One thing I have always loved about motorsports is the paradigm of the sacrifices involved to conquer personal achievements along the way. One achievement that has eluded me for 6 years has been to successfully navigate the drift-course at Road Atlanta… specifically the entry into 10a, and linking the downhill section tracking out of the horseshoe back down to 10b (sans-manji).
Perched at the top of the hill talking to my buddy Joshua Herron… I couldn’t help but ponder all the years of bad luck, broken parts, STUPID limp-mode, ecu problems. I’ve basically been cursed. Seriously.
The duration of practice would unfold in much the same manner as the past… cursed. Even with a fully-functioning hydraulic e-brake – I still wasn’t acclimated to the point of total comfort. I even had another close call with a flat-spin in the narrow patch of grass between the track and the wall. My Yokohamas had SO much grip that they rocketed me right towards the wall. It scared me so bad I threw up in my mouth.When qualifying came around… we cranked the tyre pressures up around 60-65, and with some advice from Eugene, I came flying into 10a without my normal flick to set the car up. To my surprise… IT WORKED.
With the entry checked off my list, all I had to do was get the car back down the hill out of the horseshoe. My buddy Mike Peters had called me a week prior and given me some advice on my line to help me do this. To my surprise… IT ALSO WORKED.
Back down the hill I went, with just enough wheelspeed, momentum, and RPMs to get within reach of 10b. It would take a massive handful of that e-brake… but it would work.
To say that I was excited would be a MASSIVE understatement. Hell… Cloud-9 still doesn’t quite describe it. I had been fighting this track for 6 years… and with the help of all my friends, Matt Foerst, Kieran O’Brien, Eugene Chou and Mike Peters… I was able to finally break my Road Atlanta curse.
I ended up qualifying 8th, and was paired up with Jason Giovanni from Florida for top 16. On my lead-run… Jason straighted out, and on Jason’s lead-run… I straightened out. I think it should have gone OMT, but it didn’t – and Jason moved on. I was still so excited about my qualifying runs… that I didn’t even care that I got knocked out.
I don’t expect everyone to understand what a special moment this was for me. Tons of dudes rip this track every year with little trouble. I never thought this 3300lb car could get it’s 180 horses to push it through the track like this. I had it drilled into my own head that I couldn’t… and with the help of my friends… I did it.
I was able to hang out with all the DriftMechaniks/Team Rowdy dudes and just have a good time. These dudes are the best on the planet, and I dare anyone to attempt to prove otherwise.
This was a day I will NEVER forget.
EVER.
I just stumbled on this old Jtuned snap from FD Atlanta in 2005. This was a big day, as it was the first time I would qualify to drive in the professional arena – and what better place to do it, than on my home turf in front of friends and family. It is crazy to think how insanely stock the car was. It has come a LONG way since then. I suppose I have likely evolved as a driver as well.
This was a very memorable day for me. Drifting was fun, and still so pure. The professional element was all new and exciting.
I walked away from Southeast Drift’s Land of the Great at Gresham Motorsports Park unscathed and uneasy.
Newly poured asphalt adorns the raceway, as Gresham itself is a freshly renovated facility. I don’t know if they have some sort of compound additive in the pavement, but the track has an immense amount of grip… making is VERY difficult for a 180hp tank to break loose. I was attempting to initiate faster than I have ever initiated… only to have the car set and hug the bank like I was going for a better lap time. The few occasions I could snap the car loose on the bank, it sucked the power dry from my rear wheels, pulling me right down toward the inner-wall. Fast.
I (somehow) managed to qualify seventh, and was paired up with my buddy Dennis Mertzanis for the tandem comp. I didn’t feel comfortable running solo – let alone tandem, so I told Dennis to steer clear of me… that I was basically going to forfeit the run to him. Dennis went on to take home 2nd place.A fairly big-name in Atlanta’s drift scene approached me at the end of the day, and told me ‘this is the next level for drifting here’, and ‘that drivers are going to have to step it up if they want to participate’. This bothered me for several reasons… the biggest being FOR WHAT? This is grassroots drifting… it is supposed to be about having fun. What fun is wadding your car up into a wall, and having to sit the next season out because you ‘stepped it up’? For the majority of us who actually have an emotional stake in our cars – totaling it out trying to be a g-roots hero would be devastating. DEVASTATING.
