.
There are various motivations for street racing, but typically cited reasons include:
-Generally, street racing is not sanctioned and thus leads to a less rigorously controlled environment than sanctioned racing, to the enjoyment of some participants.
-Street racing is cited as an activity which is available to people who are otherwise underage for
entertainment at traditional venues such as bars.
-A community generally springs up around the street racing "scene", providing social interaction among the participants and cliques therein.
-The opportunity to prove the worth of one's money invested in a vehicle.
-The simple and uncomplicated excitement of racing without the entry fees, rules and politics, typical of the sport.
-The excitement of racing when law enforcement is certain to give chase.
-A lack of proper, sanctioned racing venues in the locale.
-Street races are sometimes wagered on, either by the participants or observers. This is the origin of the term "racing for pink slips" (which means that the winner keeps the opponent's car), which inspired the 2005 Speed Channel series Pinks. This, in real life, seldom happens; most wagers involve cash (as in Pinks: All Out.
-To settle a bet, dispute, etc between fellow racers (ex. one believes that they are the better person, vice versa, and turns into an argument, which leads to a race (if it comes down to that)).
Many enthusiasts in southern California also began to modify their compact cars imported from Japan , following similar trends that originated in Japan. Arising from the street culture, import racing venues eventually arose and huge drag racing events at Palmdale, California often packed in over 10,000 spectators per day. Racers like Stephen Papadakis, Ed Bergenholtz, and Myles Bautista dominated the first import drag racing circuit IDRA (Battle of the Imports) in the mid 1990s. Show car clubs became a huge factor within the import scene: Southern California had Team Forza, Northern California had Z.Team Yossi, while the east coast had the Jade Crew (still active to this day). This Japanese racing scene can be seen in the anime series Initial D, which focuses mainly on mountain pass racing and Wangan Midnight which deals with high-speed expressway racing.
Street racers, known natively as hashiriya (走り屋), infamously in Japan, where they are known as kousoku battle or commonly known as Roulette-zoku as they drive round and round on circular expressways and frequently occur on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo. The most notorious group to be associated with it was the Mid Night Club (which turned into a game based on the actual group) who gave street racing worldwide attention with its 300km/h (186 mph) antics and was known for its high standards and organization.
There are various motivations for street racing, but typically cited reasons include:
-Generally, street racing is not sanctioned and thus leads to a less rigorously controlled environment than sanctioned racing, to the enjoyment of some participants.
-Street racing is cited as an activity which is available to people who are otherwise underage for
entertainment at traditional venues such as bars.
-A community generally springs up around the street racing "scene", providing social interaction among the participants and cliques therein.
-The opportunity to prove the worth of one's money invested in a vehicle.
-The simple and uncomplicated excitement of racing without the entry fees, rules and politics, typical of the sport.
-The excitement of racing when law enforcement is certain to give chase.
-A lack of proper, sanctioned racing venues in the locale.
-Street races are sometimes wagered on, either by the participants or observers. This is the origin of the term "racing for pink slips" (which means that the winner keeps the opponent's car), which inspired the 2005 Speed Channel series Pinks. This, in real life, seldom happens; most wagers involve cash (as in Pinks: All Out.
-To settle a bet, dispute, etc between fellow racers (ex. one believes that they are the better person, vice versa, and turns into an argument, which leads to a race (if it comes down to that)).
1 comment:
awesome history and information
Import Racing
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