The Drift Indy crew is bringing drifting to M1 Concourse during the Woodward Dream Cruise weekend for the second year in a row! In addition to the second round of our competitive series, DISL and DIGP, we’ve partnered with our friends at Vaded Mob and Shift Society to put together a car show to highlight some of the cleanest import builds the Detroit area has to offer.
Round One saw DISL rookie Layne Wallace pilot his super clean E36 sedan all the way to the top step of the podium, but the qualifying points earned by fifth-place finisher Noah Lenox and silver medalist Clint Stotts put Wallace at third overall in the season standings heading into Round Two. Last year’s visit to the impressive facilities at M1 Concourse saw eventual season champ Paul Tuttle secure his second podium in a row, but he fell short of two first-place finishes in a row as Zaine Wherry snagged the gold. With their spots in the Top 32 secured thanks to the seeding system, Wallace, Stotts and Lenox will all be gunning to keep their spot at the top of the table as a field of very capable competitors push hard to knock them down the rankings.
DIGP promises to put on a killer show, as always, with just about anyone on the roster capable of making a deep run, especially at a track that most of the field is unfamiliar with. The home-field advantage didn’t make much of a difference for the series’ many Michigan-based drivers last season, but maybe it’ll be a different story this time around. Mike Steele came out swinging at Round One, confidently advancing through some very tough battles, including his final matchup with inaugural DIGP champ Roy Outcalt, to take home the gold. He emphatically put an end to Justin “The Cheetah” Medina’s unbeaten streak against members of Bobby’s Crew along the way. Those three make up the top of the table, but with no seeding to ensure them a spot in the main event and no qualifying points to rely on, they’ll have to push just as hard to keep their positions in the season standings.
Outside of the top three in each series are tons of strong competitors that are more than capable of making their way to the podium. In DISL, a trio of Zs stand out as drivers to watch. Neil Dellaria is coming off a killer Sunday Funday up in Indy where he shredded the Formula Drift layout alongside both FD and DIGP drivers. Brian Waggoner has fallen in love with his new 350Z, and his confidence in the new chassis and years of experience make for a super competitive combination. Tyler Terrell and his LS-swapped Z put together an impressive performance at Round One and he really seems to be hitting his stride.
Rodney Blankenship and Micah Schenking have looked just about inseparable this season, turning tons of laps together in their Mustangs. Schenking got into the now-infamous wall in Indy, but quickly got the car squared away and back on track by the end of the day. Blankenship finished last season in second place overall, but an uncharacteristically early exit at Round One has him down in the rankings ahead of this round. He’ll be all-in this round as he pushes to return to form.
In DIGP, Josh Estey, Dylan Lobbestael and Stu Kelly all had confidence-inspiring performances in Indy on what is likely a much trickier course than they’ll face at M1. Kelly seemed destined for a podium finish at Round One before an unfortunate debead put an early end to his day. The addition of Shane Whalley and Ricky Gaston to the GP roster adds even more strong competition to an already-stacked field. Honestly, your best bet for predicting a winner might be to just throw a dart at a print out of the list of drivers. They’re all killers.
The facilities at M1 are awesome, and we’re honored to be able to infuse some tuner culture into such a historic weekend for the muscle car community. Between the Dream Cruise going on just outside the fence on Woodward Avenue and all the sick driving and super clean show cars we’ll have inside the fence, it’s going to be an amazing weekend for car enthusiasts of all stripes. Our DISL and DIGP practice kicks off at 10:30 AM Saturday, Aug. 15, and the DISL main event Top 32 goes down at 4:45 PM Sunday, Aug. 16 with DIGP following right along behind it. You can see the full event schedule and follow along with updates at the Event Page here.
