The Midwest Drift Union season is about to kick off once again! Last weekend they hosted their tech inspection day at Zerolift Autolab hosted by Neo Motorsport in Fairfield, Ohio and a practice day at Kil-Kare Speedway in Xenia, Ohio. Drivers were given free reign of the track where the final round will be hosted later this year. The turnout wasn’t enormous so that gave the drivers plenty of track time. I got to sit down with Nick Swann, the director of Midwest Drift Union, and ask him a few questions about last weekend as well as Round 1 which is happening this weekend in Indianapolis, IN at Lucas Oil Raceway.
1. Since taking over operations at Midwest Drift Union what is the one thing you are looking forward to most in the 2013 season?
To be honest, I’m really looking forward to the entire season. This will be my first season in a position other than grid so I’m very excited to experience event coordination from a new perspective. We’re very proud to be working with the guys at Import Image Racing for the first time this year. They’re very supportive of the growth and direction of this series and the sport in general. However, if I had to single out one specific thing that I’m looking forward to the most, it would have to be Round 3 which we are holding in the Streets of Detroit. We’re really going back to the “street style” roots of American drifting by providing MDU competitors a venue similar to spots they may have driven before so many track events were available. The entire MDU staff is very proud to be a part of the first ever sanctioned competitive street drifting event outside of Formula Drift.
2. How did you think the tech and practice day went last weekend? I know this is something that MDU is trying this year that is similar to how Formula D operates. Is this something we will be seeing next year as well?
The MDU Tech and Practice event went very well for our first year. The turn out wasn’t huge, but the event itself came together pretty last minute in the offseason. Our main goal was to plant the seed within the Midwest drifting community that, from here on out, MDU will have an official technical inspection and practice day before the points season begins and this event will be mandatory within a certain distance of where we host the event. We’re very thankful for our friends at Zerolift Autolab for opening up their awesome facility this year to inspect the cars as well as Neo Motorsport for coming down to promote their incredible products and provide us with a track to practice on.
3. After seeing some MDU drivers at No Star Bash and the tech/test day is there any drivers that you think we should be looking out for at round 1?
Everyone drove really well at NSB this year, but I’ve got to say Andrew Lewis out of the St. Louis area is looking very strong in his LS powered S13 coupe. Andrew debuted the car at NSB and it seems to work really well. There were a lot of MDU competitors who were unable to attend No Star Bash due to last minute touches on their builds, so it’s very tough to say who the biggest threat is going into the season.
4. Any final words to MDU fans before this season kicks off this weekend?
Since its beginning in 2010, MDU has grown in leaps and bounds due to all of the talented drivers, supportive fan base, and a hard working staff. As the case is every year, this season will be the biggest and best Midwest Drift Union season yet.
I would like to thank Nick for sitting down with me during his busy schedule between events. If you are in the Midwest and would like to see some awesome drifting action this weekend it will be going down at Lucas Oil Raceway 10267 E Us Highway 136, Indianapolis, Indiana 46234 on Saturday. Spectator gates open around 11am. Swing by the Midwest Drift Union Website for specific details about the event!