He's on a Falken. The first run, we lead. And honestly, he was close, but he did make a mistake. He straightens out following us a little bit, so we know we have to play it smart going into run two. This being a new car, I'm not sure how much gap is appropriate. These are things I'm just not sure of because we're in a new chassis.

He keeps it clean, he makes it through the pass, and that might be due to the fact that he's got a new car that he just spent way too much money on, and he's trying to keep it together for the rest of the season. Fortunately, I initiate right where I need to, close the gap, do just enough pressure to win, and we came out on top.

(rock music) - I'm paired up with Justin Pollock for top 16. He's a veteran driver. He's been driving for Falken forever. When I first started paying attention to drifting, this is one of the guys to look up to.

Wow, look at that! Quick rate to angle. Justin Pollock not getting all the way out to the touch and go but making up for it! - The first lap, Justin leads. I stay on his door throughout the entire track.

And into the final front clip, just gonna put a bow on it! There ya go! - I played it somewhat safe, but I did not let him get away. I line up for my lead run. And here we go. - As soon as the lights go out, I jam down the straightaway as fast as I can. I throw my car in, and man, that same exact issue that I had on my first qualifying run. The car just starts to over rotate, starts to float towards the wall.

I save it, I don't hit the wall, but at that moment, I knew I just threw away my run. No, that will be it for Odi Bakchis. That thing's (bleep) all weekend, but I got this far. As soon as I try to drive it like a man, a kid steps out, so we gotta figure it out.

Top 16, here we come, and we're going against Alec Hohnadell. I know it's gonna be a tough battle. He's been in that car a longtime, he's a solid driver. 'Cause at this Long Beach course, if you're not in the touch and go, in the outer zone, you're not succeeding.

(wrench clicking) We don't tighten the car up too much, but we give it just enough. And heading out for the first battle, I honestly felt like we had a solid chance against Alec. - Matt Field leading, Alec Hohnadell giving chase. Matt with the gates for initiation.

Honestly, I lay down a solid run. Probably top three runs that I've done all weekend, but you know, he's right there. Time to turn it up, time to throw down. - Hohnadell out of the gate. We got a clean start, no strike, no harm no foul.

Coming through the touch and go, I had just enough angle, stay right there, transition outer zone one, bam! We're right there too. Now here's where the problem starts to happen. Instead of him being on the throttle, he sits on the handbrake throughout the entire outer zone two, and I'm stuck sitting here waiting for him to get back on the right line.

And Matt Field taking a wider line. - The judges maybe didn't see what actually transpired there. Yo, he pulled the handbrake in zone two. Yeah I know. What the (bleep)?

You can't keep up? Geez! Can't stay on the gas when you're on the brake in an eggshell zone, bro. (crew member speaking faintly) Say something about it.

You think so? - Yeah. There's some gray areas on the track. There's certain things the leader driver could do that's within our rule book, but yet, it makes it very difficult for the chase driver, and I think that's exactly what happened to Matt, and sometimes you just gotta let it go.

