Stephan Papadakis Outlaw ClassT: How many races did you compete in during 2000?Steph: 15
T: Run down your top finishes.S: 3 Wins, 6 Runner-ups
T: What's your best pass (e.t. & mph) of the season to date?S: 8.71 @ 168 MPH
T: What do you consider the highlight of the 2000 season? Why?S: Me, breaking into the 8-second range and the large amount of money to win for points champions.
T: What changes are you considering for 2001?See the SEMA article for more on Steph's new car.
T: Looking back, sum up the season as a whole.LK: Lots of traveling, Lots of broken records, Lots of racing, and shows and lots of friendships.
Craig Paisley Outlaw ClassT: What's your best pass (e.t. & mph) of the season to date?CP: 8.29 @ 162 MPH
T: What do you consider the highlight of the 2000 season? Why?CP: Racing against Steph. He was a fierce competitor and I respect what he is able to do with that car. We put on a good show every time we lined up but we still won every time. It's nice to drive a Honda, but it's nicer to drive a Toyota.
T: What changes are you considering for 2001?CP: We are thinking about campaigning two cars in 2001. Paisley Racing will still run the Supra and we are adding a Tacoma pickup truck to our program.
T: Looking back, sum up the season as a whole.CP: It was a season where we could not find greater success, yet it was still a disappointment because politics kept us from winning a championship.
Ari Yallon Street ClassT: How many races did you compete in during 2000?AY: This season we raced in 10 import events, including IDRC, ID Drag wars and NIRA. We were rained out of eight events this season, some as close as Texas and Okla. and some as far as Colo. and N.J..
T: Rundown your top finishes.AY: We were able to qualify in the number 1 position at every event this season except Englishtown (July 2) when our engine got hurt. We won every event except for the two where we had mechanical problems (broken axle at Motorplex and wreck at Moroso).
T: What's your best pass (ET and MPH) of the season to date?AY: 9.587@147.66 Mph on DOT tires.
T: What do you consider the highlights of the 2000 season? Why?AY: This season has been very, very exciting for us, full of new experiences with several highlights coming to mind.
At the beginning of the season we broke into the 9s, breaking all the records, with a 9.62 at the IDRC event in Houston on March 12.
On July 2nd at the IDRC "Summer Slam" in N.J., our engine was broken during our first qualifying pass, but we were able to replace the entire engine in under 3 hours, just in time for the eliminations. We went on to win our class, and received tons of respect from fellow racers and disappointed competitors. That event really tested our commitment, motivation and drive, and after all the hard work that the team put in, we felt like we really earned our first place trophy.
On August 20th in Maple Grove, Pa. we went on to raise the bar and bring the IDRC "Street 8" world record into the 9s with our 9.58 pass on DOT-rated tires. That event still holds as the only one where a "Street 8" racer ran a 9-second pass during competition.