RESULTS
First Vaughn JR Gittin, Falken Mustang
Second Tatsuya Sakuma, Nissan S15 Silvia
Shark Attack
With the ever-growing popularity of D1, so are its sponsors. Shark Energy Drink not only provided refreshment for the fans but also offered up cash prizes for qualifying drivers in Saturday's event. Rod Millen walked away with $500 while Tanner Foust grabbed $300 and Hiro Sumida took $200 for his efforts. For more information on Shark, log onto www.sharkusa.com.
What is the deal with all these kids carrying used drift tires?
If you've been to any drift event, then you've probably ran into one of these people or are a used tire taker yourself. This amuses and confuses us in many ways, so we stopped De Andre Ivey and his friends at D1GP to ask what the skinny is behind taking these tires home as souvenirs.
Super Street: Why the heck are you collecting used drift tires? Gift for a girlfriend? Makes a great coffee table? Spare tire for your own car? What is the deal?
De Andre: Man, my brothers (Josh, Caleb and Jimmy) and I are hardcore fans of the import kind and we saw this as our chance of having a piece of the professional drifting world all to ourselves. Plus I'm a struggling college student and this acts as a great coffee table/chair/way to impress the ladies. I'm just trying to be like Rikdaddy, you know?
SS: Whose tire did you steal...um, take?
DA: Mr. Ueno was so gracious to give us his tire and it just so happened that while his back was turned we were able to reach over and snag one of his burnt goodies. No, we didn't steal it, but we did take it and moved on quickly.
SS: Is collecting tires a pastime of yours? When did you start getting into it? When you walk by other guys or girls who have tires weighing them down, do you give each other the nod?
DA: It's not a pastime of ours actually. We just started collecting tires but I have gone through many tires of my own on my '99 Si. Yeah it's kind of understood we all have a love for drifting and the whole import culture, so the "nod" does come into effect here. First we look and see if their tire is more destroyed than ours, then give them the nod of approval.
SS: Stealing tires used to be cool. You guys are weird.