With every passing year it seems the gap between SEMA and the Super Lap Battle (SLB) finals on the following Wednesday get closer and closer. Just when you think you can relax (and detox), you find yourself driving into the middle of the desert where filthy hotels, crappy food and fast cars await. When the sun comes up in the distance, race fuel stench fills the air and the sound of engines firing to life surround you—it’s suddenly all worth it.

You readers out there may not understand much about the SEMA Show, especially if you’ve never been or will never have the means to get out to one— but understand this: it is a test of many sorts. It pushes you physically, mentally and in many cases, breaks people before the week is even over. For anyone who doesn’t know what the SEMA Show is, it’s a four-day gathering in Las Vegas, thrown by the SEMA organization (Specialty Equipment Marketing Association), to showcase the aftermarket auto industry in all its glory, and nearly anything you can think of, from performance bolt-ons to wheels and so, so much more can be found there—and they don’t discriminate. Import or domestic, there is something for you there and it’s the first place you’ll see many new products coming to light. Of course, for us, this is our biggest event of the year, and we hit it full force in order to show you what’s going to be hot in the future and what’s currently rocking trends. After long days of walking and scouting, followed by endless nights of party rocking, this is what we have to report on. May our feet, brain cells and livers recuperate quickly…

US meet Japan, Japan meet US—or, is it a US meet in Japan? All of the above. The first-ever HellaFlush Japan event held at Fuji Speedway was an international celebration of stance and all that is good about the aftermarket tuning scene. Mark Arcenal and the guys from Fatlace did an amazing job of rounding up what was without a doubt, a previously unseen mixed selection of cars. From chassis-scraping VIP saloons with demon camber, to aggressively-stanced Hondas and Nissans drift cars, not to mention a big group of Euros, pimped mini-vans, vintage rides and Kei cars. Mark was impressed at the dedication the Japanese have, not only to respect and follow a US-based style but somehow evolve it and give it an unmistakable Japanese twist with plenty of extreme examples on show. Wheel manufacturers like Enkei, Work and RAYS Engineering all came out to support the event and bring their most popular models of wheels, some custom-painted in shocking colors to appeal more to this particular scene. Attention to detail is what makes these cars stand out and we were blown away by what we saw. No matter what style you are into, doing it well and with plenty of style is what this HellaFlush thing is all about.

Wekfest doesn’t really need an elaborate introduction. After building a successful event in the Bay area, the organizers have collaborated with Fatlace to tour four other major US cities. The SoCal and Chicago shows were both a big hit this summer so we couldn’t miss Texas last October. Giddy up!

When September comes around each year the old fogies quit their busy schedules of waking up early to walk aimlessly around malls and bring their restored beauties down to the Queen Mary in Long Beach for JCCS. Along with the many amazing restorations in attendance there are guaranteed to be at least a few modified bad boys mixed amongst the yawnfests that get us out of bed for this event.

There’s something about the House of Drift that is extra special. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but anyone that has witnessed a drift event at Irwindale knows what I’m talking about. There’s a vibe in the air that brings every last ounce out of the competitors, much the same way I’d imagine a baseball player would feel at Fenway Park. It’s this inexplicable phenomenon, in addition to Irwindale marking the final stop of the Formula D tour, which ensures an action-packed event every year.

There are two things we like about round six of Formula D. First, it’s the second to last round of the season, meaning all the drivers are pushing harder to win making the competition more entertaining for us to watch. And the second thing… Well, it’s in Vegas. If you’re not intoxicated, yelling “I love Afrojack!” like I do at XS and getting into trouble, you’re doing something wrong. So before we let things really get out of hand, we headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway to get some work done as well as our monthly dose of burnt rubber and spent race fuel.

Four tenths of a second. For David Empringham and the Sierra-Sierra Enterprises time attack team, that was more than the difference between walking away with second spot on the podium and dethroning Eiji ‘Tarzan’ Yamada and Japan’s Cyber Evo for the World Time Attack Challenge crown. So painstakingly close—but for the second year running, so far.

Five years and counting, the guys at Pro-Motion Distributing have delivered one of the most entertaining car shows on the West Coast. Although the organizers changed the name to Motion this year (previously SpoCom), the Long Beach Convention Center was once again filled with SoCal’s best hard-parking show cars, newest dance crews and biggest boobies.

