While there are several options to spend my weekend I decided to stop by one of Southern California's infamous car shows. Extreme Autofest kicked off its season opener this past weekend at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. In true EAF style numerous cars from different car cultures gathered for the event. Unfortunately they couldn't accommodate all the lowriders, tuners, and bikers that showed up that morning.

When it comes to car shows, Fatlace throws one of the illest events around (see what I did there). The Slammed Society car show has a nice mix of JDM, Euro, Classic, and American builds that will excite any gearhead. How many car shows have an awesome soundtrack of revving engines and burning tires in the background? Not many.

Less than a week into the summer, I was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel halfway across the world to experience Malaysia. For what purpose? One reason would be attending the highly anticipated Japan Super GT Round 3 races, held at the infamous Sepang International Circuit, but the bulk of the stay was to partake in a M7 Racing Tour for the next five days. What would the good people of M7 Malaysia/USA/Japan do to keep one editor occupied for the next 120 hours? I wasn't sure, but looking over the itinerary, it was without a doubt filled to the brim with scheduling. And that scheduling ranged from shop tours to track events, and even some drifting. Would it be humanly possible to pack so many things into a mere five days? We were about to find out.

Come June, a sense of excitement fills the air as Import Tuner held its first annual FR Shootout at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, CA. Using the Streets of Willow (SOW) track configuration was new to this year's event from the previous Buttonwillow location we had become accustomed to for the past five years of competition. The 1.8-mile track consists of a smaller and tighter layout with a total of 13 turns. For those not in tune with the last year's event, here's a brief recap: The AWD Shootout bore witness to 10 (special invite) vehicles at Buttonwillow Raceway's infamous CW13 configuration, which included three GT-Rs, three STIs, and four Evos in a head-to-head challenge to prove who is the best, or at least amongst the best. ACG's 625hp, satin gray '09 R35 GT-R pulled out the narrow victory over the Kontrabrands/Evasive Motorsports '06 Evo IX SE due to a driver miscalculation on the number of laps, which brought him into the pits after completing only four of five. The error automatically turned the Evo's potential victory into a heart-wrenching DNF. This year marks the sixth consecutive year of the competition, consisting of 15 vehicles of all makes and models-either NA or forced induction-that were worthy enough to compete at our FR Shootout.

Formula Drift wrapped up its ninth season in what culminated into the closest championship run to date. The grand finale and Round 7 returned to Irwindale Speedway, known as the "House of Drift", in Southern California for the last power slide of the Formula D season. Irwindale plays an integral part since the points winner is decided at this final event of the season; drivers battle one last time to earn the coveted title of Formula Drift Champion. Last year, Daijiro Yoshihara captured the 2011 championship and Tires.com Triple Crown bonus award in an event that had more twists and drama than a soap opera, while Tyler McQuarrie finished in First Place during the event.

Back in 2009 Justin and Jenna Salvadalena, Albert Fung, Will Ringstmeyerr, and Brandi Ferree had a common goal: to bring car enthusiasts of all ages a truly different style car show. Traditional car shows take place in a ground-level parking lot of some sort--and we've all been to them. When the founders of Another Level Car Show chose their venue they had something different in mind. They opted to hold their event in the top three floors of a five-story parking garage. What makes Another Level even better is that all proceeds from the show go directly to charity--proudly supporting Bombshell Pit Bull Rescue and St. Jude's Children's Research Facility. The organizers take nothing from the event other than the satisfaction of knowing all their hard work is supporting two fantastic causes in addition to the local car community.

Scion Racing is bringing back all three of its sponsored drift teams for the 2013 Formula Drift Pro Championship Series. Ken Gushi returns to the streets with his Greddy/ Scion FR-S with a few changes from the previous set up. This year they mounted the radiator in the trunk for better balance and to accommodate a larger turbo. On the outside, you'll notice it's been fitted with the sexy Greddy x Rocket Bunny wide-body kit.

To be quite honest I was completely surprised by the outcome of our Formula Drift car meet and tech day. We had some 600 cars stop by -- way more than last year. Hopefully this impressed the big bosses (ahem Mike, cough, cough Maria). Out of the sea of great cars that showed up for the event, here's a few of our favorites:

Looking for a way to do up Formula D in style and help a charity at the same time? Then you'll want to head over to eBay to bid on a VIP ticket package being provided by the Relief for Japan charity during each round of the 2013 Formula D season. Each winning bidder will receive a sweet package including two VIP tickets to the Formula D event, VIP Falken Tire Hospitality Passes, a Daijiro Yoshihara RC drift car, RFJP shirts, stickers, and a meet-and-greet with Daijiro-san himself. The auction is now live on eBay

Formula D Championship returned to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA, the oldest track on the circuit that was originally built as a horse racing track back in 1954. Round 5 was another high-intensity event as a capacity crowd—estimated at over 25,000—witnessed a nail-biting event with drivers jockeying for position in a close points chase for the championship. Over the past few events, the typically wet and gloomy Evergreen Speedway track was surprisingly hot and dry, a good combination for lots of smoke and speed around the five-eighth bank, a good thing for both drivers and spectators alike.

Eat Sleep Race marked their 10th anniversary since its founder Brian Mabutas designed their first logo that gave birth to the ESR lifestyle. On Sunday, June 24, ESR held their third annual BBQ Meet. The crew combined their celebration at Dynamic Performance Shop in Hillsborough, NJ, with free food, DJ, and tons of ESR gear. The turnout was huge and the event reached max capacity with attendees from the Tristate area and as far as California coming out to show support.

