Among the endless sea of sand and tumbleweeds in the eastern California desert lies a seemingly insignificant strip of tarmac. Through the barren lands opposite of the dirt covered mountains, we drive into treacherous unpaved territory to take part in the carnage that will forever be remembered as Super D Matsuri.

Alas the Faction family finally reunites to make it to Super D Matsuri at Grange Motor Circuit in Apple Valley, California. Despite the 5 day cross country road trip from NJ (though some of us took the easy route and flew in), the team was anxious to get to the track.

We arrived early Saturday where it was apparent that drifting (and destruction) had already been taking place the day before. Make no light of the situation though, Grange Motor Circuit is an elite course. The tightly wound track easily deceived drivers, even sending a few flying into the surrounding cinder block walls right off turn 1. That entry is NO joke!

The chaos ensued and those narrow strips of tarmac would soon be marked by the tires of Japan’s most reckless drivers, and the hopeful souls of U.S. drivers trying to follow suit.

Enter: PINK STYLE !
Hailing straight from the motherland, renown OG team Burst drivers Naoki Nakamura, Mitsuyoshi Nishio and Miki Takagi graced us with their clutch kick power and teach us a thing or two about style at the same time.

Unfortunately Frankie didn’t get to drive as much as he wished. Another blown SR20 transmission was to blame. At least we got a few pictures to prove we were there…

We were also really excited to that our Staten Island comrades in Front Street Drift Club were able to come out and represent the North East with us. They even placed in the competition!

along with former FD driver Geoff Stoneback & current FD driver Chelsea Denofa.

Aside form drifting, we were pretty busy at the Faction booth all weekend. We were set up next to KoyoRad, Touge Factory and A’PEXi. We were having a killer time meeting people from all over the country and were so stoked on how much people enjoyed our merch.

We definitely need to shout out all the drift teams/drivers and fans who braved the rugged roads to support the growing grassroots movement! Seeing throngs of people huddled at our booth either wearing or buying Faction! gear was truly amazing. We sincerely appreciate all the love we were shown, thank you California! ❤ 

As the sun set and the cold started to settle over the desert, we decided to close up shop. It wasn’t until later that night we realized how serious they were about NONSTOP drifting. Expecting the night to be over around 11pm maybe….we were dead wrong. Also, right when we thought drifting this technical track couldn’t get any more exciting, we stood corrected: NIGHT DRIFTING!

Unfortunately, our night was cut short due to some technical difficulties. In addition, Pink Style sent a car through the wall which closed the track while 20+ people dug/pushed it out with their bare hands.

Overall the weekend was beyond amazing. Experiencing the technical skill and rawness these Japanese drivers displayed was incredible. Being able to see them drift with old and new friends from different parts of the U.S. is something we won’t ever forget.

Not many people get to to say they traveled over 2,500 miles across the country with their best friends and got to attend Super D Matsuri….or go off roading in a mini van, get caught in a sandstorm, almost set their Airbnb on fire, climb a desert mountain, and get face tattoos (don’t ask). But we were lucky enough to say we did all that and then some. 

But broken body kits, smashed radiators, snapped brake lines, and blown transmissions were a small price to pay to have experienced Super D Matsuri with our family. 

Photos by: r1valmedia, jeronimofo, realms.jp, koyorad, lowconceptproductionz,Touge Factory