,
Between the Top 32 and Top 16 rounds, my photographer and I made the rounds to some of the vendors in the paddock.
 |
| We visited the Advanced Clutch Technology Booth for a moment… |
 |
| We got a chance to take a look at some of their new offerings. Some really great stuff coming out of the ACT Camp! |
 |
| We made a quick trip to the Nitto Booth, where Costa and Matt were pitting. Nitto also had the Tanaka time attack car and the Gates 311RS on display. |
 |
| Sometimes you don't know who you'll run into at a Formula Drift Paddock! Here we have Chris Rado of World Racing chatting it up with Matt Powers! Matt, in turn, signed Chris' arm! |
 |
| A short walk later we ended up at the Falken Area. We had just missed Dai, but… |
 |
| We did stay to watch Justin Pawlak signing autographs! It's still awesome to watch these drivers take the time to sign and talk to even the smallest of fans in Drifting! |
 |
| We couldn't stay long because on display at Achilles Radial's booth was not only the powerful SC430 of Daigo Saito… |
 |
| but also Robbie Nishida was there talking about his new car! It will debut at Road Atlanta, so come down to watch him in action! |
 |
| We also caught a moment with Daigo Saito. That moment was very, very brief as he doesn't speak much English and I speak only enough Japanese to say I don't. I think I need to make it my goal to learn it this year. |
 |
| As we walked back towards the track for Driver Introductions, we took some time to chat with the guys at Whiteline. |
 |
| Nice People, those Whiteline guys and gals! Offering water and detailing the suspension products to us. |
 |
| We also checked out the AEM Booth to see what they had on display. |
 |
| Not only did they have this 350Z on display, but they were also displaying the latest in Dry Flow Filters! Dry Flow Filters, it's so convenient to use considering you don't have to use filter oil to risk getting too much or not enough oil on the filter! They have also devised it so you don't have to worry about the oddball check engine light and actually gain power on even the most modern engine! |
 |
| However, gawking time was over and Driver Introductions were starting! We ran over to watch the enthusiasm that most of these drivers give off just before going in and beating the living tar out of each other in tandem! |
 |
| Odi, however, is kind of reserved when it comes to stuff like this. He does his talking with his car and left foot. Seriously, he's one of best, if not the only left foot braking driver in Formula Drift! His rally roots really show out on track! |
 |
| In a rare moment, Kyle Mohan is acting very conservative. Maybe he was saving it for the Top 16? |
 |
| Very interestingly, GoPro gave Tyler McQuarrie a handheld camera. He used it not only outside the car during intros but also give his point of view too! |
 |
| Of course, it wouldn't be Long Beach without Matt Powers climbing the fence! |
 |
| Finally, I want to show Rhys Millen. He's been pretty comical here lately when ever he's been mentioned. From acting like an old man when Jarod Deanda mentions his experience to doing this simple display to show off Hyundai, Rhys is hamming it up this year! His performance on track has been anything but comical and the results continue to show that Rhys has a ton of driving left in him in Formula Drift! |
