October 13, 2025 • 48 mins
Guest
Nate Hamilton
YouTube - @144.natehamilton
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I had somebody who believed in me, and I had a new opportunity
to try a form of racing that I may not have ever signed myself
up for. And to be truthful, it's making
me miss drifting a little bit. All right, My name is Nate
Hamilton. I'm 22 years old, from Dallas,
TX. It's pretty cool.
I think like everyone started this way and basically just, you
(00:23):
know, trying to. In life, do what he loves.
You know, want to wake up every?Morning and.
Be on the track, Red Life Circuit Legends at Lime Rock
Park. We're in day 2, the final day of
action in Red Life, sixth round of 2025.
In 7th place, it's Bryce Bursberger and Nate Hamilton in
(00:43):
8th. Here we go, green flag and we're
underway the Good Life Rush series at Lime Rock Park.
From this road racing world thatI'm learning, you know, you've
got people that are willing to bet on the data.
Hey dude, go out, run some laps for me.
See you guys, you want to buy this package like this is a fast
athlete and if the kids not fastkids not going to get a ride,
we're in drifting. It's like winning.
(01:04):
Formula Drift may not result in a new sponsorship.
Do you think FD specifically could benefit from using more
detailed data like that for judging?
I mean, I don't think I, I, dude, yeah, I've been wanting
this forever. I've been in the field with
whatever they throw at me. Brush it off, pick myself up
moving. On a little better yeah ain't no
(01:27):
errors baby yes a new. Error, welcome back to the
Circle Adrift podcast. I appreciate every single one of
you that stop in every single week for a brand new episode.
But I know a lot of you guys arehere for drifting, and one of
the best ways to get into it nowis through SIM racing because
it's way more cost effective. And lucky for you, this show is
presented by SIM HQ, so you can always save 5% off on your next
(01:50):
upgrade for your SIM using code Circle Adrift.
But without further ado, let's go ahead and get into the
podcast. Well, not a new face to the
channel, definitely a familiar one.
It's always great to have you on, Nate.
So actually I want to ask, sinceyou've gotten so deep into this,
how's it being a father now? So deep into drifting now rush
racing. It's got to be a balance.
(02:13):
Hell yeah. Thanks for having me, Dawson.
Welcome. I'm back, dude.
Yeah, sorry, I totally. No, you're good.
You're. Good.
Yeah. No, it's cool.
Yeah. So we're at we're at grid life
and we're jumping right into it here.
Dude. My son is almost three years
old, so for those who don't knowme and my lady, we had a home
birth, we had our first son and he's hectic, dude.
He's like riding his bike downhills.
(02:34):
He's breaking stuff. He's getting a voice, he's
starting to talk. It's awesome, man.
It's really cool. Do you not feel because like
he's not here right now? Right.
No, he comes. He comes to certain events and
he doesn't. Bucky's going to drop in.
On us. What up Bucky?
Whatever dude. This.
Guy is not the best. Nice to meet you, Bucky.
(02:55):
Yeah, we've been doing some really cool stuff with Bucky
too, man, We did school calling.Yeah, so.
How's he like? Because you got him into
drifting essentially now, right?I mean, dude, Bucky is so cool.
He's like an instant friend. Like, legitimately, I did not
think about that. Like, we, we met at Grid Life.
You know, we invited him to comedrift and he showed up and then
literally, dude, just like, haven't stopped connecting
(03:17):
since. It's really cool.
That's awesome. Yeah.
He took us to the Skateboard Hall of Fame.
I got to meet Tony Hawk. I got to meet.
Yeah, dude, like we were in this, like, really cool.
We went to the Vans headquartersanyway.
Shout out Bucky, dude. He's someone you kind of like,
watched growing up, right? Like kind of.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Bucky's a, you know, multi X
Games gold medalist. He's on the Tony Hawk video
(03:39):
games, like looked up to him when he was on birdhouse.
Like, yeah, Bucky's amazing man.But then you know, he's, he's
into a rally like so he started to drive and like I said, we
connected at grid life and he was like, I really need the
skill set of drifting because from like Rd. racing to
drifting, being able to be on the edge is so key.
You know, like that's one thing The Drifters have over the road
(04:03):
racers is just being comfortableon the edge.
And so going from drifting to Rd. racing is, is easier than
Rd. racing to drifting, if that makes sense.
I. I mean, I would agree.
I've plenty of people. You've mentioned it in the past
too. So yeah.
But did you like, I guess, to have to take a ride with him to
see how he was driving on the road racing side of things
(04:25):
before you could even like implement anything?
No, no, no, no. Like when we, you know, when we
first connected, we brought him out to do the school car.
So E36. So basically shout out Chelsea
d'onofa. We ended up getting a school car
from him through that to us in Texas.
And then, yeah, like, basically we just coached some dudes how
to drift. And when Bucky showed up, we
(04:46):
just started with the basics, like let's do a doughnut, let's
do a Figure 8. And really we just gauged it off
that. And then we took it all the way
up to like Handbrake entry, outer zone switchbacks, you
know, it's like. Yeah.
What were some of his comments when he like, he goes out for
his first lap to try it, They'relike what was he resembling to
his past racing experience and stuff like right then?
(05:07):
Yeah, he was, he was basically like, you know, because like,
let's say with rally, it's like you're never taking your hand
off the wheel, right? Like he's trained, like his
mental mindset is I've never taken my hand off the wheel.
And essentially, like, the firstthing I'm telling him to do is
let the wheel fly and he's just like, what?
Let the car drive. Dude, yeah.
(05:27):
So he would struggle with that. He would throw the, he would
throw the car into a turn and just stop the, you know, like
grab the angle wherever it is. So it really took him, you know,
3045 minutes to like get comfortable to just like
actually let the angle come in and then get back on throttle.
It's still pretty quick though. Like that's a quick turn around.
And the same, so you know, then he takes me to rally ready.
(05:48):
So then now I'm in his world. And it's like, here's where you
don't let the wheel fly and you're not counter steering.
And I'm like, so I got to, I gotto see his perspective, you
know? Well, you still I I guess would
the rush stuff not compared to that.
It would accept, you know, rallyis just this continuous feeling
of sliding like, you know, the dirt and and you almost start
(06:12):
steering back into the turn. So in drifting, you know,
everything is like I'm steering where I'm looking and in rally I
could be sliding to the left andsteering to the right.
It's just like. This is like all-wheel drive set
up. We we we started with rear wheel
only and then we went to all-wheel.
What? I'm so sorry.
We started with front wheel only, then we went to all-wheel.
(06:34):
Oh yeah. How did that feel difference
wise? Front wheel's got to be kind of
scary. Rally is the gnarliest.
Like it was super difficult. I really like Bucky.
Picked up drifting faster than Ipicked up rally.
I I can believe, yeah, rally is.It's like, it's like hockey,
like hockey is one of the sportsthat is very violent and it's
(06:55):
like it takes a certain breed ofhuman being to be able to do and
I, that's not me. I I couldn't, I don't, I don't
know how you even tried it. Yeah, I just say really, it
really like gets your mind set on the idea of trying to
implement your actions where I feel like some of the drifting
background right now or, or eventhe rush stuff is coming in to
(07:17):
be just like it's intuitive, youknow.
So like anytime you're not anytime you're doing something
that isn't intuitive, you have to learn.
You know, it's like my intuitionwas to turn the rally wheel into
the turn, but then I'm going offthe track, you know, So if I
turn back the opposite direction, it's pulling me into
the correct apex. And I was just like very hard to
(07:39):
comprehend. Ass backwards.
So you would you ever pursue it then?
Is that like, is that something that's you're thinking about?
All right, so I got to send you some clips so if this ever goes
anywhere, you have the actual footage to show it.
But it's like, so Bucky trained me all day at Dave from Rally
Ready's facility, which is Rallyready, and Dave ended up taking
(08:00):
me on a flyer through the woods and Dawson.
It's like there's a Corkscrew, there's a story drop, all the
while you're on A1 Lane Rd. between trees like.
(09:43):
Yeah, dude, when you're breakingyou can get off.
(10:25):
And that's why you come the rally ready baby.
How I have never like, how does the car do that?
No dude, I do not want to rally.Bucky, don't call me again.
Fuck that man, I don't know how I can did all that stuff back in
(10:46):
the day. I just.
Dude, it's insane. Breed of human being, it's the
same. Props to anyone that does that.
But besides the fact we're here,good life.
We are in land rocks. So how is this track compared to
the previous Grid Life tracks that you obviously drive not
only just for Rush, but for drifting as well?
Yeah, yeah. So we, we came off Road America
(11:07):
last track, right, which is like135 top speeds, lot of straights
and like 3 minute lap times, let's say.
And then now jumping into Lime Rock, we're doing 56 second lap
times and very technical and very taxing on your body.
Like imagine a lap is a minute and you're in a 25 minute Sprint
(11:31):
and you can't really get any time to breathe.
Like you're in a turn every minute.
Like it's so this one basically is like all the boys are getting
like arm pump, like we're comingoff actually physically tired.
But again, this one isn't necessarily super high speeds.
We're doing about 125 down the straight, but it's so technical
(11:52):
and you're just kind of like, you know, how do you word like
you're tense and you're focused the whole time?
Yeah, just a straight up forearmworkout.
That's great. Well, especially dude, I'm
watching it on the live stream up here.
The rush cars are getting major air coming over that hill.
Is that not so scaring the life out of you?
(12:12):
OK, so it's my second year to race here.
But yes, the first time I ever did it, it was definitely, you
know, like gnarly. But this year it feels sick,
dude. For for The Drifters out there,
it feels like a clutch kick. So for example, like turn 5, you
come up the face of five, the front end gets light.
So basically you you have to steer in the direction you want
to go. Like the worst fear is to be
(12:34):
counter steering, land on the front wheel and then obviously
lose it. But you get this like sensation
of a clutch kick because when the rear wheels come off the
ground, it's just like free engine.
So you're just like, you know, it's like.
You hear some of them hit limiter and stuff.
It's so. Cool.
Some of us are coming up. It's sick, dude.
(12:55):
So yeah, I really enjoy it. The going into that turn is
really difficult. Like you carry so much speed and
you're just staring at a wall. But then and there's a face.
How? Fast are you going, you think?
Well, there we're probably goingabout 909095.
Damn, it's nuts. That's over.
We're like. Mid to top of 4th gear.
(13:15):
And that's like a probably A2 story ish drop like that's a.
Steep hill, yeah. So when we come up five, we come
up five and there's like that kink or turn, I should say it, 6
going to the bridge, down 7 and down seven.
