RM: What is the most important factor to consider in order to win a Pro Amateur Drift competition?
I think I have been trying to figure it out for the last 2 years. As you grow in the sport it changes because theres so many disappointments with not winning and if you become too focused on winning that becomes the reason you do not win. And being in the sport two years I wanted something to show for the input I gave and I wanted to bring something home because its so hard. You just want to win and win and win and with that pressure you end up not winning. Your mind takes over your body and if that happens its troubling. When a basketball player is shooting they do not think about it. They let the ball go and it is all muscle memory. Which is why mentally you can clog yourself. The more focused you are on winning the harder it is. You have to have fun. Drive it like you drive everyday. Drive like you would in every stage of the competition. Remember what it like to just drive for pure fun.
RM: What is it like being a pro am driver?
I am fortunate enough to have my own business so I get free time to work on my car but it is still time consuming. I will probably put in 10 hours of work for every 1 hour of competition time. It is expensive too. Things break and you burn up tires every time you go out there. On a normal race we go through 8-10 tires if you are conservative. Its costly. My experience is you have to have a day job where you can make decent money and be smart and resourceful about how you build your car. A lot of people will buy used tires for $10. I went through over 100 tires in 2011 and I did not pay a dollar. You can go to tire shops and use their discarded tires for free just to get used to the car. Ultimately it is your lifestyle. If you wanna make it stressful and expensive then it will be. But if you want to get into the sport you can do it in a smart matter. It is more legwork but you need a half decent paying job and time to work on the car. Everything I have done on my car I have learned on my car. All the fabrication I did myself. Suspension tuning and alignment I learned on my car. Have stupid determination and stubbornness to go for it. You need to make sure your “stuff” is together. You cannot come to a race with a car that is not prepared. Test your car at Adams beat the “stuff” out of it. I don’t have the money or support to have people do things for me so I learned.
RM: As a pro am driver how do you secure sponsorships?
It is really hard because at this level because we ain’t “stuff”. We are nothing in pro am. There are thousands of people doing this. At this level its impossible to come by and even when there are sponsorships it doesn’t mean too much. Sponsorships give you discounts on merchandise. With Battle Version (one of Spike’s sponsors) the guy is a friend and he has watched me drive for two years and he thought I was worthy of association with his name. At the same time I get flack because my car looks like “crap.” They want presentable. It is just because there are so many drifters. At the FD levels even in your first year you get discounts, no free tires. Only maybe people who consistently get top 32 and 16 get free tires.
RM: How did you learn to drift?
I was doing time attack stuff at Adams and it got boring for me. It was the same track and line and it was repetitive. I could not progress without spending 1000 bucks on tires. That is just the way it works. I was unwilling to spend that money on tires. I went towards drifting but I did not have the “guts” because it is intimidating. Everyone comes off really snobby. So it is intimidating. The drivers seem unapproachable. and the announcers are always talking “crap.” People talk mad “stuff” so its intimidating. You are scared to hit “stuff” and people talk smack and it sucks. So I kind of hit the road running I watched some competitions and thought I could never do this that is “freaking” insane. It blew my mind how a car is capable of doing that. You just have to get behind the wheel and drive. Its all about seat time. If you don't have seat time and muscle memory you are not going to ever get good.
RM: So how does your technique differ from course to course?
I think theres a maturity issue with that. I thought I was the shit after my first year at adams and after my first competition I was humbled by the ability of other drivers. Their cars were not as powerful as mine all they had was seat time. Adams is very good tool though. It teaches you a lot about everything. However your body is not used to speed. It is a huge difference in speed. In a big track theres more room, you can take different lines, and your body will get used to the speed of a bigger track. Setting up a car suspension wise for Adams or a big track is hugely different. You want the transitions to be slower in big tracks. At adams because its so tight you want a snappy car and wants to correct quickly. Every time I go to a big track it feels like I am climbing a ladder. When you hit the big track then come back to Adams it feels like you climb a rung. I come back to adams and I am more confident. It removes the fear of speed. Pro Am stuff gives me the confidence.
