The end of 2014 marks my 10th year following professional drifting. I’ve probably shortened my life span a few years from all the tire smoke I’ve breathed in over the last decade, but it’s all been worth it.
This year, I focused my drift coverage on the very core events this wonderful sport has to offer. Although I didn’t attend as many drift events as I have in previous years, I am still very happy with my pictures. And that said, here are my favorite drift images from 2014. Enjoy!
Pathum Thani Speedway: Speedhunters driver Fredric Aasbø waits at the start line, the sky glowing red at sunset due to a thick layer of smog caused by Bangkok’s pollution.
Pathum Thani Speedway: A final goodbye for a drifting prince in the Speed City 700SX.
Pathum Thani Speedway: Spectators escape the harsh January sun to watch qualifying.
Pathum Thani Speedway: A Norway versus Thailand final. NASCAR V8 versus a three rotor RX-7. It could not have played out any better.
Somewhere in Norway: Fredric Aasbø takes his mother’s station wagon out to pick up groceries.
Sigdal, Norway: The 86X gets to stretch its snow legs on a frozen lake.
Sigdal, Norway: Car sinking into the lake, no big deal.
Willow Springs International Raceway: Blowing out the cobwebs at Southern California’s first drift competition of the year.
Streets of Long Beach: Eric Hill going #MaximumAttack into Turn 1.
Streets of Long Beach: The final year of professional drifting for Swedish driver Carl Rydquist.
Streets of Long Beach: Brandon Wicknick looks at the track ahead as he waits on the starting line.
Streets of Long Beach: Ken Gushi bounces from wall to wall like a pinball during qualifying.
Streets of Long Beach: Ryan Tuerck destroys a set of tires as the sun begins to set behind the Long Beach Convention Center.
Streets Of Long Beach: Chris ‘The Force’ Forsberg has gone to the dark side.
Road Atlanta: A little dirt drop never hurts. Just ask Charles Ng.
Road Atlanta: Carl Rydquist goes in hard for one of the few dry qualifying runs of the event.
Road Atlanta: Version 3.0 of the Scion GReddy FR-S, piloted by Ken Gushi.
Road Atlanta: The longest qualifying session in Formula Drift history. Everyone had two runs in addition to a practice pass.
Road Atlanta: Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s 2014 Mustang was sporting a razzle dazzle camouflage livery this year, similar to what was used on World War I warships.
Road Atlanta: Kyle Mohan learns the meaning of slippy-slidy racing.
Going Sideways
Road Atlanta: Chris Forsberg displaying some impressive tire slaying action.
Road Atlanta: The fans in the South are the best drift fans in the world.
Road Atlanta: Vaughn Gittin Jr. debuts Formula Drift Rallycross with his Ford Mustang RTR.
Homestead Miami International Raceway: Ken Gushi takes a break from all the hustle and bustle of the FD paddock.
Homestead Miami International Raceway: Tyler Wolfson suits up for battle in the scorching heat.
Homestead Miami International Raceway: Smoke escapes from every possible orifice in Daijiro Yoshihara’s twin turbo LS-powered BRZ.
Homestead Miami International Raceway: The drivers faced triple-digit entry speeds going into the first corner on the brand new course.
Homestead Miami International Raceway: Vaughn Gittin Jr. goes on to win two events back-to-back.
Homestead Miami International Raceway: Justin Pawlak goes out for his second qualifying run in the Florida humidity.
Homestead Miami International Raceway: Tyler McQuarrie leaves no room for error during Top 32 practice.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: E-brake initiation going into the first corner during Thursday’s practice.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Dennis Mertzanis shows everyone the proper line to take on the outer bank.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Wall rides were plentiful at FD Round 4, although there were not as many wrecks as in previous years.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Waiting in a long line of drift cars for what little practice runs the drivers get at each round.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: The grid master noting the number of runs each driver gets during practice.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Heading back to the pits after a hard drift session.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: The sun dips behind the forest as the battles rage on in Top 32 practice.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: The Falken girls chat before the start of the Top 16 introductions.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Rays of light shine stream through Chris Forsberg’s cockpit as he awaits a decision on a battle.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Fredric Aasbø earns his first ever win in the Formula Drift Pro Championship.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Making some serious clouds of smoke coming off the New Jersey bank.
Circle Burners
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: triple donut action from the Team Falken drivers.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Chris Forsberg and Conrad Grunewald battling it out in the Top 8 bracket.
Wall Speedway, New Jersey: Justin Pawlak coming off the main bank during Top 32 practice.
Autodrome St-Eustache: Dean ‘Karnage’ Kearney steps out into the tire smoke that he and his Achilles teammates created in celebration of their very first podium sweep.