Yeah, we're going 4th gear, clicking up to 5th gear and 6th
gear will get us to about 125 down the street.
(13:36):
So we're probably doing 90 to 100 through 7 down that big
hill. Yeah, it's sick.
Oh my God. All right, well, I don't know if
you know this, but I I figured this out yesterday.
Literally, Lime Rock is the onlymajor racetrack in North America
that still runs the original layout.
(13:56):
Whoa. So as far as the heritage of a
race track and stuff like that, do you feel that's, I guess good
to stand on or should there be like different changes to this
track or do you think it's good where it's at and should grid
life stay here? Yeah, I mean, a few things about
(14:18):
Lime Rock that I learned this weekend was like, Cerise told me
that there's a flagger in five. So at the face that we talked
about where the Rev limiter getsfreaked out.
So there's a corner worker therewho has been there since the
tracks started at that corner. There is a human that is still
here to this day that was there at the very first race of this
(14:40):
whole place. So there's definitely, to your
point, a lot of heritage, a lot of like value that's just kept
here. And then, you know, Blair from
Rush Auto Works, he was telling me that some of the larger Rd.
racing series are not here anymore.
So I think this is more like, you know, like a like a sacred
ground that they're just going to keep the same forever.
(15:02):
That's kind of what I was thinking.
I I didn't know that. I didn't know that most race
tracks even change their layout.Well, so think about it right?
Like if a racetrack gets a contract with a big racing
series, then you know, maybe they expand a parking lot or
they change some of the some of the more dangerous things about
the racetrack, right? Like a lot of changes are
(15:24):
implemented by the drivers doingthings on the racetrack, right?
Like fair. So with Lime Rock, I think it's
slow enough and also gnarly enough that it's just a perfect
technical high speed track. Do you think the fact that it's
so short, like lengthwise, really puts a damper in the
(15:45):
ability to like for positions toactually change?
Because it seems like everyone'sjust a single file line.
It's like hard to, you know. In a rush car, it's, you know,
it's like turn 1234, that whole complex of one to four kind of
feels like karting, right? Like it's it's a very tight,
slower technical. You've got to really like run
(16:06):
your roll speed to get a good speed out of a turn.
So I imagine in a full size car,two or three wide, I mean the
tracks, it's done, you know whatI mean?
So like, so yeah, it's a small track and I think the smaller
Rush cars complement it well. And I can see how some of the
faster, larger cars don't reallyvibe here.
(16:27):
So like the as far as how long the track actually is, not
necessarily the width, but like how long it is, it's very short.
You you said like mid 52nd what we're doing.
Yeah. Does that part not affect?
What do you mean? Would a?
Would a. Longer track, say somewhere like
Rd. America for example is very long
and you have multiple opportunities in one lap to make
(16:49):
a pass. 100% yeah. And like Rd.
America, for example, like there's a lot of straights, you
know, so you get the like, like a, like a, like a, like a GLTC
car out here has time to pick upspeed and go 17180 down the
straight, you know, So it's likeon the smaller, tighter tracks,
(17:11):
they just can't let the car likering out as much.
Does that make sense? Yeah, I can so.
So like, yeah, like larger tracks compliment gnarlier
racing. Yeah.
So I'm. I'm a, I'm a drifter trying to
understand Rd. racing. So Oh my God, it's kind of.
Yeah, I don't know if I'm even making much sense, but.
Yeah, you're still in the the the bridge, but yeah.
(17:32):
Me and TJ, when we came out, we ran 50, like mid 50 sevens.
So basically, you know, from start to finish we're getting
lap times and we go out, we get our lap time, we get our data,
we try to study our data to better our lap time.
And truthfully it's just like how much time can you cut?
How much better can you make your own laps?
And then you do qualifying and then you get put in your
(17:53):
position and that's where you really fall into about the speed
and pace of your class, obviously.
And then from there, it's about like, how can you race and how
can you have that racing etiquette to pass in certain
sections or, you know, be patient in certain sections to
get a better run out at the exit.
You can see specifically where like you should be passing in
(18:14):
the data. Yeah, 100%, yeah.
I mean, we compare data like ourteam with the rapscallion team.
We compare data to say our breaking timing, our throttle,
like our line, and we throw all the teammates data together and
they overlay it on a map and we basically, you know, let's say
we have Blair on our team, BlairHosey from Rush Auto works and
(18:35):
he's faster than us. So we can see how to be faster
and we have to go out and apply it.
That's cool. So you can literally like
overlay his lap on top of yours and like, see that?
Oh my God. And then it's like you braked
here, he break there. So when you get to this section,
like count to 1 and then break. And sometimes you're just like
you're nervous bro. It's crazy, you know?
(18:57):
At that point, your heart's racing.
You don't know what an actual second is, 100.
Percent, yeah. And you kind of fall into these
habits. That's what we talked a lot
about this race weekend was like, you know, you go out for
practice 123 and kind of like wherever you start to throw your
habits, you end up keeping some time.
So trying to break those habits or start with good habits is the
goal, you know? That's fair.
(19:17):
That's fair. So what I guess what specific
data are you guys using the mostor like I guess benefits you the
most to gain that correct line? Probably like GPS, I mean
obviously like GPS, brake and throttle.
So the car is positioning, so like it will literally show us,
you know, like feet, like 1 feet, like 1 foot 2345.
(19:40):
So like if Blair's on the outside and we're on the inside
or something, we can see that. So just car position where we're
braking, how much brake we're braking.
You should see these graphs. I think I just.
Want to come down there and check it out?
Yeah, you should let like get some footage to throw over this
so they can see like the brake trace, the throttle trace, like
it's worth it. All right.
Do do you think you could we could use any of that stuff in
(20:01):
drifting specifically? Or is most of that just Rd.
Racing specific? No, I think that some of the top
teams absolutely look at the same data.
Like, you know, it's like sayinglike, hey Nate, in turn 2, we
want you to be on throttle here because if you don't apply
enough throttle, then the gearing we're putting in the car
isn't working, you know, So in drifting, if you're pedaling a
(20:23):
certain gear, you're not using the whole gear.
So for some of the top teams, ofcourse, they look at throttle,
brake, steering angle, the suspension, the shot travel, you
know, like the pitch of the car.I just think that's more of what
pro Drifters are doing. But they're not necessarily like
using that for the sports results.
Like I don't think Formula Driftis looking at that info.
(20:45):
Oh. OK, I see.
That makes sense. Yeah.
Do you think that would benefit Formula Drift at all?
Because like, obviously you get the Wally system and with Race
Data Labs doing the little thingthat goes on top.
Yeah. For Drift masters and da, da,
da, da. Yeah.
But like, what is that? Is that what you mean?
Like that type of stuff. Well, in in Rd. racing, we get
(21:08):
lap times, you know, we get a physical result of our actual
timing. So it's like there is hard data.
So if I want to go from A579 to A572, I can find a 10th and a
tenth and a tenth in these threespots.
And if I go out as an athlete and I actually gain that 10th
and then gain that 10th and thengain that 10th, I'm going to get
that result. Where in drifting it's judged,
(21:29):
man. It's just like.
You don't know that's what I'm saying.
Like do you think FD specifically could benefit from
using more detailed data like that for judging?
I mean, I don't think I, I dude,it's so tough.
I'm in such a, I'm in such a like weird position with like
competitive drifting. It's like, of course, they could
absolutely use like real data, but it would take away from the
(21:51):
judges. Like then there really wouldn't
be judges, right? And then that changes the entire
sport. And then what does that look
like? And why would we do that?
And like, there's so much to be said about the judging of
Formula Drift. I get that everyone wants to
compare it to drift masters and even NASCAR and stuff like that
like Brandon did and the last podcast I posted.
(22:11):
And it's just it's it's hard to do that because it's two it's
three different things or so tough.
Whatever the hell, man it's. Like drifting is a super rad
spectacle and that's the way they want it to be.
And the calls sometimes don't make sense, but they do to the
judges. And we just got to figure that
out, you know? You think that keeps people from
joining FD? Like does it keep you from going
(22:33):
back? Well, no, no, I would say no,
but I would say like, you know, from from this road racing world
that I'm learning, you know, you've got investors and
sponsors and let's say families.And I mean, you've got people
that are willing to bet on the data like this kid is fast.
Hey, dude, go out, run some lapsfor me.
(22:55):
See you guys, You want to buy this package?
Like this is a fast athlete. I always compare it to
motocross, right? It's like motocross is like Rd.
racing, but rad. You know, it's like the dudes
are fucking jumping their style sick, but they're getting lap
times and if the kids not fast kids not going to get a ride,
you know, so sponsors are easierto look at that and say, whoa,
(23:18):
I'm investing in a fast athlete.And I think that that absolutely
helps grow a sport wherein drifting.
It's like, whoa, I'm investing in your story or your style or
your brand. You know, it's like winning
Formula Drift may not result in a new sponsorship.
That is very true, I wish more people said that.
(23:39):
But your brand or your style could.
Is it so from an outsider perspective, you honestly been
leaning a little more into the rush stuff?
Is this kind of why do you feel it's going to provide in the end
a more beneficial return and notjust you, but like?
Well, I'm hard on. So two things, right?
I'm on a wave of I got a call todo a commercial.
(24:04):
So I went to a Sunoco commercialshoot with my GR86.
So like my accelerator radio carwas finishing.
So me and accelerator built a car that was wrapping up and
done. I got a call from Crispy in
Dallas. He called me to come out and get
some drifting shots in a Sunoco commercial.
And with that, there was multiple cars and teams out
there for the shoot because it was like this compilation of
(24:26):
what all Sunoco does. And I just happened to look over
to Rush car and I'm like, look at this big kid go Kart And they
were like, well, hop in it. And then I went fast.
And then basically there was like a sponsor that was like,
whoa, cool, this kids cool. And I think he should try to
drive rush. And so I had somebody who
believed in me and I had a new opportunity to try a form of
(24:48):
racing that I may not have ever signed myself up for.
So I look kind of felt like I unlocked the door and walked
through a door that I never would have been in.
And it's been the most like eye opening and challenging year
because it's just a super different B.
There's a lot of disciplines that are teaching me from Rd.
racing back to drifting. And to be truthful, it's making
(25:12):
me miss drifting a little bit, you know, So it's, it's really
blending all these cool feelings.
Well, so OK, then next year is you still going to be
disinvested in the rush? I don't know, man, these type of
programs, like I said, right, like AI need to go faster.
Like right now I'm about top eight in the championship.
