If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a professional drifter, today is your lucky day. Many of us assume it’s an awesome job; to be able to drive awesome cars, attend notable events, and consume as many free energy drinks as your heart can handle. Last weekend I learned the realities of this profession as I had the opportunity to follow Vaughn Gittin JR around Irwindale for Round 7 of Formula drift. I mean, if I’m going to shadow a drifter, why not follow the 2010 Formula Drift Champion? Here is what our day consisted of:
11:30am – Formula Drift Insider Interview on Track: Vaughn started his day with a head to head with Ross Petty to settle some conspiracy accusations. If you’re a regular Wrecked reader, you’ll have seen our post with a link where Ross Petty suggests a “conflict of interest” between Tony Angelo and Drift Alliance members. We settled this by breaking down each judge’s call at Road Atlanta, disproving Ross’s assumption. It was hilarious to see Ross bringing out his crew of 15 or so, decked out in their 1990s camo pants and belly shirts. JR did the interview without any “backup.”
12:00pm – Falken Tent /Lunch: The schedule said lunch but at no point did I see JR eat. JR spent most of his time talking with his crew and the folks from Ford Racing.
12:30pm – Driver’s Meeting: All the drivers were herded into a small tent to get any new instructions for the day.
1:00pm – Massage: This wasn’t on the schedule but apparently some folks from Massage Envy set up shop right across from the Falken area and offered JR a deal he couldn’t refuse.
1:20pm – Phone Interview with Hot Rod Magazine Radio: When you’re a popular competitor in the motorsports world, everyone wants a piece of you. To accommodate a phone interview with this online radio show, JR had to hideout in a rental car.
1:37pm – Peed: Note* I did not follow him for this part of the day.
1:45pm – Time to get into the zone: JR had 15 minutes in the schedule to relax and get his head into the zone which in reality was about 2 minutes, which he used to enjoy a fresh juice and start walking to the grid.
2:00pm – Practice: Two whole hours were dedicated to practicing on the track. JR had a little fun with this and showed off his drifting skills on his way to the starting line. One of his practice opponents was none other than Ross Petty. Awkward… Click here to watch some of Vaughn Gittin’s practice laps.
4:00pm – Top 32 HRE Interview: With the start of the Top 32 being postponed by 15 minutes, I thought this was my time to sit down for a breather but NO! What? JR has a few spare minutes? Let’s do an interview! So we hightailed it over to HRE for some camera time and photos.
4:15pm – Top 32: And so the action begins! JR went up against Mike Essa and after an awesome run with a slight tap on the wall, the judges voted on an OMT. JR’s run, even with the tap, was definitely better than Essa’s but what do I know, I’m not a judge. After the OMT the judges went with Essa, saying JR had too many corrections. It sucked to see JR out so early but he’s had a great year so far – he just got back from China where he won the opening round of the World Drift Series!
6:00pm – Half Time / Eat More Crew Talk: After his run, JR stayed on the track with his crew to support the other drivers. When half time came around and everyone started heading back to the tents, I figured the night was over and I won’t lie: I was a tiny bit relieved because holy shit my feet were tired! But alas, JR is JR and just because he was out did not mean it was downtime. He spent the next 30 minutes or so talking with his crew and mechanics.
6:30pm – Alpinestars Autograph Session: JR joined other drivers Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, Matt Powers, and Fredric Aasbo over at the Astars booth to do an autograph session. The line was to infinity and beyond and poor Abby had to tear JR away to get to back to Falken to chat with fans over there for another 15 mins or so before heading to Exedy.
6:45pm – Autographs/Pictures: You would never know JR was out of the competition with the droves of fans that were lined up to meet him. And they would not stop coming! Come on! I’m starving here…
7:00pm 7:10pm – Exedy Appearance/Swag Giveaway: We needed to be at Exedy by 7pm but holy shit people are relentless! Can I get an autograph? Can I get a picture? Oh, it was blurry, let’s take another one! My 6-month-old daughter wants a picture with you too! It wasn’t even like we were standing around with nothing to do. JR was clearly walking like he was on a mission but the fans couldn’t care less. They just wanted 17 seconds with their favorite driver. So finally we made it to Exedy and people went bat-shit crazy over some free stickers.
7:30pm – Finally, some damn food: I was borderline hangry at this point so thank the lord it was time to finally eat.
8:00 pm– Top 16: Because JR is such a great sport and truly loves drifting, he stayed and watched the rest of the competitors. It turned out to be a great night with Tyler McQuarrie taking 1st Place for the round and Dai Yoshihara taking the title of 2011 Formula Drift Champion.
So what did I learn? There is a lot of work that goes into being a successful drifter. You need to be willing to put in the hours, the sweat, and most importantly – you have to love it. Huge thanks to Vaughn Gittin JR for allowing me to be a fly on his wall, and huge thanks to his fiancée Abby for making it all happen (and keeping JR as close to schedule as possible).
