For good or for bad, drifting may never be the same.  The official release of the film The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift in theaters today will expose drifting to the masses.  Just as the original The Fast and The Furious movie made the Japanese car culture widely popular among teenagers and young adults, the Tokyo Drift film will do the same for Drifting, but on a much larger scale.

Drifting is a racing technique that involves skidding through a corner sideways.  It originated in the mountains of Japan more than 15 years ago and evolved into a competitive motor sport in that country before finding its way to the United States.  Today, two organizations, D1 Grand Prix and Formula Drift, promote drift competitions for both amateur and professional drift drivers in the United States. 

Most people, and even most car fanatics, never knew what it meant to ‘Drift’ or about ‘Drifting’ until they heard of or saw Tokyo Drift.  Still, anybody that has been to a professional drift competition will tell you that it is impossible to know what drifting is until you experience it first hand because it involves theatrics, showmanship, competition, extreme burnouts, dramatic car collisions, excessive amounts of tire smoke, and of course umbrella girls---all of which are embodied by things that appeal to us.

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While nobody knows exactly where drifting will go as the result of this movie, every company in the automotive industry has their eyes glued to it, watching to see whether it’s a fad or the next NASCAR---a question I have consistently posed to professional drifters for the last two years during interviews for HSPN Networks, an automotive enthusiast site.

Why?  First, an estimated 80% of the drifting audience is in the much-sought-after 16-29 age group which is an attractive market segment for virtually any type of sponsor, not just those associated with the automotive industry.  In fact, energy drink companies, Red Bull and Rockstar, are currently title sponsors for professional drift drivers, paying big money for the exposure that such opportunities offer.  It will not be long after drifting goes mainstream that more automotive and non-automotive related companies do the same.

Second, drifting as a motor sport has grown by leaps and bounds in the US since the first professional competition was held here just a few years ago.  Both Formula D and D1 Grand Prix have expanded the number of drift exhibitions held around the country and Formula D expanded their schedule so that it now oversees a seven-event schedule throughout the entire US.  When I asked Jim Liaw of Formula D what he has noticed most as an insider of the drifting motor sport in the last two years, he told me that the drivers are more professional, that sponsors are spending more money, and that drifting events are attracting larger and larger audiences.

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This suggests that drifting as a motor sport may actually have sufficient momentum and support to weather any storm of negative publicity that could result from teenagers watching the movie and attempting to drift their cars on public streets or parking lots; much like the original The Fast and The Furious film encouraged teenagers to engage in illegal street racing on long stretches of public roads and highways.  Still, there has been a concerted effort by those in the automotive industry, law enforcement, and the entertainment business to send the message that attempting to drift on city streets is illegal and dangerous, and should be reserved for controlled track environments. 

For example, the enthusiasts of driftlive.com started driftsafe.org “to educate the fans, public and would be drifters about the consequences of illegal drifting, including; the effect [that] illegal drifting has on the sport of drifting, consequences for individuals who participate in illegal drifting, [and] the realities of drifting and the laws pertaining to illegal drifting.” Despite this, everyone is aware that some kids will get the better of themselves and do it anyway; some will be lucky, others not so lucky, in the consequences those actions may bring.  But if such efforts save one life, it was well worth it.

By continuing to educate first-time drifters, encouraging safety and responsibility, and promoting a greater number of amateur and professional drift competitions around the country, the companies involved in the drift business can give others the chance to experience drifting as we know it, and further reduce the chance that drifting becomes stigmatized by the mass media as the result of this movie.  As the mainstream embraces drifting and more companies get involved, drifting should become recognized as a legitimate motor sport in the US among automotive enthusiasts.  While this may upset those who have been involved in drifting before it became “cool,” this should lay the necessary foundation if the motor sport of drifting is to ever walk in the footsteps of NASCAR.  With the right supporters, it could happen sooner than you think.