When it comes to regions in this great country of ours reputable for producing talented professional or pro-am drifters, the Midwest usually remains left out. Southern California’s tuning industry hub and the Northeast’s Englishtown Raceway and its associated clubs seem to garner the most attention, followed by Atlanta and the South’s notoriously rabid drift fans, and even some stylish street crews from the Chicagoland area. But ask around about the drift scene between these strongholds and you’ll more often than not be met with a peculiar silence.
And yet, Street Driven Tour has historically seen one of its strongest, most diverse and most talented responses at its annual stop at St. Louis, Missouri’s Gateway Motorsports Park. This year—in an exceptional show of dedication—proved no different, despite limited participation from pro drivers due to Formula D’s annual Seattle round falling the following week, and a Midwest Drift Union pro-am competition round landing a week after. Dozens of pro-am, enthusiast, and some pro drifters came out to enjoy a full day of drift bashing, show-n-shining, drifting mini games, and burnouts galore. In the process, they helped make the stop one of the most memorable to date.
You can catch a more comprehensive look at the event via our gallery below, but to honor the commitment and talent of the Midwest’s too-often overlooked drifters, we felt it proper to spotlight ten drift wheelmen who we felt brought the most impressive or most interesting efforts Street Driven Tour’s Midwest stop this year:
Owner/driver: Hooman Rahimi
Location: Nashville, TN
Instagram: @imonlyhooman
Chassis: 2004 Nissan 350Z
Engine: GM LS7 block
Other: Mast Motorsports cylinder heads, G-Force G-101 transmission
Series: Formula D Pro 2
Owner/driver: Joe Lampe
Location: St. Louis, MO
Instagram: @joseph.lampe
Chassis: 1994 Lexus SC300
Engine: GM LS1
Other: 76mm single turbocharger, built T56 transmission, Wisefab steering geometry
Series: Midwest Drift Union
Owner/driver: Mike Feiock
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Instagram: @mfdrift
Chassis: 2004 Mazda RX-8
Engine: Mazda 13B rotary
Other: COBB/Duraflex body kit/fenders, Garrett GT4088R single turbo, Wisefab/Koni suspension
Series: Midwest Drift Union
Owner/driver: Gus Buzas
Location: Chicago, IL
Instagram: @gusbuz
Chassis: 2004 BMW M3
Engine: 3.2L S54 BMW inline-six
Other: Turbosmart 70-series single turbocharger
Series: Midwest Drift Union
Owner/driver: David Mesker
Location: St. Louis, MO
Instagram: @meskerdrift
Chassis: E36 BMW M3
Engine: Toyota 1JZ-GTE
Series: Lone Star Drift
Owner/driver: Kaz Johnson
Location: Alton, IL
Instagram: @kazyeszir
Chassis: 1995 S14.5 Nissan 240SX
Engine: GM LS1 V8
Series: Midwest Drift Union
Owner/driver: Geoff Stoneback
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Instagram: @geoffstoneback
Chassis: S13 Nissan 240SX fastback (lent by Matt Waln)
Engine: Toyota 1JZ-GTE
Other: big ‘ol single turbo
Series: Various
Owner/driver: Steve Angerman
Location: Egg Harbor, NJ
Instagram: @steveangerman
Chassis: S13 Nissan 240SX fastback
Engine: Toyota 1JZ-GTE
Series: Various
Owner/driver: Brett McNamara
Location: Saint Louis, MO
Instagram: @canttouchthisg
Chassis: Infiniti G35
Engine: VQ35DE
Other: Greddy twin-turbo kit
Series: Midwest Drift Union
Owner/driver: Dougie Gehm
Location: Afton, MO
Instagram: @ddriftzz
Chassis: 1988 Chrysler Conquest
Engine: Mitsubishi 2.6L G54B
Other: TD05 single turbocharger
With its annual Midwest stop squarely in the bag for a third year in a row, Street Driven Tour heads to the Southwest for its next stop at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in conjunction with Supras Invade Las Vegas and StanceWars Elite, before flying South, to close out its third successful season of bash-style drifting under the lights of Atlanta’s Lanier Raceplex.