Born in New York and raised in Huntington Beach, California, Stephan Papadakis quenched his thirst for speed on the streets and local tracks throughout California in his modified unibody Civic hatchback. As sport compact performance grew from an underground subculture into a mainstream attraction, Steph grew with it. He legitimized his race team (and sport compact drag racing) by developing the first front-wheel-drive, tube-chassis drag car in the U.S. The AEM Drag Civic Hatchback set the standard for sport compact drag racing by establishing Pro and Outlaw classes, and turning in elapsed times and trap speeds previously unheard of and thought unattainable in front-drive drag cars.

Stephan’s next racecar, the 2001 AEM Drag Civic Coupe, shattered his previous records and became the next benchmark for front-drive sport compact performance. By the time Steph was ready to move into PRO RWD competition, he set records that took competitors in PRO FWD two additional seasons to break.

In 2003, Steph made history again by piloting the RWD AEM/DriverFX.com Civic to World’s Fastest Sport Compact and World’s Quickest Honda titles with a 207.8 MPH trap speed and a best E.T. of 6.71 seconds. This racecar was also only the fifth car to join the NHRA’s Sport Compact 200 MPH club.

After a crash during testing that caused him to miss the first three races in 2004, Steph gathered seven #1 qualifiers in the last eight Sport Compact events, and won three of the last eight events he competed. He made 11 final round appearances and won six events overall, while setting three National E.T records and one National MPH record in NHRA (6.54 @ 211.73). Steph and the Civic also set the NDRA (NOPI Drag Race Association) Series E.T. and MPH records in 2004.

In 2005, after achieving legendary status in sport compact drag racing, Stephan added a Honda S2000 Drift car to the team stable. On the drag side, Steph notched two wins, two runner up finishes, two #1 qualifiers and set a track E.T. record at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (6.55 seconds) while retaining the title of World’s Quickest Honda. In only his first year of professional drifting, Steph qualified in four of the seven events he entered, with a best finish in the Great 8 at FormulaD Drift Chicago. He won “Co-Rookie of the Year” honors with FormulaD Drift in 2005, achieved a 22nd overall ranking in the FormulaD series, and earned a coveted D1GP license making him eligible to qualify for D1GP events in 2006.

2006 marks a new era for AEM Racing, as the team retired the PRO RWD Civic and added a new Drift 350Z and second driver to the team. Stephan is committed to a full season of professional Drifting, and is competing in the AEM/Memphis Car Audio Drift S2000 at FormulaD and D1 events nationally. If Steph’s accomplishments are any indication, look for him to be competing for a top spot this season!