Racer's Story

Long TIme No See

2008-07-12T13:47:00.001-04:00

It's been a long time since I posted to this blog. In March, I sold my AE86 drift car. I'll be going to China for a year of study there. I will still be blogging, so check out my new stuff at http://dajemma.wordpress.com/

Feel free to look through my old writing if you like, but all the good stuff is now on wordpress.

Drifting at Summit Point

2006-09-27T18:33:00.000-04:00

Labor Day Weekend
Summit Point, WV - Excitement is in the air as drifters pull into Summit Point Motorsports Park. They are getting ready for the first drift event organized by Summit Point for the drifting community. Everyone is on their best behavior, hoping that this one-time event will eventually become a regular monthly or bimonthly one.
The drivers gather for the morning meeting and are greeted by the instructor who is managing this event. He is a tall man with a thick mustache. He is wearing aviator glasses. I can imagine him giving me a speeding ticket. As he greets us and explains the rules of the track, I can feel my heart begin to pound. I can feel the excitement of the drivers around me. Everyone is anxious to get on track and have fun.
And what fun it is! The track itself is a beautiful one, full of elevation changes and challenging corners. It is wide with plenty of runoff. The organizers outdid themselves with three separate track designs that allow drivers to work on different techniques in different situations. There is also a skidpad, which is kept wet all day. Between the three tracks and the skipdad, you can always pick short line - or one with no cars at all!
Cars hit the track three at a time all day, with the exception of the "quiet hour" between 11Am and 12PM. James Evans brought out his racecar, which he drifts quite impressively. Evans' consistent, fast, smoky drifts show why he's a top competitor in the U.S. Drift Championships. Not every driver was as experienced as Evans, though; for some it was their first event. Everyone was out to practice and have fun, so the atmosphere was very positive.
Interesting cars at the event included a fox-body convertible Mustang, a Camaro driven by a female (!), a supercharged GZE-powered AE86, no less than three Elises, and a very pretty G35 that was turbocharged and rebadged as a Skyline 3.5GT.

The Mustang hit the wall early in the day, trying to drift a long sweeper at 90mph. His crash had been preceded by that of a silver S2000. Neither driver was hurt but both cars were heavily damaged and towed away. Every driver was reminded to stay within their limits and push them cautiously.
My car ran flawlessly, which is something it has never been done before. Only once, early in the day, did I take it off track to check a noise. Everything stayed on the car (including the exhaust!) and I only hit three things. One was a big pad that sat rather inconveniently near the outside of a narrow turn. I passed the pad ten times, inching closer and closer to it until I just had to see what it was made of. Finally I took corner a little too wide and plowed right into the pad, launching it twenty or thirty feet across the track. It was as soft as I hoped it would be! After replacing the pad, I went on drifting; the car took only a minor scrape to the fiberglass bumper.
One of the most valuable experiences at this event was driving with Charlie Tyson, and having him drive my car. Tyson, for those of you who don't know him, is a local hero among AE86 drivers. He competes in USDrift competitions with his underpowered AE86 but often places in the Top 8. Needless to say, he's a hell of a lot better at drifting than I am. Especially in a Corolla. Watching him drive taught me a lot about how he drifts.
The whole ride he pushed the car to its limits, drifting it at high RPM and high speed the whole time. Never once did he let the car get of its powerband. In first gear he was clutch kicking it around the first cone. He clutch kicked it several times in high-speed turns just to keep the RPMs up and keep it drifting. He tackled the back straight on the Shenandoah course full speed, then tossed the car into a left-right chokudori to prepare it for a blind, uphill left-hander. That's right, left-hander. I was amazed at the amount of work he put into the wheel, the shifter and the pedals. He never once let the wheel go. Every time he turned the wheel, he moved his hands one over the other, never letting it slide between his fingers.
Charlie told me that I was using the power of the car to make it drift. He said I should be smoother and let it drift. He also said that grabby brake pads are bad; the front brakes should allow you to transfer the weight of the car without slowing you down too much or locking the front brakes.
What I learned from watching him drive was a little bit different. I saw that Charlie initiated his drifts very early, and accelerated through the corner. When I drove the car, I was waiting until the right point, starting my drift, and trying to power through the turn to smoke up the tires. When Charlie did it, he was already drifting and accelerating by the time I was starting my drift! The end result was that Charlie's drifting was fast and smooth. Mine was slow and choppy.
When I told my pit captain and Cantonese love slave Cindy about my experience with Charlie, she told me she had seen us swap seats and had already noticed how fast he was! Much to my surprise, even she noticed somethign special about the way he drove. She said that the car looked completely different when he was driving!
I found the day a very valuable experience. I got over 60 miles of on-track drifting and the event was very well-organized. The other drifters were the same group of helpful, enthusiastic people that I have come to know and love. One guy brought out a huge diesel Ford van that he had outfitted with solar panels so he could run an air compressor. He offered free air to anyone at the event, and happily went over his solar-powered system with interested onlookers.
We had beautiful weather, the track was great, the price was right, and I drifted until I was tired of it. Basically, you can't get any better than that.

If you want it done right . . .

2006-09-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

It seems that paying someone else to work on my car often causes more problems for me than actually doing the work myself. My adventure today at Reston Automotive illustrated this point. I asked that they replace the tires on the "REAR" of the car with the ones that I had sitting on the back seat. These were brand new tires that I had bought from the Tire Rack. Sure enough, when I went to pick up the car, I found that the front tires had been replaced instead of the rears. And yes, I had written the word rear in capital letters and underlined it on the instructions that I left with the shop.
Now here we have our first problem. I wrote specific instructions to the shop that they did not follow. Now I'm in a predicament where I am uncomfortable; either I can feel like a heel and ask them to correct the problem, or drive off and deal with it myself. Right now I'm faced with "Butch," a large, barrel-chested, unhappy-looking dude. He is not helping me make my decision.
The first thing I do when I walk back into the shop is inform them that they did not follow my instructions.
Butch's reply to me is characteristic: "We thought we were doing you a favor. The last time you were in we told you that the FRONT tires were getting worn, so we thought you had made a mistake!"
I can see now that these guys ran into a bit of a problem. They got my note, checked out the car, and doubted what I had written. Instead of calling me, however, they just went ahead and did what they thought they should do.
When I pointed this out, neither Butch nor his manager had anything to say. I said, "Those rear tires have a slow leak. I got them out of a junkpile and they are worth nothing to me. The tires that were on the front were reliable and had some tread left. What I need you to do is put my old tires back on the rear where they should be, and drive me home so that I can pick the car up later."
I can feel the heat coming off of Butch. By now I feel pretty uncomfortable. I sit down to read a magazine and wait an hour before my car is ready. They made the changes at no extra charge, of course, but I was still left with a bad taste in my mouth. Not only did I pay the $50 they charged me for mounting and balancing two tires, but I waited there for an hour while they fixed their mistake.
Now that I think about it, it seems foolish to pay someone else to work on the car. They are going to make decisions that will cost you as much as possible. I do all of the work on my own cars, and I try to do the best work possible while saving as much money. This is my daily driver, after all.
By the time you factor in the amount of time I spent there, the money I spent to get the work done, and the frustration I felt from having to deal with these jackasses, it was definitely not worth it. If I possibly could, I would mount and balance my own tires. Sadly, however, it is one of the few things that I cannot do myself.
The bottom line here is, whenever you place your car in the hands of someone else, make sure you are prepared to deal with whatever might come up. Don't be afraid to tell them to do the job right, even if it takes longer. If you're going to pay some monkeys to do something on your car, make sure you get your money's worth.

