LADIES OF DRIFT
Photo courtesy of the SuiSlide Girls.
The Growing Influence Of Women In The Drifting Community.
It’s safe to say, virtually every motorsport in the United States is disproportionately dominated by the male gender. While competitive drifting is no exception, the past decade has seen a marked influx of female involvement, both in the grassroots and professional drifting realms.
Strong women influences have been seen on the artistic side of the sport, in the pits and stands, and even behind the wheels of S13s, RX7s, E36s, 350zs, and other great drift machines, as more and more ladies hit the tracks to have fun and compete.
Girls Drift Too.
We talked to Matt Haugness, the founder and event organizer at DriftCon, a nine-year-old grassroots and ProAm feeder organization running out of Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash. He said he’s definitely seeing more female drivers now than he did in the early years of DriftCon, and there’s far more women interested in drifting compared to other popular motorsports, which are almost exclusively dominated by men.
“We have a good number of active women drivers at our local events,” Haugness said. “There is this really fun-to-watch team that goes by the name SuiSlide Girls [@suislide_girls_drift], and a few years ago, we had a female Canadian stunt driver [@zeedrives] drifting her 350z successfully at multiple events.”
Photo courtesy of Nadine Hsu/Drifting Pretty.
Advocating for Female Drivers in Drifting and Other Motorsports.
Thanks, in large part, to a few ambitious ladies with a radical passion for drifting, an organization known as Drifting Pretty was formed in 2003. The idea was to ‘normalize’ the acceptance of women drivers in motorsports, including at the drift tracks.
According to Nadine Hsu, founder and president of Drifting Pretty, she was one of only two women in the United States on the drift tracks in 2003.
“I was always praised by other women for my efforts to go drifting, but when it came to themselves, they always made up an excuse as to why ‘they’ weren't drifting,” Hsu recalled. “Usually it was because they didn't have any other girlfriends doing it, or the fact that it was a male dominated motorsport, and it was not something very welcoming in their eyes.”
After receiving upwards of a hundred of these excuses from other women, Hsu decided to invite them all into a room to talk about racing. “I longed to see more women on the track and thought that if I was able to brave the racetrack, they could too, alongside one another,” she added.
In December 2003, the group convened and forged a plan and a schedule of drifting events they could all drive together. Classroom sessions were added to the schedule as well, where topics such as racing technique, car setup, and general auto mechanics were covered.
The Drifting Pretty driving crew remained in full operation between 2003 and 2010, with a consistent schedule of eight events annually.
“Over the years, 80 women came in and started their racing passion with us,” Hsu said. “We helped nurture a welcoming environment into the motorsports they wanted to pursue.”
Later, the organization started hosting workshops for women, showcasing the experiences of women drivers in grassroots and pro racing. The goal was to inspire participants, “to pursue their own ‘outside the box’ passions (not just in racing),” Hsu said.
In 2020, Hsu also began hosting the Drifting Pretty Podcast, featuring female guests from inside and outside the Drifting Pretty organization sharing stories of struggles and triumphs in racing.
Hsu recalled how one guest challenged listeners to ‘start before you’re ready’ when pursuing goals, dreams and passions. Another Drifting Pretty member and champion Jiu Jitsu fighter, Liz Media, told Hsu about a personal exercise she goes through after doing activities that push the envelope.
“[She] always asked herself, ‘Did you die? No!” the podcast host said. According to Hsu, the question and answer would keep everything in perspective for Media, because, “at the end of the day, the most intimidating things in life weren't death defying...they were, at worst, merely mentally scary.”
Photo courtesy of Kelsey Rowlings.
Female Drifters in the Professional Circuit.
Hsu’s words pay homage to an entire universe of ladies that love doing activities traditionally only attempted by men classified as thrill seekers or daredevils - including pro drifting. Today, we can celebrate some remarkable young women drifters around the world who are giving their male opponents a serious run for their money.
To mention only a few, the U.S. Formula DRIFT circuits currently boast only three female drivers with FD licenses. Two of these formidable women are actively putting the hammer down alongside their male counterparts in recent FD PROSPEC seasons.
