(972) 530-3335 311 E. Buckingham Rd. Garland, TX 75040


IDRC Nitto Tires International Finals
LACR Palmdale, CA
"RX7.COM heads out to do battle in the desert."

IDRC's 2000 Nitto Tire International Finals was the biggest import drag event ever to hit the West Coast. More than 16,000 people visited Los Angeles County Raceway (LACR) in Palmdale December 2-3. Fans came from all over to watch big name racers battle it out in the desert. It was an event to witness. The IDRC 2000 Finals was an important event to team RX7.COM. This season we won all IDRC events, and won the IDRC Championship in the Street Class. That weekend we were looking forward to adding another victory to our points total. The team was also excited about a possible rematch with UPRD's Supra. In March at the IDRC Lone Star Nationals, RX7.COM beat UPRD in a close race with a 10.01 to UPRD's 10.26 Joining us this time on the road was Pettit Racing. They trailered the Pettit car from Ft. Lauderdale to Garland where we loaded their RX7 onto our trailer and we shared the ride from Texas to California. We arrived in Palmdale Friday morning, and after a day of rest, we headed out to LACR Friday night for the weekly local test-n-tune session. Ari took the car out for a few passes to get a feel for the track and the car's performance at the higher altitude. After a few passes, we packed it up for the night and headed to the hotel to rest for the next day's events. Saturday morning, team RX7.COM headed out to LACR for the first day of the weekend-long event. Saturday was a day for time-trials. Throughout the day we made several passes and necessary adjustments to the car. Feeling like we had found a winning combination for the next day we headed back to the hotel. Street Class Competition Sunday Morning. Qualified for the Street Class were RX7.COM's RX7, Pettit Racing's RX7, Alfred Rhee in his Apex 3rd Gen, UPRD's Supra, Robert Live in his 1st Gen RX7, an old school Supra, a Skyline GTR, and a V-8 nitrous powered Mercedes. First round of eliminations: Pettit Racing vs. Alfred Rhee: Both RX7's encountered trouble at the line. Pettit broke the Mazda factory axle and Alfred broke his Mazda factory LSD. Winner: NONE RX7.COM vs. the V-8 Mercedes: The Mercedes showed a strong launch, but there was no way he would make it to the end in front of the mighty RX7. Winner: RX7.COM UPRD vs. the old-school Supra: The old school Supra with impressive runs on Saturday was not able to over take the 1,000hp UPRD Supra. Winner: UPRD Skyline GTR vs. Robert Lives' 1st Gen RX7: The AWD Skyline with an impressive launch was made a fool to the 1st Gen RX7. Winner: 1st Gen Semi-Finals UPRD vs. Robert Lives' 1st Gen RX7: Naturally, we were rooting for the 1st Gen. The 1st Gen took UPRD out of the hole, but UPRD had him by the 1/8th. A very nice run for the 1st Gen. Winner: UPRD RX7.COM vs. n/a: We took a bye run for the semi-finals due to the fact that Cameron and Alfred broke in the first round. Winner: Of course, RX7.COM FINAL ROUND RX7.COM vs. UPRD. Rotary vs. piston. Mazda vs. Toyota. RX7 vs. Supra. We had been waiting for this race since March. We were sure UPRD would give us the run to end the year. We felt we had it in the bag. Since we were running a pro-tree, we paid careful attention to our staging ; we were ready. We were off with a reaction time of .598 to UPRD's .657. We had A 60' of 1.445 to UPRD's 1.565. We were ahead by four car lengths at the 1/8th mile mark with our 4.176 to UPRD's 4.423. Unfortunately, Ari had a problem with forth gear! Still using the original RX7 5-speed,under extreme racing conditions, he couldn't make the 3rd-4th shift. Bottom line, Ari couldn't shift into 4th. We finished the race with a 10.230 @ 116.598 MPH to UPRD's 10.024 @ 146.216 MPH bouncing off the rev limiter for half the track. Quite impressive for three gears. Winner: UPRD. :( (click here to see a scan of the time slip) Congratulations to UPRD and Rhys Millen on a great race and best wishes for the 2001 season. Congratulation also to Ari Yallon and Team RX7.Com for winning the 2000 IDRC Street Class Championship and Turbo Magazine's Racer Of The Year Award. Other event news…Abel Ibarra's Team Flaco Racing (RX7 and R-100) Captured 1st and 2nd places in the Pro Class finals. Ray Lochhead took home 1st place for the Outlaw class. RX7.COM would like to thank IDRC for putting on some great events this season. We would like to send a special thanks to everyone who came out to LA to support us for this special event. Having our friends and supporters with us made the event more fun and memorable. Special thanks goes to our sponsors: GReddy Performance, Jacob's Electronics, and Haltech fuel injection for supporting us all season. Event Pictures Left: The burnout. Right: Chris making some last minute adjustments to the RX7.COM drag car.   Left: Pettit's drag RX7. Right: Robert Lives' 1st Gen RX7.   Left: Flaco Racing's R-100 Right: ESPN interviews team RX7.COM's driver Ari Yallon.   Left: Even Santa put a hold on his holiday preparations to join in on the racing fun. Right: Flaco Racing's 2000 IDRC Pro class Champion RX-7

Keep checking the events calendar for 2001 race dates. We will post them as soon as they are available.

Click here for complete event listing and previous event coverage!

Car Specs - Ari's 1993 RX-7

Best 1/4 Mile: 9.58 @ 147.6 MPH Engine: RP Street Port 13B Engine Transmission: Stock Mazda 5-Speed Turbo: GReddy T78 Kit Boost: 1.75 bar w/ GReddy Profec B Nitrous: 75 HP Exhaust: GReddy T78 Kit Downpipe GReddy Power Extreme Exhaust Intake: Custom Cold Air Fuel: RP Competition Fuel Pump (Intank) RP Large Secondary Injector Kit Haltech E6K VP-C16 116 Octane Gas Pulleys: RP Triple Race Pulley Intercooler: GReddy Front Mount Ignition: Jacobs Rotary Pro Pak, Rotary Ultra Coils (Leading), and Wires NGK Racing Plugs J&S Knock Sensor Clutch: Bönez Racing Clutch Mazda Speed Short Throw Shifter Suspension: Tokico Struts, Suspension Specialties Springs, Cusco CF Rear Strut Bar Brakes: Bönez Brake Kit w/ X-Drilled Rotors Rear End: Stock Mazda Assembly w/ 4.3 gear KAAZ Mechanical L.S.D. RP Racing Axles RP Drag Launch Kit Wheels and Tires: Weld Drag Racing wheels Mickey Thompson ET Drag tires (26x10.5x15) MT ET Street (26x10x15) for Street class Chassis: Custom Chromoly NHRA Legal Cage, 5-point Harness, All glass, dash, gas tank, headlights, interior components retained. Fully streetable.