The South gets...Smokey !!!

That's right , if you noticed the haze in the sky around Atlanta this weekend don't worry...we was all up in smoke after a few of the 800+ Hp beast at Road Atlanta roasted their tires ! May 6th & 7th Road Atlanta hosted round 2 of Formula Drift , a 7 round drifting competition that started April 8th in Long Beach California and will end in Irwindale ,California Oct. 8th . This makes the 8th year Road Atlanta has hosted the Formula Drift event and word from the web is they have confirmed a 3 year extension for this completely intense show of driving skill !

Friday started off with Pro/Am practice and qualifying ,which is held in the turn 10 complex of the track. A cool bit of info I heard announced is that 8 years ago the horseshoe ( 10b) was created just for this event ! A starting line that's a straight shot downhill where the goal (points wise) is to hit 80mph before the left-hand turn,and if you mess up just a little...you end up in the gravel ,which is nicknamed  "Kitty litter" and a few found it on both days ! The right-hand to left-hand turn into the horseshoe is uphill until the exit which made for some of the best full throttle high rpm  drifts , the smoke clouds would sometimes hide spectators on the other side of the track...it was just too cool ! Another little extra Friday was seeing  F2000 series race, it went down during the break in drifting action.

Saturday , well... was PACKED out. I thought by getting there early I would find a good parking spot , haha never mind the spot I had a hard time with the crowds of fans along the road. Making my way to the pit's to cover that scene I noticed the diverse fan base, young to old , mostly all carrying or wearing Nitto,Hankook,Falken etc. gear. Trying to capture the scene and get good pic's in this highly crowded area I used my wide angle lens & my height to my advantage lol . Most of the drivers & crew could be met down there..just hanging out tweaking on the cars, prepping for the big day. The Formula Drift scene knows how to show their fan's a good time, I was even able to meet many of the drivers, not to mention Vaughn Gitten Jr (2010 FD Champ) , you know I got a pic with him ! This event makes you feel so apart of the sport (minus the driving haha) that you just stay entertained all day. When it came time for the main competition of a field of 32 the bleachers were packed , and you could feel the excitement all around. The sun was setting creating a warm glow on the track and when the cars put up all that smoke and made the turn out of the horseshoe their headlights would barley creep through the cloud , just making for such a cool sight to see & hear ! If anyone gets a chance to go to a Formula Drift event (or any drift event) don't miss out, it's a cool motor sport that's fun to watch ...and to be apart of !

The results of round 2
1st - Dai Yoshihara (1993 Nissian 240 / car #9)
2nd - Darren Mcnamara (2009 Saturn Sky / car #8)
3rd - Toshiki Yoshioka (Nissian 240ls / car #21)

View the two days of coverage (983 pics) from the event .... CLICK HERE