Hey folks, let me introduce myself before I begin! My name is Toni Tsuyoshi Arakaki or “Half Breeds” as people may know me by! I am half Japanese and half Filipino, I am currently based at Okinawa, Japan! I am the lone half Jap half Pinoy drifter I have yet to see here at the drift scene in Japan. There are several Fil Ams who competes in their own respective regions in Japan that I know of, I have much respect for all of them since Japan is one tough country to break into regarding Drifting!
Hello AI… I thought for my first blog I should introduce myself and give you my background in Racing and the Tuner industry! I’ll be contributing to the site with news of racing in North America, some behind-the-scenes content, and hope to share driving/racing techniques with you to become a better driver on and off the track.
I got my start in racing in 2000 when I took a 3-Day Racing School at Skip Barber, driving their Formula cars around Laguna Seca. I got hooked and immediately looked for ways to go racing. We chose to utilize Skip Barber’s ladder system to help get me into the high levels of racing through scholarships and affordable racing. I competed a few seasons in the Formula Dodge Western series and took the championship in 2002 with 8 wins and 9 pole positions. I moved up to the next step and competed in the Formula Dodge National Championship against drivers like Scott Speed (Nascar via F1), AJ Allmendinger (Nascar via Champ Car), and many other future stars. Continue reading