2006-02-15T00:13:00.002-05:00

Turbocharged M3 that won the competition.

www.lookoutdrift.com

2006-02-15T00:13:00.001-05:00

Me and the Bride girls :)

www.lookoutdrift.com

2006-02-15T00:13:00.000-05:00

The Yashio Factory S15.

www.lookoutdrift.com

2006-02-15T00:12:00.000-05:00

Oka-chan drifting versus the Drift King.

www.lookoutdrift.com

2006-02-14T15:57:00.000-05:00

I’m standing about ten feet from the Drift King, wondering how to get his attention. Between us are just a few millimeters of plastic that keep the hot summer air from entering the judge’s air-conditioned tent.

“Tsuchiya-sama! Tsuchiya-sama!” I shout.

He turns around, drawn I suppose by the sound of my bad Japanese.

“Tsuchiya-sama wa ichiban desu!” I shout to him, giving a thumbs up.

He smiles and waves, nodding his head.

I’m shaking a little bit; I just made a complete idiot out of myself in front of the Drift King.

Here at Ebisu Circuit in Japan, Tsuchiya is just one of a star cast participating in the judging, exhibition, and competition for the Drift Dream Match 2005. Nomuken, Orido, Oka-chan, and others are here to make this event a gathering of some of the best drifting talent that Japan, and maybe even the world, has to offer.

As a frequent spectator and participant in events in the U.S., I watched closely to see how the Japanese ran the event. The Japanese place a strong emphasis on organization and punctuality. Accordingly, the event was meticulously scripted and followed the schedule to the minute. The judges all had microphones and everything they said was broadcasted throughout the entire circuit. There was no confusion or chaos in the pits, the spectators were orderly and cooperative, and the event went off without a hitch.

That being said, every once in a while you could see a glimmer of spontaneity and even craziness. For example, when Nomuken’s Blitz/Uras Skyline broke down near the judges’ platform, he got out of the car and immediately started jumping up and down, bowing towards the spectators and crowd. When they towed his car away, he was alternately kowtowing to the judges and trying to drift the car while it was being towed. Later in the event, the judges decided to only do a Best 14 and leave Tsuchiya out of the running. Tsuchiya, furious, started throwing chairs at the judges and tried to kick over the platform. Finally, after hiding under the tables in the back of the platform, they agreed to let him participate in the tandems for the Best 16.

The drifting, of course was excellent. The Drift King brought out his personal S15 to compete with the other drivers. To watch Tsuchiya’s clean racing line and perfect throttle and steering inputs is to know the highest level of drifting skill in the world. Also fun to watch were Oka-chan in the Yashio Factory S13 and Dai-chan in a broken and multicolored S13. Dai-chan piloted his trunk-less S13 heroically in six consecutive tandem battles with the Drift King, each too close to call. The 20-ft banners atop his car flapped in the wind as he drifted at high speed, eventually coming to rest as he stepped out of the car to concede the win to the Drift King. Dominic Schweger, an American driver, struggled with sliding his turbo M3 in the beginning of the day, but ended up getting the hang of it and taking the event’s top honors due in part to his unconventional drift line.

The way that the Japanese run their events is a reflection of their own cultural values and identity. Comparing Japanese and American events is for the most part a cultural study. The Japanese are typically reserved and strive for perfection in every endeavor (making their events well-planned but somewhat dry), while most Americans are boisterous and often happy to just wing it and see what happens. The comparison is also an economic one; drifting has been around in Japan for much longer, which has given it time to pick up its many and varied sponsors, from Yokomo to Bride. Drifting is a vast commercial enterprise in Japan, whereas in America it is but a newly born grassroots motorsport with the hopes of one day turning pro.

More than anything the fun thing to watch was the atmosphere of the drift event in drifting’s home country, Japan. Somewhere between a bazaar, a family picnic, and a Meet The Drifters love-in, the Drift Dream Match was fun for all ages and a fantastic opportunity to meet the best drifters in the world.

Falken Drift Showoff: Cars, Girls, and Rock ‘n Roll

2005-11-20T14:55:00.000-05:00

Landover, MD - Tony Angelo’s Falken Drift RX-7 roars to life, its angry buzz filling the pits. Spectators take a step back – suddenly the parked cars seem like angry beasts, ready to knock down the nylon barriers and wreak havoc. The deep growl of Vaughn Gittin’s supercharged ’05 Mustang joins the RX-7’s high drone, creating a strange harmony made even sweeter by the howl of Chris Forsberg’s S15. The noise is almost painful at close range, but no one is able to turn away. The cars creep out carefully, their engines revving up and down, as if impatiently waiting to burn away the fat Falken tires on each corner of the car.

The parking lot outside Maryland’s FedEx field is host today to about 45 drivers and a sizeable throng of spectators who have come to watch the Falken Drift Showoff. Along with the drifting competition and exhibition, the event features a car show, DJ entertainment, and vendors such as Drift Alliance and StreetTrenz.

“There’re so many people here from all walks of life, from different aspects of motorsport,” said John “Wood” McGrain, a 23-year-old mechanic from Baltimore, MD. “It seems to be friendly.”

Some were also longtime drifting fans.

“I watched drifting in Japan for three years,” said Austin Connors, an enthusiast and former member of the Armed Forces. “I’ve got a lot of friends here.”

The course started at the bottom of the parking lot, winding uphill through wide, fast turns. Drivers slowed down at the top of the course for two “slow gates,” but were able to go full throttle on the way down through the other side of the course. Each run consisted of two laps up and down the course.

“The course is uphill, but it’s slick,” said Ryan Fife, a driver from Fredericksburg, Va. “I’ve got the new Falkens, which seem to be working out pretty well.”

Fife is referring to the newly released Falken RT-615 street tire, which is intended to replace the older 215 series tire. The tires, on display around the Falken booth, were standard equipment on the Falken drift cars.

“The RT-615 is about 20% more expensive than the old 215 tire,” said Nick Fousekis, who is performance marketing manager for Falken Tires. “It’s also a lot better.”

The Falken team is using today’s exhibition as a test and tune day for four (out of nine) of their drivers. Gittin, Forsberg, Angelo, and Ryan Hampton tore up the asphalt during several exhibition runs, screaming through turns at full opposite lock, smoke billowing from their tires. The cars drifted impressively despite numerous stops to adjust the suspension and tune the engine.

“We’re still trying to get the car set up,” said Angelo about his FD3S RX-7. “It’s very difficult to drive, but it has a lot of potential.”

The RX-7’s weak e-brake limits Angelo’s ability to control how the car slides.

“[The e-brake handle] used to be on the other side, and ever since we moved it, it isn’t working right,” said Angelo. “It doesn’t have enough leverage.”

Angelo is a member of the “Drift Alliance,” a group of drivers and friends that are based in Doylestown, Pa. Once a loose group of friends interested in BMX bikes, skateboards, and cars, they are now preparing for the release of their first drift DVD in November and are promoting their new clothing line. Mostly T-shirts, hoodies, and hats, all feature simple designs and slogans such as “Live fast, die young,” and “Born to raise hell.”

“We take a rock ‘n roll attitude to driving,” explained Eric Forsberg, brother of Falken driver Chris Forsberg. “We want to have cool T-shirts that anyone can wear. We don’t want any motors, cars, or anything like that on our shirts.” More information about Drift Alliance is available on their website, www.driftalliance.com.

Today’s event featured some unusual drift cars, such as Gittin’s ’05 Mustang, rumored to have almost 600 horsepower. Forsberg’s RHD S15 Silvia stood out as an unusual and exciting sight, almost unknown on American shores. Brandon Lhagvadorj’s SC300 (Soarer), now a frequent sight at events, stood alone in the field. Clayton Pace drifted a bright red 260Z, demonstrating the heritage of drifting ability inherent in Nissan S- and Z-cars.

