“Initial D”-style touge in the U.S.? Yes, that’s the premise behind Drift Appalachia’s upcoming events for Kentucky and West Virginia.
The idea was sparked at another event on mountain roads in Appalachia–a hillclimb. “A friend of mine, Derek King, went to an SCCA hillclimb at Pineville [in Kentucky],” says Drift Appalachia’s Edgar Sarmiento, who also puts on Drift Indy. “Derek has been on our staff at Drift Indy for years. He said, ‘What if you take drifting to the mountains?’”
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Edgar called up Brian Eggert, co-founder of US Drift, for his thoughts. The idea of drifting on mountain roads intrigued Eggert, who’s considered one of the pioneers of drifting in the U.S. The two then connected with Erik Hubbard of Backroads of Appalachia.
“We got down to Kentucky and spent a whole day with Erik just looking at these roads and my jaw dropped,” Edgar says. “There was this emotional connection. There’s an infinite number of possibilities for motorsport to happen in these areas, from rallies to hillclimbs to touge.”
Edgar and Brian teamed up to create Drift Appalachia. In August, they held their first event in McKee, Kentucky. In early November, they put on their second event in Beckley, West Virginia.
Backroads of Appalachia helped the duo obtain the permissions from the local municipalities to close the roads. In fact, the West Virginia event was the first to take advantage of state legislation that makes it easier for promoters to use the state’s roads for motorsport.
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“Backroads of Appalachia is that bridge between us motorsport guys and that local scene–the Appalachian people and understanding what makes these counties move,” says Edgar. “It takes a whole village to make this happen.”
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Because road courses commonly lack walls and run-off, a slip-up can quickly escalate while drifting around a mountain. Drift Appalachia places a huge emphasis on safety. To race a Drift Appalachia event, you must be vetted and invited. The cars adhere to stricter safety guidelines, with roll cages required.
“There are definitely some areas where you can go off a mountain,” Brian says. “Sometimes we’re sending 10, 15 and even close to 30 cars at a time on track. We want to…
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