Kelsey Rowlings has been driving for FD since 2015. In her rookie year, Rowlings drove the same SR powered S14 that carried her up the ranks of the ProAm circuit, earning her a well-deserved slot in the Top 16 that year. In 2016, Rowlings upgraded to her current ride, a supercharged S14, powered by a 700hp Ford 5.0 engine, and will be competing with the same car during the 2022 season.
Photo courtesy of Kelsey Rowlings.
“I’d like to build a whole new car soon, and we may need to for 2023 because of some new rules that will go into effect next year, but we still have some things to figure out before we decide what direction we are going in,” Rowlings shared.
We also asked what it’s like to be one of only a few pro-level female drivers. “I’ve never really been intimidated by the fact it is a male dominated sport. Competition, in general, can be intimidating, but not because of who I’m up against, as I tend to be up against myself more than anyone else,” Rowlings stated. “When you’re behind the wheel and on track with other cars, you don’t really notice what the other drivers may look like. My focus is on my driving, the track, and the other car(s) I’m on track with.”
The sister of FD PRO driver, Branden Sorensen, driver Amanda Sorensen is no stranger to competing against the male gender on a track. She cut her teeth (almost literally) at the BMX track very early in life, but after getting behind the wheel of a go kart at the age of nine, Sorensen never looked back. She earned multiple titles in various go kart circuits, then started drifting in 2018, earning a slot on a ProAm series podium and her FD PRO license in 2019.
Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention Hiromi Kajikuma Obata, the female Japanese drifting sensation with the Toyota Altezza, who competed in FD U.S., FD Asia, and D1 Grand Prix events prior to her retirement.
And, it’s not an exaggeration to say there are more female drifters headed up the ranks! Every social media platform is blowing up with clips of ladies admirably throwing it down at tracks all over the world.
In fact, we predict we’ll all be seeing more from the likes of female drifters such as Norwegian Drift PRO2 driver Hunter Taylor [@huntertaylor760], U.S. stunt, drift, and rally driver Collete Davis [@colletedavis], New Zealand’s Chevenne Hassan [@hass_nz], and Candice Lancaster [@culligans13] from North Carolina, along with many other up-and-coming female drifters.
Lancaster confirmed Hsu’s earlier comments about building confidence. “I was introduced to drifting through FD, but it’s such a high level of competition that it didn’t really occur to me that ‘I’ could do it,” she said. “I got invited to a grassroots event, rode with some really skilled drivers in a tandem train, and knew I needed to buy a drift car.”
According to Lancaster, her drifting skills are still evolving. “There are a ton of techniques and aspects of drifting that I still haven’t learned. Everything I’ve learned, good and bad, has been from the community around drifting,” she said, adding that she learns best when she’s having fun and isn’t pressured. Additionally, Lancaster said she uses a simulator to attempt challenging techniques and, “build muscle memory and in-car confidence.”
Like many aspiring drifters, Lancaster also loves driving with friends and seeing the beginners, “nail the basics.” She’s working on more aggressive entries, learning to follow, and remembering drifting is supposed to be fun.
“I started driving because it’s fun and I lost sight of that for a while,” Lancaster concluded.
Photo courtesy of RAD Industries.
Other Female Roles In Drifting.
Of course, driving a drift car isn’t the only way women are influencing the drifting motorsport.
In the Round 1: February 2022 Drift Enthusiast Magazine issue, we featured Renee’ Burkett, who serves as a vital member of pro driver RAD Dan Burkett’s drift team. Renee’, who is also Dan’s wife of 12 years, holds the stressful role of spotting him during FD practices and battles. As Renee’ will tell anyone, it was all Dan’s idea, and we know the driver wouldn’t have it any other way.
Photo courtesy of Michael Essa.
