I decided moderately last-minute to drive at the Select Driving Club event at Atlanta Motorsports Park on the 4th… so as soon as I could get home to thrash on the car… I was home thrashing on the car. I wanted to get the passenger-side 6-point installed, and a proper seat bracket to get a seat back on that side of the car.
When I took the passenger seat out for Gridlife I was alarmed at the seat bracket that was in there. This bracket was thrown together with some scrap (not naming any names) and just didn’t feel safe to me all these years later. Heck, the submarine belt was just looped around one of the bars. I cringed when I saw it. So I ordered a Planted bracket from Enjuku to do it right. I had to modify it slightly so that I could mount the rear bolts… which was a little annoying. But I feel so much better about this setup.
I decided to put one of the old Evo’s back in on the passenger side until I can afford a matching Circuit. The fabric had worn through, so I tucked a bit of black stage towel underneath it… and while it ain’t perfect… it’s a heck of a lot better than it was!
This car has had ambulance strobes on it since forever ago… and the brain was mounted under the passenger seat right where the 6-point submarine belt needed drilled for. I’ve felt relatively certain that this thing was the parasitic draw that kills batteries in this car… so I decided to just remove the whole thing. It was not fun trying to snake all this back out.
I also picked up a new driver-side floor panel to replace whatever this one I made back in 2005 is. I’m no fabricator now… and I certainly wasn’t back then either. It’s hilariously bad… and I was excited to see it go.
Because this car still has AC… I had to modify the new panel to fit around the duct work on the floor… which took way longer than it should have. But I’m really happy with the end result.
Seats and harnesses mounted… floor panel complete. Just in time to load up for load-in.
The next day I met Austin and his buddy Mike at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame so that we could roll in and pit together.
We were just in time to see ’em loading one of Chase Elliott’s ol’ cars back in the trailer for the day.
Next day was the 4th and we were ready to go bright and early.
I did a terrible job of documenting the day… mainly because I was just trying to survive the heat. It was BRUTALLY hot. Like be extra careful hot. I hadn’t driven on this track at Atlanta Motorsports Park before… so I tried to take it easy and learn the track the best I could. I figured out pretty immediately that this track is faster’n holy heck and my car was severely underpowered for it. So I basically just picked a few spots on-track that I could tackle and just focused on those. But MAN… I was struggling out there!
Photos by: Travis Mooney ^^
There were a lot of black flagged sessions due to people going off-track. But I managed to get two solid hot-lap sessions where nobody interfered. Because of the size of the track it felt like I was out there by myself. It was enough that I felt okay calling it quits a bit early. I knew with the heat that getting loaded back up was going to take a lot out of me. So I called it a day.
It was great to get a li’l bit of hangtime with Swann… that’s twice this year, which is killer!
All-in-all… it was an incredible day. Although… I did manage to completely throw my back out unloading the floor jack from my truck. So that’s a new thing to look forward to drifting at this age.
It’s been quite some time since I posted here. Heck, this part of my site was offline for many, many years. But after what all has transpired o’er the past few weeks… it seemed fitting to fire up this side of the fence. After all… blogs still rule.
About 10 days out from GRIDLIFE Atlanta, Gregg Bucell called me and told me my application for GRIDLIFE had been approved. I was like… but I didn’t apply! I felt pretty reluctant to do it for several reasons. The main one being that I haven’t driven like that in a LONG long time. 2010 was the last time I drove Road Atlanta… and I haven’t drifted anything that fast since. I maybe get to drive once or twice a year, but ne’er as fast as Road Atlanta.
The second was financial. It’s been a slow start to the year work-wise. 27 year old me woulda sent it… while 47 year old me was trying to be more responsible. Gregg talked me into it… explaining that it was 50% for me… and 50% for my friends and family that want to see me charge down that hill again. I told him I couldn’t argue with that… and knowing how psyched Tyler woulda been was a major deciding factor. But the car needed work, and all of the safety stuff was from 2005. It would all need updating too. So it was on.
I picked up a new Circuit to replace the outdated Evo. I decided to just pull the passenger seat for the weekend until I can update that seat too. It was strategic in a sense, because I only wanted to focus on my driving without distractions.
I got the car on stands to get to work updating the 5-point harnesses with 6-points. Gregg sourced me a new pair of Sparco harnesses. I went ahead and pulled the wheels for fresh tires.
I got all of my wheels out of storage and stopped by Gran Turismo East for tires. I cannot stress it enough how amazing Kieran is… and how none of this weekend would have been possible without him and his continued support. He is seriously the best!! I truly could not do any of this without him.
I love this old poster in the shop of Road Atlanta from way back. It’s so cool knowing the history of that place… and it made me feel extra excited knowing that we would soon be getting to go drift there.
Back at the house… it pained me to pull this old sticker from the car… but I did save it. This car is truly a time capsule.
It took way longer than I’d expected… but I got the new seat mounted and new harnesses installed. I had to relocate the hand brake to fit the new seat. I’m tempted to redo that whole hydro setup altogether. I planned on re-doing the driver-side floor board… but ran out of time.
