drifting at the D1

bret, paul and i went out to the california motor speedway to see the top american drifters take on the top japanese drifters. it was pretty cool. one or two cars at a time floor it from a standstill down a straightaway, reach about 100 mph, then power through an s-turn like sprint cars on asphalt. the horsepower involved in breaking the traction of the rear tires is awesome, and the skill involved in maintaining the slide is pretty hairy. the drivers are judged on style. the americans really can’t hold a candle to the japanese at this point. they just kick ass. messrs. yokohama, bridgestone, firestone, et. al. are definitely bankrolling this sport, as it involves applying sick amounts of horsepower to expensive tires until they smoke so heavily as to create clouds obscuring the sun and moon. it certainly deserves its own paragraph in the kyoto accord.
i put up a few photos. and here’s a movie