For the first time ever, two types of import motorsports have been combined to create one big-ass car venue. Drifting and drag racing were combined, not to compete against each other but to show the unity of the two different types of motorsport, and it took the NOPI guys to prove it. With drag racing being the premiere in import racing and drifting being the hard charging new generation in import performance, this event was to be the heart and soul of import performance. What most people don't know is that drifters tend to be anti-drag racing yet drag racers admire the whole drifting scene rather than hate on it. It took the Mopar NOPI finals to show that both can work in unison. The hate of another type of import motorsport is wrong in my eyes, but rather than argue about which is better, both should show spectators have a choice in the way they want to build their car. Race Wars has done that by combining drag, drift and show together to prove we are all still in the same gang. The venue spread out from the quarter-mile racetrack recently renovated for this particular event to the makeshift drift coarse using orange cones and plastic, water-filled K rails.
The drift session was mainly an exhibition, with some of the top U.S. drifters. Most were U.S. D1 Qualifiers, which were needed to show the caliber of driving skills. As a matter of fact, the course was set up by the drifters and its design was comprised of high-speed and slalom-like turns wide enough for the cars to be completely sideways. APC Team Orange were out performing drift maneuvers only inches apart from each other. Also in exhibition was the RSR S14 driven by Alex Phiffer, Tanabe's 350Z driven by Brian Norris, the A'PEXi S-14 driven by Calvin Wan as well as a few others.
The drag racing was actually a double header since the last NOPI race in Houston, Texas, was rained out. At the same time the Houston race was being rerun at the Saturday venue, the times posted by participants would also be used for qualifying for Sunday's final event. Since this track has never hosted an event of this nature it was key to be sure the track was capable of safely propelling the high-caliber cars attending the race. Two cars from each class volunteered to make an exhibition pass to see if the track had enough bite to run fast as well as enough run off to slow down. Most cars were anywhere from two to five tenths off their normal mark, which still makes for some great drag racing. One of the major complaints we heard was that the track surface was not level at the top end but it was enough to worry about running slow.
Even with two days of racing wearing these drivers down, the show was just as expected: crammed with big-name racers and hard core fans. Let the racing begin!