ABSTRACT
For years, street and organized racing catered almost exclusively to white males who drove American-made V-8 automobiles, and Asian Americans who drove import cars were excluded from mainstream car races. This scene changed in July 1990 when 500 Asian American street racers and import car enthusiasts drove their Hondas, Nissans, and Acuras to the Los Angeles County Raceway for an event called Battle of the Imports. This day marked the first organized presence of import car racing in southern California, the capital of automobiles and the breeding ground for car cultures. Frank Choi, the founder of Battle of the Imports, invited everyone he knew and asked them to spread the word, and in the end, drew an impressive crowd. Today, the import scene is so popular that Battle of the Imports attracts more than 20,000 people and is televised on ESPN2.
