Drifting: What its All About

Since I am using my husband's laptop while we are traveling, I don't have my photos and software I like using. I do, however, have enough drift footage to watch for a year. (I really don't think that is an exaggeration.)

So, I figure now is a good time to tell you about this "hobby" that has taken over my life.

I wasn't quite sure how to start explaining so, of course, I google'd it. "What is drifting?"
This was the top result:

 I find this quite humorous.

How I typically explain it to people when they ask is, you drive a rear wheel drive car on a track with a bunch of turns and you control the oversteer (Like when you fishtail while driving in snow...). Its not about getting through the course the fastest, it is about style. Although speed is important, it is not the only factor. There are certain areas of the track called "clipping points" where the judges would like to see either the front or rear of your car in that zone.

For example:

 
You can see at the beginning where they go straight and then break the rear wheels loose to whip around the corner.

Now the judging...
There are 3 judges who look at speed, line, angle, and style.
100 points would be perfect. Points are taken off for mistakes. If you spin, straighten, or go off course you get a zero for that round.

Formula Drift explains it really well.

Qualifying is running the course alone and receiving your score from the judges. You are given 2 chances and they automatically use your highest score.
From there, they put you into brackets based on the top 16. This is where the real fun begins. Tandem competition. 1st drives against 16th, 2nd against 15th and so on.
Each car is given a lead and a follow run. The leader needs to have a good line, angle, speed, and style, just like qualifying. Meanwhile, the following car need to take the same line as the first car and get as close as possible. Then, they switch.

It can get pretty intense.

They continue to knock people out of the bracket to get the top 8. From there you get the top 4 victors!

This is an amazingly fun motorsport! It is 100% spectator based. It is fast! It is exciting! It blows any other motorsport out of the water! (In my humble opinion)

For anyone who wants to attend, Team D-Spare is having a drifting expedition at Rocky Mountain Raceway on August 3!

COME! You won't be disappointed!

Across the Country

On Friday, my husband and I started on our trip to Pennsylvania where Brandon would be teaching a class on Natural Gas Vehicle conversion. We were driving for 3 days!!! Actually, it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed spending time with Brandon, just the two of us.
 
This was day 2 of the drive.

I have to admit, I'm absolutely in love with Pennsylvania. Ford City is probably the most gorgeous place I have ever seen. I'm going to take pictures tomorrow to post on here. 

Weekend of Drifting

This past weekend, my husband and I traveled to Fountain, Colorado for a drift event hosted by Triple Crown Drift. The purple car is my husband's.  We had 4 other drivers from Utah with us.  Together  they make the "D-Spare Drift Team".

 The event was Saturday and Sunday. After practicing all day Saturday, there was a "Sickest Entry Competition". Where all contestants would try to enter the first corner of the track with the most extreme style. With speeds 100+ mph, my husband, Brandon, won first place!

 On Sunday, there was a little practice before qualifying. (I will do a whole post on exactly what drifting is and how the competitions work) Brandon qualified 1st. Then the real fun of Tandem begins. At the end of the day Brandon took 1st and Nick, part of the D-Spare team, took 2nd! The other Utah drivers did incredible as well!

This amazing video was shot with a go-pro and hexacoptor. Pretty much the coolest thing ever. I'm so proud of my husband and the whole team!
xo: Amber