Talented local drivers Charlie Tyson and Gary Simmons impressed spectators all day with fast, flawless runs. Tyson’s carbureted AE86 Coupe had no problems smoking up the rear tires, and Simmons’ S14 240SX stayed sideways despite running on three cylinders.

For the competition, each driver was allowed two runs to impress the judges with their drift speed, angle, and racing line. The top eight spots quickly filled as the experienced drivers separated themselves from the crowd. The top two drivers, Ryan Tuerck and Michael Edwards, did tandem runs to determine the first place winner. In a surprise tie finish, the two drivers split the first- and second-place winnings, which included a cash prize, Falken tires, and a ridiculously large trophy.

Although they exhibited a high level of drifting skill, both winning cars plowed through cones during their competition runs, only to advance to the top eight. This caused some confusion among drivers and spectators.

“I was a little confused with the judging,” said Jonathan Berlin, a driver for Sterling-based performance shop The Speed Factor. “They didn’t specify what would happen when you hit a cone, or with spins.”

Many also complained that they were forced to stand all day in order to watch the event. The lucky ones found curbs to lounge on, but many stood in the hot sun with no relief.

“This needs to be more spectator friendly,” said Robert Clements.

Clements is the owner of RedShiftDC, a performance shop in Chantilly, Va., and provides sponsorship for driver Gary Simmons. RedShiftDC opened in June and now offer their services as a “drifting shop.” Clements, who is 20 years old, and his employees all keep strong ties with the local motorsports scene.

“We want to be involved with the motorsports, the spectators, the drivers . . . we want to help grow the sport,” said Clements.

For the drivers, the event was all about fun. Competition is fun to watch, but the chance to work on their techniques and get some practice is what brings most drivers out to play. Play they did, leaving the parking lot covered with streaks of burnt rubber.

“I don’t pay attention to the prizes. I just come to put it down,” said Berlin, grinning.

Back To The Leaf!

2005-04-07T00:14:00.000-04:00

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.

Introductory Drifting Article

2005-03-16T00:46:00.000-05:00

Here's an article I wrote for my Journalism class a while back. It was my first real article about drifting so I figured it belonged on the site. Enjoy.

Feature Story: Drifting at Virginia Motorsports Park

DINWIDDIE, Va, September 9, 2004 – It’s only noon, and already the air at Virginia Motorsports Park is filled with the sounds of screaming tires and roaring engines. Turbochargers send pressurized air skyward as cars slide sideways through a cone course set up for the Lookout Drift Club as part of their “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” series of events.

Young men - car enthusiasts - gather here in southern Virginia on a monthly basis to go “drifting,” a form of racing where the object is to get your car as sideways as possible and still maintain control as you guide it through the course. “It’s much better to drift in a legal event, instead of on the streets, where you can get caught by the police or wreck your car,” said one of the event organizers. In order to have this opportunity, some drive from as far as Georgia and West Virginia.

Why spend all this time and effort just to go drifting, one might ask?

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great challenge to your driving abilities,” explained Michael Sudduth, a driver who hails from Northern Virginia. He and two of his friends have driven three hours and taken time off from work just to make it to this event.

What is so unusual about drifting? Many drivers fear a “slide” or a “skid” because it makes the car harder to control. However, drifters intentionally make their cars go sideways. The rear tires spin wildly and the nose of the car doesn’t point anywhere near its actual path, but when all goes well they maintain perfect control of the car as they slide it through a turn.

“The worst part about drifting is that you don’t actually get to watch yourself doing it while you’re doing it,” said Sudduth.

In California, drifting has already become a hugely popular spectator sport. Thousands crowded into Irwindale Speedway last year to watch professionals from Japan compete as part of the D1GP, or Drift Grand Prix. They will come again this December; Irwindale has become an important stop for a series that once was confined within Japan.

Drifting, a newcomer to the motorsports community, has raised some questions as to whether or not it qualifies as real racing. Despite its popularity, many sanctioning bodies for mainstream events such as the Indianapolis 500 and Formula 1 series consider it a fad.

Drifting is not taken seriously because it emphasizes style and skill over speed. Drifting is by no means the fastest way through a corner, so a competition doesn’t rely on the stopwatch to determine the winner. Drifters must be judged on the angle of their drift, the speed of their drift, and how long they maintain it. Consequently, determining a winner is hardly a straightforward process. These factors contribute to the mainstream perception that drifting is not real racing.

At Virginia Motorsports Park, no one is talking about competition. The drivers are here for the fun and for the opportunity to develop the car control they so greatly admire in professional drivers.

Matt Martin, a driver from the Richmond area who has competed on a national level, says, “It’s just fun to come out and do this. There’s no pressure, no competition, just doing it to practice and get better.”

Unlike many participants in autocrosses or track events, these drivers practice merely because they enjoy doing it, not because they are competing for the fastest time.

Drifting is popular mostly with younger drivers. These young men say that they don’t feel comfortable at autocrosses or track events, which are mostly attended by older men with expensive cars.

“When I go to the track, there’re a lot of older guys with Porsches and BMWs. When I come here to VMP, my 1986 Corolla fits right in,” said Sudduth.

Most cars are modified with aftermarket parts to increase their performance.

“If I had a lot of money, yeah, I’d buy a Porsche. But I don’t, so I bought a Corolla and I’m putting money into it and making it faster, handle better,” he said.

Near the end of the day, fatigue began to show on the drivers, the cars, and their tires. When sliding, the rear tires are spinning and quickly wear away their tread. During the mid-afternoon, one tire exploded spectacularly in mid-drift, the loud pop echoing like a gunshot in the moist air. Other drivers honked or cheered in approval.

Sudduth slowly guided his 1986 Toyota Corolla, which had been running without complaint all day, off of the course. He was grinning widely.

“I always wanted to do that,” he said.

Almost anywhere you go, a tire blowout is considered a bad thing; here on the drift course, it’s an accomplishment.

“I can say now that I drifted hard enough and long enough to pop a tire,” he said. Almost all of the drivers have brought extras in case of a blowout, and some go through several sets in a day.

Drifters, like enthusiasts for most sports, are dedicated, determined and proud of their accomplishments. They proudly point to blown tires, destroyed body panels and cooked engines, evidence of their hard driving and skills in mechanical mayhem.

Drifting fills a niche for young men and women interested in driving their cars and learning a tough skill. They feel out of place with older, more moneyed groups like those at autocrosses and track events. They have gone out of their way to find a place where they can have fun and feel like they are part of a community.

“When I come to VMP and drift, I can be with people my age who are into cars. It’s a bit of a drive, but it’s definitely worth it,” said Sudduth.