And it's like if you're not a fast dude, then the sponsors
(25:34):
move on, you know? And by fast, I mean whatever,
right, Whatever your expectationwith them is.
But for us, we really wanted to finish top five in the
championship and we're on our way, but we only have two more
races we have today and then Laguna.
So, but yeah, no, I mean, I likeI said, I've been able to drift
less because I've been travelling so much to grid life
(25:55):
rush racing and do the amount oftime you're getting in a rush
car. I mean, we had four practice
sessions on Thursday. We have practices and two races
on Friday and two races today like on Saturday.
So we are in these cars and these are 25 minute sprints.
Like sorry, 1525 dude, it's gnarly.
So just be. Driving that I mean.
You're fully focused trying to run consistent lap times for 20
(26:18):
minutes straight. Like it feels so cool, man,
coming from a 32nd drift run, right?
Like so anyways, it's just been a really cool year to try
something new. And I don't feel like it's going
to be a forever thing. It's just more like, hey man, I
had an opportunity to do something that I never would
have done. Someone believed in me.
(26:39):
I'm doing it. I'm doing pretty well.
We're like, bumping and grindingand causing chaos and we're
going to the steward's office and we're learning all about
race etiquette and it's been a cool journey.
Yeah. Well, the reason I ask is
because I'm sure there's a lot of people out there watching
this stuff and like that. They're pretty intrigued.
I mean, you got Josiah working on him now.
Man, you know all I want to say.Freaking Swan called me like a
(27:02):
vibe God or something, which don't don't repeat that.
But like, you know, essentially I had the opportunity with
Sunoco to call some of my friends, right?
So like when we wanted to expandour program a bit, I just called
some really good people and tried to expand the program.
And so yeah, I feel like it was really cool to watch certain
guys come in and try the car outand then stick with it or not.
(27:25):
But like, you know, we definitely boosted sales for
Rush and we definitely brought eyeballs to Drifters doing other
things other than just drifting.And you know, it's cool because
seriously, man, like The Drifters going Rd. racing tend
to be fast because we can live on the edge, man.
Like the car steps out and we floor it like that's what we do.
(27:47):
We do a lot this weekend. You know, so it's like we have,
we Got Talent, man. Drifters Got Talent.
That's cool. Hey, yeah, I know there's plenty
of people asking. I'm sure you get asked even
here, right? Like people come up to you, ask
questions about it. How much does it cost for a
round? Like what are what are some of
those questions you're going through with these people?
Yeah, yeah. So it all depends on how you
want to run it, right? So like if you're a drifter and
(28:08):
you want to buy a Rush car and then run it in your trailer and
like operate it yourself, they quote around $110.00 an hour to
operate them, right? So for example, we get one set
of tires, so we run from practice through all the way
through the races on one set of tires.
We toss 3 to 5 gallons of fuel in the thing every session and
(28:29):
that's it. It's pretty chill, man.
The cars are, I think coming offthe production line right now,
sub 50 grand. So it's like you can buy a spec,
you know, production prototype wheel to wheel race car, paddle
shifting Gixxer 12,500 RPM behind your head and you're just
like going 125 miles an hour down the street looking over at
(28:52):
TJ Hunt. Like what up, dude?
I'm. Gonna outbreak you?
Oh well that's so. How does someone get into it
though? Like how do you have to get a
license for it I assume? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So like how he, they even did itwith myself is like, you know,
obviously you get a car and you can go to like your local like
NASA or your local SCC as and you basically put in time.
(29:13):
I mean, I think man, don't quoteme, but you can do it within I
think 2:00 to 3:00 weekends of racing at your local, you know,
series or your local like licensing series because you're
putting in like 4 races a weekend, you know, so you have 8
races that equal these results. OK, cool.
He can get his license. So really, we did it pretty
(29:33):
quickly. Sweet.
OK. So is there any other extra cost
kind of that comes to that otherthan just your, you know, your
consumables, you maintaining thecar da, da, da, da?
Like is there a licensing fee ora fee to even be in the pro like
that competition? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's the same.
It's the same as like most series, right?
Or or even drifting, right. You just pay entry.
Yeah, you. We pay an entry fee to be here
(29:54):
and we race. OK.
I didn't know if it was like some like petitioning type
thing, like you got to be vettedor whatever.
No man, I think we've had a class of 45 plus almost 50 rush
cars before. No shit.
That's a lot. So I don't think they've capped
us yet, you know, So it's like I.
Keep pushing it. Yeah, You know, and The thing is
with Rush, it was like, you know, Blair created the Rush car
(30:19):
and he was a karting champion. So he's going from karting.
And let's say maybe they didn't go to Formula Three, you know,
because the price point between karting and like getting in a
real Formula car is so high thatthe Rush is a step between that.
So you can basically go from karting to get in a real wheel
to wheel car before you may go to like a super expensive
program. Do do you know like the back
(30:41):
story of how the idea even came for the rush car like.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Other than that, like the
obviously the inspiration came from that, but were they just in
a garage? Like I think we can make this
work. Yeah, Blair, hopefully I don't
like mess this up here for you, but yeah, so Blair and his dad,
so Blair Hosey, you know, he's he's he's karting, right?
(31:03):
He's fast, He's he's doing nads,super nads in Vegas, which is
like some crazy series. And like he's basically just
walking his way all the way through karting and he's a
champion. And so from there, essentially
the round story I heard was likeinstead of doing a Formula three
season, right? Because you know, it's like from
there's all sorts of series, butlike Formula 3-4 or 321, right?
(31:27):
Like going up to a Formula One type drive, even getting into
like a Formula three program. They literally invested in their
own like engineering of their own car and started a factory
for the cost of like what would be one season of a Formula Three
race. So it's like instead of taking
Blair further in his career, they paused him and created
(31:51):
something that was missing in the market and blended like a
grassroots wheel to wheel car that was affordable to the kids
that come from karting that don't have the big money.
Dude gave up his career at the moment right?
That is crazy. Now he's still out here 23 years
old like this, kids. 23 some asstoo he.
Qualied 1P1 in the race, 1P2 or P1IN race 2.
(32:15):
He's on one man, he's winning. Dude that's insane Oh my God.
It'd be like saying someone built a spec drifting series
from the pro AM or from grassroots to pro AM.
I can see that. That's that's what it is, right?
If you're karting then you go torush, then you move up.
It's like a like hot pits. Hot Pits is like the right below
(32:35):
prospect. Yeah, the only difference is
just they literally created a series.
True, that's true. Damn, that thing's cool.
Yeah. Yeah, no, but so I guess I'll
wait for this. Smells good.
(32:58):
Yeah, it does. You think it's got Sunoco?
Doubt it actually. Of course it does.
It probably. Oh well, there's many Sunoco gas
stations around here. It probably does.
Dude, yeah, there's a ton on theEast Coast.
No, but what I wanted to ask. So they obviously started.
TJ mentioned this in his episodeThe New Turboed Ones.
(33:20):
Yeah, the XS. When are those supposed to be
coming? Man, bit of a, you know, bit of
a turning point here, right? Like so there was an incident
where Blair's dad had passed away not but a few months ago.
So they're going through some things internally that I think
the X may take more time or or maybe they shifted their focus
(33:41):
so. Sorry for your loss, by the way.
Yeah. So yeah, they do have a turbo
diversion, but it's a bit delayed.
That's OK. So don't know much about it.
Wait, that's exciting to to hearabout that.
What? What was your?
Did you get the drive 1 though? No, so the XS are like, you
know, you want to put in enough time.
They're going to be on slicks basically.
(34:01):
We need to be a little bit, there's going to be a, there's
going to be like a, how do I word that?
Like you need to be good enough to be in an X.
The XS are gnarly. You're going to have to prove
yourself to be in an X. I'm sure they would be a lot
easier at rotating. Yeah, I mean the.
Slicks, the speed, they're 300. It's like we are about 150
(34:23):
horsepower and that is 300 horsepower in the same car with
better arrow and slicks. So is it wider at all?
It does have a wider track with.It has a little bit of a wider
track with it had which some of this may still get implemented
in the rush Sr. but it had like DRS.
So basically it had arrow options where you know you'd
(34:44):
have less drag or more drag, andit had push to pass which would
use the wastegate differently togive you more boost.
Yeah, so. You could you have like a turbo
button, you know, you get like more boost, but then you also
have your DRS, which gives you better arrow.
So you'd have like a certain percentage of time in a race,
kind of like a video game. You can use it however you want
throughout the race and that sounds.
(35:05):
Fun is implemented into the the computer or the car to like
where you can't flip the switch until that section of the track
or whatever. So let's say you get so insane,
you get like one minute of push to pass or one minute of of what
does he call it? Like the the extra power?
I forget what I just called that.
What did I call that? The DRS, the turbo button, oh
(35:27):
push to pass. Yeah, the push to pass.
Sorry, sorry. Yeah, basically the push to pass
takes your turbo from let's say 8 lbs to like 10 lbs.
That's. A That's a good difference on
that little thing. Yeah, don't quote me.
I mean, I Blair's going to know I'm a little bit off on all
those details, but like, it's basically something like that.
Just correct them in the comments or something, That
would be great. Well obviously you said you were
(35:48):
missing drifting and stuff. So what?
What's the plan to bring that back into your life and
especially balance in the family?
Yeah, I'm trying to find that right now.
You know what I mean? Like my son's three, we did a
lot of travelling this year, which has been awesome.
And essentially I'm just, I'm, I'm missing drifting because I'm
doing so much rush racing and even, you know, even when you're
(36:11):
out here grid life, it makes thedrifting feel so like quick, you
know, like you can get 2 to 4 to6 laps in a drift car and your
tires are gone and the session'sover, you know, and then you're
doing 420 minutes sprints in a day in a rush car.
And so like, yeah, I'm, I'm missing drifting, which is
awesome. And I've been doing grassroots
(36:32):
tours for now going on about five years.
And I feel this urge to try and create something new in my
program, but I. Something new or?
Just not. Yeah, I say new, but like
something different. I'm trying to find it.
Dawson. I don't know yet.
What like car wise or you just like no events you go through
(36:53):
and the way you run the program?It's like I want to find
something that feels fresh for me, you know?
I got you, I got you. Well, obviously like the
merchant stuff isn't here too. So like is how is the business
side of things going? Is that still growing and doing
well and everything? Yeah, the print house.