Import Alliance is, without a doubt, one of the biggest and well-known car culture events in the nation. After many years of successful events, the remarkable Z-Max Dragway in Charlotte, NC, was a first-time location and still managed to attract thousands of people and cars from all over the United States. With organized staff, systematic layout, and efficient planning, the abundant population and traffic was very well supervised.

Geographically speaking Australia might be a world away, but for the third year running the land Down Under has managed to put on a truly international time-attack event complete with pro-level drifting and a huge car show component. Sydney Motorsport Park was once again the venue for the Yokohama Advan World Time-Attack Challenge (WTAC)—a two-day festival of speed held in August that attracted pro-level teams from as far as the United Kingdom as well as Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. Well, almost the United States . . .

It’s not often that an auto show series comes around to the Northeast region as big and respected as Wekfest. Its usual venues are up and down the West Coast, but as of last year, they’ve been touring the United States—something many enthusiasts had been anticipating since the first Wekfest was birthed a couple of years back in California. Wekfest has a history of top-notch street and show cars, bringing in thousands of spectators, and providing an all-around well-organized car show environment to its attendees. This stop at Edison, NJ, was no different.

Once a year Mitsubishi Motors of North America hosts one of the biggest Mitsubishi gatherings, the Mitsubishi Owner’s Day. In the early hours of the morning, enthusiasts quickly filled the parking lots at Mitsubishi headquarters in Cypress, CA. An array of Mitsubishi models was displayed, from bone stock to full-blown race cars. The event is thrown as a special “thank you” to Mitsubishi fans and enthusiasts.

With Eibach Springs changing the event location for the first time in years, the infamous Irwindale Speedway parking lot graciously set the stage for one of the most anticipated Honda meets on the West Coast. As the day started early, hundreds rolled in from all over the country eager for a chance to display their Honda pride and joy to some of the most influential individuals and companies within the industry.

Formula D Championship returned to New Jersey’s legendary Wall Speedway for Round 4: The Gauntlet in front of another sold-out crowd. The short course, with its 16-degree banked oval followed immediately by a straightaway and 30-degree incline on the turns, proves to be one of the more difficult courses for many Formula D drivers. The short oval’s technical track configuration didn’t disappoint as the weekend event was filled with dramatic crashes, controversial calls, and stellar upsets.

The Historic Japanese Car Gathering crew hosted what had to be one of the largest vintage Skyline meets outside of Japan. Held at the San Leandro Marina in California, the iconic cars posed against the Bayline scenery. Fatlace presented their acclaimed Hakosuka and Kenmeri. The guys from JDM Legends drove all the way from Salt Lake City. The most notable guest was Mary from the popular ’60s Skyline commercial.

Last updated January 6th, 2012

NorCal’s hottest car show comes back to SoCal in full effect. Outdoor at the Queen Mary Park in the city of Strong Beach, over 4,000 people came through to see over 400 of the West Coast’s best. Wekfest has really become a staple in the show circuit. This year the guys of Weksos will be bringing Wekfest to new cities like Austin and even out the East Coast in New Jersey.

During the 2011 SLB finals, FXMD NSX not only set a new Unlimited FR record but broke the Overall Record held by the Sierra Sierra Enterprise EVO with a lap time of 1:40.981 to claim the title of track champion. This year the stakes are once again at an all time high with fierce competition as the FXMD NSX defends it's title in the ultra competitive Unlimited Class at Buttonwillow Raceway on Nov 7th. With SLB joining forceswith Global Time Attack (GTA) during this year 2012 Finals, this event promises to be bigger and badder than ever. Don't miss out! It's still not too late to register. For more information on how to enter, check us out at www.globaltimeattack.com.

Formula Drift Round 2 “Road to the Championship” was jam-packed with near sold-out crowds, thrilling drifting, and top driver upsets we’ve become accustomed to at the start of the new 2012 season. Prior to the event, the drifting community was blindsided with news that the city of ATL had approved an ordinance to ban drifting from stadiums and venues within 1,200 feet from residential areas. Luckily, round two of Formula D continued without incident due to its off-city location, but that didn’t stop the crowds of fans to show strong support for saving drifting and protesting the deliberate targeting of their favorite sport within the city of ATL.

Break.com-online purveyors of user-submitted fail, slam, and prank vids ("Dissolving Bikini" might be our favorite), movie trailers, online TV episodes, and more-sent us this behind-the-scenes look into their filming of shenanigans with Chris Forsberg and his VK-powered NOS Energy Drink 350Z roadster for their original series "The Bro Show". Avoiding a spoiler (not the kind used for downforce), let's just say one of the show's two hosts was scared shitless riding shotgun in Chris's VK-powered slide ride, while the other did an excellent job as a human cone . . . until Chris apparently plowed him over. Look for "The Bro Show" on break.com for the scoop.

Think drag racing only happens on the East Coast? Nope. Oregon called out some of the wildest cars to jaunt the 1,320-foot dance floor. Still one of the most high-adrenaline games in motorsports, IFO is one of the premier venues that allows you to really put your motor to the test. Keep a look out as IFO travels to over 35 locations throughout the year.

HKS recently hosted its fifth annual HKS Premium Day at Japan’s famed Fuji International Speedway. The gates opened to an overcast morning as competitors, vendors, dealers, and spectators attended one of the most anticipated events of the year. This year’s festivities once again consisted of a flood of activities, including circuit battles, drifting, and talk shows, with vendor booths showcasing their newest products, but the main attractions took place on Fuji’s main circuit and drift course.