Texas Motor Speedway: Taka Aono enjoys the trackside view. This past year may be the last for ‘The Flying 86.’
Texas Motor Speedway: Just two rounds to go – time for Chris Forsberg to lock down a second championship.
Texas Motor Speedway: Rivals on track, forever best friends off it. Once a brother, always a brother.
Texas Motor Speedway: Vaughn Gittin Jr. struggled with some mechanical issues which put him out of contention for the championship title.
Texas Motor Speedway: Brandon Wicknick drifting at ludicrous speeds during qualifying.
Texas Motor Speedway: It looks like someone pressed the smoke screen button in their spy car.
Texas Motor Speedway: Ryan Tuerck gives his e-brake a slight tug as he drifts past the main grandstands.
Texas Motor Speedway: The battle of the Nissan Z teammates, both powered by VK56 engines.
Texas Motor Speedway: Fredric Aasbø eats away at Chris Forsberg’s lead by winning his second event ever in Texas.
Texas Motor Speedway: Dean Kearney is Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s shadow as the two battle it out under the lights in Texas.
Irwindale Speedway: Practice high on the bank for the final round of the Formula Drift Pro Championship.
Irwindale Speedway: Vaughn Gittin Jr. destroys a set of tires in qualifying.
Irwindale Speedway: Charles Ng, upset that his motor failed during qualifying, was not able to make a second run to secure a spot in the Top 32.
Irwindale Speedway: Matt Coffman finishes off his rookie year with a bang.
Irwindale Speedway: Joon Maeng warms up his tires on the grid as drift fans breathe in the tire smoke.
Irwindale Speedway: Top 32 battles rage on as the sun dips below the horizon.
Irwindale Speedway: Dean Kearney pushed a little too hard on the unforgiving Irwindale bank.
Irwindale Speedway: Chris Forsberg is hoisted up as he wins his second Formula Drift Championship title.
Irwindale Speedway: Fredric Aasbø is overcome with emotion as he gives me a ride to the podium ceremony.
Irwindale Speedway: The 11th running of FD Irwindale comes to an end. Daigo Saito, Fredric Aasbø and Forest Wang stand atop the podium.
Shenzhen, China: Ross Petty’s S15 gets pushed back to the pits after breaking its differential during practice.
Shenzhen, China: The best seat in the house is always from the judges’ tower.
Shenzhen, China: Ross Petty gives his S15 a much-needed pep talk as he heads into battle.
Shenzhen, China: I’ll leave you guys with a shot of Kyle Mohan standing next to his car after it caught on fire in the battle for 3rd place.
Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com
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You're my favourite Larry. You, more than everyone else manage to display a world in its entirety. Cars are fascinating and all but are nothing without the people and their joys, sorrows and efforts around them and I think you Larry manage to reflect this idea in your photography like nobody else. Merry Christmas!
You have got to be kidding me. A life of a drifter? What is that? Paid sponsors on a closed sanctioned course. Unless you have lived in Japan you wouldn't know what it is about. Drifting has nothing to do with being professional at all. Never should have taken this path. Its now a giant facade. Life of a drifter is going to work as a regular job. When you got off pretty much the entire time your working on your car or your friends to go out drifting at night. Every night. You regularly went to junkyards to get parts. This article isn't a life of a drifter.
Nice one Larry!
@ryukyustriker You must not have paid much attention to what Larry wrote or what this collection of photos is about - "A Year In The Life Of A Drifter" is a play on words, in that Larry is constantly traveling around the world and taking photos of professional drifting.
Was the title really that infuriating to you that you?
shiftyXTI Hmmm traveling around the world? I guess you didn't pay attention. Drifting professionally has made it into a joke. The only place where drifting ever mattered was Japan. Exactly how long do you think its been around. I was watching drifting on local streets over 25 years ago. Every photo above was all track nothing at a street level. Yeah he represented drifting in the correct light didn't he? Sarcasm "You must not have paid much attention" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXl4XUVfu1A that is Option Magazine almost 16 years ago. I was there. Everysingle one of those driver were working class guys. We all helped each other out working on cars and drifting. That is every day drifting at night all over japan.
ryukyustriker shiftyXTI Would you feel better if the title said: A Year In the Life of a Professional Drifter
It's like saying professional stick ball. It doesn't hold water.
The photo at Irwindale with the sun behind the fans is EPIC! Larry always sees the shots that nobody else can.
As always thanks for the love Speedhunters
Larry Chen I have to say you take some of the finest black and white photos I've ever seen in any genre. That picture of Vaughn Gittin Jnr at Texas Motor Speedway communicates some serious emotion. Great work, Man.