Yeah. So for those who don't know, I
print T-shirts, right? That's kind of like how I make
(37:14):
it happen and feed my family. I was a pressman when I was
younger and I could literally print T-shirts Monday through
Thursday. I could hop on the car on Friday
and get to a racetrack on Saturday, Sunday and do it all
over again. So like, I found this kind of
love to create and this love to like give to our industry in a
certain way. And yeah, it's been going great,
man. The print house is still
(37:34):
growing. We got awesome people.
We got reoccurring clients. I've been running that thing
since 2017. And just proud of the whole team
back home. And like, I love, I love
creating, you know, and I think that's kind of my pattern.
It's like, dude, if I do the same thing for five years, I
just kind of want to do something different.
To get the itch again. You know, it's just like it's
(37:55):
like I got to find maybe I'll goeither back to like super
grassroots events, like go back into just like some Oklahoma,
like just some real low key. Stuff so we'll see an SR240 come
out of the shop at some point and you'll be at 300 horsepower
grassroots car yeah I. Mean, I don't know, you know, I
I really don't know. I'd love to go back to pro spec
(38:16):
and build my way back to pro Like I got a lot going on up
here, man. I got to figure it out.
Yeah, which? One are you leaning more
towards? Well.
Like if you could, I want to compete.
I want to compete. I feel like it's a it's another,
it's about time that I step backinto competition, you know,
because you get this like, I don't know the word validity for
yourself and your brand where it's like, Yo, Nate can really
(38:38):
drift, man. Like he can.
He wins races like and it's likeI haven't been in a drifting
competition in quite some time. So I definitely miss competing.
Is it just the edge or like the the pace of it or just the fact
of winning? Well, just like I'm watching all
the boys going out and like putting on awesome shows and
they're just willing to fully ride off their cars and like
(39:00):
stick the line and you ride doorto door.
And I miss that dude. I need to do that.
How would you do it differently now if you were to build a
program right now? I'm a whole different human now,
man. Like when I was in pro, from
what was it like 13 or 14 to 17,like I was in my head.
I didn't know business. I was not as good of a driver as
(39:22):
I am today. I was nervous.
I've worked so much on just likemy consciousness, you know, when
it comes to like being in the moment and not getting super
nervous about things. And it's cool.
I'm excited to like, jump back into some pressured moments.
So Nate Hamilton, FD 2026, right?
Yeah, yeah. We're going to throw a petition
(39:44):
in. We'll see what happens.
Let me back. Let me.
In would you? Would it be in the Gori assume?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, in a perfect world,
dude, like obviously we'd we'd find a ride.
Like, you know, the same way this road racing stuff has
taught me, like, you know, you can join a team, right?
Like the team has a lot of the data, a lot of the math.
(40:04):
Like obviously any team in pro or pro spec has been around
those race tracks more than I have in the last four to five
years, right. So like some of that stuff will
help you expedite your results. Like it'd be great to do an
arrive and drive for for drifting.
No way, but wouldn't that exclude the GR?
(40:25):
Or would you just have someone take care of it?
The GR but at the same time accelerate doesn't have a pro
tire and accelerate is not pushing me to GoPro.
So like you know, I can still dograss roots drifting with my
accelerate GR86 and then I coulddo an arrive and drive in pro
Pro spec. RTR hit him up or OD something
(40:47):
like that. Yeah, yeah.
You know, I mean sweet. I love it, dude.
Well, I assume are you going to be at Laguna?
Yeah. We're going to go to Laguna,
man, that'll that'll round out our rush season.
Yeah. So that'll round out rush.
So we'll figure out where we land in points overall, and we
do plan to drift that as well. So the Corkscrew was so fun last
(41:09):
year and Laguna is beautiful, you know.
That's awesome man. Well, sadly I won't be able to
make it to that one, but you're going to have to have a good
time for me. Absolutely.
Dude, I know you're. T JS rolling on me?
I'm like, do we got to go? I was about to break it off so
I'm just watching. Well cool I guess.
As far as the car and everything, is the GR still OK?
(41:32):
I know you had some issues with said kit while he's here.
Well, more than that, huh? TJ said the issues.
You blew it up. All right, listen, so T JS in my
ear, he tells me I need to driveharder.
I better put on a good show. So of course we turn it up.
He's just mangling you shit man.Yeah, no, honestly, the 86 is
(41:54):
good, dude. The engine package is sorted,
you know, we were able to get ittuned by Freddie.
We're on the link. Like everything drivetrain wise
is happy. Like I'm comfortable in that car
now. Yeah.
And we did obviously just throw on the Street Hunters kit, which
is super sweet. My boys throw on sweet liveries
with that thing. TJ supports us, which is
awesome. And that's such a fun car, man.
(42:16):
I have to say, not just because he's here, but that is a better
kit. Yeah, I didn't like the square
Fender. Oh.
Look, and I told TJ the same thing, man.
It was like, you know, when we built that car, the Pandem kit
was, you know, the vision and itwas available, right.
The street hunter stuff I think was developed a little bit later
because we turn that build on inlike 2020 or 2021 like it was a
(42:39):
bit ago, you know? Damn, it's been that long.
So I think so, I think 23 it was, it was doing things, but
like 21 and two, we were building it, you know.
So like back then we just, we ordered the Pandem kit, we got
it in and we put it on. And you know, with some of these
events, like I don't have some of the grid life events, I don't
have to drive that car as hard as I would normally like in a
(43:00):
competition setting. So that Pandem kit just stayed
on so long and it never really had a reason to come off until
obviously I start racing with TJand he's just super offended
that that kit is on the car so. It's kind of his fault when he
bullies you and then doesn't expect you to do it back and you
know, and. Then a fresh 3 hunters box shows
up at the house and it's like holy smokes man we got a sweet
(43:22):
kit and yeah we finally put it on so car looks good.
Good man. I assume like the the fitment of
it, you don't have to really do any modifications, right?
Dude, I think we go through the ringer we.
Installed that kit on the car indamn near a day.
What I mean it fit great. That's awesome.
Yeah, I I think 2 days to be precise, but like 2 full days
with two dudes. That thing was ready to go
(43:43):
drift. Is it the fiberglass one or is
it carbon? Yeah.
So it is fiberglass, but you know, the Street Hunters has an
option where you can basically request the drifting setup,
which is less layers. So it's a bit more flexible and
it's a bit lighter. So like our kit is kind of how
do you word like a version of the drift setup that they're
(44:04):
debuting. So OK, it's not as structured as
like a car, showed St. Hunter's kit.
Right, right. That's good.
So what do you know what the price difference will be in
those? I do not know.
No. OK.
They just show up. Dawson.
Yeah, we'll put TJ in a second, but.
Yeah, right. Oh, that's awesome, but.
Yeah, so for those who don't know.
So I put the Street Hunters kit on, show it to TJ.
(44:27):
He's like, holy smokes, this looks awesome. 156 mile an hour
wheel speed of Rd. America.
Pop the tire, give it a ride along to some artist you know
And like the thing. The tire explodes, the rear end
flies off fresh livery. Show back up to the paddock and
he's like. Yeah.
They're. Like don't look, just turn away.
(44:49):
He's like, are you? Kidding me?
And I'm like you said, you were sponsoring me, dude.
This is what you get. That's right.
Oh, that's great, man. Yeah.
Good times. Awesome.
Well. I love this, did you have to do
anything different for the livery on that?
Obviously you made a new livery,but was it weird shaping it for
that kit? Well, you know, really I just
followed my intuition on this livery and I did like 90s
(45:12):
motocross jersey inspired livery.
So like think about a super hot summer motocross.
You know, the boys are like riding super hard in the
outdoors. They're wearing these bright
jerseys and like that was my vibe.
I knew I was coming to grid lifeor in the peak of summer.
It's just like, I wanted to justthrow back that like athlete
motocross 90s. You know, I get it.
(45:36):
That's right. It was loud.
That's right. That's what we did.
Well, cool, man. Other than Grid life, what else
you got this year? Just to close it out.
Yeah, we're going to round out grid life.
You know, we're doing APEX September 7th.
So basically APEX is like a roadracing world in Dallas.
So they have their own events and then through the road racing
that we've been doing, we were able to tackle in drifting now.
(45:58):
So it's like Apex X144X, Grip Royal, Sky Grip Royal.
He really helps with all the operations.
Max first as well with the localcommunity and like the outreach.
And then yeah, so we're going tohave our own drift events.
So that's going to happen more and more, and that is September
7th. Actually, because I got to be in
(46:19):
Arkansas for Toge Khan. Was it the weekend after or
something? Like that you can come down,
free set up, No, no fees, we gotyou free set up, free driving.
You can show up, hang out, we'llwork it out.
All right, I'll catch up with you on that.
We'll we'll chat about that. This keeps happening.
If another event pops up and I'mlike fuck, I really want to go
(46:41):
to that. It's tough.
Dude, yeah, right. The FOMO factor is really out.
To our industry, there's so muchgoing on, like it's growing.
Everyone is killing it. Like there's so much to do in
the Motorsports world. It's nuts, man.
Absolutely couldn't be more thankful for the industry right
now. Yep, we're going and I'm here
for it. That's right.
Well, I guess that's all I got for me on this one.
(47:01):
Cool. Now though, I do have to ask you
the question. What is your best piece of
advice for anyone getting into drifting where you are now?
To get into drifting. Yeah, or just injured about
drifting in general. Yeah, man, just like, you know,
I keep, I kind of keep saying this, but just like take your
time, enjoy the process, try to do as much as you can on your
(47:22):
own. Don't try to rely heavily on
sponsors and just build slowly, man.
And like actually enjoy driving your car verse being cool,
because nowadays there's so manylike things to look up to and to
become. I think just trying to be
authentic to yourself and and just enjoying how you drive your
(47:42):
car will take you the furthest. I love that Cole Richards is a
good example of that. Yeah.
Like when you see people being them, you know it.
You know what I mean? And when you see people that are
like, oh, I'm going to expedite this and really become Chris
Forsberg, you also know that. And I think we all resonate the
most with just the natural humanthat's trying to be themselves,
(48:06):
you know? That's awesome.
Well, of course man, it's alwaysfantastic to have you on.
You always got good words wise, I really appreciate it.
Yeah, thank you, Dawson. I'm going to go to race four and
Grid Life and try to go from 9thplace, so hopefully 5th place.
You got it. But these boys are fast.
You got it. I don't care.
You got it. I got this.
(48:27):
You got appreciate it man, see you later.
Taking the time to the ceiling. Trust no bitch, can't catch, no
feelings. I've been taking long flights
from the baby Ibiza hit home run.
I'm a ball like Jeter. I just want 444 then I leave.
I'm a young pop star called a boy.
Justin Bieber got a little money.