Eating My Own Words

2005-03-16T00:12:00.000-05:00

I now have plans to purchase a 1986 Toyota Corolla, the car that I once scornfully declared I would never buy. Mike's getting a clean coupe and will transplant his engine, diff, suspension, and other assorted goodies into the car. I will get a mostly stripped car with a rusty body, but it will be free. I'm actually looking forward to building it the way I think a Corolla should be built. Allow me to outline my plans:
Rusty Corolla Hatchback $0
GT-S Parts needed to hook it up $450
Imported low-mileage Japanese engine $590
Tokico Shocks, Espelir Springs $350
GT-S LSD $300

I figure I'll have the car up and running with pretty much new parts for $1700. That's not bad, but not great either. The car will need rust work, which I'm hoping to farm out to a friend of my brother's. Hopefully, this will bring the total to about $2000 for a non-rusty, well-running, albeit ugly, Corolla. I will also need some wheels and tires on there for another $350 or so so I can have some decent rolling stock. Then I'll need some spares for drifting, and I'm ready to go. The car slides so well stock, I don't think I'll have much more to do to it. But I do have a few thoughts, which I am not aversed to sharing:
Bride Exas III seat: $900
6-point Cage: $850
Body work and paint: ???$
Mild engine tune: <$1000

I have a set of N1 Flares that may end up on the car, but that would mean also spending a lot of money on wheels to make the flares work right. No sense having nice fender flares and stock wheels, right?
Either way, I'm looking forward to building the Corolla as my drift-only car and relegating the Miata to track and autocross duty. I feel like the Miata is pretty much done up the way I'd like it to be, so it's time to start using it for what I've built it: learning to grip drive. I've been frustrated with drifting the Miata for so long, I think it's time to start using it for what it's really good at and stop trying to make it do what it really doesn't want to. The Corolla is a far more capable drift car, and I think it will be easier on me to have one car to drift and one car for grip so I don't have to keep compromising on one car. I look forward to being able to make modifications on my Miata to increase the grip without having to be concerned with how it will affect the ability of the car to slide, and vice-versa. As the old adage goes, "horses for courses." One horse to slide, one horse to grip.

Drifting Video: January 15th at VMP

2005-02-24T21:14:00.000-05:00

Follow this link http://www.yoshiware.com/lookout1.15.05.avi for a video of USDrift's January 15th "First Slide of 05" event at Virginia Motorsports Park. Be sure to look out for my Miata, Jonathan Berlin's S14, Joe Beard's E30 BMW, Gary Simmon's S14, Mike Sudduth's Corolla, Andy Sapp's 2001 BMW 325, and a sweet Mustang driven by Doug. Editing done by Yoshi of Yoshiware.com. Enjoy!

Interview: Mike Schneider, U.S. Drift Coordinator

2005-02-23T22:56:00.000-05:00

Brian Eggert and Mike Schneider recently took control of USDrift from former director Chris Cobetto. Brian and Mike had been running events under the name Lookout Drift for two years, and jumped on the chance to expand their operations. Mike was good enough to give me the scoop on what this meant for Lookout Drift, what future plans they had for USDrift, and his thoughts on the future of drifting.

RS: So “Lookout Drift” is the demo team, and you run USDrift.

MS: Yeah . . . Brian and I took over for this season.

RS: What exactly does that mean for you guys?

MS: We go on fun trips and make a little money. We get to run it the way we want to and develop rules, and basically mold it into whatever we want.

RS: What are your plans for USDrift?

MS: We want to keep it as a minor league of sorts, to build the talent for the guys who want to be businessmen, and keep it fun for those of us who love drifting. We'd like to have enough support that it can sustain itself and us and still be as tight as it is now.

RS: Do you guys do this professionally or do you still have other jobs?

MS: We have full time day jobs. (laughs) It’s not that profitable yet. But by the beginning of this season, we will have the largest organization in the US as far as chapters running under common rules, support for the sport from the ground up, and the only national series run completely on race tracks.

RS: I’m just curious, what do you do?

MS: I work at Circuit City, selling TVs.

RS: What do you hate the most and love the most about running events?

MS: I love and hate everything about running events. I love watching people get better and, you know, helping make that happen. I love to make people mad with a tough course and then have them say "Man, that was fun," after figuring it out. I don't like not being able to drive all the time but in order to do things right and further the sport it’s a necessity.

RS: How do you feel about sponsored drivers like Tony Schulz and JR?

MS: They’re great guys. Besides Ueo (Katsuhiro), I think they would qualify as my favorite drivers. I'm really glad that two people that I know very well, and had the privilege to know before they were stars, are finally getting recognition. They are true East coast guys that stayed over here and got noticed by being sweet drivers, not just because they happened to be in California. Not to take anything away from the drivers out there, but they've had it a little easier. Drifting in America got its start out there and all the companies throwing money around are out there. It’s good to see the sponsors looking in other places; there is a lot of talent over here in the East.

RS: When did you get started and how?

MS: I got into autocross back in . . . I guess 1998-99 and used an AE92 (FWD Corolla). In search of tips and stuff for the motor and suspension I stumbled onto the Toyota-Mods list server. Lots of the guys on there were from other countries where drifting and AE86s were more common and I got interested in learning about it. I picked up an AW11 MR2 from Jerry (McGovern) and started taking that out to the autocrosses and learning how to make it go and then how to make it slide while I searched for a good AE86. When I got one, I started taking it out to the autocrosses (are you noticing a pattern here?) and taking it out to the industrial parks at night to slide. I drove it to the 1st Hyperfest in 2002 all stock. I guess the rest is history. I dragged a few of the other guys into the obsession along the way, but it’s been fun so far.

RS: That sounds like fun. Can you tell me more about the schedule for next year?

MS: Yes, but we are waiting to have it all together before putting it up.

RS: OK, I understand that.

MS: We have a conference call with a track owner this Friday so after that we will probably have some more good stuff to say after that.

RS: Any thoughts on the future of USDrift?

MS: Not really. We are strongly interested in keeping it grassroots, because that’s what we like to be around and there is a lot less stress. Besides, I don’t ever want to be locked in an office and lose touch with the sport.

RS: Where do you see you and Brian fitting into it? What are your roles now and how do you see them changing?

MS: Well, Brian does most of the business stuff like keeping track of the books. We both split the calling tracks part and setting up the specific aspects of each event like registration, course setup, and managing workers. I’m doing most of the rule write-ups with input from him on some things. He runs the site as well (www.lookoutdrift.com), and does the fliers.

RS: He comes up with some pretty creative stuff!

MS: (laughs) Yeah, great fliers can really spice up an event, especially considering our target market.

RS: I agree. Did he make the “North vs. South” event flier?

MS: No that was DGTrials (DGT); they do very good fliers also. I don’t know who does theirs.

RS: Will you tell me your thoughts on other East Coast clubs like DGT?

MS: DGT is a great organization with a lot of the same types of principles as us. The main difference, I think, is we have a little less spunk. That’s OK though, because we are different people. I think we were influenced a lot by Chris Cobetto in how traditional motor sport events are run. We try to imitate a formal motor sport environment as much as we can with drifters.

RS: And that differs from DGT how?

MS: Well, they have a more seat of the pants style. I guess we're a little stricter in what can happen and how wild things get. We’re almost prudes, if you will, at least while at the event . . .

RS: Do you think the people go to your events or their events because of those differences?

MS: Some might, but for the most part, people just want to drift and they don’t necessarily want to drive 1000 miles to do it. I think drifting is more regional than anything else. I’d like to see people go to every event, but unfortunately, most of us drifters aren’t rich so we pick and choose based on cost, location and venue.

RS: Amen to that.

MS: I suspect track design plays a role too.

RS: How so?

MS: Some people don’t like (our) tight, technical courses. So, a few may avoid ours because of that. But as soon as the guys that can do it all school up on the people who never bothered to learn how to read a course, or do things while going slow and fast, they will realize that it prepares you for any type of situation you may encounter on the track with another car.

RS: I'm guessing DGT events are more open?

MS: I’ve only been to one event, and that was “North vs. South,” and it was pretty open. I've seen people from around their way comment on how they don’t like our tight sections. So, I can only assume they aren’t used to it. They do their thing, we do ours. There isn’t a "battle" at all between the two groups. I’d like to go to one of their Drift Out Friday events this year.

RS: Do you feel sometimes like you'd rather be driving than working?

