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Keep Drifting Fun [video]
By Zack Klapman
The phrase “Keep Drifting Fun” sounds a little bit like an oxymoron. It’s cars going sideways, why wouldn’t that be fun?
Well, the manufacturer sponsors, world-class competition comprised of some of the best car controllers alive, and the deluge of models, energy drinks, stickers, military-themed t-shirt brands, and so many flat-billed hats to build a 20-story apartment building, had made drifting look like it was headed the way of F1 or road racing; motorsports that are cost-prohibitive to most, and more about business deals and the scientific reduction of lap times, than the enjoyment of driving.
I guess some people were concerned drifting was going that way, becoming disconnected from its roots in parking lots and back roads. But what makes this video series so good, is that those people are some of the pros themselves. Guys like Nate Hamilton, Chris Forsberg, and Matt Petty, sit down to explain why drifting grabbed them the way it did, and why other people followed suit. And for all you “drifting is slow” people out there, this should give you some insight into why some people prefer smoky tires to fastest laps.
The common answer between them is one that I personally connect with: the people that were interested in skateboarding, BMX, “alternative” sports of the X Games, are the people that love drifting. Chris Forsberg explained, “…skateboarder or bike if you were a kid, you know, turning into a car and still having that same attitude and, you know, showing off your style with your next vehicle.” A car is just a vehicle for that attitude, that interest, that thing that makes some of us want to ollie a stair set instead of throwing a football. There’s both an individuality and an accessibility to drifting, and that’s why it attracts so many people, and such similar people.
Shot and edited like a skate video, it follows several drivers as they go around the country to smaller venues, where amateur drivers bring out whatever they have (Datsun General Lee pickup? Bring it!), burn tires, clip cones, just because they like to. The video focuses on the privateers that go to sandy parking lots, whether they have a swapped LS motor or the stock 4 banger, and just go play. Do it because it’s fun, not because you want to get rich and famous. That’s why these guys do it. Fun was the goal, success is just a by-product.
As Tony Angelo put it, “We were street racing, we were riding BMW…when we saw drifting, it was like, this is really reckless, and awesome, and we should do this immediately.”
For more reckless drifting, check out our crazy-close video of the SEMA Hoonigan drift expo.
(Diclosure: the video is presented by NOS, which is probably why you don’t have Tanner or JR on screen. But I’m sure they’ll watch this at home, and agree with the message).
Source: TiDdimond
Follow us on Twitter: @thesmokingtire @zackklapman
The Smoking Tire
The Smoking Tire’s YouTube Channel
2012-12-04 11:03:20
Source: http://www.thesmokingtire.com/2012/keep-drifting-fun-video/
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