Drift Kitchen Jam!

Author/Photos : Tj Sanethong

Spontaneity:
It’s been a few months since I have returned to Thompson. The last time I was there, I pushed in the guard rail on the skid pad with the front end of my car during a Lock City Drift event. I’ll get into that story another time because today we are here to talk about how I ended up at this sick ladies only drift event.

I remember seeing a flyer about Drift Kitchen a few years ago and instantly thought about the D1 Japan Ladies League. I don’t know much about the history or origin story of the D1 ladies league but I do know that they threw down just as hard as the boys if not harder based off the clips I have seen. So to see Drift Kitchen coming together to be a real organization in the east coast had me really excited. Drift Kitchen was founded in 2018 by Alexis Dabilis and Taylor Whitmore and hasn’t slowed down since. You can find their origin story on their website linked below. I’m not going to act like I know everything about them but I can share my point of view on the organization though. They not only provides a safe inclusive space to develop and hone your skills but they have also created an empowering environment for women. As an ally I am all the way here for it. It adds a twist to the already awesome sport and I hope it continues to get more exciting in the years to come.

Fast forward to present day I finally attended my first event, but it wasn’t exactly planned out. That morning I had zero motivation to do anything until I was sent an instagram story from Katie. It was a photo of a white GT86 jacked up in the air. Jenn Reaves was asking the internet if anyone had spare axles in the area. Turns out she was out there for a couple laps before her axles called it quits. I just happen to swap out both of my axles out for the last event leaving my used but still usable axles available. So I grabbed my keys drove an hour to my storage unit, grabbed my axles, then started my hour trek up to the track while picking up Katie along the way. It took far too long but it seems like we were able to salvage her day and she was back out there ripping.

It was planned to be a quick trip but we stayed awhile and took in the event. It was really amazing to see how many cars were on grid. The event was so lowkey and was treated more like a clinic. It reminded me of what drift events used to be like. The driving was phenomenal! The event had a wide range of skill levels but the commitment and hunger every driver had to level up was there and showed with each time they went out. I was pretty spooked when I got into the accident but I would be lying to you if I didn’t say that the ladies had a big part in getting my head back in the game just by reminding me how fun this sport is.

So before you scroll down and look at the huge batch of photos I unloaded, check out the official Drift Kitchen website as well as their social media outlets if you want to learn more, be involved or simply spectate. Thanks for throwing an amazing event and also thank you for reading! Aloha!

Drift Kitchen Official Website
Drift Kitchen Instagram
Capsule Co. Instagram