If you want a teacher whole lifea movie, you can watch it in
theater.
I had somebody who believed in me, and I had a new opportunity
to try a form of racing that I may not have ever signed myself
up for. And to be truthful, it's making
me miss drifting a little bit. All right, My name is Nate
Hamilton. I'm 22 years old, from Dallas,
TX. It's pretty cool.
I think like everyone started this way and basically just, you
(00:23):
know, trying to. In life, do what he loves.
You know, want to wake up every?Morning and.
Be on the track, Red Life Circuit Legends at Lime Rock
Park. We're in day 2, the final day of
action in Red Life, sixth round of 2025.
In 7th place, it's Bryce Bursberger and Nate Hamilton in
(00:43):
8th. Here we go, green flag and we're
underway the Good Life Rush series at Lime Rock Park.
From this road racing world thatI'm learning, you know, you've
got people that are willing to bet on the data.
Hey dude, go out, run some laps for me.
See you guys, you want to buy this package like this is a fast
athlete and if the kids not fastkids not going to get a ride,
we're in drifting. It's like winning.
(01:04):
Formula Drift may not result in a new sponsorship.
Do you think FD specifically could benefit from using more
detailed data like that for judging?
I mean, I don't think I, I, dude, yeah, I've been wanting
this forever. I've been in the field with
whatever they throw at me. Brush it off, pick myself up
moving. On a little better yeah ain't no
(01:27):
errors baby yes a new. Error, welcome back to the
Circle Adrift podcast. I appreciate every single one of
you that stop in every single week for a brand new episode.
But I know a lot of you guys arehere for drifting, and one of
the best ways to get into it nowis through SIM racing because
it's way more cost effective. And lucky for you, this show is
presented by SIM HQ, so you can always save 5% off on your next
(01:50):
upgrade for your SIM using code Circle Adrift.
But without further ado, let's go ahead and get into the
podcast. Well, not a new face to the
channel, definitely a familiar one.
It's always great to have you on, Nate.
So actually I want to ask, sinceyou've gotten so deep into this,
how's it being a father now? So deep into drifting now rush
racing. It's got to be a balance.
(02:13):
Hell yeah. Thanks for having me, Dawson.
Welcome. I'm back, dude.
Yeah, sorry, I totally. No, you're good.
You're. Good.
Yeah. No, it's cool.
Yeah. So we're at we're at grid life
and we're jumping right into it here.
Dude. My son is almost three years
old, so for those who don't knowme and my lady, we had a home
birth, we had our first son and he's hectic, dude.
He's like riding his bike downhills.
(02:34):
He's breaking stuff. He's getting a voice, he's
starting to talk. It's awesome, man.
It's really cool. Do you not feel because like
he's not here right now? Right.
No, he comes. He comes to certain events and
he doesn't. Bucky's going to drop in.
On us. What up Bucky?
Whatever dude. This.
Guy is not the best. Nice to meet you, Bucky.
(02:55):
Yeah, we've been doing some really cool stuff with Bucky
too, man, We did school calling.Yeah, so.
How's he like? Because you got him into
drifting essentially now, right?I mean, dude, Bucky is so cool.
He's like an instant friend. Like, legitimately, I did not
think about that. Like, we, we met at Grid Life.
You know, we invited him to comedrift and he showed up and then
literally, dude, just like, haven't stopped connecting
(03:17):
since. It's really cool.
That's awesome. Yeah.
He took us to the Skateboard Hall of Fame.
I got to meet Tony Hawk. I got to meet.
Yeah, dude, like we were in this, like, really cool.
We went to the Vans headquartersanyway.
Shout out Bucky, dude. He's someone you kind of like,
watched growing up, right? Like kind of.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Bucky's a, you know, multi X
Games gold medalist. He's on the Tony Hawk video
(03:39):
games, like looked up to him when he was on birdhouse.
Like, yeah, Bucky's amazing man.But then you know, he's, he's
into a rally like so he started to drive and like I said, we
connected at grid life and he was like, I really need the
skill set of drifting because from like Rd. racing to
drifting, being able to be on the edge is so key.
You know, like that's one thing The Drifters have over the road
(04:03):
racers is just being comfortableon the edge.
And so going from drifting to Rd. racing is, is easier than
Rd. racing to drifting, if that makes sense.
I. I mean, I would agree.
I've plenty of people. You've mentioned it in the past
too. So yeah.
But did you like, I guess, to have to take a ride with him to
see how he was driving on the road racing side of things
(04:25):
before you could even like implement anything?
No, no, no, no. Like when we, you know, when we
first connected, we brought him out to do the school car.
So E36. So basically shout out Chelsea
d'onofa. We ended up getting a school car
from him through that to us in Texas.
And then, yeah, like, basically we just coached some dudes how
to drift. And when Bucky showed up, we
(04:46):
just started with the basics, like let's do a doughnut, let's
do a Figure 8. And really we just gauged it off
that. And then we took it all the way
up to like Handbrake entry, outer zone switchbacks, you
know, it's like. Yeah.
What were some of his comments when he like, he goes out for
his first lap to try it, They'relike what was he resembling to
his past racing experience and stuff like right then?
(05:07):
Yeah, he was, he was basically like, you know, because like,
let's say with rally, it's like you're never taking your hand
off the wheel, right? Like he's trained, like his
mental mindset is I've never taken my hand off the wheel.
And essentially, like, the firstthing I'm telling him to do is
let the wheel fly and he's just like, what?
Let the car drive. Dude, yeah.
(05:27):
So he would struggle with that. He would throw the, he would
throw the car into a turn and just stop the, you know, like
grab the angle wherever it is. So it really took him, you know,
3045 minutes to like get comfortable to just like
actually let the angle come in and then get back on throttle.
It's still pretty quick though. Like that's a quick turn around.
And the same, so you know, then he takes me to rally ready.
(05:48):
So then now I'm in his world. And it's like, here's where you
don't let the wheel fly and you're not counter steering.
And I'm like, so I got to, I gotto see his perspective, you
know? Well, you still I I guess would
the rush stuff not compared to that.
It would accept, you know, rallyis just this continuous feeling
of sliding like, you know, the dirt and and you almost start
(06:12):
steering back into the turn. So in drifting, you know,
everything is like I'm steering where I'm looking and in rally I
could be sliding to the left andsteering to the right.
It's just like. This is like all-wheel drive set
up. We we we started with rear wheel
only and then we went to all-wheel.
What? I'm so sorry.
We started with front wheel only, then we went to all-wheel.
(06:34):
Oh yeah. How did that feel difference
wise? Front wheel's got to be kind of
scary. Rally is the gnarliest.
Like it was super difficult. I really like Bucky.
Picked up drifting faster than Ipicked up rally.
I I can believe, yeah, rally is.It's like, it's like hockey,
like hockey is one of the sportsthat is very violent and it's
(06:55):
like it takes a certain breed ofhuman being to be able to do and
I, that's not me. I I couldn't, I don't, I don't
know how you even tried it. Yeah, I just say really, it
really like gets your mind set on the idea of trying to
implement your actions where I feel like some of the drifting
background right now or, or eventhe rush stuff is coming in to
(07:17):
be just like it's intuitive, youknow.
So like anytime you're not anytime you're doing something
that isn't intuitive, you have to learn.
You know, it's like my intuitionwas to turn the rally wheel into
the turn, but then I'm going offthe track, you know, So if I
turn back the opposite direction, it's pulling me into
the correct apex. And I was just like very hard to
(07:39):
comprehend. Ass backwards.
So you would you ever pursue it then?
Is that like, is that something that's you're thinking about?
All right, so I got to send you some clips so if this ever goes
anywhere, you have the actual footage to show it.
But it's like, so Bucky trained me all day at Dave from Rally
Ready's facility, which is Rallyready, and Dave ended up taking
(08:00):
me on a flyer through the woods and Dawson.
It's like there's a Corkscrew, there's a story drop, all the
while you're on A1 Lane Rd. between trees like.
(09:43):
Yeah, dude, when you're breakingyou can get off.
(10:25):
And that's why you come the rally ready baby.
How I have never like, how does the car do that?
No dude, I do not want to rally.Bucky, don't call me again.
Fuck that man, I don't know how I can did all that stuff back in
(10:46):
the day. I just.
Dude, it's insane. Breed of human being, it's the
same. Props to anyone that does that.
But besides the fact we're here,good life.
We are in land rocks. So how is this track compared to
the previous Grid Life tracks that you obviously drive not
only just for Rush, but for drifting as well?
Yeah, yeah. So we, we came off Road America
(11:07):
last track, right, which is like135 top speeds, lot of straights
and like 3 minute lap times, let's say.
And then now jumping into Lime Rock, we're doing 56 second lap
times and very technical and very taxing on your body.
Like imagine a lap is a minute and you're in a 25 minute Sprint
(11:31):
and you can't really get any time to breathe.
Like you're in a turn every minute.
Like it's so this one basically is like all the boys are getting
like arm pump, like we're comingoff actually physically tired.
But again, this one isn't necessarily super high speeds.
We're doing about 125 down the straight, but it's so technical
(11:52):
and you're just kind of like, you know, how do you word like
you're tense and you're focused the whole time?
Yeah, just a straight up forearmworkout.
That's great. Well, especially dude, I'm
watching it on the live stream up here.
The rush cars are getting major air coming over that hill.
Is that not so scaring the life out of you?
(12:12):
OK, so it's my second year to race here.
But yes, the first time I ever did it, it was definitely, you
know, like gnarly. But this year it feels sick,
dude. For for The Drifters out there,
it feels like a clutch kick. So for example, like turn 5, you
come up the face of five, the front end gets light.
So basically you you have to steer in the direction you want
to go. Like the worst fear is to be
(12:34):
counter steering, land on the front wheel and then obviously
lose it. But you get this like sensation
of a clutch kick because when the rear wheels come off the
ground, it's just like free engine.
So you're just like, you know, it's like.
You hear some of them hit limiter and stuff.
It's so. Cool.
Some of us are coming up. It's sick, dude.
(12:55):
So yeah, I really enjoy it. The going into that turn is
really difficult. Like you carry so much speed and
you're just staring at a wall. But then and there's a face.
How? Fast are you going, you think?
Well, there we're probably goingabout 909095.
Damn, it's nuts. That's over.
We're like. Mid to top of 4th gear.
(13:15):
And that's like a probably A2 story ish drop like that's a.
Steep hill, yeah. So when we come up five, we come
up five and there's like that kink or turn, I should say it, 6
going to the bridge, down 7 and down seven.
