If you were ever wondering if drifting would catch on in the U.S., I’m here to tell you that it has. This was proven by the thousands in attendance at the D1 Grand Prix World Championships of Drifting, held this past weekend at Irwindale Speedway here in California. Luckily, Rare JDM was there to catch every moment of the action!

7am on Saturday morning, the show competitors started lining up with some of the cleanest rides So Cal has to offer. By early afternoon, the event was in full swing, and the schedule included the D1GP season finale, Extreme Autofest car show, import models, and even a bikini contest. Tons of fans came out, and the event seemed like a great success!

Of course for most of the spectators, the D1GP was the main focus, and the all star lineup of Japanese and American drivers was sure to make the day interesting. Track conditions were exceptional, the California sun was bright and the temperature was in the mid 70’s… perfect racing conditions, especially for November. As the morning progressed, warm up sessions began and the unmistakable aroma of burning rubber and particle of black dust began to fly like you only find at a drfiting event. By noon, thousands of eager fans began to fill the speedway and were greeted with an array of beautiful custom rides, as well as a large vendor area full of the latest JDM goodies.

Opening ceremonies brought the fans to their feet as some of drifting’s greatest influences were introduced. Even the “Drift King”, Keiichi Tsychiya was there to receive thundering applause from his fans as he helped introduce the drivers. As the voice of D1GP, Toshi Hayama warmed up the crowd, and soon the drivers were gearing up and heading towards the starting grid.

Race after race the drivers gave it their all, and as the field dwindled down from the solo rounds to the top 16, and then to the top 8, the anticipation of the final event grew even stronger. In the end it was no surprise that the chanting of “one more time” filled the stadium, as number 1 ranked Kuroi and number 7 ranked Kimakubo fought run after run for the championship.

In the end, it was Nobushige Kumakubo that took the victory!

Story by Gabe Estrada
Photos by Zack Tscharanyan