From RC Cars to Race Team Owner - Stephan Papadakis Reveals Everything

Joining us this week on Very Vehicular we have Stephan Papadakis! From his earliest beginnings in the SoCal RC hobby scene, to his record-shattering years as a legendary figure of the drag racing world, arriving on the mountain top as race team owner and all-around engineering wizard, we find out: is there anything Steph Papadakis can’t do? Scotto gets the deep backstory on the game-changing FWD drag cars that shattered records (first into the 9s!) and how those cars came to be. It’s a tale stranger than fiction! We find out all about Steph’s move into drifting - again, innovating, taking names and shaking things up. Of course, there’s always time left over to opine on the state of motorsports, youtube, takeovers, and what’s next for Stephan. Enjoy! 

@PapadakisRacing

@StephPapadakis

@BrianScotto 

@321ActionAction

Partners:

Vyper Industrial

FCP Euro

Heatwave Visual

Wera Tools

KW Suspension

Producer: Nick Rutter @nickrutterarts

Music: SlikSound 

Patreon: https://patreon.com/u37266647

https://bio.site/321actionaction

[email protected]

00:00 - Welcome & Introduction

00:34 - Sponsors: Heat Wave Visual & KW Suspensions

02:11 - RC Car Origins and the Racing Mindset

07:48 - From RC to Real Cars

14:46 - SoCal Street Racing Era

20:26 - Import Drag Racing Breakthrough

25:09 - First FWD Tube Chassis Civic

29:52 - Wheelie Bars Explained

35:40 - Tech Arms Race and Limits

38:25 - A Whole New Plan - Ready for SEMA?

39:14 - Fortin Brings the Drivetrain Magic

40:33 - Getting into the Low 8s

40:54 - Fast and Furious Boom

44:01 - Hey, Who Killed the Music? When the Scene Faded

47:45 - Sponsors: FCP Euro & Wera Tools

50:01 - Getting the Wandering Eye… for Drift

53:55 - Enter, Tanner Foust

58:46 - Scion TC Controversy & the Letter of the Rules

01:01:24 - A Toyota Racing Developed NASCAR Truck V8?

01:08:57 - Arms Race Team Era

01:16:22 - What Happens When Tech is Allowed to Judge?

01:19:03 - Motorsport - How to Save the Show

01:23:43 - A Plea for Diversity in Racing

01:27:11 - Snack Cart by Vyper Industrial

01:28:36 - Fixing the Drift Show

01:31:43 - Drift Masters vs FD

01:33:44 - Car Culture Health Check

01:35:59 - Tech Boom vs Regulations (and the EPA)

01:41:37 - Takeovers and Youth Scene

01:45:27 - YouTube Success Formula

01:50:43 - Escaping the Creator Treadmill

01:52:49 - What’s Next for Steph?