With a little better pre-planning than our first two FF Battles, we thought we’d for certain see a few familiar faces but we didn’t expect being bombarded with requests for people wanting to get into this year’s game. From as far east (and slightly north) as Canada to several local entries, we doubled our group to an overwhelming 23 at the start, dropping down to 19 by the event’s end. So, without further ado, meet FF Battle 3’s fierce group of competitors; we had a blast getting to know our new friends and had a lot of fun shooting the bull with our old ones. Will you be joining us next year?

The scented trail leading up to the Anaheim Convention Center’s doors was unmistakable: mixtures of “stripper” smell, Bath & Body Works Cucumber Melon and other unknown brands of whatever popular female perfumes were on full strength. It’s a tractor beam of sorts, luring you in for another year of SpoCom madness. Oh yeah, there were some cars there, too. Lots of ‘em. All sorts. JDM, USDM, Donked out and even some a little roughed up around the edges—boom. A packed room of enthusiasts there to breathe it all in—a picture with pretty faces with very appreciated “bolt-ons”, LA’s best car clubs (what’s up High End, Hybrid and It’s JDM Yo!) and tuner shops (Evasive Motorsports, Ballade Sports), a couple rows of GT-Rs (chump change, right?), a dance crew or two—yep, just another crazy night in SoCal.

When it comes to import automotive events, the largest has to be the annual Import Alliance Summer Meet. This year was probably the biggest yet, hosting approximately 10,500 attendees with cars that were parked in every free space available inside the Nashville Super Speedway. Spectators from all over the nation make the trek out to Nashville to attend this two-day event and it has grown far beyond any simple car “meet”. With all the partying that goes on during the weekend, the IA summer event has turned into a full-blown social extravaganza.

If you don’t know about FF Battle by now, you’ll probably never know. For the rest of you, rejoice as FFB3 was by far and away the most epic collection of Hondas on General tires the world has ever seen. The first two years were a little shaky—but hey, we had to start somewhere. For 2011, we blew the training wheels off the mother-#&%er and cranked the Battle up to eleventy! With more cars, more breaking and more shit-talking, FFB3 will go down as the year that took FF Battle from six to midnight.

After touring the East Coast for the last three rounds, Formula Drift travelled to the Pacific Northwest—minus the rain thankfully. Thousands of fans equipped with their Birkenstocks and iced lattes made their way to Evergreen Speedway for what would become an unforgettable round five.

It must be painful watching something you created turn into something you no longer believe in. For the founding fathers of the D1 Grand Prix drift series, Keiichi Tsuchiya and Daijiro Inada, we’re sure nothing was more difficult than the moment they decided to step down and leave the famous drift series. They became deeply concerned that the spirit of drifting had become more of a sellout event than what it used to be: an event that sold out; in their hearts, perhaps they’d done the right thing for the better good of the sport. What they decided to do instead was get back to the roots of drifting, where power and money aren’t the determining factors of a team, but instead, the skills of their driver. In just a few short months, Keiichi and Daijiro are back with a new series: Drift Muscle. I had to check out the first round at the Sea Maze Circuit, and let me tell you, I was more than impressed.

Simply mindblowing; that’s the best way to describe this year’s Nagoya Exciting Car Showdown (NECS). After what Japan was put through with the big Tohoku earthquake, the resulting tsunami and nuclear scare, this is just what the tuning scene needed to kick-start the slow recovery back to normality. As you have probably figured out, the huge show held at Nagoya Port Messe exhibition center is unlike any other held in Japan. Forget your Tokyo Auto Salon or Osaka Auto Messe; this is nothing like that, and it’s far more low-key, which makes it so unbelievably great. Now in its fourth itineration the NECS brings together some of the famous names we all know and love, with an even bigger group of names that aren’t as recognized. The idea behind this gathering is to give a chance for smaller shops around the country, particularly the south, to come and show off their creations to enthusiasts. Each year, a tuner is hand picked by Daijiro Inada, who puts together a selection of cars that best represent the various styles that are in vogue at the moment. From drift to time attack, all the way to VIP and drag racing there really is something for everyone at the Port Messe, and if that wasn’t enough, the parking area always fills up with the most incredible variety of cars. Organizers Daijiro Inada and the great Keiichi Tsuchiya decided to turn the show into a big charity event, raising money for the victims of the disaster in the northern part of the country.

