Driver’s Spotlight – Curtis Yamanaka

In this edition of the Sacramento SCCA Drivers’ Spotlight, we are featuring none other than Curtis Yamanaka.

You may recognize Curtis driving his 2000 Mazda Miata; however, he also races a 1971 VW Super Beetle, and we hope to see it out again soon. He does not have a single favorite car that he drives because they each require a different yet similar driving style / experience. For learning, the Miata is his favorite because there is so much data and many Miata’s’ on the grid. For experience, the Beetle is his favorite since many people really enjoy seeing it out on the track. (True story).

Curtis has been auto-crossing since 2013 where he was introduced to the sport during the Teen Street Survival School around 2008-2010. That event was at Mather Field and a lot of the current SAC chapter board members were teaching said school.

Although he does not have any rituals that he performs on race day, he will always make sure to have a good cup of coffee and some breakfast. Once that is completed, he is always ready to race. His lucky charm that he does have with him during every race, is the Tom Smiley magnet on his car when he is running. His taste in music varies, but during race day, to help him get pumped up and excited, one will find him listening to Classic Rock, Country or even Japanese rock/pop.

If anyone is around Curtis during race day, you will more than likely find him having conversations with many different people about cars, as he is very knowledgeable and is always asking questions about different modifications and upgrades, which is a hobby of his. He thinks that a lot of the folks’ involved with AutoX share just that, maintaining and modifying the cars. To add to his list of hobbies, while not racing in person, he enjoys SIM racing, indulging in good food or a great beer and the occasional cigar. He does play basketball every week as well.

Since there a bunch of beautiful and high performing vehicles out there, it is quite difficult to have one that stands out above the rest; therefore, he does not particularly have a dream car, but he does aspire to own soon, a C6 Z06 Corvette.

When he was asked who would win in a race between King Kong or Godzilla, he believes that Godzilla would win because Godzilla is from Japan and Japan would build him some Mecha-Suit or something like that. HAHA

The racing accomplishment that Curtis is most proud of, is when he won the Trophy Class at the Bug O’Rama 67 or 68, that happened 11 years ago.

During race weekends, he really loves watching his favorite car, which is Ken Yeo’s yellow C4 Corvette. He loves the sound, the driving style and well, everything about it. It is his favorite car out there.

Curtis divulged that he is an open book, so there is nothing that is surprising to learn about him other than he can whistle pretty well and roll his belly, which is a pretty silly talent to have. The dog breed he would be, would be a corgi, because they have low ground clearance.

The one person that he would like to have dinner with, is a person that we hopefully can relate with, would be his maternal grandfather. He was a highly influential man in his life and Curtis would like to share another moment with him. I would assume that Curtis’ chosen superpower, which is to be able to slow down   me, would contribute to this dinner with his grandfather. Sometimes, we all want a moment to last forever.

Regarding traveling and experiencing cultures from all over the world, his favorite travel destination is Japan. He loves and respects the culture, the cars, the history, and all the above. The only problem is the cost is high to go there. His dream travel destination would be to Colorado, and that is just because he has not been there yet, and he has always wanted to visit.

A memory of one of his favorite AutoX events happened in the 2023 season. It was the rainy weekend in

March where he finished 2nd or 3rd overall on both days. Curtis said the rain definitely helped out.

Curtis believes that everyone should try Auto-Crossing. It is not only a motor sport, but it also helps with car control, which can translate to evasive maneuvers on the street, should the need arise. If there is a new person considering trying it, or has been involved for a short   me, the one piece of advice he would offer is to keep coming out and participate. Be open to criticism and coaching. Everyone is here to help each other go faster. That is great advice coming from Curtis, who is usually out there taking advice from everyone and applying it, even if it doesn’t work for him, he keeps learning and applying.

Thank you to Curtis for sharing these very interesting facts and words for the SCCA Sacramento Chapter.