The judges went towards Alec, so if you don't beat someone bad enough where they have no choice and you leave it in their hands, then you didn't run hard enough. You left something on the table.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- That's part of it.(rock music)- I'm Matt Field.- I'm Odi Bakchis.This is my car.- And this is my car.- I think I could teachthis guy a few things.- Don't get me wrong.I wanna beat everybody out there.But there's one guy in particular.- He's a great teammate,but an even better frenemy.(engine revving)(rock music)(upbeat music)- First round of the year, Long Beach.This track is no joke.It's treacherous, it's fast.You have to be on the wallto do remotely good at this track.- This is my seventh year at Long Beach.I know the track, thecorners don't change.The thing is, all of our carsare getting so much fasterand so much grippier, itfeels like a new adventureevery time we come out here.It's still a challenge.I've done well here four years in a row,so definitely a lot ofpressure, but very excited.(electric guitar music)- Formula drift is not like NASCARwhere it's the first personto cross the finish line.This is actually a judged sport.It's based on three attributes,line, style, and angle.Line is when they come around the corner,they have what they call clipping points,so they have to get the back of the caras close as they can to the wall.They come back aroundthe opposite direction.They have to get intoanother clipping pointand get as close to that location as well.(engine revving)Style is about what willget you the most points.Some guys are really smoothand hold a really tight line.Other guys will just hang it out,scrape the back bumper on the wall.Fiberglass is flying,bumpers are getting shredded.Angle is you come around a corner,and if you can carry a shallow angle,and come close to the wall,but if you carry a big angle,like 90 degrees to the wall,that gets you big style points.(engine revving)- Slippery out there, whew!Honestly, it's kind of strange.I was locked in on throttleapproaching zone two,had a little bit ofangle, and it just, woo.- We think the car leaned overand pinched the front tire.Right now, we're cuttingout and clearancingsome space so that thewheel can't touch the car,and basically make thewheel come to a stop,causing him to spin.I think he was max angle,all the way, car leaning,- Even if it wasn't in before,if you got max angle now and hit a bump,you'll just push up straight up into it.- Right, right.I think he just had the perfect run going,and we haven't pushed the car that hard- That's what happens.- Qualifying, mental-wise,is very stressful,just because you have avery small amount of timeto perform your very best,and you get two shots.(engine revving)- I think I've just kinda oversteppedthe boundaries of the car a little bit.I just poured on the angle,thinking I'm some kind of badass,and then I just came around.- Hey, Matt Field's new car looks awesome!- This year we're startingwith a brand-new chassis.It's a 2013 Chevrolet Corvette.Graham and the rest of the teamput that car together from scratch.It was a slam jam, sixmonth best of no sleepand 24/7 building.- We've had eight years in a S-chassis.Now we're really excited tosee what this Corvette can do.You're taking something thathas tons of development intobeing a performance vehicleand making it better.(engine revving)- You know, Matt probablyjust got ahead of himself.I know he's kinda eclipsedby George Stratton.If Matt can at leastkeep the car together,I guess he's doing okay, you know?- Expensive chassisdefinitely are a newer thingin drifting, so, when yousee a car like a Ferrari,it's awesome.- When you see these differentcars, they're flashy,they run different, they sound different,they smell different.If you're here and you'rebabying it because ofwhat you got, then you probablyshouldn't have shown upto begin with.- Going into the first qualifying run,the car's feeling prettygood, but not perfect.I'm having to drive the car a lot harderthan I should have to.It's not driving itself, per se,and I'm getting a little concerned.I gotta get comfortable,and I gotta qualify high.(engines revving)(tires squealing)When I actually get going,it feels really good.I'm picking up a lot of speed,and the car just starts tofloat right towards the wall,which is exactly what I want.Unfortunately, the car's not slowing down.It keeps floating, andthe next thing I know,I'm going right into the wall.- Last yearand oh my goodness!Odi Bakchis's going into the wall!- My run's alreadywasted, now I'm just trying tokeep my car from completelygetting thrashed.- Do we haveany ratcheting wrenches?Yeah, I just need a 17 shallow socket.- That looks like us and Odihave goose eggs right now,so we're kinda up against the wall.We both gotta put in some pointson our second qualifyingrun, otherwise, you know,that's the end for us.(upbeat rock music)(engine revving)- Going into the secondrun, I know I need to justget it together, causewe're sitting on a zero.Fortunately for me, Ijust kind of revertedto what we were doing before,and it's funny becauseI was like all right,just be careful, make it aroundthe track, do your thing,and it ended up being oneof my best runs all weekend.We got a 91, and we qualified seventh.- For the second run,there's the burn-out boxwhere we get to warm upour tires, got a 20 foot by20 foot box to do thesefigure eight burnouts.I am throwing the car ashard as I can back and forth,trying to feel it out.I jam down to the straightawayinto the first turn,and the car's actuallyon the right course.I kinda tippy toe around the track,and the run actually felt pretty good.- Steers clear of it.Massive angle from Odi Bakchis.- We got a 88, whichis a respectable scorewhen you're sitting on a zero.Overall, I'm pretty happy about it.