- [Crew Member] That's part of it.
(rock music)
- I'm Matt Field.
- I'm Odi Bakchis.
This is my car.
- And this is my car.
- I think I could teach this guy a few things.
- Don't get me wrong.
I wanna beat everybody out there.
But there's one guy in particular.
- He's a great teammate, but an even better frenemy.
(engine revving)
(rock music)
(upbeat music)
- First round of the year, Long Beach.
This track is no joke.
It's treacherous, it's fast.
You have to be on the wall
to do remotely good at this track.
- This is my seventh year at Long Beach.
I know the track, the corners don't change.
The thing is, all of our cars are getting so much faster
and so much grippier, it feels like a new adventure
every time we come out here.
It's still a challenge.
I've done well here four years in a row,
so definitely a lot of pressure, but very excited.
(electric guitar music)
- Formula drift is not like NASCAR
where it's the first person to cross the finish line.
This is actually a judged sport.
It's based on three attributes, line, style, and angle.
Line is when they come around the corner,
they have what they call clipping points,
so they have to get the back of the car
as close as they can to the wall.
They come back around the opposite direction.
They have to get into another clipping point
and get as close to that location as well.
(engine revving)
Style is about what will get you the most points.
Some guys are really smooth and hold a really tight line.
Other guys will just hang it out,
scrape the back bumper on the wall.
Fiberglass is flying, bumpers are getting shredded.
Angle is you come around a corner,
and if you can carry a shallow angle,
and come close to the wall, but if you carry a big angle,
like 90 degrees to the wall, that gets you big style points.
(engine revving)
- Slippery out there, whew!
Honestly, it's kind of strange.
I was locked in on throttle approaching zone two,
had a little bit of angle, and it just, woo.
- We think the car leaned over and pinched the front tire.
Right now, we're cutting out and clearancing
some space so that the wheel can't touch the car,
and basically make the wheel come to a stop,
causing him to spin.
I think he was max angle, all the way, car leaning,
- Even if it wasn't in before,
if you got max angle now and hit a bump,
you'll just push up straight up into it.
- Right, right.
I think he just had the perfect run going,
and we haven't pushed the car that hard
- [Crew Member] That's what happens.
- Qualifying, mental-wise, is very stressful,
just because you have a very small amount of time
to perform your very best, and you get two shots.
(engine revving)
- I think I've just kinda overstepped
the boundaries of the car a little bit.
I just poured on the angle,
thinking I'm some kind of badass,
and then I just came around.
- Hey, Matt Field's new car looks awesome!
- This year we're starting with a brand-new chassis.
It's a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette.
Graham and the rest of the team
put that car together from scratch.
It was a slam jam, six month best of no sleep
and 24/7 building.
- We've had eight years in a S-chassis.
Now we're really excited to see what this Corvette can do.
You're taking something that has tons of development into
being a performance vehicle and making it better.
(engine revving)
- You know, Matt probably just got ahead of himself.
I know he's kinda eclipsed by George Stratton.
If Matt can at least keep the car together,
I guess he's doing okay, you know?
- Expensive chassis definitely are a newer thing
in drifting, so, when you see a car like a Ferrari,
it's awesome.
- When you see these different cars, they're flashy,
they run different, they sound different,
they smell different.
If you're here and you're babying it because of
what you got, then you probably shouldn't have shown up
to begin with.
- Going into the first qualifying run,
the car's feeling pretty good, but not perfect.
I'm having to drive the car a lot harder
than I should have to.
It's not driving itself, per se,
and I'm getting a little concerned.
I gotta get comfortable, and I gotta qualify high.
(engines revving) (tires squealing)
When I actually get going, it feels really good.
I'm picking up a lot of speed,
and the car just starts to float right towards the wall,
which is exactly what I want.
Unfortunately, the car's not slowing down.
It keeps floating, and the next thing I know,
I'm going right into the wall.
- [Announcer] Last year and oh my goodness!
Odi Bakchis's going into the wall!
- [Odi] My run's already wasted, now I'm just trying to
keep my car from completely getting thrashed.
- [Crew Member] Do we have any ratcheting wrenches?
Yeah, I just need a 17 shallow socket.
- That looks like us and Odi have goose eggs right now,
so we're kinda up against the wall.
We both gotta put in some points
on our second qualifying run, otherwise, you know,
that's the end for us.
(upbeat rock music) (engine revving)
- Going into the second run, I know I need to just
get it together, cause we're sitting on a zero.
Fortunately for me, I just kind of reverted
to what we were doing before,
and it's funny because I was like all right,
just be careful, make it around the track, do your thing,
and it ended up being one of my best runs all weekend.
We got a 91, and we qualified seventh.
- For the second run, there's the burn-out box
where we get to warm up our tires, got a 20 foot by
20 foot box to do these figure eight burnouts.
I am throwing the car as hard as I can back and forth,
trying to feel it out.
I jam down to the straightaway into the first turn,
and the car's actually on the right course.
I kinda tippy toe around the track,
and the run actually felt pretty good.
- [Announcer] Steers clear of it.
Massive angle from Odi Bakchis.
- We got a 88, which is a respectable score
when you're sitting on a zero.
Overall, I'm pretty happy about it.
(upbeat rock music)
- Whoo! - Yeah!
- My first full season was Odi's first full season.
He does pretty good, gets on the podium,
I get on the podium.
He got a tire deal, I got a tire deal.
He gets his first win, then I get my first win.
And then, it just so happens that the same year,
we both sign up with Falken for a teal and blue car.
