Heavy Hearted
A lot has been going on in the California drifting community in the last couple days and I really wanted to reflect on the situation.
First of all, update on our prior post about JTP’s FC being stolen yesterday. Justin is offering a $5,000 reward for the retrieval of his truck and trailer. Rich Rabe reported the trailer was supposedly spotted near Stanton in the Westminster area so OC readers, be on the look out! It’s extremely scary that something so treasured can be taken from you just like that. I am also irked because I have lived in Eagle Rock (full-time or part-time) my entire life and it seems like the climate is changing around here. It really seems as though we are at war. First Cody Parkhouse and now Justin, it seems like someone is watching, waiting and taking what means so much to us.
Ever since I fell into the drifting world back in 2007, I realized that it is about so much more than cars and driving, it’s about the people. Every event I go to, I see drifting as a community, people lend and borrow tools, spare parts, even physical labor to help out strangers with one thing in common: drifting. Now with the recent theft of these race cars, it seems like we can no longer trust anyone. There is no way that these are random crimes of opportunity, they must be inside jobs because who would drive by some trailer and assume that it was housing something of value. I guess people need to be more careful when talking about plans to load up for the track or where to store race cars because in the end, you never know who is listening.
The second thing I wanted to talk about is the track scene. El Toro AFB used to be rented out for open track days and it was a nice, local place where you go could for the afternoon to sort out the car and meet up with some buddies. Last year at El Toro, a car was spotted doing donuts in the parking lot (a no drift area) and suddenly, that track was closed to drifters. There are also rumors flying around that someone irresponsibly took advantage of Willow Springs’ laid-back attitude by not paying to drive. They have raised rates for private days as well as creating stricter safety standards and requirements. This will make it more difficult for privateers to practice and test new set-ups and also make it harder for smaller organizations to hold events or competitions. Everyone’s actions have consequences and it is very sad that one person can ruin it for everyone.
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