Whew! One thing to scratch off my stress out list! Last Friday, I had the opportunity to test drive some race production Dodge Vipers! DaimlerChrysler/Dodge is interested in drifting, and possibly competitions, so I was there giving them inputs on the car and at the same time introducing myself as a possible driver for their competition team. The day ended up being REALLY FUN instead of a day of nervousness and me trying to prove myself. There were 2 late model Viper GTS-R race cars there, with carbon body panels, extensive chassis reinforcement, Motec engine management, race suspension and brake controls, and an engine making 525hp to the wheels. The car had an ample amount of torque available though the entire power band, and the brakes worked so well, I don’t think anything will ever compare to them in my lifetime. There were 2 engineers there – Eric and Matt. They were GREAT guys and they were really good with listening to my inputs and in turn making adjustments to the car from dampening rebound, compression, tire pressures, alignment settings, brake settings, etc. In the morning the car wasn’t set up too well, being that the car was designed for a completely different type of driving. But at the end of the day, the car was AWESOME. I was so comforable in the car… and being so well tuned, I found myself pulling off corners that I can’t do in any other car. It was a great experience. It taught me a lot about feeling what is going on with a car, and the possible reasons there are for those behaviors. It also gave me the chance to turn a non-driftable car into a drift machine! I had the time of my life… Thank you BJ, for giving me this awesome opportunity. Matt and Eric are awesome and they really know their stuff… I hope to work with them in the near future. Friday, I had a taste of what elements can come together to make a winning team.