MS: Yeah, all the time. But I do get to drive a bit, I’ll never lose that. But I guess I prefer to have everything go perfect than be an attendee, get pissed and go on the forums and cry about what should’ve been done better. So, we took action and went to business running events.

RS: I understand that feeling.

MS: So what do think, how are we doing?

RS: I think that you guys have a very good compromise between track time, price, and venue availability. You do a great job.

MS: Well good, it was worth it then. (laughs)

RS: Yeah definitely! I love your Thursday events.

MS: Those won’t be happening this year. The track is not allowing drifting on their new parking lot lines.

RS: A lot of people think that drifting will get too big and events will be really crowded. Your thoughts?

MS: All we as organizers have to do is limit registration to keep events small. If it gets that popular we can always hold more events.

RS: If you needed to do more events, where and when would you hold them?

MS: Well, if it can be paid for, we'd just rent the track, but the events have to support themselves.

RS: So you would hold the events only if you thought enough people would come.

MS: Yeah, of course, if they will come, we'll make it happen, that’s how we decided on the winter events. There was demand.

RS: Can you tell me some more about your relationship with Chris Cobetto, and how you took over USDrift?

MS: Well, I first contacted Chris in 2001 when I heard there was a rumor going around about a drift competition at Hyperfest at Summit Point the next year. A bunch of us came up from North Carolina for the competition and I think there may have been like 10 people entered that year. Nathan Brasz (satin black S13) won it all. What really got us noticed and got me in good contact with Chris was when I slammed the wall at Loews [Motor Speedway]. I started asking about some practice events and kept bugging them until USDrift put one on at Cloverleaf Mall in November, 2002. I got involved in some of the publicity stuff with then-director Mike Deford and kept bugging them about more practice events. We staffed a few of the USDrift events and then it took off from there.

RS: I think I read the story about that crash. You slammed the wall, then kept on drifting.

MS: Yeah, it was fun.

RS: How bad was the crash?

MS: Not too bad, I drove the car home. Axle and brakes and some cosmetic stuff.

RS: So that was you I read about so long ago!

MS: Yeah, that crash put us on the map. So it wasn’t all bad.

RS: Should people be scared of crashing on the drift course?

MS: Don’t be afraid, but be aware of the possibility. Be ready for it if it happens. Come out to an event and have fun with us.

RS: I will and I hope others will too. Thanks for talking to me Mike, I hope things go well for you guys.

MS: Thanks. Talk to you later.

Mike promised to give more information up soon, especially considering the upcoming events for the year. Stay tuned for more updates on the East Coast drift scene, events courtesy of USDrift.

First Slide of '05 with Lookout Drift

2005-01-19T12:20:00.000-05:00

“Wake up, motherfuckers! It’s slide time!”

It’s 6:30 in the morning, and Mike Sudduth and I are huddled on the floor of Mike Collins’ room in the official Lookout Drift party house. We are being called to get ready for today’s “First Slide of ‘05” event, run by Lookout Drift at Virginia Motorsports Park. We drove down last night to stay closer to Richmond, and the Lookout guys were kind enough to put us up.

After a quick breakfast and a hair-rising ride to the track led by Lookout’s own Jerry McGovern (driver of Team Lexus drift car), we ended up at Virginia Motorsports Park in time to get teched, meet a few new people and say hi to a few old friends before the event really got started.

The weather was cold and windy. The thermometer touched 40 degrees at around 10 AM and hovered there for the entire day. The biting wind stole our warmth and forced the corner workers to wrap themselves in blankets and keep active. We decided to help keep them moving by knocking over a few cones whenever we could.

“At least it isn’t raining. Or snowing,” was all Sudduth could say.

The course was challenging, technical and fast. The beginning of the course was composed of a tight sweeper with a switchback at the end, several 180˚ turns, and finally a very tight e-brake turn that required you to position the car between two cones spaced barely 10 feet apart. After the slow portion, the course opened up to a medium-speed, second-gear right hand sweeper that ended with a small straight. After reaching about 70 mph on the straight, a long third-gear left-hand sweeper lay ahead. After this extremely fast sweeper, a medium-speed right-hand sweeper led to the stop box.

It was tight, it was fast, it was precise and it was tough. Some drivers were able to navigate it smoothly, but many struggled with the demanding course.

I enjoyed the technical aspects of the course and tried to see it as a challenge to my abilities. Some drivers didn’t share my view, saying the course was too difficult.

“People were complaining about the first part of the course being too technical so we removed a few of the tighter elements to make it easier,” said Mike Schneider, a Lookout Drift member and organizer of this event. After a few of the cones disappeared, some drivers still seemed unable to follow the line of the course.

“People just didn’t pay attention during the run-through of the course, and they’re plowing through the cones faster than we can pick them up,” said Dan Summers, another driver and occasional course worker.

Today’s was a well-attended event for Lookout Drift. Some of their Thursday VMP events have attracted crowds of more than thirty drivers, but this one brought fifty participants from far-away lands such as Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland. The drivers were split into two run groups and given four runs apiece each heat, with about three heats per group and a free-for-all at the end of the day. Many drivers had gone home or suffered mechanical failures by that time, so I got four more runs in the free-for-all for a total of 16.

Mechanical failures brought down several cars during the day, including Rob Prince’s Volvo due to problems unknown, Mike Collins’ recently-prepared BMW 325 due to transmission failure, Matt Martin’s S13 due to a broken alternator bolt, Mike Bowman’s 4G63-powered 1988 Starion due to an explosive oil leak, and Syn Lee’s S13 due to electrical gremlins. The only cars to suffer cosmetic damage were the Corolla owned by Preston “Where’s my bumper?” Sawyer and the 1999 Miata owned by Jadie Cho.

Many events run problem-free, so it was very strange to see this many cars sidelined. I’ve never seen anyone hit an obstacle on the course, but Jadie smacked a trash barrel on one of the free-for-all runs. Way to go, Jadie!

Unusual cars seen at the event were a pristine third-generation RX7, a competition-prepared and sponsored Mustang GT, an autocross-prepped 1989 Camaro, a multicolored and blinged-out 1996 Supra, a 2001 BMW 325Ci, and a manual-transmission SC300. Driving clubs South East Drift Association (SEDA) and Drift Mechaniks made a strong showing, rolling into the event four and five cars deep.

“We don’t get a lot of events in Atlanta, so if we want to drift we have to come here,” said Andy Sapp, driver of a 2001 BMW 325Ci and member of Drift Mechaniks.

“This was an awesome event,” said Chris Rhoad, member of SEDA.

Sponsored drivers Tony Schulz (Formula D competitor sponsored by Toyo Tires) and Vaughn “JR” Gittin (Formula D competitor sponsored by Falken Tires) made themselves available for ridealongs and gave pointers all day. Mr. Schulz rode with me and gave me some good advice on clutch-kicking, e-brake, and suspension setup. Today was my first time meeting Mr. Schulz personally, and I was impressed with his knowledge and his ability to get his point across with only a few choice words. Although reserved, he was not aloof. He looked like a guy used to competition and pressure, a perfectionist and an intense, keenly perceptive driver. I appreciated his comments and was glad to have an experienced driver on hand. Thanks, Mr. Schulz!