And Burkett isn’t the only female family member with a key role on a pro drift team. Frederic Aasbo’s partner, Hunter Taylor, has a significant role on his team (when she’s not competing herself), and pro FD drivers such as Chelsea DeNofa, Michael Essa, Kyle Mohan, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis, Taylor Hull, and several others are finding creative ways to infuse and showcase talents of mothers, wives, and daughters in many aspects of their professional drifting journey.
You’ll also find a number of women-filled roles in the pro drifting circuit. For example, photographers Victoria Goeckle and Caitlin Ting are often at pro events documenting activities on a camera, FD employs a number of female staff members, and Simona Veizi works in the pits with the other mechanics on pro driver Federico Scheriffo’s team.
If you’re into FD - even the slightest bit - you know about the resident female on-track reporter that covers pro Formula D competitions. Laurette Nicoll’s primary role is to capture, interview and showcase what’s going on trackside in the moment, and bring the driver voices to spectators during real-time battles.
We were able to catch up with Nicoll shortly after FD’s 2022 season opener in Long Beach, Calif. earlier this month, and she shared her story. According to the reporter, she was offered a sideline position during the same Long Beach event in 2015. A potential extension during the season’s finale’ at Irwindale Speedway was also on the line if she performed well.
“My team (Jeff Harper and Tim Waldbauer) brought me in from X Games and we were able to, for the first time ever, give FD fans a behind-the-scenes look at what actually happens during the competition time outs and the hustle, heart, and stress that drivers and teams experience,” Nicoll recalled.
“Ryan Tuerck, in his brand-new, white driver’s suit, was sprinting around his car, diving under it, and trying to fix the differential.The crowd was 100% behind him, but he didn’t make the five, and the energy surrounding the New Hampshire driver in the city of Long Beach was palpable,” said Nicoll. “Tuerck made a heroic effort and Ryan Sage made me the sideline reporter for the season.”
Photo courtesy of Laurette Nicholl.
Nicoll admits she’s tried her hand behind the wheel and, “would love to have more days drifting and get better at it.” She also called out the FD drivers as her favorite part of reporting for the organization.
“The FD drivers are some of the best human beings on the planet,” said Nicoll. “Over the years, we’ve been through the trenches together and I’ve earned their trust, so in the moments we have together (when I’m interviewing them), their responses are genuine, authentic and real.”
Calling All The Ladies Of Drift.
Nicoll also told us she’d love to see the number of female drivers, mechanics and key personnel (e.g., ProAm promoters, spotters, broadcast, media, FD staff, etc.) within the drift community continue to rise.
“Right now, I feel we have some incredible women that are paving the way for the future,” Nicoll stated. “With so many intelligent, hard-working and dedicated FD staff members at the helm of the ship, it sets a precedent to welcome dedicated, bright and enthusiastic women to step into the sport.”
Along this line, the proportion of lady spectators to men in the stands at both the pro and grassroots levels has also been growing by leaps and bounds. This, of course, will keep inspiring even more Drift Dolls to embrace the drifting motorsport over time in all parts of the world.
"The interest of women in drifting has grown over the years and I think it might have something to do with the younger crowd being more inclusive," Haugness added. "I'd estimate that there’s about a 60/40 split here in Seattle of male-to-female spectators, which I think may be higher than many other areas."
And with organizations like Drifting Pretty still going strong (as they move into season two of their podcast soon), it’s only a matter of time before we see more influential ladies adding value to the drifting motorsport.
“We're celebrating 19 years of Drifting Pretty!” Hsu said, adding, “My quote would be to ‘live life with no regrets’, because I want to leave a legacy for my four daughters to be proud of and inspired by.”
Nicoll summed it all up with an invitation to get involved. “There's more space for women in drifting. Just because someone is currently holding a position within the community, doesn't mean that space isn't available. We'll increase the capacity.”
So, ladies! Let’s do this. Follow us here at Drift Enthusiast Magazine and @driftenthusiastmag for hints on where/how to get more deeply involved in the drifting motorsport. In the meantime, if you’re a female drift artist, photographer, announcer, crew member, active family member, or anything else super cool, give us a shout. We’d love to visit with you and maybe even feature you and/or your work in an upcoming issue.
