He wasn't drifting this year! He was trying to be as smooth as possible to catch Gary Thomason!

I think Leonard gave a very good explanation of what drifting at autox should be, anything beyond that does not belong there, period! Now can't we all just get along...

 

When I talked to Danny Popp, he was talking about how he was overheating the tires halfway into his first run. 400+ whp, <3000 lbs and his driving style will do that...

 

what the hell is up with the figure skater/hockey player analogy? It seems like everybody uses it, but it's completely wrong.....not necessarily for the figure skating part, but the hockey part. Hockey is a team sport where the object is to face off to your oponent directly and overcome their defenses to score goals whilst protecting your own goal. Where does that even remotely compare to a sport that is not a team sport, the competetors do not directly face off against each other (with the pro-solo type of events excluded of course), and the winner is determined by the quickest time, not by the one who manages to break down their opponents defense while keeping their defense intact....that'd be like if you had two courses and 5 cars on each team where the point is to knock down the other guy's cones (by drifting into them perhaps?) and ramming into the other cars to keep them from knocking yours down.

I think people try to make this analogy work because they want to make drifting out as something "gay" and real racing as something "manly"....and then everybody just kind of goes along with it because they don't really care. Why not make the comparison to a rodeo, where autox is the barrel race event, and drifting is like bronco riding with points for style added in. Just because the "sport" is scored on style and the participants wear leotards does not mean drifting is really similar to figure skating and an appropriate ice event analogue exists for road racing and autocrossing as a contrast. Come up with something better, the whole hockey/ice skating thing just doesn't work anymore.
Other analogies are: boxing/pro-wresting, xxxxxxxx/surfing&skating, motox/moto freestyle seems to work pretty well, something serious and technical/something for shits and giggles?

 

Ice Skating vs Speed Skating would work also.

Here's my take on it.

I've drifted before at autocross events. To tell you the truth, I realized that it wasn't quite as fun as trying to get the best time. The biggest problem I have is that my driving style is so much more tail oriented that I have a big difficulty keeping traction in the course. I fight with myself constantly to keep the traction line, and I think Loren can support me in that I try to keep traction, but my natural learning makes me slide the car moreso than most. This doesn't mean I am running times that are horrible. Usually I am very competitive, and one of the fastest 240sx's out there that day. There are also plenty of turns that I take that I don't drift on. In autocrossing sometimes I will drift to get the car to rotate a little bit better for my next turn ; 240sx's understeer horribly with full traction all around and stock based suspension.

At the last sunrider's autocross I attended, I only drove one time one lap, and I came completely crossed up sideways through a section where all sorts of people were understeering and hitting the outside cones on them. I didn't hit one cone that entire run, nor did I go off course. In fact, I went faster than MANY of the participants during their first run.

I apologize for any problems I've ever caused for anyone. You have to remember that 90% of the people who are ' drifters ' all they do is spin out non stop at events that are for drifting, and eat cones non stop if the cones are placed there. They will give you lots of problems at autocrossing. Show drifting, or drifting in the term of the sport should not be tolerated at the autocrosses.

If the persons times are competitive, and they get a little bit sideways through the course but are NOT hitting a greater amount of cones than the course average, I do not feel they should be asked to change their driving style.

P.s. I am the moderator of the drifting forum, I have to deal with the immaturity of them on a regular basis.

 

The analogy is dead on... you just don't see it because you're being concerned with the specifics of hockey.... The comparison is between drifting and skating NOT autox and hockey.

If I say I'm going to watch people skate and go to watch figure skating, that makes sense. If I say that I'm going to watch skating and go to a hockey game it doesn't really make sense. While there are people there who are skating, they're really there to play hockey and it just happens to include skating.

IF I say that I'm going to an event to watch drifting, if it's a DDAY event, it makes sense, but if I show up at a SCCA solo II event, yes, there are some people there drifting, but they're there autoxing. It just so happens that some people's driving includes a little bit of (performance) drifting.

 

Not as well, because the purpose of speed skating is to skate from point a to point b as quickly as possible. The intent of autox is not to drift all the way around the course in the shortest time.


Try driving a mustang sometime....

 

Oddly enough, when I first read the beginning of the analogy in this thread, I thought for sure "speed skating" was going to be the second half. Hockey? What does hockey have to do with being fast and in control?

Figure skating vs Speed skating is good. Both are forms of skating just as drifting and autoxing are motorsports. One is judged on grace and finesse, one is judged purely on time from point a to point b.

 

just out of curiosity,,,, who cares about all this. Its kinda like comparing F1 to NASCAR. No one will ever agree that both are racing, both require skill and that both are exicting. Frankly I find drifting more exciting. Its like show boating. But that doesn't always belong at events intended for AX. Hey man if thats the case thats it. I learned a long time o go that trying to prove a pointless point is like trying to get 36/24/36 home at the end of the night. Just don't happen, all the time. Keep your eyes open for the events that fit your bag and go to them. Drifting will pick up. The US just needs more rear drive cars that perform well.

And for those involved, who tend to be younger, you need to learn to argue points and not lash out like a blond being eaten by a shark. We hear and see your points. Just bring them to the table in a way that everyone can see the points of your arguments.

BTW why does Coors Light taste like crap???????? Cold brewed my dingle berries.

 

How can drifting even be considered competitive. As far as I am concerned its really pretty stupid. but hey, thats my opinion.

 

I'm sure you can google the answer if you're so inclined. That doesnt' need to be discussed on this thread.