In most professional team sports, the players seem to start off on a fairly even playing field; travel, training, and equipment are all covered by the team. Sure, some make more bank than others but generally, once you hit the "big league" you've got the means for a fairly luxurious lifestyle. If you've spent any amount of time around Formula Drift, you probably know things aren't as luxurious. Drivers aren't handed high-dollar contracts with mega-money garages, they have to create their victories from the ground up. In fact, if you've followed any of our Day in the Life Of articles, you know that only a handful of drivers make a living off drifting. All the others? They have to hold down regular jobs that will allow them to take off around the country competing, all the while hustling to make everything needed to happen for their cars. An interesting aspect about Formula Drift is, regardless how big or small your pockets are, you are competing side-by-side with the big dogs. Your budget-built, 400 horsepower ex-daily driver may be faced up against the roar of a thousand horsepower, six-figure build race car banging against your door. We take a look at two of Nitto Racing’s drivers to see how a big, factory-backed team operates in comparison to a small, privateer team. Two teams. Different budgets. Same dream - to be the best in drifting. On one hand, you have Matt Field; college student, shop owner, Formula Drift Pro Series driver. In a few short years, Matt has already claimed a podium finish with surely more to come. A recent addition to the Nitto Racing team, Matt says he finally has the support that he has needed to get him through the series - a huge commitment in comparison to smaller, regional events. At every event, Matt brings his team of mechanics, Ty Milner, Daniel Tredway, Murray Levdar and spotter, Daniel Chow. All of them had a hand in building the car back at Matt's shop, the Drift Cave. His S14 is basically the same chassis Matt has been competing in for the last three years. Before each event, Ty and Daniel get the car ready; change tires and make sure everything is dialed in. Murray splits his time between Field's team and assisting fellow FD driver Tyler Wolfson. Matt's car runs drama free for the weekend and Ty and Daniel make a few last minute suspension adjustments as the course begins to dry up before qualifying. While the team stands by awaiting Matt’s return from qualifying, spotter Daniel Chow watches from the spotters tower observing Matt’s runs. Daniel has been with the team since the beginning and drives a 240sx himself so he can relate to what it’s like being behind the wheel. Taking notes and video, Daniel is able to communicate to Matt in the driver's seat via radio on how his line is, how close he is to zones and clipping points, finding alternate lines and plans of attack for battles. Based on the spotters input and Matt's feel for the car, Matt can then tell the mechanics what needs to be done after every run. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Vaughn Gittin Jr. In the drifting world, Vaughn needs no introduction. He is one of the most experienced drivers on the field, a veteran of the sport, a Formula Drift Champion, and is endorsed by major sponsors such as Ford, Monster Energy, Magnaflow and Alpinestars. Vaughn’s car was built by longtime partners, Autosport Dynamics with an 845 horsepower motor developed by Roush Yates Racing Engines and Ford Racing. Gittin’s team consists of Crew Chief and Spotter Ian Stewart, Lead Mechanic Dean Steele and Mechanics Eric Davis and Peter Gordon. Fellow crew members Bonnie Cox, Johnathan Fortin and Jonathan Nerren collect data trackside. Having a crew chief who is also your spotter helps, because not only does Ian know exactly how the car is set up but he also knows what needs to be done to maximize performance based on Vaughn’s runs. Ian can communicate directly to Vaughn and the mechanics and tell them in detail what needs to be done to the car. During practice at Round 6 @ Texas Motor Speedway, the team ran into an ignition issue affecting Gittin's runs. The ignition issues kept the team busy all day trying to track down the source and rushed to get things fixed for qualifying. It was all hands on deck - from making sure everything was plugged in and bolted on securely to checking data logs from the ECU. Finally the issue is identified, there was a radio frequency interference with the cam sensor, and the team gets the car back to normal in time to qualify 13th. Along the sideline, Cox, Fortin and Nerren are armed with radar detectors keeping track of everyone’s speed on certain parts of the course, helping Gittin know what to expect and how the competition is doing. On the track the two drivers have fairly similar support, but back in the pits the difference is night and day. Along with Nitto, Matt Fields is also sponsored by CX Racing whose enclosed trailer transports his FD car to every event. CX Racing provides a branded EZ-up and Matt’s car is on display, surrounded by the latest CX Racing products under lighting that brings out his fluorescent paint. The display set up takes the team a good part of the morning when they first arrive. In between runs, when the car isn't being worked on, Matt talks to fans and answers their questions or stands around a table with the rest of the team as they eat. Things are quite q bit different over at Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s pit. He travels to and from events in a full-sized rig that is painted black and green, just like his FD car. The pit is neatly organized into three sections; a working area, dining area and an area for merchandise that includes a Mustang RTR on display under an awning framed by matching green trusts. Its hard to take a good shot of the pit area, as it is constantly surrounded by fans lined up in hopes of getting an autograph or a picture with Vaughn Gittin Jr. Vaughn has worked hard to get to this place in his career, and this type of support, sponsorship, and respect definitely aren't built overnight. But, as I mentioned earlier, the wide variance of team budgets and car specs don't matter in FD - everyone puts their everything out on the track come time for battles and you never know who you'll be facing off with. Gittin and Field ended up being matched against each other in Top 32 at Texas. During competition, Field was knocking on Gittin’s door... literally! In a closely contested battle, judges gave Gittin the win, allowing him to move on to the Top 16. This means Field’s team is done for the weekend, but Gittin’s team has some work to do to get the car ready for Top 16 competition. It's all for the love of drift. Wonder how far Gittin got in Texas? Find out in our Top 16 Play-by-Play.
