Though the roots of drifting as an organized motorsport come from Japan, the fact is that getting sideways has always been a part of racing. Still, drifting is becoming a sport of international fame as the United States, Europe, South America, and of course Asia all host drifting events of varying importance. Here in the U.S., we have Formula Drift. In China, they have the World Drift Series, and on hand to represent the U.S. was none other than 2010 Formula Drift champion Vaughn Gittin Jr.

And ol’ VGJ didn’t let the U.S. down, going on to absolutely dominate the competition and winning the opening round of the World Drift Series, a victory he dedicated to the recently-deceased Carroll Shelby.

The World Drift Series is China’s answer to Formula Drift, and many stars from Formula Drift also enter into the World Drift Series because hey, why not? It gives stars like Vaughn Gittin Jr. (and his Ford Mustang) a chance to appeal to an international audience. It also gives China something to do with those old Olympic buildings they built for 2008 Summer Olympics.

The four-minute video gives us some insight into what goes into an international drifting team, as well as plenty of action-packed shots from the event itself. After Gittin claimed victory over his worthy opponents, he went on to dedicate the victory to Carroll Shelby. Shelby, as you might know, recently passed away. And while Shelby never got involved in drifting, we think it was a tender gesture by Gittin to dedicate his victory to Shelby, who helped pave the way for a new generation of Mustang motorsports drivers.