Battle of the Imports
Round 6: BOTI Southern California, November 22
Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, California

Mike Michelson in the KO Propo Honda CR-X pulled off the upset win in the Pro Stock Final at Auto Club Dragway on Sunday, cruising to victory on a 10.082-second pass at 139.30mph after opponent Bisi Ezerioha appeared to suffer a transmission failure in the Bisimoto Insight.

In Battle of the Import's other pro class, Pro Import, it was a Bug duel, with Eric Calbrese's '57 VW taking on Karl Koppenhaver's '68. Calbrese would walk away with it thanks to a dominant 8.415-second pass at 169.78.

A huge crowd came to usher out Battle of the Imports' 19th year on Sunday, filling the grandstands at Cal Speedway's backyard 1320. Several legendary names were among the racers, like Bisi, Lisa and Gary Kubo, and Kenny Tran.

Tran and the JoTech Scion tC team made the trek out from Texas to help BOTI close out another year, and was having a great day up until the semifinal. He'd already locked up low e.t. (a 8.287), top speed (171.66mph), and was the number-one qualifier.

Unfortunately, the JoTech squad had to push the car off the track in the penultimate round against Calbrese, after something broke on the car off the line.

Ezerioha similarly dominated Pro Stock, owning the low e.t. of 9.481, top speed of 150.83, and number-one qualifying position. The loss of second gear in the money round against Michelson ended his run.

Ali Ashfar and the ESX Motorsports STi closed the deal in Street Tuner, not only clinching a class victory but also nailing low e.t., top speed and number-one qualifier. The tally was split in Street Comp, with Kubo in her Civic owning P1 in qualifying but Andres Sigverze holding low e.t. and top speed. In the end, Sigverze would win that showdown.

In the experimental Street Comp Outlaw, Kevin Kempe hit the trifecta, with top speed, number-one qualifier, and a win in the class final. The class is designed for cars in the nine-second range.

Look for complete coverage of Battle of the Imports' Round 6 later this week on Urbanracer.com.

Battle of the Imports is done for 2009, but is already gearing up for 2010, with key announcements in the weeks and months ahead. As soon as BOTI news breaks, we'll bring it to you here at UrbanRacer.com.

Round 6: BOTI Southern California
Auto Club Dragway, Fontana, CA
Pro Import
W/L Name    Car    RT ET    MPH
W Eric Calbrese, 1957 VW Beetle .406 8.415 169.78
L Karl Koppenhaver, 1968 VW Beetle .339 10.060 112.33

Pro Stock
W Mike Michelson, Honda CR-X .118 10.082 139.30
L Bisi Ezerioha, 2006 Honda Insight .156 18.134 74.17

Street Tuner
W Ali Afshar, 2007 ESX Subaru WRX STi .274 8.972 156.28
L Archie Concon, 2000 Mirage .295 11.688 137.12

Street Comp
W Andres Sigverze .301 10.012 148.87
L Lisa Kubo, 1995 Honda Civic .138 12.953 77.96

Street Performance
W Joel Sipes, 1992 Honda Civic .220 10.885 125.20
L Leo Gonzalez, 1993 Honda Civic No time

Street Stock
W Michael Sedra .295 12.268 110.33
L Tristan Workman .177 Broke

www.battleoftheimports.com

Formula DRIFT
Pro Am National Championship, November 21
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Irwindale, California

Formula D's brightest rising stars assembled at the House of Drift on Saturday for the Pro Am National Championship, challenging each other for a pro license and a piece of a fat booty of contingency awards. After the fracas, the last man standing was Canadian Ian Fournier, pilot of theSkylineShop.com R32.

Fournier earned the win when finals challenger Mike Pollard in the Maxxis TMF Opposition S13 240SX lost drift on his chase lap. Pollard's car was completely out of shape along the inner wall of the infield, allowing Fournier to clinch the W.

In the consolation match, Chelsea DeNofa in the Nexen Secret Services BMW skated around a skilled but ultimately underpowered Ameen Rizvi in his 786 Motoring Serial Nine Cressida to take third place.

Fournier's march to the money round began against Kelvin Arreola's Nexen FC RX-7, after which he faced Russell Walker in the Boost Logic Tuning Concepts S13 before getting DeNofa's E36.

For his part, Pollard received the Top 16 bye against Derek King and dispatched David Blunt's DTMotorsports BMW E30 in Great 8 before tangling with Rizvi in the semi.

The entire Top 16 field qualified for 2010 Formula D pro licenses, as did Roland Gallagher, Tommy Roberts, and Victor Moore.

The prizes for top finishers included:

AEM

1st/2nd/3rd: One Free AEM Intake System

Brian Crower

One Free BC camshaft along with valve/retainer kit based off winning car's engine if applicable

Exedy Clutch

$1,000 to the winner of the event running an Exedy Decal

Eibach Springs

Eibach Engine Valve Spring Set and Race Springs to the Winner

High Pro Speed

1st- $85.00 Gift Certificate
2nd- $65.00 Gift Certificate
3rd- $50.00 Gift Certificate

Motovicity Distribution

Fastest entry speed in qualifying receives $1,000 gift certificate for any products distributed by Motovicity

Tokico Performance Shocks

2nd/3rd Place- $200 Gift Certificate

Turbonetics

Winner will receive a front mount intercooler

Wilwood Brakes

1st-20 Bottles of EXP600 brake fluid
2nd/3rd- 6 Bottles of EXP600 brake fluid
Look for complete coverage of the Formula D Pro Am National Championship tomorrow.

Formula DRIFT Pro Am National Championship
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Irwindale, CA
Qualifying Order

1. Mike Pollard
2. Ian Fournier
3. Nikolay Konstantinov
4. John Russakoff
5. Brad Hettinger
6. Chelsea DeNofa
7. Charles Ng
8. Jeffrey Abbott
9. David Blunt
10. Russell Walker
11. Keith Wong
12. Ameen Rizvi
13. Cyrus Martinez
14. Stewart Leask
15. Kelvin Arreola
16. Derek King

Top 16 Great 8 Final 4 Final CHAMPION

www.formulad.com

Coming up:

Grand-Am KONI Sports Car Challenge
KONI Challenge at Daytona, January 29, 2010
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
www.grand-am.com

Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex 24 at Daytona, January 30-31, 2010
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
www.grand-am.com

Formula One
Bahrain Grand Prix, March 12-14, 2010
Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain
www.formula1.com

National Guard American Drag Racing League
ADRL Safety-Kleen Dragpalooza VI, March 12-13, 2010
Houston Raceway Park, Baytown, TX
www.adrl.us

IndyCar Series
March 14, 2010
TBA, Brazil
www.indycar.com

American Le Mans Series
Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida, March 17-20, 2010
Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, FL
www.americanlemans.com