Yeah, we're going 4th gear, clicking up to 5th gear and 6th
gear will get us to about 125 down the street.
(13:36):
So we're probably doing 90 to 100 through 7 down that big
hill. Yeah, it's sick.
Oh my God. All right, well, I don't know if
you know this, but I I figured this out yesterday.
Literally, Lime Rock is the onlymajor racetrack in North America
that still runs the original layout.
(13:56):
Whoa. So as far as the heritage of a
race track and stuff like that, do you feel that's, I guess good
to stand on or should there be like different changes to this
track or do you think it's good where it's at and should grid
life stay here? Yeah, I mean, a few things about
(14:18):
Lime Rock that I learned this weekend was like, Cerise told me
that there's a flagger in five. So at the face that we talked
about where the Rev limiter getsfreaked out.
So there's a corner worker therewho has been there since the
tracks started at that corner. There is a human that is still
here to this day that was there at the very first race of this
(14:40):
whole place. So there's definitely, to your
point, a lot of heritage, a lot of like value that's just kept
here. And then, you know, Blair from
Rush Auto Works, he was telling me that some of the larger Rd.
racing series are not here anymore.
So I think this is more like, you know, like a like a sacred
ground that they're just going to keep the same forever.
(15:02):
That's kind of what I was thinking.
I I didn't know that. I didn't know that most race
tracks even change their layout.Well, so think about it right?
Like if a racetrack gets a contract with a big racing
series, then you know, maybe they expand a parking lot or
they change some of the some of the more dangerous things about
the racetrack, right? Like a lot of changes are
(15:24):
implemented by the drivers doingthings on the racetrack, right?
Like fair. So with Lime Rock, I think it's
slow enough and also gnarly enough that it's just a perfect
technical high speed track. Do you think the fact that it's
so short, like lengthwise, really puts a damper in the
(15:45):
ability to like for positions toactually change?
Because it seems like everyone'sjust a single file line.
It's like hard to, you know. In a rush car, it's, you know,
it's like turn 1234, that whole complex of one to four kind of
feels like karting, right? Like it's it's a very tight,
slower technical. You've got to really like run
(16:06):
your roll speed to get a good speed out of a turn.
So I imagine in a full size car,two or three wide, I mean the
tracks, it's done, you know whatI mean?
So like, so yeah, it's a small track and I think the smaller
Rush cars complement it well. And I can see how some of the
faster, larger cars don't reallyvibe here.
(16:27):
So like the as far as how long the track actually is, not
necessarily the width, but like how long it is, it's very short.
You you said like mid 52nd what we're doing.
Yeah. Does that part not affect?
What do you mean? Would a?
Would a. Longer track, say somewhere like
Rd. America for example is very long
and you have multiple opportunities in one lap to make
(16:49):
a pass. 100% yeah. And like Rd.
America, for example, like there's a lot of straights, you
know, so you get the like, like a, like a, like a, like a GLTC
car out here has time to pick upspeed and go 17180 down the
straight, you know, So it's likeon the smaller, tighter tracks,
(17:11):
they just can't let the car likering out as much.
Does that make sense? Yeah, I can so.
So like, yeah, like larger tracks compliment gnarlier
racing. Yeah.
So I'm. I'm a, I'm a drifter trying to
understand Rd. racing. So Oh my God, it's kind of.
Yeah, I don't know if I'm even making much sense, but.
Yeah, you're still in the the the bridge, but yeah.
(17:32):
Me and TJ, when we came out, we ran 50, like mid 50 sevens.
So basically, you know, from start to finish we're getting
lap times and we go out, we get our lap time, we get our data,
we try to study our data to better our lap time.
And truthfully it's just like how much time can you cut?
How much better can you make your own laps?
And then you do qualifying and then you get put in your
(17:53):
position and that's where you really fall into about the speed
and pace of your class, obviously.
And then from there, it's about like, how can you race and how
can you have that racing etiquette to pass in certain
sections or, you know, be patient in certain sections to
get a better run out at the exit.
You can see specifically where like you should be passing in
(18:14):
the data. Yeah, 100%, yeah.
I mean, we compare data like ourteam with the rapscallion team.
We compare data to say our breaking timing, our throttle,
like our line, and we throw all the teammates data together and
they overlay it on a map and we basically, you know, let's say
we have Blair on our team, BlairHosey from Rush Auto works and
(18:35):
he's faster than us. So we can see how to be faster
and we have to go out and apply it.
That's cool. So you can literally like
overlay his lap on top of yours and like, see that?
Oh my God. And then it's like you braked
here, he break there. So when you get to this section,
like count to 1 and then break. And sometimes you're just like
you're nervous bro. It's crazy, you know?
(18:57):
At that point, your heart's racing.
You don't know what an actual second is, 100.
Percent, yeah. And you kind of fall into these
habits. That's what we talked a lot
about this race weekend was like, you know, you go out for
practice 123 and kind of like wherever you start to throw your
habits, you end up keeping some time.
So trying to break those habits or start with good habits is the
goal, you know? That's fair.
(19:17):
That's fair. So what I guess what specific
data are you guys using the mostor like I guess benefits you the
most to gain that correct line? Probably like GPS, I mean
obviously like GPS, brake and throttle.
So the car is positioning, so like it will literally show us,
you know, like feet, like 1 feet, like 1 foot 2345.
(19:40):
So like if Blair's on the outside and we're on the inside
or something, we can see that. So just car position where we're
braking, how much brake we're braking.
You should see these graphs. I think I just.
Want to come down there and check it out?
Yeah, you should let like get some footage to throw over this
so they can see like the brake trace, the throttle trace, like
it's worth it. All right.
Do do you think you could we could use any of that stuff in
(20:01):
drifting specifically? Or is most of that just Rd.
Racing specific? No, I think that some of the top
teams absolutely look at the same data.
Like, you know, it's like sayinglike, hey Nate, in turn 2, we
want you to be on throttle here because if you don't apply
enough throttle, then the gearing we're putting in the car
isn't working, you know, So in drifting, if you're pedaling a
(20:23):
certain gear, you're not using the whole gear.
So for some of the top teams, ofcourse, they look at throttle,
brake, steering angle, the suspension, the shot travel, you
know, like the pitch of the car.I just think that's more of what
pro Drifters are doing. But they're not necessarily like
using that for the sports results.
Like I don't think Formula Driftis looking at that info.
(20:45):
Oh. OK, I see.
That makes sense. Yeah.
Do you think that would benefit Formula Drift at all?
Because like, obviously you get the Wally system and with Race
Data Labs doing the little thingthat goes on top.
Yeah. For Drift masters and da, da,
da, da. Yeah.
But like, what is that? Is that what you mean?
Like that type of stuff. Well, in in Rd. racing, we get
(21:08):
lap times, you know, we get a physical result of our actual
timing. So it's like there is hard data.
So if I want to go from A579 to A572, I can find a 10th and a
tenth and a tenth in these threespots.
And if I go out as an athlete and I actually gain that 10th
and then gain that 10th and thengain that 10th, I'm going to get
that result. Where in drifting it's judged,
(21:29):
man. It's just like.
You don't know that's what I'm saying.
Like do you think FD specifically could benefit from
using more detailed data like that for judging?
I mean, I don't think I, I dude,it's so tough.
I'm in such a, I'm in such a like weird position with like
competitive drifting. It's like, of course, they could
absolutely use like real data, but it would take away from the
(21:51):
judges. Like then there really wouldn't
be judges, right? And then that changes the entire
sport. And then what does that look
like? And why would we do that?
And like, there's so much to be said about the judging of
Formula Drift. I get that everyone wants to
compare it to drift masters and even NASCAR and stuff like that
like Brandon did and the last podcast I posted.
(22:11):
And it's just it's it's hard to do that because it's two it's
three different things or so tough.
Whatever the hell, man it's. Like drifting is a super rad
spectacle and that's the way they want it to be.
And the calls sometimes don't make sense, but they do to the
judges. And we just got to figure that
out, you know? You think that keeps people from
joining FD? Like does it keep you from going
(22:33):
back? Well, no, no, I would say no,
but I would say like, you know, from from this road racing world
that I'm learning, you know, you've got investors and
sponsors and let's say families.And I mean, you've got people
that are willing to bet on the data like this kid is fast.
Hey, dude, go out, run some lapsfor me.
(22:55):
See you guys, You want to buy this package?
Like this is a fast athlete. I always compare it to
motocross, right? It's like motocross is like Rd.
racing, but rad. You know, it's like the dudes
are fucking jumping their style sick, but they're getting lap
times and if the kids not fast kids not going to get a ride,
you know, so sponsors are easierto look at that and say, whoa,
(23:18):
I'm investing in a fast athlete.And I think that that absolutely
helps grow a sport wherein drifting.
It's like, whoa, I'm investing in your story or your style or
your brand. You know, it's like winning
Formula Drift may not result in a new sponsorship.
That is very true, I wish more people said that.
(23:39):
But your brand or your style could.
Is it so from an outsider perspective, you honestly been
leaning a little more into the rush stuff?
Is this kind of why do you feel it's going to provide in the end
a more beneficial return and notjust you, but like?
Well, I'm hard on. So two things, right?
I'm on a wave of I got a call todo a commercial.
(24:04):
So I went to a Sunoco commercialshoot with my GR86.
So like my accelerator radio carwas finishing.
So me and accelerator built a car that was wrapping up and
done. I got a call from Crispy in
Dallas. He called me to come out and get
some drifting shots in a Sunoco commercial.
And with that, there was multiple cars and teams out
there for the shoot because it was like this compilation of
(24:26):
what all Sunoco does. And I just happened to look over
to Rush car and I'm like, look at this big kid go Kart And they
were like, well, hop in it. And then I went fast.
And then basically there was like a sponsor that was like,
whoa, cool, this kids cool. And I think he should try to
drive rush. And so I had somebody who
believed in me and I had a new opportunity to try a form of
(24:48):
racing that I may not have ever signed myself up for.
So I look kind of felt like I unlocked the door and walked
through a door that I never would have been in.
And it's been the most like eye opening and challenging year
because it's just a super different B.
There's a lot of disciplines that are teaching me from Rd.
racing back to drifting. And to be truthful, it's making
(25:12):
me miss drifting a little bit, you know, So it's, it's really
blending all these cool feelings.
Well, so OK, then next year is you still going to be
disinvested in the rush? I don't know, man, these type of
programs, like I said, right, like AI need to go faster.
Like right now I'm about top eight in the championship.
And it's like if you're not a fast dude, then the sponsors
(25:34):
move on, you know? And by fast, I mean whatever,
right, Whatever your expectationwith them is.
