The past three weeks have been a whirlwind of chaos and awesome. Round 2 of Formula Drift has come and gone… and with it came some SERIOUS life memories. At one point I think we had 13 people staying at my house. Every night it seemed like someone new. While I am glad things have returned to normal… I can honestly say it has left me slightly depressed! So many good times, I don’t even know where to begin. Race week started a bit early… when my good friends Will Roegge and Joshua Herron made an S.O.S. call to me. Their 1974 Volkswagen van had broken down a few hours south of Atlanta in LaGrange. The ‘Westy’ is their home-on-the-road during primary photography for their cross-country documentary, “KEEP DRIFTING FUN”.

After procuring Tyler’s trailer at midnight, Wes and Lieze and I rocketed southbound for a rescue mission. Halfway there we got a call that the van started… so we met up with them on the highway just to be safe.

The Westy wasn’t running well at all… so with cue from Eugene, we took it to Barry Palmer Auto for a diagnostic eval from an air-cooled guru. The van’s motor had no compression, and was in need of a transplant.

I picked up a new roof spoiler from paint at Jeff’s Auto Restoration to replace the one that flew off in-tow last year.

My tow-hooks came back from KILLIN’ EM. Fresh hit of satin black to hide the ol’ red. Thanks Scott!!!

Picked up a few miscellaneous parts for the car. Water temp sensor adapter from TRM and a new cabin AC filter. I also snagged a new OE radiator, spark plugs, and wiper blades (not pictured).

I re-worked the wiring for the back of my gauges… including some quick-disconnects for easier maintenance.

I got frisky with The Destroyer™ and pulled the front end apart.

So I could bake the lower light housings and hit the reflectors yellow. While the grill was off, I had Jeff hit the chrome bits with paint to match the body color… and I re-wrapped the Chevy emblem with black vinyl. I also installed a 3000K HID kit from DDM Tuning.

We adopted an awesome (outside) cat. Lieze named him Meow Meow.

I had Pho for the first time.

I gave the e46 a much-needed wash before taking her to the track…

and the next thing I knew I was being bombarded with water balloons by kids in the neighborhood.

Luckily my friends Drew Fishbein and Ross Fairfield were there to catch the action for their site OMGDRIFT!

Then Formula Drift came crashing back into my life full-force for FD Pro Am. I put my game face beard on for an amazing weekend… which I will leave for another post.

The day after FD was a Southeast Drift event at Turner (more on this later). Tons of FD dudes came out to shred with us local-folk.

Then the new 2.0L motor for the Westy arrived via freight.

We took the van back to Palmer Auto where Barry and Mikey took the reigns from there to get the van back running in tip-top shape. The larger motor with mechanical lifters will make the rest of Will and Josh’s voyage on the high-seas of FUN much better.

Slowly… all my house guests began departing to their corners of the globe… leaving behind some amazing memories and awesome times. Will and Josh were the last to return to the road in the Westy… headed north to Jersey by way of Charlotte, Richmond, Baltimore and Philly. With everyone gone, and my house back it’s quiet state, I’m left to reflect on how lucky I am. Not only has this crazy motorsport taken me places I never thought possible… it has also introduced me to some of the most creative, talented, and overall BADASS DUDES on the planet. And for that… I am truly honored and extremely grateful.

<3

I’ve been sick… so I’m late posting this. PRETTY. WILD

Now… someone from BBC fly all of us over for a show cameo.TopGear.com

A couple weeks back, my buddy Clint Davis gave me a shout about a feature he wanted to do for the Longshots section of Import Tuner. This section is normally reserved for automotive photography, but Clint wanted to switch things up a bit, and feature some video content.It is VERY flattering to be featured in a tuner magazine for my endeavors behind the keyboard instead of behind the wheel.

It is even more of an honor to be paired up on the same page with my ‘Keep Drifting Fun’ buddy, Will Roegge!This feature really turned out cool, and is available on newstands nationwide. Thanks Clint!!!