He definitely had the worst first qualifying run.
I mean, I got a zero and looked like an idiot, but he--
- Mine was way more exciting, though.
- You crashed, though!
- That's what the fans like, sometimes.
- Having Odi next to me makes me a better driver.
I don't know a lot of drivers who
are open books with each other.
We have similar driving styles,
we have the similar way that we like our cars set up,
and we're on the same tire.
- I gave it 110!
- Right into the tire!
You probably were doing 110 when you hit the tire.
- Hey, go big or go home, right?
- Oh, yeah, I know.
- Just having that relationship off-track is great.
But when it's out on-track,
guns out, fists up, ready to throw down.
(upbeat electric guitar music)
- Sometimes qualifying for me isn't the easiest task,
but I feel very confident in tandem,
so I'm super ready for top 32,
and I'm paired up to go against Daniel Burkett.
Rad Dan is not a seasoned driver,
but he's coming up the ranks.
Whenever you get paired up with an unseasoned driver,
it's a wild card 'cause he might be all over the place.
You never know.
My first lap with Rad Dan, I got to lead.
I set my own pace, I just did what I had to do,
and it worked out flawlessly.
It was a good run.
The second one, I got to chase Rad Dan.
I kept a safe distance, which worked out to my favor,
because he ended up smacking the wall.
Luckily I got away clean, and advanced to top 16.
(engines revving)
(upbeat rock music)
- Jeff Jones is one of those drivers
that is just known to throw down,
rip his bumper off on the wall, keep on going,
drive on three wheels, doesn't matter.
He's kinda gotta solid nickname from us around here,
and that's Junkyard Jones, but you know what?
He showed up ready to party this event.
New car, new suit, looking good, driving good,
and he's on a real tire.
He's on a Falken.
The first run, we lead.
And honestly, he was close, but he did make a mistake.
He straightens out following us a little bit,
so we know we have to play it smart going into run two.
This being a new car, I'm not sure
how much gap is appropriate.
These are things I'm just not sure of
because we're in a new chassis.
He keeps it clean, he makes it through the pass,
and that might be due to the fact that he's got a new car
that he just spent way too much money on, and he's trying
to keep it together for the rest of the season.
Fortunately, I initiate right where I need to,
close the gap, do just enough pressure to win,
and we came out on top.
(rock music)
- I'm paired up with Justin Pollock for top 16.
He's a veteran driver.
He's been driving for Falken forever.
When I first started paying attention to drifting,
this is one of the guys to look up to.
- [Announcer] Wow, look at that, quick rate to angle.
Justin Pollock not getting all the way out
to the touch and go but making up for it!
- The first lap, Justin leads.
I stay on his door throughout the entire track.
- [Announcer] And into the final front clip,
just gonna put a bow on it!
There ya go!
- I played it somewhat safe, but I did not let him get away.
I line up for my lead run.
- [Announcer] And here we go.
- As soon as the lights go out,
I jam down the straightaway as fast as I can.
I throw my car in, and man, that same exact issue
that I had on my first qualifying run.
The car just starts to over rotate,
starts to float towards the wall.
I save it, I don't hit the wall,
but at that moment, I knew I just threw away my run.
- [Announcer] No, that will be it for Odi Bakchis.
- That thing's (bleep) all weekend, but I got this far.
As soon as I try to drive it like a man,
a kid steps out, so we gotta figure it out.
- Top 16, here we come,
and we're going against Alec Hohnadell.
I know it's gonna be a tough battle.
He's been in that car a long time, he's a solid driver.
'Cause at this Long Beach course, if you're not
in the touch and go, in the outer zone,
you're not succeeding.
(wrench clicking)
We don't tighten the car up too much,
but we give it just enough.
And heading out for the first battle,
I honestly felt like we had a solid chance against Alec.
- [Announcer] Matt Field leading, Alec Hohnadell
giving chase.
Matt with the gates for initiation.
- Honestly, I lay down a solid run.
Probably top three runs that I've done all weekend,
but you know, he's right there.
Time to turn it up, time to throw down.
- [Announcer] Hohnadell out of the gate.
We got a clean start, no strike, no harm no foul.
- Coming through the touch and go, I had just enough angle,
stay right there, transition outer zone one, bam!
We're right there too.
Now here's where the problem starts to happen.
Instead of him being on the throttle,
he sits on the handbrake throughout
the entire outer zone two, and I'm stuck
sitting here waiting for him to get back on the right line.
- [Announcer] And Matt Field taking a wider line.
- The judges maybe didn't see
what actually transpired there.
Yo, he pulled the handbrake in zone two.
- Yeah I know. - What the (bleep)?
- [Pit Crew Member] I have in-car.
- [Crew Member] Yeah, dude--
- Hand braking in zone two, bro?
- Well, I mean-- - Come on!
- [Alec] You can't keep up?
- Geez!
Can't stay on the gas when you're on the brake
in an eggshell zone, bro.
(crew member speaking faintly)
- [Crew Member] Say something about it.
- [Matt] You think so?
- [Crew Members] Yeah.
- There's some gray areas on the track.
There's certain things the leader driver could do
that's within our rule book, but yet,
it makes it very difficult for the chase driver,
and I think that's exactly what happened to Matt,
and sometimes you just gotta let it go.
- The judges went towards Alec,
so if you don't beat someone bad enough
where they have no choice and you leave it in their hands,
then you didn't run hard enough.
You left something on the table.
(upbeat hard rock music)
- Do that forearm grip?
(laughing)