Though my view on drifting has changed over the years, I can’t help but get excited whenever a Formula D event rolls around to Southern California. Typically, FD hits California just two times; once at the beginning of the season and the second when they come back at the end of the year to close out their series. The events seem to get bigger and bigger every year so I make a real effort to get out there to cover what goes on at these events for you guys to see. Personally, I just like to explore the pits and to see the car show section of the events because it isn’t exactly easy to get out there to get all the drifting action. I even went out of my way this year and acquired all my media credentials through work. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go on the track but knowing that I probably couldn’t stay the entire event from start to finish, it almost seemed a little pointless to sign-up for the vest that media personnel are required to wear. I wanted to go early just to capture whatever I could and leave during the late afternoon. The actual drifting competition didn’t even start until around the time I had to leave but in the end it didn’t matter anyways because I wore shorts to the event and they don’t allow media onto the track with shorts. It was all fine by me. I just wanted to be there to experience the event and snap photos of whatever caught my eye. You guys will see a ton of actual action photos from a variety of media outlets anyway. When you think of the motorsport of drifting, let’s be honest, you don’t think of Stickydiljoe.com as your source. You come here to look at cars in detail and to see a variety of things. Maybe next year I’ll make it out onto the track. It does look quite fun and just seeing some of the shots that some of these guys are capturing is pretty inspiring. I’d like to challenge myself and see what I could do out there…

Michael Essa ended up winning the overall points standing for the 2013 season so he won the Formula D Championship for this year. Congrats to him and his team. Other than that, I couldn’t really tell you what else happened because as mentioned, I left when the competition started to tend to real life things. I also have my own event that I’m planning for so every bit of extra time that I have counts for something. Instead of intense action and cars sliding around in a haze of smokey goodness, we’re going to be looking at Formula D Round 7 strictly from the paddock. Over in this area is where the cars were being worked on and there was a large vendor area showcasing a bunch of other cool stuff. Along with that, there was also a car show that was being held that was hosted by Fatlace. Their Slammed Society show was small in comparison to everything else that was going on at Formula D but provided for some interesting things to look at in between the actual competition.. Below is what I captured that day in the hours that I was there. I had a great time and I look forward to going back once again next year to do it all over…

If you missed out on the first part of my Formula D coverage, which is likely possible since it was posted over a week ago, make sure to check it out. It provides some better photos of some of the actual drift competitors in detail as I captured the photos during the qualifying round of FD and there were less people around…

Formula D 2013 Round 7: Final Fight Coverage….The Preview…

And this is what happened that Saturday at Formula D Round 7: Final Fight, including photos from the Slammed Society Showcase…

Upon returning to Irwindale the day after FD qualifying, I walked over to the Achilles Tire area to see what was going on. There, crew members were working furiously on Robbie Nishida’s SC300 and prepping it for competition…

Daigo Saito’s Prodrive wheels being re-installed after some fresh Achilles tires were mounted on them…

Widebody FC3S RX-7 from Hoonigan parked by their booth…

Stopped by to shoot the shit with some of my friends from SSR/Tanabe. They had a booth that day with some of the new SSR wheels on display that hadn’t even been officially announced yet in the U.S….

Really liked the brand new SSR GTV02 wheel that is manufactured using their Flow Forming Technology (FFT)…

It seems like every time I see Conrad Grunewald’s Camaro it is on jackstands…

Jhonnattan Castro’s Banco del Progresso twin-turbo VQ35 350Z…

Ken Gushi’s GReddy Rocket Bunny Scion FR-S. With the graphical livery by Jon Sibal, this is probably one of the best-looking FD cars in competition…

Dean Kearney’s Paxton supercharged Dodge Viper SRT-10…

LTMotorwerks’ Laguna Seca Blue Liberty Walk E92 BMW M3 on Work VS-XX on display at the Nittor Tire section…

BMW Z4 roadster looking amazing on silver Volk Racing TE37s…Yet another case for reaffirming the idea that the TE37 looks great on anything…

Yogi’s Vertex GS on WED’s Maverick series wheels greeted spectators as they entered the Slammed Society area of FD Round 7….

