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Street of Long Beacg, April 12 2008
"It was so hot outside that grown men were walking up to cops standing on the corner and begging them to shoot them." Well not really, but that classic line as delivered by Al Pacino in the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross" was the first thing I thought of as I walked towards the entrance gate of FD's first 2008 event, The Streets of Long Beach. It must have been 100 degrees or hotter yet that didn't stop thousands of drift fans from showing up to take in some of the best drifting this side of the Pacific.
From the minute I hit the gates I was impressed. Formula Drift has come a long way from its start back in 2004 in Atlanta and it shows. Team rigs were lined up with an almost military-ish feel with flags waving and uniformed pit crews making last minute tweaks to their cars. Old school beats filled the air while smoking hot Umbrella Girls walked around posing for photos with fans and some seriously killer rides.
A few celebrity guests I found roaming FD's Streets of Long Beach event included; pro-skater and FD Grand Marshall Rob Dyrdek of MTV's "Rob & Big", UFC's Rampage Jackson, Nautica Thorn with her pal Gianna Lynn and of course the lovely Miss Formula D, Catherine Kluthe .
A first to FD was a mini- half pipe that was set up within a Scion owner's rally. It hosted a solid BMX and skate demo comprised of some able Am's who were committed to giving it all they had even though most of us watching were melting into meat puddles under the blazing sun. Did I mention it was hot? As the grandstands started to fill up, it was standing room only by the time the 16 qualifiers took to the course. It didn't take long before the sell out crowd were on their feet yelling "One more time!" In the end, it was Chris Forsberg who took home the number one spot followed by Sam Hubinette and Tanner Foust.
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