Formula Drift on Tour

In the sports world, the first week of April is commonly associated with the return of Major League Baseball. But car-racing enthusiasts have that timeframe marked on their calendars for a very different reason: the start of Formula Drift season. 

Formula Drift is the leading international showcase of the auto-racing phenomenon known as drifting, where drivers intentionally oversteer their vehicles to make them slip and slide across the track in a thrilling display of controlled chaos. (Ever done donuts in your car in an empty parking lot? Now imagine trying to do that continually along a predetermined route without crashing into anything.) 

Drifting originated in Japan in the 1970s before gaining traction in the U.S. in the ’90s, culminating in the inaugural Formula Drift competition in 2004. Since its launch in Atlanta as a four-round, 16-car competition, Formula Drift has expanded into an eight-round, 32-car championship series, with racing sites spanning California to New Jersey. 

In most car races, the winner is determined by one simple factor: who crosses the finish line first. Drifting, however, is actually closer in spirit to figure-skating than traditional racing, with competitors awarded leaderboard points according to three criteria: line, angle, and style. “Line” refers to the drivers’ ability to follow a demarcated drift line established by the judges. “Angle” analyzes the drivers’ control over their wheel alignment while mid-drift. “Style” essentially is a measure of drivers’ fluidity and their willingness to careen as close as possible to the track wall without scraping it. 

Formula Drift competitions are traditionally two-day events, beginning with the qualifying round, where drivers perform solo trial runs to accumulate points for a Top 32 placement on the leaderboard. On the second day, the qualifying drivers square off round-robin style in a pair of races where drivers take turns shadowing each other and are scored on their abilities to lead and follow. But even if you’re not the sort to obsess over the nitty-gritty of scoring, Formula Drift can be enjoyed on a purely aesthetic level as the most artful and graceful form of professional auto racing.