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A different Pre-Race Build Up to the Season.. A drifting competition..

With nearly every "tuner"-market magazine and web outlet in attendance, along with NBC's Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-LA, The Long Beach Press Telegram and national lifestyle publications such as Maxim, the drift-only media day did not disappoint. Starting at turn 1 of the Long Beach street circuit, Formula D pro drifters Alex Pfeiffer, Tyler McQuarrie, Hiro Sumida and Taka Aono flexed their fully sideways skills and style through turns 2 and 3 (going the wrong way of the actual race circuit, naturally), grazing walls, adorning the myriad spectators with the fragrant smell of spent rubber, and in general doing what drifting does best - astonishing and entertaining everyone!

When the smoke cleared Jim Michaelian, President & CEO of The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, and Jim Liaw, co-owner of Formula D, expressed their excitement about the inclusion of drifting to the Long Beach event and their gratitude to Champ Car for making this ground-breaking event possible.

"With this year's event, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and our partners at Champ Car are trying hard to attract a new, younger audience, and we're all very excited for the Inaugural Long Beach Drifting Challenge. In addition to event partners Toyota and obviously Champ Car, we'd like to thank Peter Stark and Tracy McCarthy of MediaWide Marketing for helping bring drifting to the streets of Long Beach," said Michaelian.