Round 1 / by Matt Pham

I'm actually late putting this post up,since Round 2 is around the corner at the end of the month. But I wanted to take my time and think this through. Something tragic struck the local drifting community, they lost one of their own. I didn't know him personally, but he did know a lot of the drifters and others involved in the community. My favorite thing about being apart of this community is how close everyone is. Everyone is willing to help out and there aren't any egos. Everyone is out to have a good time getting sideways!

After the silent lap, everyone was ready to try out the new course layout. Get some laps in before competition started in the afternoon.

After a few hours of baking in the sun, I retreated for some shade and hang out in the pits. Take a break from the harsh Louisiana heat.

After a short break, I went to another location to get some images from another perspective. At the same time, I took the opportunity to switch lenses. I spent most of the morning using a 35mm and swapped to a 70-200mm since I was further out.

You  would think being further out is safer than being inside the course. But the craziest event happened. A driver clipped a taller cone then needs to be weighed down. He took the cone out and slung the weight over the railing into the fencing. To top it all off, it obliterated his bumper in the process. Pretty insane seeing that happen through my camera.

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Before I knew it, it was time to get the competition started. There was so many close calls, which meant for more runs until there was a definite winner. It was pretty intense, the cars and drivers were matching up really well. 

Here are the winners for Round 1! Third place to the white S13 on the right, second to the BMW on the left and the winner with the SC300 in the middle. That pretty much sums up the day! Another great drift event in NOLA.