Sit back, crank your speakers, and prepare your life to become the equivalent of a Maxell commercial, as the automotive-filmmaker’s dream team that is Will Roegge and Joshua Herron announce “Keep Drifting Fun.” This will be their first feature-length production about grassroots drifting in America. Over the course of this year, the duo will be taking to the streets of the U.S.A., living out of a van, eating mostly peanut butter. For obvious reasons (cough Slide America), I am insanely excited to see this come to fruition. It has been nearly four years since we shot Slide America, and as far as I’m concerned… it’s about damn time we get another dose of where grassroots drifting in America is REALLY at, in a current timeframe.In the meantime, enjoy this section of the video, from our members-only drift event in Nashville.

And remember… KEEP DRIFTING FUN.
OR ELSE.

This Deathmachines.net interview offers a really cool insight to how my buddy Will Roegge got into shooting and editing some of the most visually stunning automotive content EVER. This video also has a sneak peek at the 2010 Medium Monster reel… to which I spied some footage from the DMGGMASD events!

A Soiree in the Hamptons. from Andy Sapp on Vimeo.

This video is collaboration between myself, and Will Roegge. Will shot all of the footage last November at a secret invite-only event in Nashville. His amazing edit STILL ranks as the most viewed drifting video on Vimeo. I wanted to try and focus on a different aspect of drifting with this video. I wanted to peer into what really makes events like this so special: the people.The DriftMechaniks crew has an amazingly strong bond. It may sound cliché – but we are a family. Truth be told… it doesn’t really matter what we’re doing – we have the best of times when we are all together. That is what I wanted to explore with this video: the family and friendship we share at these events. If you take that camaraderie away… then well… it’s just… drifting.BIG thanks to Mr. Roegge for flexing his creative genius behind the lens, and allowing me the privilege to work with the footage!Hopefully you enjoy this look at what I feel is a more intimate side of this crazy sportIf not… please return to taking drifting way too serious and continue not having any fun. EVER.

Some still frames I’ve been wrenching on from a collab project with Will Roegge. Will shot a TON of footage at a super-secret private event last year. It has taken me forever to get around to this footage… but I am super-stoked to be working on it. I’m trying to explore some new avenues with this video, and I’m pretty exited about the progress!

My buddy Will Roegge was in town working with the Tripp and Tom from Spitfire Studios… and the timing couldn’t have worked out better, because the second installment of Southeast Drift’s Triple Threat II was going down at Turner Field while he was here.Will brought out his Letus35 adapter so we could try it out on my newly acquired XL-H1. I had heard a lot of great things about adapting 35mm camera lenses, but never had a chance to mess with it at all. Boy was I in for a surprise.Here you can see ‘Man of Action’ Brady Stribling helping with the merger.

With the adapter, rails, and lens… it adds a significant amount of weight to the camera. By significant, I mean a TON.

Petey says okay… the camera looks hella legit with all of that – but how does the video look?

Let’s take a look at some screen captures. These are straight from the camera – no post whatsoever. rnFor reference… we’ll start with a shot from the XL without the adapter. The focal length seems almost infinite.

T

The focal length is slightly different with the Letus35, don’t you think?

With the flick of the wrist, you can pull focus for an amazing look.

Overall… it gives the digital medium the filmic quality that I’ve been after for years.

Special thanks to Will for turning me onto this bit of equipment. My credit card hates you in advance… because I can’t wait to get ahold of one of these!

Will Roegge just dropped a bomb on the world. Since November 1st, we’ve been whispering that DMGGMASD was the greatest drift event EVER. Even more-so because nobody except those in attendance knew it happened. We’ve collectively been dropping teasers here and there… but the larger picture has not been seen until now.A private infield road-course, 25 select invitees, and one creative juggernaut of a videographer combined to make an unforgettable event, and one AMAZING digital short. Not only does Will have an unparalleled eye behind the lens… his artistry and craft shine equally as bright in the editor’s chair. A true testament… that heart makes all the difference.Thank you, Mr. Roegge… for raising the benchmark, and creating a timeless snap of this epic private day.

I’m still not saying anything about this secret event. Very special thanks to Will Roegge for the amazing ‘snaps, chops, and colors’. rnI can’t wait to see the full edit. I don’t think the world is ready.