In this WebridesTV video, Craig Stanton is driving the Lexus IS-F on a warmup lap. They are driving on the Horse Thief Mile configuration at Willow Springs International Motorsports Park in Rosamond. The Horsethief Mile configuration is a 1 mile course that is similar to winding canyon roads. This configuration features elevation changes as well as numerous sharp turns and switchbacks.
Craig Stanton was born in Hollywood, California and current lives in Long Beach, California. He has participated in and won championships in the Grand American Rolex Series GT Class in 2005, the Grand Am Cup GS Class in 2004, 3 Sports Reanault regional titles in 1987. Stanton has also served as the factory driver for Nissan in the Speedvision Cup in 1998.
Other Competitions he has won are the Grand Am Cup, Rolex Homestead Miami in 2004, ALMS, and Road America in 2004. He has participated in the 24 hours at Daytona endurance race from 1999 through 2005, Petit Le Mans in 1999 and 2002 through 2005, 12 hours of Sebring in 1999 through 2004.
The car he is driving in the video is the Lexus IS-F which is the high performance trim of the Lexus IS series. The IS-F features a 5.0 Liter engine hooked up to an 8 speed paddle shifting automatic transmission in a front-rear layout. The engine is based off the 4.6 Liter V8 from other Lexus vehicles such as the LS 460 and the GS 460. The IS-F’s engine gets upgraded parts such as a forged crankshaft, titanium intake valves, forged connecting rods, aluminum cylinder heads, and high flow intake ports.
The engine produces 416 horsepower at 6,600 RPM and the car weighs in at 3780 pounds. With these specs, the IS-F produces a zero to sixty time of 4.4 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 170 miles per hour.
The “F” in “IS-F” comes from the codeword that Toyota used for Lexus vehicles over twenty years ago, “Circle F”. All future Lexus performance vehicles will have the “F” designation from now on.
