Teaching a Legend to Drift

Drifting is the art of driving sideways, pushing your vehicle to the absolute limit, and pulling off feats that other drivers wouldn’t dare. While Fast and Furious made drifting a cultural phenomenon, this flamboyant form of driving wouldn’t exist without the effort of a small number of dedicated drivers who dared to try something different. Whether your search for Cincinnati, Ohio used cars started after you decided you wanted a drift car of your own, or if you are new to the world of drifting, these drifting legends blazed a way for others to follow and created a new type of motorsports in the process.

While many forms of motorsports require massive budgets, specialized race cars, and years of training, drifting is all about car control and can be mastered by anyone with a rear-wheel drive car. In fact, many of the greatest drifting legends got their start with nothing more than a cheap used sports car before moving on to the world of professional drifting. This ease of access has made drifting one of the fastest-growing motorsports around the world, and more and more drivers are trying their hand at the discipline.

#1 – Keiichi Tsuchiya

Today, there are plenty of drift fans and aspiring drifters right here in Cincinnati, but drifting got its start in Japan. The greatest drifting legend of all time is Keiichi Tsuchiya, a Japanese professional race car driver who earned the nickname “Drift King” for pioneering the sport. Keiichi Tsuchiya worked his way up through the Japanese racing scene, eventually competing at the highest levels of motorsports, driving for Honda, Toyota, and independent teams in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, he got his start in street racing and continued to develop drifting in his free time.

As drifting gained popularity in Japan, Keiichi Tsuchiya became the face of the sport. His work in car media gave him the opportunity to expose the public to drifting, and he was instrumental in founding the first organized drift tournaments in the 1980s. In 2001, these early tournaments evolved into the Japanese D1 Grand Prix, which introduced the follow-lead format used for modern drift competitions. Keiichi Tsuchiya also advocated for drifting outside of traditional car media, most notably making a cameo appearance in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift and working as an advisor for the racing anime Initial D.

#2 – Daigo Saito

If Keiichi Tsuchiya was the first drift legend, Daigo Saito made history as one of the first professional drifters. Like most drift legends, Daigo Saito was obsessed with motorsports from an early age. When he finally got his driver’s license, his father tried to keep him from drifting by refusing to let him drive a rear-wheel drive car. However, Daigo Saito was not deterred and secretly bought a Nissan Silvia after he crashed his Mini Cooper while street racing. As soon as he had his new car, he headed straight for the backroads and spent the next 36 hours teaching himself to drift, only taking breaks for fuel and food.

In 2004, Daigo Saito made his professional debut in the D1 Grand Prix. He won his first D1 Grand Prix championship four years later, and he has never looked back since. He currently holds the highest all-time score as well as the record for most wins in a single season. As drifting grew in popularity outside of Japan, Daigo Saito became one of the few Japanese drift legends to compete in the international tournaments inspired by the D1 Grand Prix. This includes the American Formula Drift, where he won the championship in 2014, and the Russian Drift Series GP, where he took home second place in 2018. Today, Daigo Saito continues to compete in the D1 Grand Prix, driving a black 2JZ-swapped Toyota A90 Supra for the Fat Five Racing team.

#3 – Tanner Foust

With the growing success of the D1 Grand Prix in Japan, it was only a matter of time before it spread across the world. Here in America, the first professional drift championship was the 2004 Formula Drift competition, based on the D1 Grand Prix. While the American drivers took a few years to catch up to the foreign competition, it wasn’t long before our first all-American drift legends appeared. The first American driver to take home a Formula Drift Championship win was Tanner Foust in 2007, although he did so driving a Japanese Nissan 350Z.

Tanner Foust got his start driving rally cars, one of the few types of competitive racing where drifting is encouraged, picking up Rally America wins for Subaru. Although his time in Formula Drift was short, he made history not only by being the first American championship winner but also the first driver to win back-to-back Formula Drift championships. He retired from drifting after the 2010 series, returning to rally, becoming the first American driver to take home the gold in the European Rallycross Championship. Today, he is part of McLaren’s Extreme E off-road racing team, which competes with electric off-road vehicles across remote terrain.

#4 – Chris Forsberg

After Tanner Foust proved American drivers had what it took to become drift legends, the gates were open, and Chris Forsberg was one of the drivers that continued to push the boundaries of drifting. He got his start learning drifting in the late 1990s driving a used Mazda RX-7, inspired by Japanese drivers. When Formula Drift kicked off, Chris Forsberg was among the first drivers to sign up and has participated in every season from 2004 on, picking up the most podium finishes in Formula Drift history. While he didn’t win the overall championship, he placed second in the very first Formula Drift event and was the first American driver to beat a Japanese driver in an official drift event.

Over his long time with the sport, Chris Forsberg became the first driver to win three Formula Drift championships, claiming the title in 2009, 2014, and 2016. He is best known for driving a V8-swapped Nissan 350Z, although his current car is a black Nissan 370Z with a twin-turbo V6. In addition to being a driver, he also operates Forsberg Racing, competing in a variety of motorsports outside of drifting.

#5 – Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Another American drift legend who has been a part of Formula Drift from the start, Vaughn Gittin Jr. has picked up championship wins in 2010 and 2020. Outside of Formula Drift, he is also a three-time champion of the World Drift Series and was the first American driver to win a D1 Grand Prix event when he placed first in the 2005 America vs Japan Competition. Like many other drift legends, he has also competed in a variety of other motorsports events, from Ultra4 off-road racing to the NASCAR Canada Series.

After his 2021 Formula Drift Championship win, Vaughn Gittin Jr. took a step back from drifting to focus on his other motorsports activities, including RTR Vehicles–his tuning shop. While Japanese cars dominate the world of drifting, he has made a name for himself by competing in an all-American Ford Mustang that was built by RTR Vehicles. However, he rejoined the series for the 2022 season, again racing his custom Mustang with its fluorescent green markings.