But for us, we really wanted to finish top five in the
championship and we're on our way, but we only have two more
races we have today and then Laguna.
So, but yeah, no, I mean, I likeI said, I've been able to drift
less because I've been travelling so much to grid life
(25:55):
rush racing and do the amount oftime you're getting in a rush
car. I mean, we had four practice
sessions on Thursday. We have practices and two races
on Friday and two races today like on Saturday.
So we are in these cars and these are 25 minute sprints.
Like sorry, 1525 dude, it's gnarly.
So just be. Driving that I mean.
You're fully focused trying to run consistent lap times for 20
(26:18):
minutes straight. Like it feels so cool, man,
coming from a 32nd drift run, right?
Like so anyways, it's just been a really cool year to try
something new. And I don't feel like it's going
to be a forever thing. It's just more like, hey man, I
had an opportunity to do something that I never would
have done. Someone believed in me.
(26:39):
I'm doing it. I'm doing pretty well.
We're like, bumping and grindingand causing chaos and we're
going to the steward's office and we're learning all about
race etiquette and it's been a cool journey.
Yeah. Well, the reason I ask is
because I'm sure there's a lot of people out there watching
this stuff and like that. They're pretty intrigued.
I mean, you got Josiah working on him now.
Man, you know all I want to say.Freaking Swan called me like a
(27:02):
vibe God or something, which don't don't repeat that.
But like, you know, essentially I had the opportunity with
Sunoco to call some of my friends, right?
So like when we wanted to expandour program a bit, I just called
some really good people and tried to expand the program.
And so yeah, I feel like it was really cool to watch certain
guys come in and try the car outand then stick with it or not.
(27:25):
But like, you know, we definitely boosted sales for
Rush and we definitely brought eyeballs to Drifters doing other
things other than just drifting.And you know, it's cool because
seriously, man, like The Drifters going Rd. racing tend
to be fast because we can live on the edge, man.
Like the car steps out and we floor it like that's what we do.
(27:47):
We do a lot this weekend. You know, so it's like we have,
we Got Talent, man. Drifters Got Talent.
That's cool. Hey, yeah, I know there's plenty
of people asking. I'm sure you get asked even
here, right? Like people come up to you, ask
questions about it. How much does it cost for a
round? Like what are what are some of
those questions you're going through with these people?
Yeah, yeah. So it all depends on how you
want to run it, right? So like if you're a drifter and
(28:08):
you want to buy a Rush car and then run it in your trailer and
like operate it yourself, they quote around $110.00 an hour to
operate them, right? So for example, we get one set
of tires, so we run from practice through all the way
through the races on one set of tires.
We toss 3 to 5 gallons of fuel in the thing every session and
(28:29):
that's it. It's pretty chill, man.
The cars are, I think coming offthe production line right now,
sub 50 grand. So it's like you can buy a spec,
you know, production prototype wheel to wheel race car, paddle
shifting Gixxer 12,500 RPM behind your head and you're just
like going 125 miles an hour down the street looking over at
(28:52):
TJ Hunt. Like what up, dude?
I'm. Gonna outbreak you?
Oh well that's so. How does someone get into it
though? Like how do you have to get a
license for it I assume? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So like how he, they even did itwith myself is like, you know,
obviously you get a car and you can go to like your local like
NASA or your local SCC as and you basically put in time.
(29:13):
I mean, I think man, don't quoteme, but you can do it within I
think 2:00 to 3:00 weekends of racing at your local, you know,
series or your local like licensing series because you're
putting in like 4 races a weekend, you know, so you have 8
races that equal these results. OK, cool.
He can get his license. So really, we did it pretty
(29:33):
quickly. Sweet.
OK. So is there any other extra cost
kind of that comes to that otherthan just your, you know, your
consumables, you maintaining thecar da, da, da, da?
Like is there a licensing fee ora fee to even be in the pro like
that competition? Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's the same.
It's the same as like most series, right?
Or or even drifting, right. You just pay entry.
Yeah, you. We pay an entry fee to be here
(29:54):
and we race. OK.
I didn't know if it was like some like petitioning type
thing, like you got to be vettedor whatever.
No man, I think we've had a class of 45 plus almost 50 rush
cars before. No shit.
That's a lot. So I don't think they've capped
us yet, you know, So it's like I.
Keep pushing it. Yeah, You know, and The thing is
with Rush, it was like, you know, Blair created the Rush car
(30:19):
and he was a karting champion. So he's going from karting.
And let's say maybe they didn't go to Formula Three, you know,
because the price point between karting and like getting in a
real Formula car is so high thatthe Rush is a step between that.
So you can basically go from karting to get in a real wheel
to wheel car before you may go to like a super expensive
program. Do do you know like the back
(30:41):
story of how the idea even came for the rush car like.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Other than that, like the
obviously the inspiration came from that, but were they just in
a garage? Like I think we can make this
work. Yeah, Blair, hopefully I don't
like mess this up here for you, but yeah, so Blair and his dad,
so Blair Hosey, you know, he's he's he's karting, right?
(31:03):
He's fast, He's he's doing nads,super nads in Vegas, which is
like some crazy series. And like he's basically just
walking his way all the way through karting and he's a
champion. And so from there, essentially
the round story I heard was likeinstead of doing a Formula three
season, right? Because you know, it's like from
there's all sorts of series, butlike Formula 3-4 or 321, right?
(31:27):
Like going up to a Formula One type drive, even getting into
like a Formula three program. They literally invested in their
own like engineering of their own car and started a factory
for the cost of like what would be one season of a Formula Three
race. So it's like instead of taking
Blair further in his career, they paused him and created
(31:51):
something that was missing in the market and blended like a
grassroots wheel to wheel car that was affordable to the kids
that come from karting that don't have the big money.
Dude gave up his career at the moment right?
That is crazy. Now he's still out here 23 years
old like this, kids. 23 some asstoo he.
Qualied 1P1 in the race, 1P2 or P1IN race 2.
(32:15):
He's on one man, he's winning. Dude that's insane Oh my God.
It'd be like saying someone built a spec drifting series
from the pro AM or from grassroots to pro AM.
I can see that. That's that's what it is, right?
If you're karting then you go torush, then you move up.
It's like a like hot pits. Hot Pits is like the right below
(32:35):
prospect. Yeah, the only difference is
just they literally created a series.
True, that's true. Damn, that thing's cool.
Yeah. Yeah, no, but so I guess I'll
wait for this. Smells good.
(32:58):
Yeah, it does. You think it's got Sunoco?
Doubt it actually. Of course it does.
It probably. Oh well, there's many Sunoco gas
stations around here. It probably does.
Dude, yeah, there's a ton on theEast Coast.
No, but what I wanted to ask. So they obviously started.
TJ mentioned this in his episodeThe New Turboed Ones.
(33:20):
Yeah, the XS. When are those supposed to be
coming? Man, bit of a, you know, bit of
a turning point here, right? Like so there was an incident
where Blair's dad had passed away not but a few months ago.
So they're going through some things internally that I think
the X may take more time or or maybe they shifted their focus
(33:41):
so. Sorry for your loss, by the way.
Yeah. So yeah, they do have a turbo
diversion, but it's a bit delayed.
That's OK. So don't know much about it.
Wait, that's exciting to to hearabout that.
What? What was your?
Did you get the drive 1 though? No, so the XS are like, you
know, you want to put in enough time.
They're going to be on slicks basically.
(34:01):
We need to be a little bit, there's going to be a, there's
going to be like a, how do I word that?
Like you need to be good enough to be in an X.
The XS are gnarly. You're going to have to prove
yourself to be in an X. I'm sure they would be a lot
easier at rotating. Yeah, I mean the.
Slicks, the speed, they're 300. It's like we are about 150
(34:23):
horsepower and that is 300 horsepower in the same car with
better arrow and slicks. So is it wider at all?
It does have a wider track with.It has a little bit of a wider
track with it had which some of this may still get implemented
in the rush Sr. but it had like DRS.
So basically it had arrow options where you know you'd
(34:44):
have less drag or more drag, andit had push to pass which would
use the wastegate differently togive you more boost.
Yeah, so. You could you have like a turbo
button, you know, you get like more boost, but then you also
have your DRS, which gives you better arrow.
So you'd have like a certain percentage of time in a race,
kind of like a video game. You can use it however you want
throughout the race and that sounds.
(35:05):
Fun is implemented into the the computer or the car to like
where you can't flip the switch until that section of the track
or whatever. So let's say you get so insane,
you get like one minute of push to pass or one minute of of what
does he call it? Like the the extra power?
I forget what I just called that.
What did I call that? The DRS, the turbo button, oh
(35:27):
push to pass. Yeah, the push to pass.
Sorry, sorry. Yeah, basically the push to pass
takes your turbo from let's say 8 lbs to like 10 lbs.
That's. A That's a good difference on
that little thing. Yeah, don't quote me.
I mean, I Blair's going to know I'm a little bit off on all
those details, but like, it's basically something like that.
Just correct them in the comments or something, That
would be great. Well obviously you said you were
(35:48):
missing drifting and stuff. So what?
What's the plan to bring that back into your life and
especially balance in the family?
Yeah, I'm trying to find that right now.
You know what I mean? Like my son's three, we did a
lot of travelling this year, which has been awesome.
And essentially I'm just, I'm, I'm missing drifting because I'm
doing so much rush racing and even, you know, even when you're
(36:11):
out here grid life, it makes thedrifting feel so like quick, you
know, like you can get 2 to 4 to6 laps in a drift car and your
tires are gone and the session'sover, you know, and then you're
doing 420 minutes sprints in a day in a rush car.
And so like, yeah, I'm, I'm missing drifting, which is
awesome. And I've been doing grassroots
(36:32):
tours for now going on about five years.
And I feel this urge to try and create something new in my
program, but I. Something new or?
Just not. Yeah, I say new, but like
something different. I'm trying to find it.
Dawson. I don't know yet.
What like car wise or you just like no events you go through
(36:53):
and the way you run the program?It's like I want to find
something that feels fresh for me, you know?
I got you, I got you. Well, obviously like the
merchant stuff isn't here too. So like is how is the business
side of things going? Is that still growing and doing
well and everything? Yeah, the print house.
Yeah. So for those who don't know, I
print T-shirts, right? That's kind of like how I make
(37:14):
it happen and feed my family. I was a pressman when I was
younger and I could literally print T-shirts Monday through
Thursday. I could hop on the car on Friday
and get to a racetrack on Saturday, Sunday and do it all
over again. So like, I found this kind of
love to create and this love to like give to our industry in a
certain way. And yeah, it's been going great,
man. The print house is still
(37:34):
growing. We got awesome people.
