drifting seems to be catching on big time(and the results are starting to get to me)

[RicR_wana_B]

is it me or is everyone jocking drifting now-a-days? i say this becuase i have seen sooo many people try to talk about drifting and how much they know about it and yet embaress themselves when asked a real question about it. there have been a few shows on TV lately involving drifting and how much it has caught on in america... but its gettin kinda out of hand, ya i like drifting just as much as the next guy, but it seems to me like everyone is just jumpin on the band wagon becuase its the "new thing" and its kinda making me sick...

[Layla's Keeper]

Well, let's start out by pointing out that while - yes - most every major automotive magazine has done a drifting article in the past year it's mostly because the sport has hit the states hard.

When you sell out a circle track mecca like Irwindale two years in a row, and start your very own (and highly attended) pro series with involvement from none other than the SCCA then peope stand up and take notice.

To quote Autoweek "We know drifting is legit now; Bob Bondurant has started a drifting school."

That's not bandwagoning, that's reporting a polar shift within motorsports. Drifting is 100% motoring entertainment (from a spectator's point of view). It's a show, and it's a show that works ridiculously well to get people's atttention.

This year, Formula Drift was 4 events. Next year, it may grow to double that. There are more than enough locations and the number of potential ticket-buyers is lure enough for track owners to step up and say "sure, hold it here."

Don't be surprised if, as Formula Drift gains support, grows stars, and continues to be a manufacturer's darling, you start seeing the events televised. Face it, drifting is coming into its own as a legitimate motorsport in the US and is being treated as such.

[-The Stig-]

Can I get an Amen?




Let the Driftin' Revolution begin! w00t.

[veyron 16/4]

well i was going to seriously get into drifting but ended up getting a fwd, auto, 4 banger alero have to have this car for a couple years so looks like im missing out

[ac427cpe]

there will always be wanna-be's in autosports, and you should probably do the same as any other realm of the sport: inform or ignore.

[mospeed1]

i use to drift about 10 years ago in highschool,but it wasnt called drifting it was called losing control,spinning out,tailwhips,donuts(our insert other terms here)

[drftk1d]

Originally Posted by RicR_wana_B

is it me or is everyone jocking drifting now-a-days? i say this becuase i have seen sooo many people try to talk about drifting and how much they know about it and yet embaress themselves when asked a real question about it. there have been a few shows on TV lately involving drifting and how much it has caught on in america... but its gettin kinda out of hand, ya i like drifting just as much as the next guy, but it seems to me like everyone is just jumpin on the band wagon becuase its the "new thing" and its kinda making me sick...

I think its just you.

[RicR_wana_B]

it probably just is, im not saying that drifting sucks or anything like that... its just that drifting is brand new or almost brand new to the US and all these hacks who bs with it get really annoying

[_/_/_/M aurice]

I see where you are coming from and I can't wait until it turns into every other motorsport - too expensive for those who love the sport for being relatively affordable and dominated by "big guns" who are born with money and have no real feeling for it. That way, some true talent will never be seen and the poor kids like me will just frown upon everything about the sport.

[Layla's Keeper]

Heh, Maurice you really know what you're talking about.

Just like the rest of the poser kids, you're talking about "the big bad corporations" and how all of the talent "is on the streets". That is bullshit and you know it.

And guess what, big money isn't dominating. Two guys in a beat up old El Camino are tied for 12th in points with the factory GTO in Formula D. That's sounding pretty equal to me. And how about Alex Pfeiffer? Oh yeah, tons of money there.

Besides, if you don't have the money to compete professionally (because that's what they're doing) there are plenty of AMATEUR events popping up everywhere. Both the SCCA and the NASA sanction amateur drift events across the country, not to mention all of the track days clubs are snapping up so that they themselves can go drift.

Yes, to compete in Formula D you need to have a full sponsor package and a fairly tuned vehicle to compete for outright wins, but Formula D is also the top level of drifting in America so it'd damn well better require that. But you don't have to run Formula D in order to compete in drifting in the U.S.

