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 Born
May 14, 1982 in Hilo, Hawaii, Candace Izumi grew up around in an
automotive environment. Her dad worked as an autobody repairman and
he would often bring her along to work when she was a kid. Even on
days when she did not go to work with him, he would come home and
work on his classic car in the garage at night.
Candace has always had an interest in racing and speeding in almost
anything and everything from racing her friends on rollerblades to
running track. That kept up her need for speed through middle school
but things changed in once she got to high school. That’s when her
interest in racing cars grew. At the Hilo Drag Strip, Candace would
often race her car. There she would see motorcycle racers competing
on the same day she was at the track. She would think to herself,
“Those guys are crazy!” But in a good way though.
One night a few friends, who owned motorcycles, invited Candace out
for a ride. After a few other nights out for a rides as a passenger
she began taking an interest in owning her own motorcycle.
The first car Candace ever owned, she bought and built it up with
the intention of drag racing it. In 2004 the plans of racing cars
changed however after she got her first bike, a Yamaha R-6. That
first ride on her own motorcycle planted the idea into her head of
drag racing motorcycles instead of cars. She soon took a trip to the
island of Oahu where she visited a motorcycle shop called Revtek.
This is the same shop that was the feature of a Guy Caputo story
called “Drag Racing in the Aloha State.” There she met the owner,
Ted Davis. He told her there were other females on Oahu that were
into drag racing their motorcycles. He suggested she give it a try
but Candace knew she needed to learn to ride her bike first and then
consider her potential interest in drag racing motorcycles. The
first time she took her bike over 100mph she absolutely loved the
rush of the speed and immediately the conversation that she had with
Ted popped into her head.
Only six months after
buying her Yamaha R-6, which she really loved, Candace knew it
wouldn’t be a platform to be competitive. She sold the Yamaha and
purchased a Suzuki GSX-R 750 as a starter race bike. From that 2006
start of racing Candace has moved up to a GSX-R 1000, which has
recently been upgraded with a turbocharger and she can’t wait to hit
the track this summer. Her goal is to run in the 8’s. She said, “I
don’t plan on winning any races, but just improve on my times and
technique. The Hawaiians have a word, wikiwiki, which means quick
and fast. You can bet Candace and her new RPM Performance turbo will
make her wikiwiki and winning is just around the corner. Aloha.
Other Areas of
Interest
Residence: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
Home track: Hilo Drag Strip, on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Hawaii Raceway Park, which contained a dragstrip for the island of
Oahu, closed down several years ago. So there currently is no place
for anyone to race on Oahu.
Sponsors: Revtek Speed and Tuning, Steel MX/SMX Optics
Accomplishments:
2010 Memorial Day races: Pro-gas 2nd place
2008 October bracket races: Pro-gas 1st place
2008 Memorial Day races: Pro-gas 2nd place
(All events above were IHRA sanctioned events)
Interest outside of racing: I recently got into archery and
am looking to get involved in a martial art.
First motorcycle: 2003 Yamaha R6
Hero: My dad.
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