Round 4 of the 2011 Formula Drift season welcomed drivers to New Jersey to get their GTL on. And by GTL I of course mean gnarly tandem laps. In the wake of a random onset storm the track was turned into a makeshift lagoon but fortunately dried out in time for competition. Despite the decent weather there were still wrecks-o-plenty on the forecast.

In this year’s Formula Drift series, every track has been familiar to teams and drivers, however round three was a different story. A month after the dust settled in Road Atlanta, competitors travelled 600 miles south to Jupiter, FL, home of Palm Beach International Raceway.

We knew something big was going to go down at this year’s NYIAS, and we knew it was going to happen at the Scion camp. For the past couple years, rumors and various concepts of Toyota’s highly-anticipated FT-86 concept have kept auto enthusiasts guessing as to which auto maker (possible clues led to Toyota and Subaru) would officially be bringing the RWD sports coupe to the US and we finally found our answer here. Unveiled in typical high fashion by Scion execs, the FR-S Concept finally told us what we longed for, that the AE86 successor will come to us shortly (most likely by 2012) with Scion badging.

The annual Eibach Honda meet in Corona has grown from a get-together designed for like-minded enthusiasts to the largest and most famous Honda-only gathering in the world. With cars and spectators coming from all corners of the country this is one event that Honda enthusiasts plan their year around. All the big names in the show scene are present to show off their latest tweaks and as a result Hondas are regularly parked harder here than anywhere else on Earth.

One month after the grand opening of Formula Drift’s eighth season, competitors travelled east to Atlanta, GA for round numero dos. With plenty of shockers after the first round at the Streets of Long Beach, disappointed drivers were eager to move up the ladder while the leaders were looking to maintain their advantage in the chase for the championship.

For its maiden voyage outside of the Bay Area, the Wekfest tour made its second stop in sunny SoCal at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably because this spot plays host to a number of car shows, namely Toyotafest and JCCS, and for good reason. The weather is almost always phenomenal and this day was no different. It was the perfect stereotypical Southern California day, the kind that remind you exactly why it costs so much to live here.

Respect goes to the Toyota Owner’s and Restorer’s Club, aka TORC. While we’ve all enjoyed the electrifying culture behind Hot Import Nights, SpoCom, Wekfest and HellaFlush, there’s not much out there that has the heritage and presentation quality of Toyotafest. Presented by TORC, this year celebrated the 16th year of Toyotafest with the venue returning to the beautiful Queen Mary—a retired ocean liner on the coast of Long Beach, CA.

As a competitor and near finalist in the US edition of Gran Turismo’s popular GT Academy, I was thrilled when Sony and Nissan offered to have me out to the National Finals in Orlando Florida. For those of you unfamiliar with the contest the aim is to select the fastest virtual racers around and see if they can hack it as real professional motorsport drivers. While many were skeptical with the initial concept, the winner of the first GT Academy, Lucas Ordonez, has already gone on to lead a successful sports car career including the 24h of Dubai, two full seasons in the FIA GT4 European championship and, starting this year, a seat in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup behind the wheel of the Nissan Signatech LMP2 car.

Last summer I covered what I thought was one of the most epic car meets on the East Coast—last year’s Import Alliance. I was so terribly wrong for thinking that. This year, Import Alliance’s Spring Meet was far beyond what I thought was a good show in my mind. Imagine a parking deck with eight stories of intertwined levels, each having different sections to them, not to mention EVERY single spot was taken. We might not be on the same level that Cali is, but that hasn’t stopped our scene from literally exploding over the past couple of years. With the Euro crowd representing the best “Flushed/Stanced” category, there were also a couple other cars that caught my eye: a VIP-styled Lexus GS300 with a 650hp 2JZ swap, and a gold EG Civic with so much camber, you’d have thought it was a VIP car. The best part wasn’t the turbo LS with the exhaust sticking out of the bumper, but the tall blonde who owns it. With the summer Import Alliance meet just around the corner, I can’t wait to see if any word will be able to come close to topping “epic”. It’ll be in Hotlanta, so who knows…