Drifting is front page news in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007Check this out, a story that was published yesterday in the Myrtle Beach Sun Newspaper. A reporter/photgrapher has been attending all of our events for the past month to get a drivers perspective of the sport we all love. I think she did a pretty good job in explaining the concept of drifting in laymans terms.
Myrtle Beach Sun Times Article
The title of the story is, “Drifting Towards A Dream.”
The smell of burnt rubber and the screech of tires immediately assault your senses.
Through a tunnel of thick smoke, you can barely make out two beaming red lights.
On Wednesday nights, drift cars rule the Myrtle Beach Speedway and for drifters such as 22-year-old Jeff Guillotte, a recent Coastal Carolina University graduate, just being there inspires goosebumps.
“People go out to these events not knowing what it is, and they’ll get hooked just by watching the first 5 minutes,” Guillotte said.
Drifting is a Japanese-based motor sport that features cars sliding through a coned course at extreme angles while maintaining control. Drivers spend their careers dodging walls and spending thousands of dollars to fix cars in pursuit of a few moments of what they describe as “controlled chaos.”
Motion pictures such as last year’s “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” have sparked people’s curiosity about the sport. It is particularly popular in cities such as Atlanta and Miami.
It has attracted local enthusiasts with the establishment of the Myrtle Beach Speedway’s Drift and Drag nights, a weekly practice venue started more then a year ago. Once a month the speedway also hosts competitions for prize money and bragging rights.
Guillotte put his degree in marine science on hold a year and a half ago to devote his life to drifting.
It is not unusual for Guillotte to spend six days a week working on his car - leaving one day for practice or a competition.
He says he has spent almost $11,000 on car parts and $15,000 in repairs and maintenance.
Most of his weekly paycheck from his full-time job at a Puma shoe store is spent on his car.
“I haven’t gone grocery shopping in five or six months now,” Guillotte said, and he is grateful he has nice friends who feed him.
Drifter competitions
In drifter competition, drivers maneuver their cars through a maze of orange cones that include sharp turns and U-turns. They are judged on entry speed, angle and sometimes the amount of smoke they produce. However, what separates first and second place winners is how close cars come to designated clipping points placed on the course. The rear end of the cars must come within a recommended distance in full slide to score points. The bigger the competition the closer the cars must get.
Drivers qualify with an individual run through the course. Then two cars run the course together, trying to intimidate each other. Heats continue until the final two cars battle it out. Competitions vary by the design of the course, weight of the points and judging.
Organized drifting in Myrtle Beach began with two local drifters, Marshall Eggerling, an operations manager for Burroughs & Chapin, and his friend Jeff Kipe, a Sears mechanic. The pair were looking for a place to drift safely. In 2004, they approached Myrtle Beach Speedway track manager Bill Henessey, who liked their proposal. Shortly after, the club Drift MB was formed.
Rough start for Guillotte
Guillotte joined the club about six months ago.
“He came to the track and we let him jump in and out of cars and experience what drifting is all about,” Eggerling said.
Drift cars must have rear-wheel drive, a front engine, limited slip differential, and a good suspension, Guillotte said.
He said he had a rough start, but studied other drivers’ car-handling techniques.
“My buddy was like, ‘You gotta get your car out there,’ so I paid the 20 bucks and got out there and spun out a bunch of times,” Guillotte said, “But I had a fun time.”
Guillotte started out with a Nissan 240, a popular car for drifting, but now drives a Mazda Miata.
“The Miata has a shorter wheel base, which means it’s harder to control the drift,” said another drifter, James Sterner, who now owns Guillotte’s Nissan 240.
Guillotte has made an impression in the drifting world because of his unique car choice and his ability to drift well in it, Sterner said.
A supply of tires is essential. For practices and home competitions at the speedway, Guillotte gets free used tires from a local tire shop. He goes through about eight to 10 tires during a competition and as many as half a dozen during weekly practices. For major competitions, Guillotte spends a week’s paycheck on a brand-new set for better handling and performance.
Guillotte attributes most of his success to his parents’ support of his endeavor. His father, a pilot, buy parts in California and brings them to Charleston during monthly visits. And even though his mother worries about his safety, she stills helps him financially when times were rough.
Local drifting sponsor John Carley of Fedwear, a clothing line designed for drifters, gives Guillotte free clothing and helps him with his race admissions fees. He gives most of his financial support to Eggerling and Kipe.
Carley said he decided to partially sponsor Guillotte about two months ago because the young driver was outgoing and serious about the sport.
“I watched him at practice and he was tearing it up, and then the next week he was still tearing it up and I knew it wasn’t a fluke,” he said.
It takes perseverance
One recent setback was a major accident during a competition in August 2006.
Guillotte hit a wall at 35 mph. He was OK, but he destroyed the car’s entire front body and every major suspension component on the driver’s side.
“After I hit the wall, I just fixed what was needed to drive. I was driving around with body parts hanging of my car,” Guillotte said.
Some of those car parts are now proudly displayed in his bedroom.
Guillotte’s most memorable moment was the first time he “fully linked” a course, going through the entire run at full slide.
“I had a big smile on my face for the next week.”
Currently, Guillotte said he is looking for another job, probably in California, and additional sponsors in order to do drifting full time. He said he is sticking to the sport for the “absolute love of it.”
and they’ll get hooked just by watching the first 5 minutes.’ Jeff Guillotte | drifter
