Greg Leone | Burning Tires a Bus-Cast. S1E3: Elmer Cerritos.

I’m pleased give you the 3rd episode in this video podcast series where I take my converted adventure school bus around the country documenting the rise and proliferation of the sport compact car and the people behind it. Having been there from the very beginning, I Greg Leone will be your host on this journey. These stories come from a time before everyone was walking around with a digital camera in their pocket to document events by today’s standards. It was the late 80’s early 90’s. Front wheel drive small displacement 4 and 6 cylinder economy cars that were never meant to be race cars begin lining up at the street races. With the help of power adders such as turbo, nitrous, superchargers, and a lot of innovation these vehicles and the pioneers who built and piloted them paved the way to creating what is now a $53 billion dollar racing parts and aftermarket industry, a $6 billion dollar the Fast and the Furious movie franchise, and an many international drift (Formula Drift, D1 Grand Prix, Hot Pit Auto Fest) and racing series (Global Time Attack GTA, Grid Life, Import Face Off, World Cup Finals Import Drag Racing Circuit IDRC, Battle of the Imports, NHRA import, Nopi Drag Racing Association NDRA, National Import Drag Racing Association NIRA). These are the heroes, champions, innovators, die hards, street racers, car builders, tuners, film makers, photographers, magazine editors, event and race organizers, and industry professionals who’s stories are the cornerstone of the sport compact culture. This episode I sit down and catch up with the guru of pistons himself Elmer Cerritos to talk about the early days and innovations in the sport compact world from a engine componant manufacturer at Arias Pistons for over 25 years.