All-Star Bash is Nothing Like a Formula Drift Event

• October 26, 2015
• Story By
  Andrew Modena

If you think that all drift events are created equal, then you haven’t been to one of Just Drift’s All-Star Bash (ASB) annual events! With the popularity of Formula Drift, it's almost easy to forget the grassroots origins of this high adrenaline motorsport. JustDrift keeps that rich heritage alive when they host ASB and will give you an experience you'll remember for a long time. Last year, I described JustDrift’s weekend long "drift-for-all" as the Catalina Wine Mixer of drifting events. If there was only one event you could go to, this was the one you HAD to attend. All kinds of drifters come to this event. People from all over the country and even some of the Formula Drift pros, like Nitto Tire’s Matt Powers, come to Willow Springs International Raceway to get in touch with their roots for a weekend of drifting fun. If you still don't get it, here are a few ways that ASB differs from FD:

Variety of Cars

In FD, it seems that everyone is using a Nissan, Scion or BMW chassis with big V8s pushing nearly 1,000 horsepower. It's great seeing the pros continue to push the envelope and fans to experience it, but it's probably not something a Joe Schmo would have been able to build for a weekend of sideways action. ASB brings both worlds together. Alongside professional beasts, you'll also come across everything from your standard 240SX to a 2JZ-swapped Subaru WRX taking their crack at hooning around.

Style

Whereas FD competition cars have transitioned to more functional styles, you’ll still find the original slammed-look and big flashy wheels living on at ASB. The sponsor game is strong at FD with many starting to look like rolling (actually, more like drifting) billboards. ASB throws back to the late '90s drifting styles with graphics and team names plastered across the side of the car. No matter what level of competition, each sticker still adds +5HP, and whether you're Tanner Foust or Tom Fast every bit of HP counts.

Two Different Tracks at the Same Time

Willow Springs houses multiple race tracks on their property, so why not use them all? ASB takes place on both the Streets Track and the canyon-style road track, known as the Horse Thief Mile. Forget waiting around between competitions, this allows for almost non-stop track time for drivers and always something to watch for spectators.

Team Tandem Competition

Each round at FD pits two drivers against one another in a man-vs-man tandem battle to see who's the best of the best that weekend. Don't expect a Top 32 bracket style competition here; ASB’s main event is the Team Tandem Competition. That's right, teams of cars ranging from three to as many as nine drift in tandem hoping to have more angle and closer proximity than the next team. Make sure you don't get too close! Or else that controlled chaos might become real chaos... Think you're ready to handle a weekend at the All-Star Bash? Check out the video below to get yourself prepped: See below for more photos from All-Star Bash 2015 and let us know what other drift events are worth checking out in the comments!