Well, I went to my first "drifting" event; the FORMULA Drift 2011 World Championship "Title Fight" at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California.

I had spoken with Big Steve about going to this deal, and he told me that it's "different," but Steve also said that I probably would enjoy myself.

Here are a few photos. We (my wife and 11-year-old nephew also attended) all had a really good time...

I have to say thanks and give PROPS to Team Falken (event-winner Tyler McQuarrie, FORMULA Drift Series' champion Daijiro Yoshihara, series runner-up Justin Pawlak, and 2010 series champ Vaughn Gittin Jr), as well as Martin Castro and Jonathon J-Brad Bradford, for all the hospitality they showed us.

Once you understand how drifiting works, it's not all that bad. There's lots of energy and crowd involvement when the cars "race" each other (it's actually more like chasing each other), kind of like the way Japanese baseball fans get involved with games played in Tokyo (cheering, chanting, stomping feet on the stands, etc).

Big-time credit goes to the drift racers. Those guys definitely have skills behind the wheel. It would have been cool to see one of the Falken Mustangs finish in the Top 3 on Saturday, but the Falken team itself is a big winner in FORMULA Drift, as Daijiro Yoshihara locked down the 2011 championship, and Falken teammate Justin Pawlak is Number 2 for the '11 season.