(upbeat rock music)- Whoo!- Yeah!- My first full season wasOdi's first full season.He does pretty good, gets on the podium,I get on the podium.He got a tire deal, I got a tire deal.He gets his first win,then I get my first win.And then, it just sohappens that the same year,we both sign up with Falkenfor a teal and blue car.He definitely had theworst first qualifying run.I mean, I got a zero andlooked like an idiot, but he--- Mine was way more exciting, though.- You crashed, though!- That's what the fans like, sometimes.- Having Odi next to memakes me a better driver.I don't know a lot of drivers whoare open books with each other.We have similar driving styles,we have the similar way thatwe like our cars set up,and we're on the same tire.- I gave it 110!- Right into the tire!You probably were doing110 when you hit the tire.- Hey, go big or go home, right?- Oh, yeah, I know.- Just having that relationshipoff-track is great.But when it's out on-track,guns out, fists up, ready to throw down.(upbeat electric guitar music)- Sometimes qualifying forme isn't the easiest task,but I feel very confident in tandem,so I'm super ready for top 32,and I'm paired up to goagainst Daniel Burkett.Rad Dan is not a seasoned driver,but he's coming up the ranks.Whenever you get paired upwith an unseasoned driver,it's a wild card 'cause hemight be all over the place.You never know.My first lap with Rad Dan, I got to lead.I set my own pace, I justdid what I had to do,and it worked out flawlessly.It was a good run.The second one, I got to chase Rad Dan.I kept a safe distance,which worked out to my favor,because he ended up smacking the wall.Luckily I got away clean,and advanced to top 16.(engines revving)(upbeat rock music)- Jeff Jones is one of those driversthat is just known to throw down,rip his bumper off onthe wall, keep on going,drive on three wheels, doesn't matter.He's kinda gotta solidnickname from us around here,and that's JunkyardJones, but you know what?He showed up ready to party this event.New car, new suit, lookinggood, driving good,and he's on a real tire.He's on a Falken.The first run, we lead.And honestly, he was close,but he did make a mistake.He straightens outfollowing us a little bit,so we know we have to playit smart going into run two.This being a new car, I'm not surehow much gap is appropriate.These are things I'm just not sure ofbecause we're in a new chassis.He keeps it clean, hemakes it through the pass,and that might be due to thefact that he's got a new carthat he just spent way toomuch money on, and he's tryingto keep it together forthe rest of the season.Fortunately, I initiateright where I need to,close the gap, do justenough pressure to win,and we came out on top.(rock music)- I'm paired up withJustin Pollock for top 16.He's a veteran driver.He's been driving for Falken forever.When I first started payingattention to drifting,this is one of the guys to look up to.- Wow, look atthat, quick rate to angle.Justin Pollock not getting all the way outto the touch and go but making up for it!- The first lap, Justin leads.I stay on his doorthroughout the entire track.- And intothe final front clip,just gonna put a bow on it!There ya go!- I played it somewhat safe,but I did not let him get away.I line up for my lead run.- And here we go.- As soon as the lights go out,I jam down the straightawayas fast as I can.I throw my car in, andman, that same exact issuethat I had on my first qualifying run.The car just starts to over rotate,starts to float towards the wall.I save it, I don't hit the wall,but at that moment, I knewI just threw away my run.- No, thatwill be it for Odi Bakchis.- That thing's (bleep) allweekend, but I got this far.As soon as I try to drive it like a man,a kid steps out, so wegotta figure it out.- Top 16, here we come,and we're going against Alec Hohnadell.I know it's gonna be a tough battle.He's been in that car a longtime, he's a solid driver.'Cause at this Long Beachcourse, if you're notin the touch and go, in the outer zone,you're not succeeding.(wrench clicking)We don't tighten the car up too much,but we give it just enough.And heading out for the first battle,I honestly felt like we hada solid chance against Alec.- Matt Fieldleading, Alec Hohnadellgiving chase.Matt with the gates for initiation.- Honestly, I lay down a solid run.Probably top three runsthat I've done all weekend,but you know, he's right there.Time to turn it up, time to throw down.- Hohnadell out of the gate.We got a clean start, nostrike, no harm no foul.- Coming through the touch andgo, I had just enough angle,stay right there, transitionouter zone one, bam!We're right there too.Now here's where theproblem starts to happen.Instead of him being on the throttle,he sits on the handbrake throughoutthe entire outer zone two, and I'm stucksitting here waiting for himto get back on the right line.- And MattField taking a wider line.- The judges maybe didn't seewhat actually transpired there.Yo, he pulled the handbrake in zone two.- Yeah I know.- What the (bleep)?- I have in-car.- Yeah, dude--- Hand braking in zone two, bro?- Well, I mean--- Come on!- You can't keep up?- Geez!Can't stay on the gaswhen you're on the brakein an eggshell zone, bro.(crew member speaking faintly)- Say something about it.- You think so?- Yeah.- There's some gray areas on the track.There's certain thingsthe leader driver could dothat's within our rule book, but yet,it makes it very difficultfor the chase driver,and I think that's exactlywhat happened to Matt,and sometimes you just gotta let it go.- The judges went towards Alec,so if you don't beat someone bad enoughwhere they have no choice andyou leave it in their hands,then you didn't run hard enough.You left something on the table.(upbeat hard rock music)- Do that forearm grip?(laughing)