Racer's Story

We’re Going . . . “Back to the Leaf!”

Richmond, VA – It’s 11 AM, and I should be drifting. Instead, I’m stuck fixing the clutch on Chris Rinthalukay’s Corolla and cursing Gary Simmons’ 240SX every time it thunders by me, spitting fire and bits of tire. Chris and I are sharing his Corolla today, and the clutch, of course, quit working last night. One clutch master cylinder and a lot of brake fluid later, the car will finally go into gear, and we join Simmons and other drivers for a few runs around the course. Today’s event is being held at Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond. This is USDrift’s second practice event of the season.

Although today’s event is just for practice, drifters have come from near and far with trailer queens and daily drivers to practice sliding. Many, like Simmons, are gearing up for a competitive season.

“I’m here today to drift, but not only that I had put a lot of new parts on my car and had to get a feel for it before I head out to Formula D. I’m going to the Formula D events in Atlanta, Chicago, and New Jersey, and if D1 comes to the East Coast, I will be there!” said Simmons.

Formula D is a relatively new drift series, offering competitive events on tracks all over the country. High-profile companies such as Falken Tires, Toyo Tires, Team Mopar, and Motorex have jumped on the drift bandwagon, sponsoring events and even building cars. Formula D has also signed a deal with the Champ Car World Series and will hold competitions in conjunction with Champ Car events. Many drivers are glad to have events closer to home that give them the opportunity to compete at a very high level. USDrift regulars Matt Martin, Gary Simmons, Nathan Brasz, and James Evans will be participating in Formula D this year.

USDrift has come “Back to The Leaf” for the first time since last April. USDrift recently lost their agreement with Virginia Motorsports Park for the use of their lot, forcing them into a last-minute scramble for a location. Luckily, the good folks at Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond allowed USDrift to return.

“Through persistence and a lot of brown nosing, the county agreed to let us use it. ‘The Leaf’ will hopefully become a regular spot now that the county has opened it back up to us. They realize that we bring in quite a few people from out of town so it helps the area out a bit,” said Mike Schneider, CEO of USDrift.
This event brought several unusual sights. One was a large trailer containing a red-painted FD3S RX-7 and AE86. The trailer, each car, and their “team” golf-cart all were emblazoned with the name, “East Coast Drifters.” This appellation generated some confusion, as many of the drivers present considered themselves “east coast drifters,” but were not familiar with this particular organization. Whoever they were, they were obviously prepared, as both cars were fully caged and competition-ready. However, the AE86 suffered engine problems early in the day and the FD struggled with an aggressive rev limiter that limited his ability to keep the car at high RPMs.

The “East Coast” AE86 was not the only car sidelined by mechanical gremlins. Rinthalukay’s AE86 was down for about four hours with clutch problems but came back later in the day for a few good runs. Joe Beard had initial trouble starting his now-turbo E30 BMW, but had it running and sliding flawlessly by the end of the day. Greg Blair’s 240SX retired early because of a leaking tailshaft seal, Charlie Tyson’s AE86 suffered engine problems, and Sande Edward’s 240SX had overheating issues.

Many drivers were also troubled by the extremely rough surface of the course, which had earned the name “The Grater.”

“I brought three sets of tires and went through all of them by three o’clock. I didn’t expect to go through that many tires. I was ripping chunks off of my tires all day, and you could see chunks of tires gathered at the end of the course,” said Michael Jeffery, a drifter from Northern Virginia.

Although bad for tires, the rough surface was not without its bright side, as some drivers were able to get more runs in while other drivers were swapping tires.
“Driving a less powerful car, I wasn’t impacted as much (by the surface of the course) as some other drivers, so I got about 16 runs total,” said Ryan Fife, a driver from Fredericksburg.

Although some stopped early, this event brought almost 50 drivers out to slide. The “East Coast Drifters” drove from North Carolina, and others came all the way from New Jersey. Interesting cars spied were a 1986 Merkur XR4Ti driven by Morgan Friday, a 1994 Toyota Supra Twin Turbo driven by Jon Pryts, Joe Beard’s turbocharged BMW 325, and an M2 Miata.

Robert Williams from Trackshots Photography also showed up, taking almost 1000 high-quality photos of sliders all day. His Motorsports Photography business caters to events all over the East Coast, offering high-resolution digital images and prints, on-location or from his website at www.TrackShots.com. If you’d like Robert to take pictures at your event, contact him at info@trackshots.com.

Today’s course took advantage of Cloverleaf’s natural elevation changes to challenge the drivers. Elements such as a downward- then upward-sloped hairpin, a long left-hander that ended at a tight chicane, an uphill hard left and combination right-hand sweeper, and 180-degree switchbacks challenged drivers all day. The course required that you position the car exactly and read the course carefully to get the best line possible.

Tandem runs were also offered for experienced competitors, which was a real treat for spectators and interested drivers alike. Jonathan Berlin, Jedd Fahnstock, Nathan Brasz, and James Evans showed off their high degree of driving skill and car control as they did tandem runs throughout the day. USDrift has stringent requirements for tandem runs, including full fire protection and roll bars with approved harnesses, and requires each driver to have had previous competition experience.

“Once you get to the point where you can consistently drift the whole course without spinning, you are one step closer (to doing tandem runs). The other step is being comfortable drifting inches from someone else’s car and prepared for anything to happen, including body damage. My road racing experience has helped me out a lot in this aspect,” said Fahnstock.

Today’s event and news of the return of The Leaf as a regular drift spot is good news for drifters in the Virginia area. USDrift has been offering safe, sanctioned events since 2003 on various tracks and parking lots on the East Coast.

“Cloverleaf Mall was my starting point so it was nice to go back, but to have such a great turn out of people from all over was a great experience. US Drift always does a great job setting up these events,” said Fife.