Drifting is the latest import from Japan, but it’s not a car or a truck. Drifting is a type of racing, and it’s arguably the most exciting form of motorsports around.
Ford Racing Performance Parts continues to be in on the action, entering its second season in drifting competition with driver Ken Gushi behind the wheel of a 2006 Mustang GT. And with the recent opening of “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” in theaters across the country, the sport is poised to explode in popularity.
It has also created new opportunities for Ford, and Andy Slankard, engineering supervisor, Ford Racing, says the company is working to take advantage of them.
“Initially, the company wanted to be more involved with the 20-something crowd,” he said. “We have a good partnership with Toyo (tires), and we do a lot of events with them. It’s a way to get into areas we might not normally be in.”
Drifting has also inspired Ford to create new items for the aftermarket. Aftermarket parts are a profitable business because they are parts currently being produced on the assembly line. They are production-based parts, and so command a premium on the store shelves.
So what is drifting all about?
The name comes from the actual technique that is employed to make a car “drift” around the racecourse. To observers, drifting appears as if the rear end of the car is trying to swap ends with the front. The goal is for the driver to balance steering and throttle to control the car’s drift and direction in a four-wheeled slide.
Although racing drivers have been using controlled drifts as a technique since the 1930s, drifting as its own form of motorsport began in Japan more than 20 years ago. Drifting in the United States officially began in 1996 in California and has become extremely popular with younger fans here and in Europe and Australia.
Today, drifting is an organized competition, with drivers piloting rear-wheel-drive cars to see who can keep sliding sideways the longest. Winners in drifting competitions are judged on the angle, line, speed and show factor of the drift.
“Angle” is the angle the car takes around the track; the more the rear end hangs out, the better. “Line” refers to taking the correct line around the track and is usually determined beforehand by the judges. “Speed” consists of the car’s speed entering, going through and exiting a turn. “Show factor” actually is judged by a variety of factors, such as the amount of tire smoke, closeness of the car to the wall and reaction of the crowd.
Gushi’s Ford Racing Mustang, sponsored by Toyo Tires and the Gushi Auto team, competes in the Need for Speed Formula D (for “drift”) Championship, and looks to improve on the driver’s third-place finish in 2005. The 2006 Mustang GT Toyo Tires/Ford Racing drift car is powered by a 600-horsepower, supercharged, 4.6-liter V-8 from the Ford Racing Performance Parts crate-engine catalog. The engine teams up with a T-56 six-speed transmission, which is also available in the catalog.
“Rear-wheel drive and a powerful V-8 make the Mustang a great car for competing in drifting events,” says Slankard.
At the most recent Formula D competition  June 10 at Soldier Field in Chicago  Gushi drove the 2006 Mustang GT drift car to a sixth-place finish.
“There are four more events, and we are still in a position to do well,” says Slankard. “We continue to dial in the car, and we are confident we’ll be on the podium at the finals in Irwindale, California, in October.”
by Kirk Seaman, Special to FCN
Anybody can drive in a boring strait line. How about the people that are making fun of drifting try sliding sideways at 100 mph while keeping control of their cars. They can’t do it! So when your driving skill level is inadiquete, then you make fun of it. I tell you what, it takes more balls to drift than to drag. I have a 01 gt, but I still respect honda’s v-tec. 240 hp from a 2.0L STOCK n/a engine. I also think its funny when some idiot comments on something he knows nothing about. I can think of more than a dozen cars that are either awd or rwd that are imports made in the us.
By justin. October 31st, 2006 at 1:21 pmNext they will start putting big air foil fins on the cars and change the name of the sport to Sprint Car Racing.
Oh wait, they’ve been doing that for years.
By Bo. August 5th, 2006 at 5:17 pmhow much money do they whant to spend on tyres
By jesse. July 25th, 2006 at 4:06 amI am building a 90Gt to do some drifting in. I am going to be writing about the buildup on my site at www.drift50.com
By Geoff. July 24th, 2006 at 10:14 amThats what reverse is for!
By Wesley. July 20th, 2006 at 9:38 amDrifting is plain TUPID. “Style points”??? That seems like a womans sport to me…. “Has anyone seen my purse?”
The fact is the IMPORT crowd is on the “drift bandwagon” and all of the imports sold today in the US are FWD.
I find it kind of funny.
By Wildo. July 14th, 2006 at 5:34 amI don’t understand why you would drift an extremely heavy, front weight biased car, with an excess of power.
Drifting stems from using light, well balanced cars, near 50/50 weight distribution, and you don’t need 600 horsepower to drift around a corner if your technique is correct.
By Cletus. July 13th, 2006 at 11:03 amOk ignore that question, apparently they put it in the ‘05 with the 3-valve heads… guess I’m behind on the times, lol. Although they still don’t have variable lift… that requires either variable rocker ratios or multiple cam lobe profiles (like the Hondas), neither of which the 4.6 has… so I guess it’s just VT without the EC
By Motrhed. July 13th, 2006 at 10:13 amSince when does the 4.6 have variable valve timing?
By Motrhed. July 13th, 2006 at 10:10 amDrifting is not rice.. In fact, all ‘rice’ consists of is modifying a car in a undesirable way to others.
If you’re not experienced enough to control a drifting car then you might not like it and call it a name like ‘rice’. Drifting is an awesome sport. They said Japan popularized it, not invented it. All though when the new fast and furious movie gets popular, the streets won’t be safe with 5 billion inexperienced 16 year olds taking 10mph turns at 60mph…
By the way all vtec means is variable valve timing and electronic lft control…Which the mustang already has. So your joke is obsolete.
By David85Lx. July 13th, 2006 at 6:46 am[…] Mustangs and Drifting Ford Muscle, CA - Jul 12, 2006… The 2006 Mustang GT Toyo Tires/Ford Racing drift car is powered by a 600-horsepower, supercharged, 4.6-liter V-8 from the Ford Racing Performance Parts crate … […]
By Ford Mustangs Gt » Ford Mustangs Gt - Mustangs and Drifting. July 13th, 2006 at 2:14 am[…] Mustangs and Drifting Ford Muscle, CA - 20 hours ago… Today, drifting is an organized competition, with drivers piloting rear-wheel-drive cars to see who can keep sliding sideways the longest. … » Permalink […]
By muscle cars » Muscle cars - Woodward Dream Cruise merchandise is now. July 12th, 2006 at 7:34 pmWell, I don’t get drifting either but there’s no denying it’s popularity. So, I guess I’ll have to accept it. The whole thing fits the “Hey, Look at Me” generation whose priority is all about looking cool.
Drifitng for me will always be a done with a Penn Senator and Live Bait.
By Clemson. July 12th, 2006 at 2:36 pmYeah, give the Japanese all the credit for commercializing something racers have been doing for decades.
Calling drifting racing is like calling running football - its an efficient tool to be used in the sport, but its nothing without the rest of the important parts.
By Wesley. July 12th, 2006 at 2:28 pmDrifting… looks like fun, but MUST have been invented by the tire manufacturers! What’s next, “Grenading! where the biggest under-hood explosion wins the competition… sponsored by Dart, Eagle, SCAT, and Ford Racing crate engine division)”
By Motrhed. July 12th, 2006 at 12:50 pmtry rc drifting way diffrent!!!
By johndavid. July 12th, 2006 at 5:45 amDrifting is what we call RICE!
IMHO, It does not belong on FM.
LOL, Next installment would be a V-Tec build up? LOL!
By Wildo. July 12th, 2006 at 5:01 am