I am continuing to tune my 1990 Miata for drifting, and I got a chance to try out a few new things today. I tried out a stiffer rear sway bar setting, which helped the car slide and keep sliding. I also turned the rear shocks softer than the fronts to keep the car from transitioning too harshly, but I think I will try turning them both up next time (while keeping the rears lower than the fronts). The changes I had made definitely made the car more drift-friendly. I had no issues with understeer and the car was pretty stable at speed and sideways. For the first time, I used a clutch kick technique, which helped the car initiate a slide at lower speeds. My new Bride Vios III seat was so good I didn’t even notice it was there the whole day. I was strapped in tightly, and I could concentrate 100% on driving without having to brace myself against the transmission tunnel or dead pedal. I could be much more precise with my steering, instead of holding onto the wheel for dear life. I only noticed the seat on the way home when I realized that my lower back wasn’t sore and that I was not uncomfortable at all.
As always with Lookout events, I'm glad I went. Here's a shameless plug for you, Lookout. Keep up the good work.

A Good Way To Get Fast

2004-12-15T02:26:00.000-05:00

There are a few guidelines I like to follow when I’m modifying my car and doing research on it. I’d like to share a few.

Keep your modifications purposeful and straightforward. Don’t do anything extraneous just for looks or to be cool. Spend your money wisely, on things that will really improve your car.

Start with suspension and brakes. It may not be as fun as power mods, but it’s always money well spent. Think about it: if your car is really fast but your brakes are still stock, how are you going to stop when you need to? If you ever take your car to the track, you’ll find out just how important your brakes are. If your brakes suck and you have to get on them real early before a corner, you’re going to spend all your time braking and none of it accelerating! If your brakes are powerful and responsive, you can dive into a corner with lots of speed, quickly get your braking done, and streak through the corner at maximum speed. Most cars only need a good set of track-worthy pads and stainless steel brake lines to be ready for the track.

As you’re streaking through that corner, your car’s suspension is doing a lot of work. If your car has more power than your stock suspension is designed to handle, you’re in for some trouble. You’ve got to make sure that your car’s suspension actually works to keep the car in line at high speeds and while under high loads. If you look at how much money is spent on racecar suspensions, you’ll find that manufacturers spend thousands upon thousands of dollars not only on suspension equipment but the fine-tuning of that equipment. Learn from the pros: be sure to balance or pre-empt any engine mods with adequate suspension upgrades. Again, replacing your shocks with sport shocks from a reputable company like Koni or Tokico and substituting lower and stiffer coil springs will greatly improve handling on most cars. Some benefit from thicker anti-roll bars as well.

Even more important than anything you can put in your car is what you can do with it. As awesome as your car may be, if you can’t take it to its limits and hold it there safely, your ride is going to be a short one. Spend money on track days if you can, as they offer the greatest value in improving your driving. Autocrossing is good too, but it can take a lot of practice to learn how to be fast on a 60-second course. Drifting is pretty fun to do, but it’s challenging not necessarily a good way to learn how to be fast. You might pick up bad habits like yanking the e-brake after turn-in, or feinting the car as you approach the turn. It’s good to know how to control a slide, but being fast on a track is very different from getting sideways on a drift course.

Once you’ve upgraded your suspension and brakes and are starting to feel confident on the track, you’re on the way to having a fast car (and being a fast driver!) At this point you may feel ready to put a bucket seat, harness, and roll bar in the car. If you feel like you’re struggling to hold yourself in your seat while cornering hard, a good supporting bucket seat and five- or six-point harness will do the work for you. When you’re strapped in securely, all you have to worry about is piloting the car as smoothly as possible.

Now that you’ve learned to drive your car fast with a stock engine, you may be ready to add power. Add as much or as little as you feel ready for. If you want to learn how to use the full potential of your engine, stay stock for a while. If you’re ready to increase your power, do so carefully, making sure that the car doesn’t get out of control. You’ve got to be able to control the car before you can make it fast.

On a final note, be careful about what you buy. Research it. Read as much as you can about the product. Read the manual if you can to see what it’s like to install the product. You can often find out a lot about a company or a product just by reading their manual. Call the manufacturer and talk to someone in technical support. Tell them what you want to do and ask them a few questions about the product. How they treat you as a potential customer is a good indicator of how they’ll treat you when you come to them with a problem. Online review sites are often available for different cars, and some forums have sections where they discuss the pros and cons of different products. Use these resources to your advantage.

Follow these steps and it’s almost guaranteed that your car will end up exactly as you wanted it to be. It might take a little longer and require a little more effort, but it’ll be worth it.

The Tuning Process

2004-12-15T01:46:00.000-05:00

Ooooh, the itch to modify.

I’m feeling it again.

You know you’ve got it bad when you’re up late cruising the internet every night, searching for exactly the right mod. Before you go to bed you imagine how cool it would be to drive the car with that awesome new part. You agonize over the decision of exactly which one you want, endlessly comparing the details of what’s best and what’s cool.

Even though you know you don’t have the money for it now, you call up the manufacturers and bombard them with questions about the potential upgrade path. Calm down! You haven’t even bought Stage One yet!

So here I am, scouring the internet, searching for my next mod. For the past few months I’ve been lusting over a Bride Exas III bucket seat. I’ve been saving, squirreling my money away, and I know I’ll be ready to buy it next month.

So what am I doing?

Looking for the next project.

That’s how it is with these damn cars. There is always something to change or modify. You have to accept this. Accept it as a project, and treat it as such.

The part of having a project car that I really enjoy is the anticipation of the new thing. I look forward to the fun of learning about and eventually installing some new product. I do think about how it will change the way the car drives, but the emphasis is on the process of “tuning.”

After all, what would the fun be in having a car you didn’t get to mess around with? If it was perfect and you never had to touch it, would that be any fun?

Maybe it would be fun for a while, but wouldn’t you start to ask yourself what you were going to do next? I know I would. Maybe you’re a rare bird who is able to stop when they’ve had “enough.” Good for you. Stop while you can. I’m in it for life.

I know two months ago when I couldn’t get the thought of Bride seats out of my mind, all I could think of was, “If only I had them, that would be so cool. I wouldn’t need anything else.”

But here I am, on the verge of buying them (just a few short weeks away!), and I’m already looking for my next project. They aren’t even in the car! Isn’t it pathetic?

In a way it is, but I’ve come to accept it. I enjoy spending money on my car, tuning it to my tastes, playing with it and turning it into something wholly mine, wholly cool.

It, like me, is constantly evolving and changing. Just accept it. Don’t fight it. Enjoy the process for what it is without feeling guilty or like you should stop.

What Would Happen If Drifting Went Mainstream?

2004-12-01T02:12:00.000-05:00

Analysis

I have heard a lot of answers to this question. Many people seem to fear the consequences of commercialization and popularization, and some people could care less. Let’s look at the reasons for each view.

One view is that drifting will go the way of the “sport compact Honda” market, with parts listed at low-low prices in Super Street and Sport Compact Car, and drift-poseurs on every corner, pretending to be super downhill technicians. First of all, what’s so bad about parts being listed in magazines? That’s only a good thing! The premium that you pay now for Tein coilovers and Bride seats would drop dramatically if mail-order warehouses picked up those lines. Second, there’s no way someone can pretend to be good at drifting. Either you are or you’re not, regardless of whether the car looks like it could. Drifting is all about the driver. I could never see someone being perceived as a drifter just because they have a cool-looking car.

Some alarmists say that once a few idiots crash their 240SXs and die horribly on some mountain road, drifting will get a terrible reputation and all the cops will be out to get us. However, sliding on the street is already illegal; how can they make it more illegal? If my friend Joe Beard was thrown in jail for a month for drifting, how much worse can the cops’ view of drifting get? If you’re worried about being profiled as a drifter, just make sure that your car doesn’t advertise the fact that you drift (no stickers, guys). If you’ve got wheels and an exhaust, you’ll just look like another “tuner” car, and that’s already bad enough. In any case, the only way you’ll be identified as a drifter is by drifting. So don’t worry; just don’t drift on the street. Let me say that again. Don’t drift on the street.