I probably will not be back to drive at Gresham. The risk just isn’t worth it to me… especially when I (and the rest of Atlanta, really) have nothing to prove. Drifting already has its superstars. I just want to have fun with my friends.
I found this old news clip while digging through some old files. A pretty cool Fox News feature from the Hyperfest event at Summit Point Raceway in West Virginia. My buddy Tony Schulz gets a spotlight, and I’m in the video for a split-second around the 2 minute mark. A pretty cool find from way back. These were fun times for sure.
Perched for attack.
Matt Foerst and Michael Sarol watching as someone hit the kitty litter.
Hanging out with Matt and my buddy Dennis Mertzanis.
Erin Sanford trying to diagnose fuse issues.
More diagnosing and attempted repair at the line.
A couple snaps through the horseshoe at Road Atlanta while the car was operational.
A snap of the e46 landed on SpeedHunters. I don’t think I have met Mike Garrett, but I do appreciate the kind words!!!
“Speaking of looking good, here’s Andy Sapp’s sexy E46 BMW. This car was at Road Atlanta to take part in the small FD ProAm event that was held alongside the “big league” competition.”
rn
This image sums up my weekend. So what the hell happened?As of now… it looks like the hydro e-brake may have played a role. I was advised by a BMW tech that I could pull ABS fuses, and not trip the car into limp-mode. He said ABS electronics run independent from the motor, so I’m fine. WELL… ABS has 4 fuses… which (I think two) are shared with DSC. I pulled the fuses, and tested the e-brake. It locked up the rears… no problems, right? Wrong. I didn’t get a chance to really test the car out until I was at the top of the hill at Road Atlanta. The e-brake worked fine… but the car was totally in limp-mode and wouldn’t rev past 5K.I rush back to the truck, we replace all the fuses and reset it with a battery disconnect. The car ran fine the rest of practice. Problem solved, right? Wrong. My first qualifying run… I floor it out of the gate. The car was in limp-mode. I flipped a bitch right back to the truck. From this point on… we can’t get the car out of limp-mode. We reset the ecu, clear OBD2 codes, and think we get it out of limp mode… allowing me to redline 1st-3rd gear into 10a… then BAM… back into limp-mode. I almost threw the car into the wall (on accident) because of this shit. VERY VERY DANGEROUS.
Why does something go wrong with this car EVERY YEAR at Road Atlanta? I’ve had this car since 2001 (new)… and it has never… EVERRR gone into limp-mode. Not once. Then I get to the top of the hill on race-day, and I’m stuck with an inoperable car that was totally killing it the week before during practice.Every project with this car has basically been a giant pain in the ass, and I’m pretty much furious with it. I knew running that e-brake was going to cause problems… it was too easy. Standalone seems to be what I need to bypass all the computational over-thinking I don’t even want in the car… but at this point I don’t want to spend any more money on it. All I want to do is thrash and have fun… but I am so pissed at the car right now.
If I drove poorly and fumbled it… fine. I can live with that. But to have the car shit out on me and not let me make a single qualifying run is a spit in the face.
I dream of the 10a-10b complex at Road Atlanta. Seriously. It is a major shame that the track is so expensive to rent… that the locals don’t get any seat time (drifting) at all. The opportunity arose to drive Road Atlanta for the Pro/Am Drift Championship Series. I decided the entry fee was a small price to pay to get back out on my favorite track, and have FUN.
I really can’t wait to be back out there lighting up those tyres, and bombing that hill into 10a as fast as I possibly can. I could care less about competing or qualifying… I just want to have fun like old times, and drive like a gat-damn MANIAC.
We’re so underground… we’re undergroundDriftMechaniks 2-3-4-5
SEDC Round 1.
Details about the SICKEST drift event to ever ignite Southern soil very soon.
Stay tuned…
