"Damnit,"you mutter under your breath. It's only 7:20 and according to the schedule the top 16 aren't supposed to start 'till 7:30, but the voice over the PA just announced the start of the final rounds. You make your way through the gates and break into a dash. Your heart starts beating faster both from the lack of exercise and the increasing clamor from the track. The uncontainable excitement of watching the best at their sport going one-on-one around the course at breakneck speeds with a blatant disregard for tire grip draws beads of sweat. This isn't IRL, NASCAR or NHRA--it's Formula Drift, the latest and greatest motorsport to rip up the track.
As you make your way up to the grandstands, the shriek of tires draws your attention to the ensuing battle. You stop and stare in awe. No matter how many times you've seen it, drifting is the only type of racing that never fails to strike an inner chord, likerunning into an old high school flame--only this time, there's something different. The lead car is a category favorite, a Nissan 240SX, however, the trailing ride is something you've never seen.
Much smaller than the Nissan, the car's bright blue, red and yellow colors flicker left and right as it feints and shifts its weight. Entering the key horseshoe of the course, the small blue coupe looks like it's going to crash into the reinforced K wall, when at the last second it snaps quickly to the side, pluming smoke out from the rear fender wells, and pounces towards the 240SX. The blue wonder in its aggressive line creeps towards the lead car until they are neck and neck mid-turn.
The crowd holds its breath.
Both cars exit the turn tires wailing. However, the 240SX is forced to hang back and watch as the new lead car pulls ahead, spraying a thick tire-filled mist as it turns into the last corner, emerging as the round victor. As the smoke settles, you think to yourself two things: how dope drifting is, and where you've seen the familiar Red Bull vinyl scheme.