Regardless of whether or not the cops crack down on us, many people worry about how drifting will be perceived by the public. Video games like Need For Speed Underground and various other games already have drifting as an integral part of the game. Will drifting become the next “street race” craze? I doubt it. Any fool trying to drift race on the street will probably hurt themselves. Imagine sliding blindly around corners on the street. Anyone who has spent the time and effort to learn how to drift probably will not engage in street racing. They know the dangers, they know their limits, and they have often spent a lot of their own money on their cars. Would they risk their beautiful cars just for the sake of a foolish street race? I hope not.

Either way, some fools will probably give the sport a bad name. Why worry about that? Is that really different from how it was two years ago when no one knew what drifting was? Or how about now? Some people know about drifting, but most people don’t understand; they think it’s stupid. The idea here is that no one will ever understand. They will either not know, not care, or think the wrong thing. Don’t place too much importance on what people think about your sport. You can’t do anything about it, any more than you can convince Donald Rumsfeld that invading Iraq was a bad idea.

There are still some people who say that drifting will never become main stream. I disagree. I recently communicated via email with the Washington-DC region SCCA chairman, who said that the SCCA was looking for volunteers in my area to run drift events. Grassroots Motorsports did a feature on the new Bondurant Drifting School, run by racing legend Bob Bondurant. GRM has also devoted several pages for the last few issues to topics such as drifting news or drift setup. Even the Speed channel has been showing footage from drift events, and Road & Track magazine chose to nestle a few short pages on Ken Gushi’s win next to its review of Mercedes-Benz’s latest luxo-sedan. If the SCCA is trying to organize events to capitalize on this new sport, and Bob Bondurant is offering drifting instruction, it seems that drifting has attained a status much higher than that of a passing fad.

My view is that drifting will remain mostly a grassroots movement. The professional circuit will remain popular and may even gain national attention for events such as D1. I can’t see drifting becoming hugely popular. Lots of people want to go fast, but it takes a special type of person to want to go sideways. In addition to wanting to go sideways; you have to spend a lot of time and money practicing it. It’s a highly refined skill, and I can’t see your average Joe Tuner getting into something that actually requires time and effort.

So what will we see in the future? Parts will become more available. Some idiots will wreck their 240SXs on the street attempting to drift. D1 will continue to be the Holy Grail of drifting. And hopefully, Drifting magazine will come back. Somehow, however, I doubt that. Drifting is big, but not that big.

Drifting With Lookout Drift at Virginia Motorsports Park

2004-12-01T02:06:00.000-05:00

Mike and I are up at the crack of dawn today, stumbling sleepily towards his 1986 Toyota Corolla. Why are we up so early? And why are there so many tires in the hatch of his car?
We’re going drifting.

The good fellows of Lookout Drift have now begun all-day events at their home course of Virginia Motorsports Park (VMP) in Petersburg, Virginia. This means, of course, that we are obligated to leave at 7:30 in the morning instead of our usual 1 PM departure.

This also means that we are going to drift all day.

Today we have decided to co-drift the Corolla, because Mike has no license. Otherwise I would have gone alone and drifted my car, but I figured we could go together and switch off drifting his car. Doing this will allow him to get another event in the season even though he cannot drive on the street, and it will allow me to drift his car as much as I want.

(For those of you who don’t know or have not read my “Drifting (A Corolla)” article, Corollas are, in my opinion, one of the finest drift cars ever produced. Even when mostly stock, they are able to drift quite well. Once modified, they can become supreme drift machines.)

We hit the course at 11:30. The course was composed of an initial tight turn followed by a long sweeper, then a tight section with 180 degree switchbacks, then a straight preceding the final sweeper. You can pick up about 60 mph approaching the last straight, which can make for an awesome final drift. My crowning achievement was initiating my drift a good 50 feet before the final right-hand sweeper, sliding sideways at 60 mph. I screamed through that sweeper with my foot on the floor, drifting the entire 360 degree turn.

Aside from a break to get some tires mounted at around 3 PM (there’s a shop about half a mile from the track who charged us $8 per tire!) , we drifted from noonish til dark, which was about 8:30. When one of us took a break, the other drifted.

Unfortunately for Lookout but fortunately for us, only about 10 cars showed up (it was near the end of the season anyway and lots of people had school or work). There were several times that we would finish a run and drive around the back edge of the course, only to find ourselves first in line when back at the start gate.

I stopped counting after 20 runs, but I think we each got in the neighborhood of 30. At that point, we couldn’t see the cones any more and the Corolla’s low-fuel light was flashing frantically.

All in all, it was an incredible day. The course was great, the runs were plentiful, and the weather was pretty nice. No one’s car broke, which is also nice.

Thank you, Lookout Drift, for putting on this event. It’s not often you can drive home and say you got enough drifting for that day, but today I could.

The Scorecard:

Atmosphere: Good (the LKT guys are quiet but cool if you talk to them)

Organization: Excellent (great course, lots of runs)

Track Time: 30? (60 between the two of us) runs on a huge cone course

Competition: None – just practice today

Cost: $55 per driver

2004-11-27T03:30:00.000-05:00

This is the best picture I have ever found of me drifting. I am actually sliding towards the right side of the picture, even though I am pointed head-on. Please note the plume of smoke on the left side of the car.

www.lookoutdrift.com

2004-11-27T03:28:00.000-05:00

Here I am at Virginia Motorsports Park, getting sideways in the Miata. The car is actually going in the direction that the wheels are turned even though the car is pointed straight.

www.lookoutdrift.com

2004-11-27T03:26:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of me drifting at Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, VA. Please note the shower of sparks from my left rear tire.

www.lookoutdrift.com

Drift And Show Clash at Super Tuner Night Richmond

2004-11-24T21:27:00.000-05:00

Richmond, Va. – The drifters from Lookout Drift club were turned away today at the door of the Super Tuner Show in Richmond. They had been invited as guests to include their cars in the show, but were told at the last minute that there were too many cars registered for the show and not enough room for the drift cars.

Some members had driven four hours to come to this event. Needless to say, many of the club members were disappointed and upset.

“[The event organizer] has not run one decent event,” said Preston Sawyer, a Lookout drift club member. “He invites us and shafts us.”

Although they were not included in the show, each driver was given a free pass to enter. They were told that they could park in front of the ticket office if they still wanted to participate. The drifters would technically be part of the show, but they would not be judged as part of the competition.

So, the Lookout drifters popped their hoods open and lined up in front of the building. Each owner stood by his car, talking with spectators or other members.

“Well,” commented Sawyer, “at least we get to go to the show for free.”

Inside, the building was filled with the sounds of rumbling bass, hundreds of people milling about, and loud music playing over the loudspeakers. The show cars were crammed door to door, filling the space of the convention center. Each was a wild, creative interpretation of the normal car it had once been.

Walking past the understated drift cars and into the show is like walking into another world. What is the difference between show cars and drift cars? What kind of people choose to show or drift?

Chris Rios, the owner of a gold-colored Integra GS-R show car, gave his explanation.

“I built this car as a drag car at first, but it sat in my garage for two years. Finally, my friends got me to start taking it to shows,” he said.

“The first couple of events, it was really boring, no beer. Then you start making friends, start meeting models, picking up sponsors . . . it’s not so bad. The best thing I have gotten so far was tires. I got three sets of tires from Dunlop. I also got cases of oil for my car, and free tuning from Inline Pro,” he said.

Mandy Lehman, who won NOPI Nationals last year, gave her reason for showing her 2001 Celica.

