While nobody knows exactly where drifting will go as the result of this movie, every company in the automotive industry has their eyes glued to it, watching to see whether it’s a fad or the next NASCAR---a question I have consistently posed to professional drifters for the last two years during interviews for HSPN Networks, an automotive enthusiast site.

Why?  First, an estimated 80% of the drifting audience is in the much-sought-after 16-29 age group which is an attractive market segment for virtually any type of sponsor, not just those associated with the automotive industry.  In fact, energy drink companies, Red Bull and Rockstar, are currently title sponsors for professional drift drivers, paying big money for the exposure that such opportunities offer.  It will not be long after drifting goes mainstream that more automotive and non-automotive related companies do the same.

Second, drifting as a motor sport has grown by leaps and bounds in the US since the first professional competition was held here just a few years ago.  Both Formula D and D1 Grand Prix have expanded the number of drift exhibitions held around the country and Formula D expanded their schedule so that it now oversees a seven-event schedule throughout the entire US.  When I asked Jim Liaw of Formula D what he has noticed most as an insider of the drifting motor sport in the last two years, he told me that the drivers are more professional, that sponsors are spending more money, and that drifting events are attracting larger and larger audiences.

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