91传媒

鈥淭he first run was conservative. The second鈥� not so much. An overly aggressive entry led to a rough introduction with the wall on the bank.

鈥淟uckily, we had an hour break before the next two-hour practice session. The team tore apart the damaged rear end and zip-tied the car back together just to get me back out there.

鈥淎fter watching the other drivers run, I made some changes: lower tire pressure, dumped the shocks, and cranked up the boost. Next lap, I felt comfortable in the car. Practice turned into a learning session鈥攖iming, references, and figuring out the line. I struggled to put together a clean lap, but I still felt confident going into qualifying with a conservative approach.

鈥淔resh tires warmed up. Time to go. Starting in second gear proved to be the fastest run-up to the bank during practice. I launched the car, rolled into full throttle, shifted into third鈥擯OP. Already committed to the entry, I grabbed a quick handbrake to angle the car into OZ1. That sucked the car straight into the wall. Hit one.

鈥淲ith zero boost, I stood on the throttle expecting the car to drive away from the wall. Instead, it floated hard back into it鈥攂reaking a wheel and rear knuckle. What I didn鈥檛 realize at the time鈥攁nd live on YouTube鈥擨 attempted to salvage the run.

鈥淓mbarrassed and frustrated, I parked the car in the pits, assuming our weekend was over. That thought apparently never crossed my team鈥檚 minds. They ripped off the damaged ECS Tuning wheel and disassembled the right rear suspension down to the subframe. Turns out a bushing took the brunt of the impact and simply ejected itself. Amazingly, the EBC brakes were one of the only things completely undamaged.

鈥淲ith some Liqui Moly high-strength thread locker, a lot of hammering, clamps, and zip ties鈥� We had a car again.

鈥淨ualifying wrapped up with several cars not making the show. Unfortunately, we ended up聽31st qualifier in a 31-car field.

鈥淢y mindset completely reset during the autograph session. The fans were beyond excited to meet the drivers of these crazy cars. They didn鈥檛 care about the qualifying order鈥攖hey were just pumped to be there.”

鈥淚 carried that energy straight into Top 32. Facing the #3 qualifier, I knew it was time to step up. Fresh tires, my normal warm-up routine, and I pulled to the line.

鈥淚mmediately, something felt off. The tires unloaded and I watched the lead driver pull away. Calm and collected, I stayed behind him, knowing I could close the gap on the bank.

鈥淚 eased into the entry, set the car, and rolled into the throttle to catch up. Then the car snapped around like I鈥檇 hit a banana in Mario Kart. The weight of the entire weekend hitting me all at once, I failed.聽

鈥淢y wife and spotter Hailz came over the radio: 鈥淛ust focus on this lap. You got this. Just drive.鈥� That鈥檚 when it clicked. The temperature had dropped massively and the tires simply weren鈥檛 warm enough. At this level of competition, everything matters. With a turbo V8 powerplant, fixing that was easy. I stood on the throttle and did a rolling burnout back to the line.聽

鈥淧ulling to the line in the lead run, everything went quiet. Just another lap. A light flick into OZ1, let the car settle, then hammer down. This time, the car hooked up perfectly and I was along for the ride. Flat-footed, the car followed every input and I laid down our best run of the weekend.

鈥淲hen I pulled off track, it hit me: this was聽Round 1 of many to come. I gave everyone on the team a big hug and thanked them individually and as a group. We learned a聽ton!

鈥淚 may have years of drifting experience and a few seasons in FD, but this was the聽first professional-level competition event for everyone on my team. They won the weekend.

鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly excited for Round 2. No major changes planned鈥攋ust repairs, prep, and getting ready for the next competition. We have slush coming up next weekend and a few local events to get my driving polished up and ready for a strong showing at round 2.鈥