One of the more unique builds that I saw that day was this S13 hatchback on Work Schwert wheels. While many may regard it as an odd-looking car, there is just something very “Japanese” about it if you really consider the styling cues on overall execution. If you understand the different styles of tuning and modification that exist in Japan, you’d appreciate how this car has come together as a whole. This looks like a build that you’d see at a X5 event in Japan or at Osaka Auto Messe or something…very cool…

Under the custom vented hood is a boosted KA24DE motor that sits in a grey engine bay with green pinstriping added for that custom touch. Random is the LV-style valve cover that really doesn’t match anything else on the car…

To add to the overall uniqueness of the exterior is the rear hatch that is unlike the conventional rear trunk of the S13. You see these custom FRP hatches utilized every now and then in Japan but rarely do you see them here. Overall, it is a bit extravagant and bizarre-looking but that’s what gives it that Japanese tuning appeal…

A more traditional way of modifying an S13 would be like the one above featuring JDM OEM 180SX Type-X aero and Work Emotion XD9 wheels…

Jon Tran’s DC2 Integra with JDM ITR front end was on display at Formula D but sadly in the days that followed, the car was stolen and stripped. It was found abandoned in a different city where it was recovered without a majority of its parts. Sad and crazy that we live in a time when you can see a car at a show and then days later it is a victim of theft…

Abbitt Wilkerson’s bagged Subaru Legacy on white Rotiform NUEs. You may know Wilkerson more for the videos that he produces under the brand “Awfilms”…

Happy to see that there are guys out there that still appreciate Ganador Super Mirrors. These are the Ganador Super LED mirrors on Wilkerson’s Subaru…

One of my favorites from Formula D Round 7 was actually one of the FD competitors that didn’t qualify for the final round. This LSx-swapped Lexus 2GS from Serial Nine is owned by Alex Lee. Aesthetically, this GS features custom front fenders and rear quarters that are covered by a graphical livery designed by Circuit Soul of Canada. Wheels are Work Meister M1R….

The interior of the GS is all business. It is completely gutted and caged with even most of the amenities removed from the dash except for gauges mounted to a sheetmetal plate that replaces the OEM cluster…

Lee didn’t qualify so he just decided to plant his car on the floor and put it outside for everyone to enjoy it….

The GM LSx swap under the hood of the 2GS. You can see where sections of the engine bay have been cut and modified, possibly for better steering angle…

You can see here where the custom rear quarter is cracked and exposed after some light wall-tapping. Overall a great-looking car and it’s awesome to see a built GS compete in Formula D…

Minh Nguyen from Royal Origin’s Lexus 2IS on custom refinished Junction Produce Scaras…

Black 2GS with TTE front lip on polished Rotiform wheels…

Acura TSX wagon on WED’s Kranze Vishunu representing Kyoei USA…

Everytime I see this Accord I ask myself when the owner plans on painting the front end, haha. It’s a good looking Accord coupe that just needs a couple things here and there to really finish it off. This one has polished Work Meister S1 wheels, JDM one-piece headlights that are black-housed, G-Square front grille, and GReddy front lip…

The CB coupe also has a H22A swap. Nice touch with the custom wrinkle red valve cover…

This CD Accord on black Work VS-XX wheels really caught my eye. Not because of the exterior, though it does look good on the Work wheels, but…

…because of the custom dash that has been paint-matched to match the exterior. The seats, center console, and accompanied interior pieces have all been wrapped in black leather with red-stitching to match the Nardi steering wheel. Just a very well-done car overall. Also notice the shaved door handles too. Go ahead and scroll-up, I’ll wait….

Pretty interesting to see such a good representation of Honda Accords at Formula D, because after all, Honda Accords and drifting go together about as well as hardcore porn and church…

Been seeing a lot of this Accord coupe on Airrunner suspension throughout the 2013 season…

The custom VIP-styled Acura CL coupe on Linea Sport wheels that I was first introduced to at the 2013 Cali Accord Meet….

Sparkle Garage “Shakotan Zombie JZX32” Cressida…

This Toyota Cressida featured a JDM Toyota Chaser front end that doesn’t really look like it belongs on the car at all due to its overall poor fitment but I dig what the owner is trying to do. Hopefully they will continue to reshape the fenders to flow better with the lines of the stock body…

Under the hood of the Chaser front end was a 2JZ-GTE swap that looked absolutely stunning with the candy magenta finish. At a glance you wouldn’t expect this bay to be in the Cressida you see above because it is so refined and detailed in comparison the the body….

3rd generation MX73 Toyota Cressida looking pretty minty on deep-dish 15-inch Work Meister S1 wheels….

B8 Audi wagon on Rotiform DUS wheels with Accuair digital management system…

Ryan Delosreyes’ Scion xB with Affection aero kit and SSR Vienna LR7s….

Johnny Dip’s custom VIP Lexus 2GS flared front and rear to make room for aggressively-sized Leon Hardiritt Waffes. Definitely one of the premier VIP builds out currently…

Mazda RX-8 from Royal Flush car crew planted on Garson Deep Racing Ryuji…

Closing it out for today with a shot of this really clean SW20 MR-2 Turbo. Rare to really see them this clean anymore and it looks great on staggered Enkei RPF1….

That’s all for today everyone. Back with the second half tomorrow… Thanks for looking…