If you’ve been to a Drift Indy event in the past six or seven years, you’ve almost certainly seen a slightly older dude in an open face helmet with a smile plastered on his face driving with just about everybody. Prior to 2024, you would’ve seen him behind the wheel of a graffiti-liveried 240SX. Last season he transitioned into a New Edge Mustang, and the smile only got bigger.
Rodney Blankenship and his positive attitude have become a staple of Drift Indy events, and this season he has taken an early lead atop the Drift Indy Street League standings after an impressive performance at Round One. Born and Raised in Dayton, OH, he’s had a passion for cars since he was a kid, and drove his first drift event before quite a few of our drivers were even born.
We sat down with our DISL points leader to learn more about him ahead of Round Two:
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So to start off with, why don’t you just give us a little background info on yourself? Where you grew up, your background with cars, that kind of thing.
Dayton, OH, born and raised, man. Been here my whole life. Gosh, cars have been part of my life since I was young. My dad got me into the older scene, hot rods and all that. He’d take me with him and some of his buddies to hang out at their house, and I would kind of just hang out, push a broom around, kind of watch what they were doing, you know, and I just picked up a lot and really took a real liking to it at a young age.
Gosh, I got my first car when I was, I think, 12. It was a 1948 Mercury, and I just tinkered on it on and off. My dad and I would do some things on it, and he'd let me drive it all the time. I grew up driving him around, and he taught me at a young age to drive.
So, I guess that's kind of where it all started. Fast forward into my teenage years and I got into the mini truck scene. I grew up in the mini truck era of everything where everything was as low as we could get it on 15s. It was great.
So, my mom had an ‘84 Firebird, and I ended up getting it when I was 16. And, man, I just kind of went after it, like I said, just kind of watching what other people were doing at my dad's and his friends’ shops. I had to shave the door handles, marker lights, painted it Viper red. It was around when Vipers came out, and that was the brightest red you could get. Gosh, I had some Belltech spindles, I cut a coil or two, man, and slammed it on 15x8 Prime Tri-fans, man, and I was balling. Dude, it was sweet.
And then my buddies, we all had some tunes and that's all we did man, is just cruisin’, and I just enjoyed it. It was a wild time, you know? It was great.
So I graduated and things kind of just, you know, you start doing your own thing. I started my first automotive shop. It had to have been ‘99, somewhere in there, but it was myself and, actually Tanner [Thomas]'s dad, Rob, we started a shop, and I ended up with an E30. I think somebody had towed it in, and they needed a water pump or timing belt or something, I can't even remember, but I got it for, like, 500 bucks and put a pump in it, timing belt and all that. That was back when we had Koni shocks, they were adjustable. I was kind of wanting to get into some road racing, so I got Eibach springs and Koni shocks, and I did some driver schools with it.
Putnam Park over in Indiana and Mid-Ohio and stuff.
But really, what got me was I was always kind of messing around in the winters, you know, with drifting and sliding. That's all we had was rear wheel drive cars growing up, you know? So we were always messing around doing that.
We used to actually get snow back then and we’d get out of school and whatever. But I guess the best part of it was when I found out about snow tires, you could go anywhere you wanted, you know, you could just drive all night if it was snowing. Me and my friends would be going all around, all just messing around, sliding around…
And then, at some point, I heard about drifting at Kil-kare. That had to have been like ‘02, somewhere in there. I'm not even sure exactly, but they had it going on. We had done some autocross out there and some other things, but somebody was doing drift events… I don't remember, it was so long ago, but everybody said you had to weld the diff up, so I welded my diff and we went out there and just started getting after it, and it was fun, man.
So I went out there, and I think I got into, like, the top eight, not even really knowing what I was doing but just because I could control the car, I guess. I kind of knew how it felt, you know what I mean? I didn't know anything about changing tires or anything, and I ended up blowing my tire out, but it was fun, man.
I think I did another event or two, and then life just kind of changed, and I just went a different direction, you know? I ended up selling the E30, I closed the shop and just went a different direction. Life happens, family and all that, but that was cool. I wish I would have stayed into it.
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The son of an American-muscle loving father to drifter pipeline is a well-worn one, and Rodney just so happens to be a very early example of the phenomenon. Being around so many passionate car enthusiasts during your formative years has a habit of instilling a love for anything with an engine. His interest in, and exposure to, the mini truck scene added an appreciation for style and for lowered cars that lent itself well to the growing influence of Japanese car culture in the 90s.
After a little bit of research, it seems that the early event at Kil-kare that he drove was probably a US Drift Outbreak! event. Those obviously predated Drift Indy by a few years, and by the time DI got its start, Rodney had already stepped away from drifting. Around 15 years would pass before he would drive another drift event. In that time, he closed his shop and became immersed in motorcycle culture.