We got reoccurring clients. I've been running that thing
since 2017. And just proud of the whole team
back home. And like, I love, I love
creating, you know, and I think that's kind of my pattern.
It's like, dude, if I do the same thing for five years, I
just kind of want to do something different.
To get the itch again. You know, it's just like it's
(37:55):
like I got to find maybe I'll goeither back to like super
grassroots events, like go back into just like some Oklahoma,
like just some real low key. Stuff so we'll see an SR240 come
out of the shop at some point and you'll be at 300 horsepower
grassroots car yeah I. Mean, I don't know, you know, I
I really don't know. I'd love to go back to pro spec
(38:16):
and build my way back to pro Like I got a lot going on up
here, man. I got to figure it out.
Yeah, which? One are you leaning more
towards? Well.
Like if you could, I want to compete.
I want to compete. I feel like it's a it's another,
it's about time that I step backinto competition, you know,
because you get this like, I don't know the word validity for
yourself and your brand where it's like, Yo, Nate can really
(38:38):
drift, man. Like he can.
He wins races like and it's likeI haven't been in a drifting
competition in quite some time. So I definitely miss competing.
Is it just the edge or like the the pace of it or just the fact
of winning? Well, just like I'm watching all
the boys going out and like putting on awesome shows and
they're just willing to fully ride off their cars and like
(39:00):
stick the line and you ride doorto door.
And I miss that dude. I need to do that.
How would you do it differently now if you were to build a
program right now? I'm a whole different human now,
man. Like when I was in pro, from
what was it like 13 or 14 to 17,like I was in my head.
I didn't know business. I was not as good of a driver as
(39:22):
I am today. I was nervous.
I've worked so much on just likemy consciousness, you know, when
it comes to like being in the moment and not getting super
nervous about things. And it's cool.
I'm excited to like, jump back into some pressured moments.
So Nate Hamilton, FD 2026, right?
Yeah, yeah. We're going to throw a petition
(39:44):
in. We'll see what happens.
Let me back. Let me.
In would you? Would it be in the Gori assume?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, in a perfect world,
dude, like obviously we'd we'd find a ride.
Like, you know, the same way this road racing stuff has
taught me, like, you know, you can join a team, right?
Like the team has a lot of the data, a lot of the math.
(40:04):
Like obviously any team in pro or pro spec has been around
those race tracks more than I have in the last four to five
years, right. So like some of that stuff will
help you expedite your results. Like it'd be great to do an
arrive and drive for for drifting.
No way, but wouldn't that exclude the GR?
(40:25):
Or would you just have someone take care of it?
The GR but at the same time accelerate doesn't have a pro
tire and accelerate is not pushing me to GoPro.
So like you know, I can still dograss roots drifting with my
accelerate GR86 and then I coulddo an arrive and drive in pro
Pro spec. RTR hit him up or OD something
(40:47):
like that. Yeah, yeah.
You know, I mean sweet. I love it, dude.
Well, I assume are you going to be at Laguna?
Yeah. We're going to go to Laguna,
man, that'll that'll round out our rush season.
Yeah. So that'll round out rush.
So we'll figure out where we land in points overall, and we
do plan to drift that as well. So the Corkscrew was so fun last
(41:09):
year and Laguna is beautiful, you know.
That's awesome man. Well, sadly I won't be able to
make it to that one, but you're going to have to have a good
time for me. Absolutely.
Dude, I know you're. T JS rolling on me?
I'm like, do we got to go? I was about to break it off so
I'm just watching. Well cool I guess.
As far as the car and everything, is the GR still OK?
(41:32):
I know you had some issues with said kit while he's here.
Well, more than that, huh? TJ said the issues.
You blew it up. All right, listen, so T JS in my
ear, he tells me I need to driveharder.
I better put on a good show. So of course we turn it up.
He's just mangling you shit man.Yeah, no, honestly, the 86 is
(41:54):
good, dude. The engine package is sorted,
you know, we were able to get ittuned by Freddie.
We're on the link. Like everything drivetrain wise
is happy. Like I'm comfortable in that car
now. Yeah.
And we did obviously just throw on the Street Hunters kit, which
is super sweet. My boys throw on sweet liveries
with that thing. TJ supports us, which is
awesome. And that's such a fun car, man.
(42:16):
I have to say, not just because he's here, but that is a better
kit. Yeah, I didn't like the square
Fender. Oh.
Look, and I told TJ the same thing, man.
It was like, you know, when we built that car, the Pandem kit
was, you know, the vision and itwas available, right.
The street hunter stuff I think was developed a little bit later
because we turn that build on inlike 2020 or 2021 like it was a
(42:39):
bit ago, you know? Damn, it's been that long.
So I think so, I think 23 it was, it was doing things, but
like 21 and two, we were building it, you know.
So like back then we just, we ordered the Pandem kit, we got
it in and we put it on. And you know, with some of these
events, like I don't have some of the grid life events, I don't
have to drive that car as hard as I would normally like in a
(43:00):
competition setting. So that Pandem kit just stayed
on so long and it never really had a reason to come off until
obviously I start racing with TJand he's just super offended
that that kit is on the car so. It's kind of his fault when he
bullies you and then doesn't expect you to do it back and you
know, and. Then a fresh 3 hunters box shows
up at the house and it's like holy smokes man we got a sweet
(43:22):
kit and yeah we finally put it on so car looks good.
Good man. I assume like the the fitment of
it, you don't have to really do any modifications, right?
Dude, I think we go through the ringer we.
Installed that kit on the car indamn near a day.
What I mean it fit great. That's awesome.
Yeah, I I think 2 days to be precise, but like 2 full days
with two dudes. That thing was ready to go
(43:43):
drift. Is it the fiberglass one or is
it carbon? Yeah.
So it is fiberglass, but you know, the Street Hunters has an
option where you can basically request the drifting setup,
which is less layers. So it's a bit more flexible and
it's a bit lighter. So like our kit is kind of how
do you word like a version of the drift setup that they're
(44:04):
debuting. So OK, it's not as structured as
like a car, showed St. Hunter's kit.
Right, right. That's good.
So what do you know what the price difference will be in
those? I do not know.
No. OK.
They just show up. Dawson.
Yeah, we'll put TJ in a second, but.
Yeah, right. Oh, that's awesome, but.
Yeah, so for those who don't know.
So I put the Street Hunters kit on, show it to TJ.
(44:27):
He's like, holy smokes, this looks awesome. 156 mile an hour
wheel speed of Rd. America.
Pop the tire, give it a ride along to some artist you know
And like the thing. The tire explodes, the rear end
flies off fresh livery. Show back up to the paddock and
he's like. Yeah.
They're. Like don't look, just turn away.
(44:49):
He's like, are you? Kidding me?
And I'm like you said, you were sponsoring me, dude.
This is what you get. That's right.
Oh, that's great, man. Yeah.
Good times. Awesome.
Well. I love this, did you have to do
anything different for the livery on that?
Obviously you made a new livery,but was it weird shaping it for
that kit? Well, you know, really I just
followed my intuition on this livery and I did like 90s
(45:12):
motocross jersey inspired livery.
So like think about a super hot summer motocross.
You know, the boys are like riding super hard in the
outdoors. They're wearing these bright
jerseys and like that was my vibe.
I knew I was coming to grid lifeor in the peak of summer.
It's just like, I wanted to justthrow back that like athlete
motocross 90s. You know, I get it.
(45:36):
That's right. It was loud.
That's right. That's what we did.
Well, cool, man. Other than Grid life, what else
you got this year? Just to close it out.
Yeah, we're going to round out grid life.
You know, we're doing APEX September 7th.
So basically APEX is like a roadracing world in Dallas.
So they have their own events and then through the road racing
that we've been doing, we were able to tackle in drifting now.
(45:58):
So it's like Apex X144X, Grip Royal, Sky Grip Royal.
He really helps with all the operations.
Max first as well with the localcommunity and like the outreach.
And then yeah, so we're going tohave our own drift events.
So that's going to happen more and more, and that is September
7th. Actually, because I got to be in
(46:19):
Arkansas for Toge Khan. Was it the weekend after or
something? Like that you can come down,
free set up, No, no fees, we gotyou free set up, free driving.
You can show up, hang out, we'llwork it out.
All right, I'll catch up with you on that.
We'll we'll chat about that. This keeps happening.
If another event pops up and I'mlike fuck, I really want to go
(46:41):
to that. It's tough.
Dude, yeah, right. The FOMO factor is really out.
To our industry, there's so muchgoing on, like it's growing.
Everyone is killing it. Like there's so much to do in
the Motorsports world. It's nuts, man.
Absolutely couldn't be more thankful for the industry right
now. Yep, we're going and I'm here
for it. That's right.
Well, I guess that's all I got for me on this one.
(47:01):
Cool. Now though, I do have to ask you
the question. What is your best piece of
advice for anyone getting into drifting where you are now?
To get into drifting. Yeah, or just injured about
drifting in general. Yeah, man, just like, you know,
I keep, I kind of keep saying this, but just like take your
time, enjoy the process, try to do as much as you can on your
(47:22):
own. Don't try to rely heavily on
sponsors and just build slowly, man.
And like actually enjoy driving your car verse being cool,
because nowadays there's so manylike things to look up to and to
become. I think just trying to be
authentic to yourself and and just enjoying how you drive your
(47:42):
car will take you the furthest. I love that Cole Richards is a
good example of that. Yeah.
Like when you see people being them, you know it.
You know what I mean? And when you see people that are
like, oh, I'm going to expedite this and really become Chris
Forsberg, you also know that. And I think we all resonate the
most with just the natural humanthat's trying to be themselves,
(48:06):
you know? That's awesome.
Well, of course man, it's alwaysfantastic to have you on.
You always got good words wise, I really appreciate it.
Yeah, thank you, Dawson. I'm going to go to race four and
Grid Life and try to go from 9thplace, so hopefully 5th place.
You got it. But these boys are fast.
You got it. I don't care.
You got it. I got this.
(48:27):
You got appreciate it man, see you later.
Taking the time to the ceiling. Trust no bitch, can't catch, no
feelings. I've been taking long flights
from the baby Ibiza hit home run.
I'm a ball like Jeter. I just want 444 then I leave.
I'm a young pop star called a boy.
Justin Bieber got a little money.
If you want a teacher whole lifea movie, you can watch it in
theater.
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