Irwindale Tribute w Teddy Danh, Dai Yoshihara, Ken Gushi, Moto Miwa, Doug Stokes, Manabu Orido, Vaughn Gittin Jr.

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/@AutoFactoryREALIZE

Daijiro Yoshihara - Formula D Champion from Japan, had many memorable battles at Irwindale Speedway, and considers Irwindale Speedway his home track 

https://www.youtube.com/@DaiYoshihara

Kenshiro 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/@KenGushiMotorsports

Moto 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 Drift

Sabine Hsu - Benson and Nadine's daughter, who saw drifting in person for the first time at Irwindale Speedway

Doug Stokes - VP of Communications at Irwindale Speedway for 20 years, involved in the planning and construction of Irwindale Speedway

Manabu Orido - Drifting legend from Japan, former D1GP judge, former D1GP competitor, JGTC/Super GT/Super Taikyu Champion

Vaughn Gittin Jr. - Multiple time Formula D champion, winner of the D1GP USA vs Japan competition in 2005 at Irwindale Speedway 

https://www.youtube.com/@VaughnGittinJr

Be on the lookout in the following days, as we release longer longer length interviews for some of our guests!

00:00:45 Episode Start

00:07:10 History of Irwindale Speedway

00:11:07 Details on Irwindale Speedway being sold

00:17:06 Teddy Phu-Tanh-Danh interview

00:23:26 Staff's favorite memories at Irwindale Speedway

00:31:25 Daijiro Yoshihara Irwindale Speedway

00:37:16 Staff's feeling about Irwindale Speedway closing

00:41:14 Ken Gushi interview

00:49:09 Moto Miwa interview

00:58:00 Sabine Hsu shares her memories

01:01:10 Doug Stokes interview

01:14:19 Manabu Orido interview

01:17:36 Vaughn Gittin Jr. interview

01:20:35 Callista Hsu's essay

01:22:40 Benson's closing thoughts

01:25:00 We will be releasing full length interviews

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