HOUSE OF DRIFT
Title fight at the Irwindale Event Center

Story by Mark Dorman Pictures by Eric Dorman Formula Drift: Round 7 – Title Fight at Irwindale Speedway How did you miss it? Two years ago, I had the privilege of covering the Championship Round of Formula Drift. It was an awesome event filled with tire smoke, crashes, and epic duals round after round. The energy was intoxicating, excitement levels were high, and the venue sold out.

Fast forward to 2013 and the season was coming to an end and excitement was building for the Title Fight. Now I could try to fill you in on all the details and give you a play by play of each stage of the competition, but that is what most coverage of the event goes over. Instead I want to tell why you need to be there next year. Whether you love the smell of burning rubber, the excitement of competition, fast cars, beautiful women, or tuner parts, there is something for everyone.

Before the races even start, sponsors and vendors fill the speedway with booths and trailers. You can get up close and personal with some of the race cars. Ken Gushi's Greddy FT86 was on display; custom STI motor swap, Rocketbunny Kit, Zip Ties and all. Ford was there with its latest line up of fun cars like the Mustang GT and Focus ST, letting attendees play around in the cars and see what new technologies they had to offer. Other sponsors and vendors debuted their latest parts for cars like the Hyundai Genesis Coupe and Scion FR-S. In the back end of the complex groups like Royal Origins and CaliAccordMeet showed off their rides with pride in the Slammed Society meet. The races start out with thundering engines and screeching tires filling the air with smoke. Even in the warm up stages the action was intense. If you have only watched drifting on a television, you have no idea what you are missing out on. The feeling you get under your skin when a 600+ horsepower car rips by sliding sideways is surreal. The difference is akin to watching a TV show about the beaches in Hawaii, and actually being on the North Shore during a big swell. There is no comparison. With Irwindale Speedway selling all 7500 available seats, they also sold hundreds of standing room only tickets. Needless to say, the energy and fan involvement was phenomenal.

Whether you are a fan of drifting, love cars, or just enjoy getting out and doing fun things, you have to check out a Formula Drift event. In the world of cars, things don’t get much more exciting than this. For more information about Formula Drift, go to formulad.com For more information about the Irwindale Event Center, go to irwindalespeedway.com