It was undoubtedly one of the hottest weekends in recent memory and cause for dropping complaints into the suggestion box. Along the way, the temperature read 119 on the massive thermometer tower in the city of Baker, which should have indicated that we'd soon be approaching hell, a more apt name at this time of year for the City of Sin. Air conditioning is useless when the temperature at 11 at night isn't that much cooler than at 6. Why anyone would choose the middle of July to put on an outdoor event in Las Vegas, we couldn't fathom. We didn't want to. All we knew was NHRA was prepared for the arrival of D1GP, along with the famous drifters that would be sharing top billing alongside today's fastest drag racers--the first time ever that the world's most famous drifting series would partner with one of the oldest drag racing shows ever produced. Would it be the 100mph sideways-entry speeds or the 200mph top speed readings at the end of the quarter-mile that would come out on top? The fans got to decide.
Early reports from the track warned us of 124 degree on-track temperatures. We also caught wind that D1's track officials had set up their fastest course yet, with some drivers entering at near triple digit speeds. It was by no means an official stop for points, but that didn't keep either the Japanese or American drivers from giving anything less than an exciting performance. As the sun dropped off into the darkness, the unmistakable melding of SR20s, Mustang V8s, high revving 4AGs and 13Bs could be heard ricocheting off the metallic bleachers from the Speedway. The Top 16 qualifiers were all familiar faces: like last winter's US versus Japan winner, JR Gittin; Kazama in the Move S15 Silvia; and Alex Pfeiffer in BRS' Time Attack RX-7, debuting as a competitive drift car.
The course, while designed to be dangerously fast, also forced many of the Japanese into the wall during transitioning, sending Nomuken, Naoto Suenaga and Tatsuya Sakuma home after irreparable damage was caused from contact with the k-rails. From there, it was a powerful show of tandem battling, where in the end, Nobushige Kumakubo from Team Orange placed Second behind Toshiki Yoshioka, who drove the DrooP AE86. JR Gittin also had plenty of reason to celebrate as he was awarded $1000 for his flair and driving skill by the Las Vegas Motor Speedway's owner, Chris Blair, for what Chris described as "the best representation of a US drifter."