“I mean, once you get out and you start riding and hanging and running with people that, you know, we all just like to party and have fun and ride motorcycles and just don't care about shit, really,” he said. “I don’t regret any of it by any means, but it was just a different time. Certain things can draw you in and, you know, that’s what happens… you start drinking and doing drugs and everything else, and it’s easy to get caught up in it, man.”
Eventually, though, he decided things needed to change. He got sober, found God and, in late 2017, decided it was time to get back behind the wheel of a drift car.
“Luckily I was able to get myself away from it and, you know, God helped me do that, man. So, you know, I'm a better person because of it and now I get to do what I love,” he said. “I don't know, some people might want to hear that and read about it, and, you know, if I can help somebody, that's awesome, man.”
Rodney was fortunate enough to find a support structure that worked for him and allowed him to get back to his passion for cars. After starting to attend events at Kil-kare again around 2016 or 2017, he and Tanner’s dad, Rob, started their search for a car. A 240SX hatch down in Cincinnati popped up on Facebook Marketplace. They didn’t jump at it right away, letting it sit for a while before eventually scooping it up for $1,800. It had some stuff done to it and had already been driven at a few events, but it still had an open diff. Rodney got it welded up and then took it to a local artist who would give the car its iconic graffiti paint job that would become a staple of events at Kil-kare over the next few seasons.
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I think the first event I came to at Kil-kare was around 2018 or so. That car’s been sort of a Kil-kare icon for a long time now.
I remember the first time I showed up, you know, they just thought I was some dumbass that spray painted my car or something, but I could drive. So, by the end, they were like, “damn, dude!”
So from there, man, I just enjoyed that, it was fun just to kind of get back in it. You know, things are different now. I kind of have that, I don't know, that competition bug. I guess I understand more after building the New Edge how things work and, you know, I’m just a little more involved instead of just showing up and driving.
I can see it all both ways. Like, you can just kind of show up and have fun. And that's where I was with it, you know what I mean? I didn't want anything more or less. It was just try to go out there and have fun and slide a car around. I didn't know there was anything else to it, you know, until Street League, I guess.
And then, once Street League hit I thought, like, “oh, well shit, the 240’s gutted, you know, so I'm not even going to try. I know they're not going to let me participate in it.” But then, I guess you could call it the back half of Street League, [volumes] 8, 9 and 10, I think it was, that I got to do in the 240. But, I mean, that's kind of what got me back into it, really kind of just changing my life around, you know, and going a different direction again.
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The green and black graffiti livery got a refresh around 2023, changing things up to a red color scheme. Mechanically, Rodney kept the car and its KA powerplant simple, and it served him well. He could go out and turn lap after lap all day and barely go through tires. He’s turned about as many laps around Kil-kare as anybody.
Having been bitten deep by the competition bug with his foray into DISL, he decided it was time to try out a new chassis ahead of the 2024 season. He opted to go back to his American muscle roots.
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So when did you pick up the New Edge?
So I always wanted to have an American car… and I just thought about Mustangs with the V8, you know, I love old V8 American muscle, So I'm like, “why not? Let's try it.”
I had an old Blazer, I found this thing on Marketplace, and he said it was stuck in fourth gear. So I had the Blazer, I sent some pictures of it and I was like, “man, you want to trade?” He's like, “I don't know, bring it up,” so I trailered it up there, and I was still able to drive it because of the gear, you know, you can take off and force it, it was just stuck in fourth gear. So we made the trade, man, and honestly, I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I knew I could get a transmission and put it in and at least have a decent looking car to cruise around in or whatever.
I feel like there wasn't a ton of research on them, I mean, you know, besides Mike [Skudlarek] at Detroit Drifting and Duncan, and then just being on the forums, I would just read and just constantly try to figure out what the best setup was or what people were doing, and I just slowly started collecting parts for it until I had enough of them to kind of start a whole build on it.
So, I went with Detroit, man, all his angle, his max angle kit, and then Feal coilovers, Maximum Motorsport arms in the rear. Mike's E-brake. His whole setup, the handle he has, he makes the adapters for the rear end, the Cobra calipers for your foot. And then the Willwood calipers for your handbrake. Welded the diff up, got a cage kit, you know, just started building it, man.
So, yeah, last season was my first year out in it and I kind of just went out just to learn the car. Nothing too crazy, you know what I mean? I didn't do much tweaking or tuning. Just trying to get comfortable in it.
Nice, and, I mean, it seems like you got comfortable in it pretty quick.
