Does Anyone Feel the Same Way I Do?

[dori_kin_86]

This is my first post so, here it goes.

I love that drifting is getting popular in the US, but I fear it will lose its spirit of sportsmanship and respect. Even though it is competitive, people have a respect for each other because they are fellow drifters. Now, a lot more people are getting into drifting, that is both good and bad. Unfortunately, youthful IDIOTS are trying it, crashing, and complaining. Because of this, I also fear that the media will treat it like they do every other thing people get hurt doing (skateboading, etc.) I just hope it doesn't be treated like a trend, and lose the sportsmanship factor.

Do any of you feel the same way?

[Too New To Know]

damn dude, you just summed up how ive been thinking for the last months or so....

im more so worried about track days becoming full of ego's, no more friendlyness.. people forget we are all there for the same reason, to get our cars sideways and have fun doing so, i hope it stays this way

[_/_/_/M aurice]

Hopefully it won't turn into what street racing is now...

I was gonna say drag racing, but people are actually quite helpful to fellow racers...

[Layla's Keeper]

I think that the animosity you're sensing, at least at the top levels, is coming from the factory and big contract guys who aren't there "for the fun of the sport", but are there because now it's their job and their job to win.

Take a look at NHRA Pro Stock. A full field of 16 cars is usually covered by maybe 3 tenths of a second. The Pro Stock guys 'effin HATE each other. Warren Johnson, Jeg Coughlin, Greg Anderson, Mark Pawuk, Scott Geoffrion, all of em are bitter rivals who have triple mortgaged their souls to get the guy in the other lane to go up in tire smoke or break engine parts.

It's this way because the purse barely covers the car. Winning is the only way to keep the team alive for the next round.

And guess what, with a Formula D event paying 5K to win, and a competitive car costing about ten to twenty times that to build, you get a lot of very hungry guys wanting that win. As more pros are born, competition will intensify. Amateur attitudes are for amateur drivers.

There's an old saying in short track racing that's very applicable. "Wreck 'er or checker." Drive balls to the wall and don't leave a single scrap on the table for your opponent, because that'll always comeback to bite you.

[Suislide]

drifting was never meant to be competitive though.

started out as just a fun hobby, then the amatuer competitions and D1 were created. that changed all that, but even D1 and BM Hai competitions (and other such smaller ones) aren't FIERCELY competitive. the guys still go out for the MAIN focus of having fun and doing what they love, and doing it with other people who are hardcore enthusiasts of the hobby/sport/whatever.

now Formula D and all the other "americanized" competitions show up, and the main focus is "win win win". fuck sportsmanship, fuck fellowship, fuck having fun. if you can't win, why come out? that's the attitude that i've come to grasp from it. and people, such as Millen and Hubinette, who have never taken an interest in drifting before, are now drifting only since, and because, it became popular, and are signed on with huge corporate-backed teams, drifting in huge american cars that were never meant to drift.

the thing about F-D is that only those corporate-backed teams CAN have a chance at doing well. Hubinette is winning every one, because the REAL enthusiasts can't afford to trailer their car around to every single event on the calender, or afford to fix it after every event etc.

so there's my stand-point. once again, comment if you will, but don't expect to change the way i look at things. it's not an easy thing to do.

[ac427cpe]

drifting was never meant to be competative?


from my experience... if more than one person is doing something, there is competition.

the hoby of "drift" maybe, as an automotive ballet... not as a blocking technique used since the dawn of car...

[Layla's Keeper]

'scuse me for pointing this out, but Hubinette and Millen both were involved in drifting before their respective Mopar and Pontiac contracts. They looked at drifting and thought "hmm, a fun alternative to rallying and touring cars, maybe I should go compete there."

Guess what, when racing drivers get into motorsport, they go in it to win. There is NOTHING else in motorsport the equal of a victory. You want to just toss your car around sideways, fine. Stay amateur. But don't show up at a pro event and then bitch about how nobody is interested in having fun. Pros make their living on their racing, and drifting is a motorsport through and through.

Hell, this board was lit up months ago defending 'til it was blue in the face that drifting was a legit motorsport. What kind of hypocrites are we to then say (when the pro competition is too much for pussy amateurs) that drifting "isn't meant to be a competition".

Christ, grow a pair and get a sponsor. Stop acting like a bunch of children and talk to the evil guys in the suits because if you put Tide or eBay or Preparation H on the side of your race car THEY'LL PAY THE BILLS!

[alesserfate]

everyone is sorta right, its just that local hometown events should be seperate from competition events, hometown drift session = no sponsored shit, competition events, anyone whos ready to battle =), hometown are just new drifters and beer after drifting kinda thing

[Chris240]

bah... hubinette sucks

[Too New To Know]

We had our first drift event (in australia) about 6 months back and it was absolutely awesome, everyone was so friendly and the host company flew a heap of D-1 drivers from Signal to demonstrate at the end of the event, these guys are so damn friendly, one even ran up to the girls doing a sexy kind of dance during the half-time and started dancing like them and having a good time.. THATS what its about, WHETHER OR NOT ITS NOW A GLOBAL MOTORSPORT COMPETING FOR A PRIZE AT THE END, EGO'S ARE LEFT AT HOME, it was never about coming first, thats for circuit racers of all kinds, not drift, its not a race, its more of an exhibition sport... If the 'opposition' pulls off a really nice lap, go and tell him you thought it was awesome, check out his car and be nice, dont sit there despising him because your lap sucked ass compared to his.

Thats MY two cents, which everyone is entitled to. So please, dont come back at me with nasty comments, id prefer it if you came up with something intelligent to say

[Soyo]

all I'm gonna say is, if I could get a sponser for my car I would do it in a second so I have no problem with big teams... the whole sport has grown from the competition, and there is a better market for parts and better parts because companies are competing for your money so they need to make the best parts possible

[Too New To Know]

true, there is nothing wrong with sponsers and commercialisation (if thats even a word), just keep being friendly

[AkinaSpecialist]

Dont wanna correct you or anything, but I think you were looking for commericalism* lol nifty made up word though.
Commercialisationioneded (extra letters make it better)

And thank me for adding nothing useful to this conversation.

Actually no.

Sponsors and commercialism is in every sport. Motor sports and so on. Why else would you see Mc Donalds banner hanging on the side of a Hockey game?

Without commercialism cant have money. No money no super tuned cars. No super tuned cars no Drift events. So on and so forth.

Haha get sponsored by 7-11. Never seen there logo on any cars.

[Too New To Know]

hahahah that'd be interesting.. i was thinking of getting sponsored by a heaps of sex shops, dildo companys and condom manufacturers, i think they'd go for it too, considering all the blokes and what not that would see the car

[Layla's Keeper]

7-11 actually sponsored a lot of road racing efforts in IMSA back in the 80's, mostly Ford factory efforts like this Mustang GTP.



and this IMSA GTO class Mustang that was driven to many victories by Lyn St. James and Bill Elliot.