[1viadrft]

I know you guys hate me when I start on this subject... but I hate the mass-media-whore-out of drifting myself. Seems like all the big Corporations just wanna cash in... (Pontiac and CHRYSLER, etc, etc) and all the little guys are gonna get shat on! Sure there are some small time guys making a name for themselves out there now... but for how much longer? Don't you think that in a few years if drifting continues the way it its going... that other corporations aren't wanna get envolved? This is good for drifting you say? Negative... not for me. And it sure as hell is not for the small-time guys. They will go the way of the dodo once the whole roster is packed with corporate sponsorshiped drivers and cars. Yeah... it's good for drifting... if you invested into it and can make some money out of it!

[_/_/_/M aurice]

^ exactly. Sorry if it sounds like I am a poser kid, but I most definatly am not. If I am, then I am a talanted poser kid... with no money of course.

[Layla's Keeper]

And it sure as hell is not for the small-time guys. They will go the way of the dodo once the whole roster is packed with corporate sponsorshiped drivers and cars

Umm, obviously you've never been involved in professional sports. I have, and let me explain to you what happens to talented drivers; they get better rides with more pay and more resources.

Rhys Millen impressed people with his LanEvo and his D1 run in the Supra. Pontiac liked what they saw with Millen. They liked what he could do with a car and liked his technical prowess, that's why Millen has the GTO contract.

Let's say Ford wants to go drifting in D1 with the Mustang in 05. They want maximum talent for minimum dollar. That's business (and racing is a business, numbnuts). They'll want a proven drifter, naturally, and they'll want someone adaptable who's a popular name driver (after all, they'd want to avoid the booing mess Millen got into when he debuted the GTO). Ford, therefore, would look at popular drifters like Calvin Wan, Chris Forsberg, and Alex Pfeiffer and offer them factory rides. If any one of them had enough synapses to form a coherent thought, they'd take the ride.

Industry involvement also means more parts for our cars. More parts also means less expensive parts. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to buy drift spec Nissan suspension parts over the counter from Stillen? Better coil-overs from Eibach?

Besides, I have always said this. Professional means Big Dogs. If the little guy can't afford to go pro, then he doesn't belong in the pro series. Do we think F1 is unfair because Minardi doesn't have Ferrari's pocketbooks? That NASCAR is unfair because Travis Carter doesn't have the tech staff of Hendricks Motorsports? That IRL is unfair because the Chevy-Cosworth doesn't make the power of the Honda?

No. So it's hypocritical to then say that Formula D is unfair because the factories have bigger budgets than the small fries.

So start living in the real world of motorsports.

[gigglesnirt]

woooo i actually read a whole thread that was more than one finger scroll, now im my hero!

in response to the start of the thread i dont think you should worry aboot the people who dont know anything aboot drifitng, just go on how you would, maybe correct them if your that type of person, but what you do is all that matters, and if you wanna drift, then drift, and ignore the peopel that dont know shit

[1viadrft]

Originally Posted by Layla's Keeper

Umm, obviously you've never been involved in professional sports. I have, and let me explain to you what happens to talented drivers; they get better rides with more pay and more resources.

My-my... Layla... still haven't quite gotten over yourself yet, huh?

Originally Posted by Layla's Keeper

No. So it's hypocritical to then say that Formula D is unfair because the factories have bigger budgets than the small fries.
So start living in the real world of motorsports.

It not fair... this sport started among the "amatuerish" and we are seeing the spotlight on all the "pros" with their Vipers... screw those guys! What is next? Factory backed Ferrari's? It's getting silly! Hey I don't even really mind that the domestics are getting into it anymore... but these rich-snobs getting involved kinda take the fun out of it y'know? Sure there are small track events and shit going on... I know this... you know this. Maybe I'm asking too much... I wanna see Stars not Super-Cosmic Stars. But I fear it is gonna get much worse. Back onto topic... it's just getting too popular. There are tons of cons and pros arguably. But I have had my fill of "dorifto" S13's running rampant around the town. It's no longer unique.