You know, once you get past the stage of like sucking it up, like, “man, I just spent all this time and money on this car. I really don't want to go out here and stuff it into somebody,” you know?
So that was kind of the first idea. I wasn't too aggressive, plus it was just a whole different style. I mean, with the 240, you didn't really use the brakes. I mean, I would left-foot brake, but really you're just in that thing just hoping everything's cool and you don't have to stop too quick, and honestly there were a couple times when I couldn't stop, and that's when things got beat up.
So yeah, just trying to learn the E-brake as a tool, you know, pushing the clutch and pulling the handbrake, you know what I mean? Just trying to do everything that you have to do and the time you have to do it, just trying to learn all that. So that's where things have changed in this car. Trying to learn all the suspension and grip, when to have grip, how to take grip out, how to put grip in, understanding how to adjust your shocks for all that, you know, and still, I don't have a ton of adjustments, but at least I am now learning and understanding and I can make an adjustment and I can go out and feel it. I can go out on the track and be like, “oh, wow,” you know?
So that's where I've been just continuing to try to grow from. Just getting seat time and trying to do as much as I can and to do it cleanly and have fun and just be like all these big runners out here.
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In the three-round 2024 DISL season, Rodney finished 23rd overall, with his best performance coming at USAir for Round Two. Things really started to click for him with the car there, and he looked like he was having a blast. He finished out the season having proven that could be a force to be reckoned with when behind the wheel of his Mustang.
He has carried that energy into 2025 and the new DISL season. With everyone’s points reset and quite a few of 2024’s toughest competitors moved into the new DIGP series, Rodney set his sights on the top of the leaderboard.
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So, 2024, still feeling the New Edge out, and then we come into 2025 and Round One and now you’re the DISL points leader. Talk us through that!
I mean, how freaking cool is that, man? I mean, with GP, which is awesome, that kind of gives all the smaller dudes, that are still just as badass, the chance to step it up, you know? So it was sick, dude. I said, “I'm going to go out here, let's just hang it out and see what happens,” you know what I mean? “Let's go and get it, man.”
Everything felt good for the first one. I mean, the car felt great, my driving felt good. It seemed like it was just fun, you know, fast and fun to watch, and I don't know, I just I felt like I was on it. There's times when you go out and things just don't line up or don't feel right, and then there's times when they do and the first one definitely, definitely felt good, man, till the end, unfortunately. But man, qualifying second was freaking killer, dude. It was killer.
So then just looking, looking ahead to the rest of this season and, you know, Round Two and then eventually Round Three, what's your mindset?
Kick ass. Go out there and kick some ass.
Me and Paul Tuttle, dude, we can bang it out. I know Justin Bailey’s going to be a heavy hitter, too. So, again, just trying to do as much as I can to stay comfortable in this car so I can try to go out and do the same, man. I mean, you never know. Something can happen with the car or whatever, but I'm hoping we can show up in Michigan and get on the podium. That's my goal, that's what I'm looking for, for sure. I thought for sure I was going to be there with Justin in the first one, but things happen, man. I don't know if I got a little too greedy on entry or what, but man, what a mess that was. You know, I felt bad for Paul, too, but it's drifting. When we show up to do this, things can happen to your car for sure.
That was a real knock-down, drag-out battle you two had.
We did, dude, in all corners. I couldn't even believe when I got out of my car. I was like, “Holy shit, dude, what? Where’d my fender go?” I was open wheel racing, dude.
Yeah, the before and after photos of both of your cars made for a pretty stark contrast.
It was something, but I mean, what a battle, man. I’d do it all again, and that's hopefully what we will do in Michigan. I'm so stoked for it, and I know it's going to be a great time. And, we're going to show up and put on a show, man. That's what we do. Some of the best drivers around, dude, you know, it's fucking sick.
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It’s almost poetic that Rodney will be looking to defend his first-place spot right next to Woodward Avenue, during the legendary Dream Cruise. The hot rod culture that gave him the basis for the passion for automotive culture that would define so much of his traces a lot of its own roots to the Detroit area and its storied automotive history. Maybe sporting so many Detroit Drifting Co. parts will give him something of a cosmic edge, but as comfortable and confident as he’s been looking this season, he might not need one.
Rodney Blankenship is a remarkably kind, chill guy and a hell of a driver. Life has taken him in different directions and to different subcultures, but nowadays, at 48-years-old, he seems to be enjoying every moment he can get behind the wheel of a drift car. If you’ve never had the chance to speak with him, stopping by his pits at an event for a chat is definitely worth it. You can catch Rodney throwing down with his DISL competitors August 16th and 17th up at the M1 Concourse for Round 2 where he’ll look to extend his lead at the top of this season’s rankings.
