BensonHsu.com

Back from the track… What a day! Towing can be very frustrating but it becomes great if you come to terms with the slow pace and just enjoy the drive.

I was nervous at the beginning of the day because I was apprehensive about how my car would do and how I would do, since it’s been almost 3 years.  I actually started to warm up pretty quickly. After two laps I was ready to start having fun. With every lap, I was learning to let go of my apprehensions a little more and more.

At the end of the day I felt myself letting go almost completely and I was willing to treat my car like my b*** instead of this precious car i needed to take care of.  I ended the day with my front bumper destroyed and chunks missing from the rear bumper.

This may have been the first time I’ve ever destroyed something on my car and was genuinely happy (vs. mad at myself for having to now fix it).  I remember being on the track thinking, “okay that front bumper is going to fall off any minute now and you’re gonna run it over.”  That was quickly followed by a “I don’t care just don’t stop me from finishing this run group!”

Years ago, I got my happiness from doing something awesome at the track, but awesome as in the technical aspects of drifting: entry speed, angle, line, etc… I think it was because of all that early breeding to become a professional drifter.  Today, being away from drifting for so long, I know that I can’t possibly impress myself technically as I was maybe able to before… so I was forced to just go out and have a good time.  And I did that – without regard to angle, line, or speed.  I probably haven’t had this much fun since my early days of drifting in like 2002… and probably haven’t driven as badly either hahah!  The best way I can explain my newly found happiness is “freedom”.

Taka and Hiro were out at the event and I was even able to talk to Andy, Alex, and D.  Man, it was like a throwback to the old touge days!  It was also nice spending the day with Reni, Julie and Maryse from Drifting Pretty and Daniel and Chris from ACT.  Thanks Edwin, Marc and Scott for the awesome support!

All in all, it was a great day and I had a blast.  I am definitely re-thinking my decision to part out my drift car…  for now.

Here are some pics people took of me!  Thanks to the photographers that took pictures of my ragged looking car and my ragged looking driving!

And here are some websites that have coverage of the event:
http://www.koyoradracing.com
http://www.speedhunters.com
http://www.driftfotos.com
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com

Last weekend’s drifting was amazing!!  I’ll post some thoughts and pics later, but for now here’s one from my buddy Scott:

And Mike Garrett from Speedhunters.com used my car as the main image for their ASB article.  Sweet!!

So all that’s left is to pick up the trailer, clean out the junk in my car, change the front brake pads, and load everything up!

Logan asked if I was excited, but I think I’m more worried that everything will go as planned. In terms of getting back into the groove of things, it’s pretty hard to get over the idea that I can’t just go out and drive the way I would before. I have to get accustomed to things and slowly try more difficult things. Also my car has been sitting for 3 years now and I have to be really observant of things to make sure everything is ok.

Or maybe I’m just being a worrywart. I used to do this every other week without even thinking about it.

Wish me luck!

Picked up my new battery today from Wayne at phase2. I guess I’ll let it fully charge overnight.