Article Courtesty of LA Times

What happens when you taking the increasingly popular sport of "drifting" and mix it with the huge appeal of NASCAR?

The answer will emerge Aug. 31 at Irwindale Speedway, when some of NASCAR's top drivers join leading U.S. and Japanese drivers from the D1 Grand Prix drifting series.

 "I'm a big fan" of drifting, said Nextel Cup driver Kasey Kahne, who is scheduled to appear with Greg Biffle, Robby Gordon, Casey Mears and Bill Elliott. They'll be in Southern California that weekend for the Sony HD 500 Cup race at the California Speedway.

None has drifted before — at least not in organized drifting events, Kahne said with a grin while preparing for last week's Cup race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"We're going to do some practicing before we go, maybe one day, and then just go and kind of get thrown in with the wolves," he said.

Drifting involves race cars that slide sideways, or drift, through the corners of a twisty course and the drifters usually compete in pairs. They're judged on accuracy, grace, speed and how closely they stay together.

The result is a racing version of a ballet, accompanied by screeching brakes and plumes of tire smoke.