Drift racing organizers to bring ‘controlled chaos’ to Lewiston streets

Drift the Streets organizers hope to draw thousands of people to Lewiston in May to see a fast-growing sport that’s a little like a supercharged version of doing doughnuts on an icy parking lot.

“It’s very similar. It’s just faster,” said Dirk Stratton, a champion driver from Ohio. “I like to call it controlled chaos.”

Put together by the Lewiston-based Don’t Panic Consulting, the family-friendly tandem street drift competition slated for May 13 and 14 will also include a large car show and many vendors. Tickets will likely be $10 if purchased ahead of time.

The chief draw is to see street drifting drivers go head to head on municipal roads as they try to wow judges with their skills behind the wheels of powerful cars that are often going sideways.

“It’s really exciting,” said Jim Liaw, president of the California-based Formula Drift that has been sponsoring drift races for 13 years.

“The cars are on the brink of being out of control,” he said, “Visually, it looks dangerous, but inherently, it’s not.”

Stratton, though, said there is “no doubt” that it is actually pretty risky whizzing along doing controlled skids “just inches from walls or other cars.”

It’s worth it, he said, because “all of us drivers are adrenaline junkies.”

Liaw, whose company isn’t involved in the Lewiston event, said the sport began in Japan two decades ago and spread from there.

At first, he said, “it was young guys showing off their cars on mountain roads and city streets” but as its popularity grew, it got more serious.

The sport got a boost a decade ago from the film “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” a 2006 blockbuster featuring a teenager who becomes a drift driver.

Liaw said street drifting is dramatically different from traditional car races because it’s not a question of who crosses the finish line first. It’s more akin to figure skating or surfing, he said, where competitors are judged on style and skill.

Stratton, 24, said he started off in drag racing, but “I kind of got bored with going straight.”

A couple of friends introduced him to street drifting, he said, and he was immediately entranced. The “cool videos” easily available online added to the allure, Stratton said.

Driving a souped-up Corvette, he’s become one of the nation’s best at the sport by offering “a little extra flair” while flying along smoothly, Stratton said. He said drivers are judged on the basis of their angle, line and style.

In a tandem competition such as the one eyed for Lewiston, two cars set off on the course, one behind the other, with the trailing driver aiming to mimic the lead vehicle.

“They try to outdrive each other,” Liaw said.

Stratton said the two drivers swap roles as well so the one in the rear the first time through a course will be in front the next time through. Both are scored, he said, and a winner determined. Sometimes there’s a tie, necessitating a third run.

All of it is done at high speeds, up to 100 mph, but it looks even faster, Liaw said, because wheels can spin at even faster rates as cars slide along.

Don’t Panic is reaching out to the top 32 drivers in the world and says some have already committed to attend.

Plans approved by the City Council call for a track that would include parts of Lincoln and Oxford streets plus a jaunt through the parking garage at the corner of Mill Street. The surrounding area would have vendors and a car show.

The proposed track would be lined with temporary barriers and restricted to speeds no higher than 57 mph, organizers said. Crowd barriers would keep people from getting too close.

Liaw said it’s important that the organizers take a “very conservative” approach in setting up the course.

“It could go south very fast” if they aren’t experienced and careful, he said.

Stratton, a Midwest champion and Rookie of the Year in Formula Drift’s Pro 2 class, said the Lewiston plan “sounds cool.”

“Street events are best,” he said, adding that he enjoyed a similar tandem competition on the streets of Detroit not long ago.

Liaw said street drifting has a growing fan base. Two-day competitions typically draw about 15,000 people, he said, with many more watching live online and others following social media carefully.

Best of all, from Liaw’s point of view, 80 percent of the fans are under the age of 40. “That’s where the hook is. We skew young,” he said.

Plans call for food, vendors and music in Simard-Payne Memorial Park, “Bourbon Street” activities on the first night and fireworks at the end of the day.

The competition would take place on day two, a Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For an extra charge, those in attendance would have a chance for an additional fee to drive along afterward with the professionals to experience something of what it’s like.

Liaw said one of the enjoyable aspects of the sport is that it doesn’t drag on.

“It’s easy to digest. It’s a very quick form,” he said, unlike long races where drivers circle a track for hours.