Spring Drift Openers
- straitdesign
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
April Easter weekend brought two Midwest drift openers. BIR Drift Series and ClubFR both kicked off the season!
With Good Friday off work and school, we hopped at the chance to visit Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) for Spring Drift Bash. This enduring track is located a couple hours north of the Twin Cities area and known for it's drag strip (NHRA championships held here) and North Star Speed Summit (formerly Proving Grounds ). The track campus has plenty of space to pit and set up a tent/RV, and also hosts CRA superbikes, and club car racing.
The Spring Drift Bash opener was a three-day event. We went on Friday and checked out the skid pad course, drifting on the main track, and night drifting on the skid pad.
The sun was bright but temps were low and it was windy. The few brave spectators were bundled up or in their cars watching. We did a little of both. Our boys had been to this track before, but only the oldest remembered, so we let them run up and down the bleachers, explore the tunnel, and jump on some tire barriers.
When we arrived after lunch there were only a handful of cars, but as the afternoon progressed more trailers started rolling in. Because of this, the night drifting was the best. With a variety of cars, tire smoke, and tandem near-misses, it was super-entertaining. As with any opener, cars are new and it's a great opportunity to shake them down before the season gets in full-swing.
We got home from BIR late and set our alarms early to take off for USAir.
Saturday hailed the ClubFR drift opener at USAir in Shawano, Wisconsin. At about 4 hours East of the Twin Cities and also 4 hours North of Chicago, this track lures drifters from the tri-state area and Canada. The track is basically a kart course that hosts club drifting and brings International competition with Final Bout. Drivers from locations as far away as Japan and Ireland can enjoy Midwest charm as they drift in farmland.
It was a picture perfect spring day on Saturday at USAir. Bright blue skies with puffy clouds, a hint of brisk wind with lots of sunshine. The atmosphere was friendly with kids, dogs, skateboarders cruising the pits, and a food truck serving up Mexican food. The parking lot and pits were filled with drift cars - plenty of friends supporting friends at the event. And it showed: the driving level at this opener was inspiring.
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