The car had a wild oil leak… which turned out to be the o-ring where the dipstick meets the oil pan. That was WAY more complicated than it shoulda been to replace. I didn’t really document this because I just wanted to be done.
I replaced the upper/lower intake boots while I was in there… and while I was doing that I broke this stupid vacuum connector:
In typical BMW fashion… I tried my damnedest to find one locally, but could not. No dealerships had one in stock. None. I hail mary’d tryna find one at Pull-A-Part early Wednesday morning and saw this thing:
There weren’t any connectors… but I did scoop a fresh set of amber tails and an emblem for cheap. Not what I intended, but glad I found.
I had to overnight that $2 connector from 4 different vendors just to increase my odds of getting one on time. In the meantime I had to ziptie a temporary fix just so I could get the car on the trailer in time for tech. The car would not start and run without that vacuum hose connected.
All loaded up for Road Atlanta.
Made it in time and passed tech with flying colors.
I pitted with the ol’ Koruworks crew for the weekend… which made me VERY happy.
Austin was my pit crew for the weekend… and was MVP for SURE. More on that later.
I got a PROPER aluminum vacuum connector just in time.
We had MANY wristbands.
Drivers meeting.
My parents came out which meant the world to me. Their love and support is everything… and they’ve always been THE most loving and THE most supportive!! It was so great to get to share this weekend with them.
It was go-time… and I was a nervous wreck. It had been 16 years since I’d driven Road Atlanta… and I just don’t get to drive at this level anymore. It was an overwhelming and intimidating place to be trying to knock the rust off.
Knowing I had updated all of the safety bits in the car was a huge relief though. For a long time I haven’t taken the safety stuff very seriously. I don’t know if it’s wisdom with age, or what… but I’ve turned a corner on that and want to take it seriously moving forward.
It was so crazy to be gridded back atop that hill. E’en crazier to be surrounded by SO many BMW’s. That is quite a difference between way back when and now.
I totally fumbled the first few attempts. I was SO in my own head that I wasn’t concentrating properly. I hit the windshield wipers at one point. Spun the keyhole. I was scared out of my mind. Once I got past the first turn it was like riding a bike. But that initial entry was going to take some work.
After the first session… I was a mess. Anxiety was spiraling, and I honestly felt like I’d bit off more than I should have. That Road Atlanta was NOT the place to be remembering how to drive at that level.
Austin, though… did something I will never forget. After that first session he asked if I needed anything… that he wanted to run to the house real quick. Unbeknownst to me… he had convinced GRIDLIFE to let him run. So between sessions he ran home and got tires, came back and put his car through tech… and then he pulled up behind me in line for the second session. It was an audible sigh of relief from inside my helmet. Austin has been in my rearview running my door thousands of times. It was exactly what I needed to realize “you’ve been here before… you’ve got this”. And from that point… it was ON.
Each run got better and better. I kept biting off just a little more with each run… and things were starting to come back to me. I opted out on drifting the full course, because I just wanted to get back to the top of the hill to practice the old FD layout. And Austin was behind me every time. It was THE BEST. I also truly enjoyed grip racing that track. It’s such an incredible place!!
This photo that Travis shot is everything. My Dad with the thumbs up… and Austin right behind me as we barrel into the keyhole. Everything I’ve done in life is in pursuit of making him proud. This is such a special moment.
The love of my life.
I made some DriftMechaniks helmet visors for the homies. The only way to get one is gonna be to drive together. I surprised Sebastian and Gregg with theirs, which was super special! Austin got one as well, DUH.
We took a stroll through the FD pits.
And a quick stroll through the GRIDLIFE pits.
Ashley and I with Kieran and Austin. I could NOT have done any of this weekend without each of them! REAL TALK.
Sunset 10/10. I picked up a HANS from Jim Downing himself. It’s a bit of a story… but it was his personal HANS… and the last one at Downing Atlanta. I feel honored to have it and to be the one using it. Now that I’ve used a HANS, I won’t ever NOT use one. I honestly cannot believe I’ve gone this long without one. In my humble opinion, they should be as mandatory as helmets out on-track.
After the halftime show was over it was time to watch the big boys… so off to the Rowdy VIP.
Rowdy VIP… of course… wouldn’t happen without Marlow.
I’m happy I got to see Tuerck on his farewell tour.
This was Ashley’s first time experiencing Formula Drift… AND Road Atlanta. I’m o’er the moon to get to share this world with her. She is my favorite person, and I love that she appreciates all of this as much as she does!!
The level pro drifting is at these days is absolutely mind boggling compared to how it was back in the day. It is WILD. It’s almost unrecognizable in a strange way.
The questionable calls ain’t changed a bit though!
The finals were James Deane vs. Vaughn Gittin, Jr… with Vaughn coming out on top.
And that about wraps up my weekend at Road Atlanta. This was easily one of the best weekends of my life. I felt very emotional, and felt like I really overcame something to get back out there and bomb that hill again. I felt like Tyler was out there with me cheering me on and helping me through.
It was everything. The friends… the family… it was all just… everything.
One things is for sure… I will move mountains to do this again next year.