“It’s addictive,” she said.

“To me, honestly, it’s a way to express your artistic side, show people what’s in your mind. You’re getting recognition for the hard work you’ve put into something,” she said.

“When someone comes up to you and says, ‘cool car!’ or you win a trophy for your car, that’s a great feeling,” she said.

Tyus Few, another visitor to the show, offered his reason for coming.

“I think a lot of people that modify their cars come here to see what other people do, get ideas, meet people, collaborate,” he said.

The two groups, drifters and car show enthusiasts, share an interest in cars, but with a different focus.

“They like to sit, we like to drive,” said Joe Beard, driver of a BMW 325 that he drifts regularly.

Chanda Cross, one of the event staff, had a different take.

“People who are into show cars are more into looks,” she said.

With this difference in mind, it’s easy to see why drift cars and show cars look so different.

In one world, shiny paint, a cool body kit, and gadgets make a car cool. Each car competed for the wildest body kit, most complex sound system, most TV screens in strange places (front license plate holder?), biggest wheels, and most creative use of hydraulics.

In the other world, the performance and driftability of the car was what makes it cool. Modifications are purposeful and straightforward. Drifters appreciate additions such as coil-over suspensions, forced induction to increase engine power, limited-slip differentials, and lightweight wheels. They are concerned with increasing the performance of the car in the most efficient way possible.

“Drifters do want their cars to look nice, but they really want to make the car drive better and drift better,” said Tara Foose, a spectator from Northern Virginia.

Although the Lookout drifters were disappointed about being denied admission to the show, perhaps it is for the best. The two worlds of drift and show are different. The show cars are modified to look good standing still or cruising around; the drift cars are modified to look good driving fast and drifting. They may seem normal on the outside, but once on the track they become an extension of the driver and an expression of his or her personality. Perhaps that is where they are best seen, as opposed to under the bright lights and booming music of the car show.

Heel and Toe Rev Matching

2004-11-24T19:24:00.000-05:00

Unless you are Michael Schumacher and you drive a Ferrari F1 car, you need to learn how to do this. Not only does it make your shifting and therefore driving smoother, it sounds cool.

When you approach a corner at high speed, you (usually) need to slow down and select a lower gear. In order to be ready to accelerate through the corner, you must downshift before you finish braking. While you are downshifting, you should match the engine RPM (which has fallen while you decelerated) to your wheel speed. Otherwise, the car will lurch backwards as the tires pull the engine up to speed.

How do you do this? You must press the gas with some part of your right foot while the other part is hitting the brake pedal.

If your car is blessed with pedals that are positioned closely, then you may be able to put the left side of your foot on the brake and right side on the gas for a quick blip. We shall call this the “left-right” method. If you have a car like my Miata, then you must lift your heel off of the floor, put your toe on the brake, and tap the gas with your heel. Hence the name “heel-and-toe.”

The preferred way to do this is the first method. By keeping your heel on the floor, you increase the control you have over each pedal. When you lift your foot off the floor, you must twist your leg around to reach the other pedal.

Not only is this a difficult movement to do comfortably, it is difficult to do correctly. Often, one will over- or under-shoot the desired RPM range.

In learning to do both, I have found that the left-right method is much easier on me. You may prefer to heel-toe, but I would suggest that you try the left-right method in another car before deciding that it is truly better.

I was fortunate in that I was able to bend my gas pedal over about a half-inch to be able to use the left-right method. If you are unwilling or unable to do that, try a pedal kit. Pedal kits are available from companies like Sparco that will allow you to change the location of your pedal surfaces.

Let’s go through it step-by-step:

1. As you are approaching the corner, get on the brakes.

2. When you are approaching your desired speed, put the clutch in and select your gear. Stay on the brakes.

3. Tap the throttle and bring the RPMs up while the transmission is in neutral. You should still be on the brakes at this point. This is where you use the left-right or heel-toe method.

4. Let the clutch out when the RPMs match your speed in the desired gear. You are free to let off the brakes any time once the car is in the lower gear.

5. Turn in and accelerate smoothly through the turn.

Those are the essential steps.

You must use some part of your foot to hit the gas and the other to hit the brake, hopefully without either slamming on the brakes or accelerating unintentionally.

There. That’s the short and simple truth of it. There’s nothing left but to practice. So go out there and do it.

Drifting with DGTrials at Beaverun Kart Track

2004-11-24T19:19:00.000-05:00

Drifting with DGTrials at Beaverun Kart Track

The Beaverun Motorsports facility is home to a road course and two small kart tracks. On March 26 2004, the drifters from Drift and Gymkhana Trials (DGTrials) took over both kart tracks to practice their sliding arts for a whole day.

Participants ranged from heavily sponsored drivers such as JR Gitten to completely new drifters, namely yours truly. The paddock, wet and slick with the morning rain, was filled with drift cars ranging from stock to crazy modified.

Almost 60 cars showed up. Gitten’s blue and silver S13 sat at one end of the paddock, and an RB26DETT-powered 260Z sat at the other. In between were 2^nd-gen RX7s, 1985-1987 Corollas, the ubiquitous S13 and S14 240s, two Miatas, two Volvos, an E36 BMW, a Toyota Camry V6 Wagon, one Lexus SC300, and one Pontiac Firebird.

Yes, even a Firebird showed up to play, proudly shredding tires alongside the imported cars. The Camry wagon was drifted impressively, entering each turn with rear wheels locked and smoking, exiting slowly but smoothly.

However, today was not one for many shredded tires. Few cars were able to stay on the tight, technical course for their entire run. The track itself was not much wider than about fifteen or twenty feet total. Many cars got stuck in the mud and needed to be towed out.

This led to much frustration as drivers had to wait for each car to be extracted from the sludgy mess, only to find that they themselves were uncontrollably sliding off the track.

Why? Each car, when removed from the mud, took with it enough wet dirt to spread over each corner of the track, making the course more slippery and unpredictable as the day wore on.

The end result? Lots of frustration and little tire destruction.

The run groups were divided into Aces (the most experienced drivers), advanced drivers, intermediate drivers, and beginners. Each run group got four chances at the tracks, with the exception of the beginners, who only got three. The amount of runs per session varied from three to six, depending on how much time was spent extracting cars from the mud and how many cars were in each group.

At the end of the day, there was a small competition to determine the best drifter of the day. Each car got three more runs on the main track before they were either eliminated or allowed to continue on to the final rounds.

The final rounds narrowed the field to 18, then to six cars. Gitten won the informal slide-off, proving his skill with early initiation to high-angle drifts which produced billows of thick white smoke. His consistently high performance and few off-course excursions allowed him to easily take the win.

What’s the bottom line here? I got 12 runs for $125. The track was very tight and the mud made it almost impossible to get back on track once you went off. It took about five to ten minutes for each car to be extracted, depending on where it was located and how long it took the car to be hooked up and dragged out. This led to long wait times in line and few runs during each session.

However, the DGTrials people were friendly and helpful. They gave advice on drift technique and told me how to set my shocks and tire pressures for the best results. The competition was well-run and fun to watch. Many interesting cars and people showed up, as well as various food vendors for the hungry drifter.

Final thought: this event was a lot of money for not a lot of drifting. Although the atmosphere was good and the organizers were helpful, the event itself was not very satisfying. The beginners felt as if they were cheated by not having as many sessions as the other drivers, and it seemed like the Aces got preferential treatment for time on-track.

The Scorecard:
Atmosphere: Good
Organization: Fair
Track Time: 12 runs in beginner group
Competition: Fun! To watch . . .
Cost: $125 (minus gas, tolls, and hotel stay)
Overall grade: C-