M. Raymond Carrillo
Professor Dillard
English 1301
September 17, 2012 Sideways Turning sideways in car at high speeds may seem scary to a person that has never seen or heard of drift racing. “Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner” (Abdulrahim). This sport started off in Japan and made its way to America in the late 1980s early 1990s but was known more as an underground sport as was referred to as “canyon racing”. It was not until 2004 when Formula Drift or Formula D. was established and sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing (Sports Car Club of America) and was known as a worldwide sport where drivers could compete for top slots from around the globe. Today drifting is mainly judged on four criteria: speed, line, angle, and overall impression. Unlike Nascar Racing where a driver is trained to stay in complete control; drifting is the exact opposite. As a Formula Drift Racer an individual has to have an endless amount of dedication, complete trust in their team and vehicle, and overall courage. When purchasing a vehicle, the average person will spend anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000. In most cases, “drifters” will spend that much if not more than what the car is actually worth on just upgrades alone. These upgrades include suspension, performance parts for a motor, wheels and tires, an upgraded brake system, and numerous other parts for the vehicle to get it to perform properly on a race track. If a driver is just starting out it can be pretty hard to pay for these parts without a sponsor. A lot of times if a person is building the car themselves they could end up using a substantial amount of money, an enormous amount of time, and dedication. The dedication and time that is put into a drift car is important because any small error that is overlooked could cause major disaster on the race track. A driver has to have complete trust in their drift car and team when racing because there are very real hazards involved with this sport. Every detail is vital from tuning of the motor to tweaks in the suspension. The team has to make sure that the car is running perfectly. A slight miscalculation could cost a driver the race, cause an injury, or even worse… death. Drivers have to be completely confident in their driving skills to push their cars to the limit. These cars are not designed to withstand