RM: What are the appropriate steps to take in order to join a pro-am league and rise up in the ranks?
The first step is do not worry about the license. It will come when you are ready. You will know when you are ready. The first step is never forget that this is supposed to be for fun. Instead of doing coke and meth you are doing drifting. Its an alternative outlet to your life. The moment the fun stops you have to look for something else. You are in it for the fun. If you are in it for the license you are never going to have fun. Get some seat time. Drive Drive Drive. If you go to Adams enough they will comp you. I went twice three times a week to go drive. I would hit every course day. Once you get comped and get the seat time you are good. You can get 200 hours a year and that will put you above the other drivers. Then get a 240 with a bit of power. Make do with what you have in terms of power. More horsepower makes the learning curve easier. It is like when you are being bullied in school It is nice to have a big brother who is buff to take care of that for you. Weld the diff in a stock 240. Get some coilovers that are stiff that let your break the car loose. If you get discouraged by money you will never have fun. When I started I was spoiled because it already had an LS1 already when I got it. The car will grow with you. Its better to grow with the your car than spend 6 years saving up and then never driving or getting messed up because you did not grow with it.
RM: What would you recommend for a power plant?
Whats better a 2jz or an Sr or a V8? The answer is where are you going with it? Where are you taking it? If its recreational fun and to get your feet wet then there is no point to spend money on an LS swap. If its somebody who is die hard who wants to do pro am then you say you are gonna pillage and rape and it will destroy your life. It can. If you talk to pro or pro am or anyone whose washed out they say “it ruined my life.” I could of posted a down payment on the house with the money I have spent on the sport. The LS swap is popular because its so freaking easy. Its the nastiest steroid coked up big brother you can have. You just say I have a big brother do not mess with me. It makes up for a lack of skill because whenever you are in trouble mash on the gas. That is all you need to do. Maybe someone who drives a stock 240 has to learn to clutch kick because they cant just mash on the gas. They have to learn different skills that make them a better driver. They have 7 tools like clutch kick and e brake whereas somebody who started with the LS1 says I am going to mash on the gas. You can learn all those skills still though. People who are not so driven by perfection of their driving they are not devoted to the art of drifting. They do not take the time to learn all these things and they get the LS1. If you want to compete in pro Am you have to go with the V8 because that is what everyone out there is competing with.
RM: What actual skills are required though as far as driving the vehicle and being at an actual event?
It is TENACITY. STUBBORNNESS. Be like okay this is what I am going to. It takes that stubbornness where no one can convince them that this is what they wanna do. It takes so much labor, mentality, money, and time. If you do not put in the work you are gonna suck. If you do not have the money to get off the ground you are gonna suck. If you get discouraged easy then it is not for you. Being a good street driver it does not mean anything. If you think you can go carve a mountain like GMR and that is good enough it is not. You cannot drive GMR and expect to be good all of a sudden at the track.
RM: How would someone starting out build a competitive drift car?
There are two simple answers to that. Pay somebody 60 grand to build it. Somebody in top drift did that. They paid Michale Essa and his crew to do it for him. Second is just have fun. Do not worry about it. You do not know what the heck you are doing. You need to buy a crappy car and grow up with it Buy it as you need it. If I asked you today I want to go to the moon build me a rocket ship. You would be like what the fuck?!? Where would you start? Take your time and learn the process or you can pay a huge chunk of cash to do it for you. Even if I told you there iss still other stuff that will be hard to learn. You have to learn suspension tuning and how to set it up. It is a list of components. It is a bunch of parts that I threw up on a car. The suspension on my car is the same from last year. But the car right now feels completely different. Alignment and suspension tuning make a huge difference. How its set up to work with each other is that experience. Get a 240, ask people, and read the forums. Read and talk to people who know. Ask people who know what they are doing.
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| My shout out to Spike after our interview! |
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