Last weekend professional drift teams from around the world descended on the streets of Long Beach, California for the opener of the 2013 Formula Drift season. This unforgiving race course can ruin any driver’s day for just the smallest error. That is part of what makes this racing series so exciting and exhilarating, and this video gives us a behind-the-scenes look at all the drama and action up close.

For those who don’t know, a brief primer of last week’s action is in order. Vaughn Gittin Jr. was able to take to the podium and finish in second place at the Streets of Long Beach, falling only to Daijiro Yoshihara. This put Gittin in good standings to start the season, and historically he has struggled with the Long Beach course, which is narrow and unforgiving, even for experienced drivers.

Fellow Mustang sponsored driver, Justin Pawlak, did not fare nearly as well. The video follows Pawlaks tough break in the Round of 32,  where he “swung too hard” and put the back end of the car too deep into the wall. Pawlak spun around and smashed the front end of his car. Although his team did an admirable job of putting the car back on the track for the second run, it wasn’t enough for Pawlak to advance past the round of 16.

That’s a real shame because Pawlak had won the Streets of Long Beach the previous two years in a row, and last year he finished in 4th place overall in the championship. This year Pawlak is starting from the back of the pack, but we doubt that will discourage this experienced driver. So who are you rooting for this year, Pawlak, Gittin, or another Mustang driver?