Pierre Kleinubing
RealTime Racing Driver and 3-time SPEED Touring Car Champion (1997, 2000, and 2001)
"I have to say my most significant experience was winning my first championship in 1997 and if I can add another one, my win at Virginia International Raceway in 2002. After flipping the Integra in qualifying, the team put my car back together and we were able to win the race. That showed what kind of cars Acura builds - fast and safe."
Steve Rothenbueler
Legendary Honda/Acura tuner, pioneer of the first sucessful LS/VTEC hybrid and founder of OmniPower USA
"My number one experience with Acura was building the first successful LS/VTEC hybrid back in the summer of 1997. I was working in Denver, Colorado at a shop called Speed Image, tuning Hondas and Acuras for a living. A good friend blew his engine, and having only an LS block and a GS-R head I managed to successfully mate the two together. Although I wasn't trying to invent anything it really helped me develop my creative side and paved the way for the B20/VTEC, H23/VTEC, and K24/VTEC hybrid engines.
"My second most significant experience was when Skunk2 hired me in 1999 to manage their race program. Their 1995 Acura Integra ended up winning nine straight races with the motor I built, and netted us the first and only perfect season in All Motor competition history. This engine also took the Skunk2 car into the 10s about a year before any other competitors and was the first to break the 120-mph barrier."
Mike Choi
Import industry innovator and co-founder of Battle of the Imports
"Until our very first Battle of the Imports race in July of 1990, I had never drag raced on a track before, so I was pretty excited and nervous. Most of the people there were from the local street-racing scene, along with the few companies that specialized in imports: Jackson Racing, HKS, AEM, and a few others. It was like judgment day because everyone finally got to see how fast everyone else's cars were for the first time.
"I'll never forget hanging out and talking with Oscar Jackson, watching him race and wrench, and feeling like a part of Jackson Racing. It was really cool, with Oscar right there offering his help and advice. I was so stoked because at the end of the day, my 1987 Acura Integra RS was recognized as the quickest Acura of the day (out of, literally, three others). Ah, the memories-stomping on everyone with my mid-16-sec e.t.s. I'm just proud to have been a small part of the history. Thanks Acura for 20 years of fun and excitement."
Oscar Jackson
Forced-induction pioneer and founder of Jackson Racing
"When the Acura Integra arrived here in 1986, I had already been winning SCCA National Championships with my Honda CRX race cars. Because of my success with the CRX, I had a great relationship with American Honda/Acura and their racing department asked if I would consider preparing an Acura Integra for an assault on the SCCA Showroom Stock B championship for the 1987 season. With Lance Stewart doing the driving we finished a very respectable second place in the SCCA National Championship."
Why EVO Owners Should Wish Acura, "Happy Birthday"
If it weren't for Acura, we wouldn't have the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. There wouldn't be drifting in the U.S, JGTC cars running at California Speedway, or a SEMA International Auto Salon. This magazine probably wouldn't have survived beyond 1995. If it weren't for Acura, there wouldn't be three The Fast and the Furious movies.