Showcasing the last several years of my motion design and compositing, this reel… to me… is unreal. As an artist, I can rarely step back from my own work and say “Wow… I made that?”. A proud feeling for sure.
This reel is without a doubt a quick rabbit-punch to the throat that will leave you yearning for a second viewing.
Special thanks to everyone I’ve worked with along the way that has helped me to learn, grow, and develop my craft in ways I never thought possible. For a full breakdown of my roles in all of these clips, click here.
I can’t even believe it, but Keep Drifting Fun won Speedhunters Video of the Year! What absolutely blows my mind is that it beat out Ken Block’s Gymkhana 5, amidst a long list of equally fantastic videos. Incredible!
I am still super honored to have been a part of this project. Both in front of and behind the camera. I’m so proud of what this simple phrase has matured into, and even more proud of all the people who helped make it what it is today (you know who you are). It is truly amazing.And in case you’ve been living under a rock…
Eventually I will write up what a wild, crazy, and INSANE journey this trip was. Maybe. Until then, these snaps will have to hold you over.
Video in the works… watch out.
I feel super honored to be included in Volume 1 of Hoonigan’s “The greatest hoonage caught on tape”! The clip is from Will Roegge’s “Don’t Stop” video. So many of these clips are classics, it is awesome to be among them in this awesome compilation.
Also… Motörhead. Need I say more?!
It seems as our cries and pleas have fallen of deaf ears. The proposed legislation to effectively ban drifting inside Atlanta city limits has passed. To say that I am disappointed in the city I call home would be a massive understatement. I am truly heartbroken. To add insult to injury, the word on the street is that the mayor never even saw the case. He has been out of town and it was automatically passed. So not only do I feel we weren’t able to properly defend ourselves to begin with… it turns out we never even had a chance.I will say that with what we were given… we fought our damnedest. No HOA or city council member can take that away from us. We pulled together even TIGHTER as a community. They gave us a fight, and we fought. And regardless of the outcome, we went out with our fists swinging and our feet kicking. I’m proud of this community for that.
We had 8 solid years of what I will look back to be the best time of my life. The friendships we built, the driving we had, and all of the other infinitely positive aspects that we flourished in that Turner Field Blue Lot are something nobody will ever be able to take from any of us. So while our time at Turner has come to an end… what we take with us is far more valuable than that stretch of tarmac.
Is drifting now dead at Turner Field? Unfortunately yes. Is drifting now dead in Atlanta? Absolutely not. If there is one thing I’ve learned about this community… is we will figure out a way and forge ahead. This locomotive has too much momentum to just derail itself now. We may have lost this battle, but we have not lost the war.
Jalopnik featured an article about Save Drifting In Atlanta. They even linked to the Channel 2 News feature, and mentioned my “snarling Bimmer”! Huge thanks to the crew over at Jalopnik for posting this story.
Back during the week of Formula Drift Atlanta, we got some great press coverage from WSBTV in regard to the proposed legislation to ban drifting within Atlanta city limits. I got a phone call from Alex asking if I could be at the news station in 20 minutes… and the next thing I knew, they were shooting us live from the chopper! I managed to obliterate a day-old pair of BFGoodrich g-Force™ Sport COMP-2™ tires in the process. I found out those tires have a ton of grip! It was a wild experience!
They don’t allow embedding, so click the image to launch the player on WSB’s website.
Every drift video needs headbanging. It just feels right.
Sir Alexander Grant, massively on-point with this amazing photo of a mid-murder killing spree.
Click to enlarge, but be warned… you might not live to click again.
I had a chance to sit down with Will Roegge and Skylar Smith while they were in town for Formula Drift and discuss the current state of the legislation to ban drifting inside Atlanta’s city limits… and really try to touch on why Turner Field is such a special place for drifting.I can’t thank Will and Skylar enough for putting this piece together. It really conveys a strong, positive emotion about the epicenter of our drift community here in Atlanta. Plus, 300FPS slow-motion RED Epic footage in the rain just looks BREATHTAKING.
No words. Just watch. Enjoy.
OR ELSE.
We have been drifting at Turner Field since 2004. 8 years of safe, sanctioned, fully-insured, and legal events in a controlled environment. Simply put, Turner Field is the epicenter of Atlanta drifting. Without it… where would we be?An ordinance was passed this week by city council, effectively banning drifting inside Atlanta’s city limits. It targets and singles out drifting specifically. This issue went before city council borderline unbeknownst to the drifting community, giving us no chance to defend ourselves in court. We were given two-minutes to state our case, with a matter of hours-notice to prepare.
Sec. 74-137. – Specific prohibited acts.Car drifting on private property within 1000 feet of a residentially zoned district. For purposes of this section, car drifting shall mean a driving technique or motorsport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. A car is drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle, to such an extent that the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left; wheels are pointed right or vice versa).
The ordinance was passed by city council, and now moves on for approval by the Mayor. We are rallying support from the community to help dissuade this from happening by bringing all the positive elements of drifting at Turner Field to the public eye. Anyone who frequents my site already knows these reasons… the positive aspects of these events outweighs the negatives in a massive landslide.You can help and show your support by signing this online petition to the Mayor.You can also join the growing number of supporters on the Facebook page.
