Initially, I hand’t planned on going to Gallery, but considering Sexy Knights was going to be there I couldn’t justify not going. It had been quite a while since I’d been to a good drift. In fact, it was probably Final Bout 2. It was also going to be my son’s (11) first drift event so it was a safe bet we’d both have a great time.

At this point it’s probably expected that I go on a diatribe and write about what makes Final Bout events great and the differences between US and Japanese drifting, but you either get it or you don’t. All I can say is if it wasn’t for the effort ClubFR has put in over the years I would have zero interest in drifting in the US at all. With that being said… pictures and words about those pictures are below.

We made it to the track pretty early on Saturday so we avoided the long line to get in. As we were waiting this wild 180SX rolled through. I don’t recall seeing it on the track though.

At first I thought this was the Bosstown FC3S, but it turned out to be another blue example with TE37s. I don’t think this guy drove either, but it looked great.

Sexy Knights. I’m not going to post a million pictures of these cars since there has been no shortage. Suffice it to say it was very cool to see these cars and their owners at a track in Wisconsin…

Suzuki has always styled his cars in a way that make them stand out in the crowd. His purple FC with yellow flames will always be my favorite.

Jimmy Yates might just have the coolest R32 in the US. The graphics and switch from TE37s to Work XT7s definitely set it off.

Came across these two in the parking lot on the way back to my car to change my shirt after dumping a plate full of chili fries all over myself. They were unbelievably clean.

I’m a horrible photographer, but I have to say this is a pretty damn good picture. It was nice seeing Jake’s S14 on display.

Kam Kaldwell’s S14 had matching graphics put on at the track. If you aren’t familiar with Kam’s S14 it might just be the best in the US. SR20VET under the hood with tons of custom fab work.

Derek Bianski’s newly refreshed FD was on display as well. He wasn’t driving because it still needed to be tuned.

You’re not going to find an FD drift car that looks remotely like this. Such an interesting mix of aero. His brother Drake’s insane FD is almost finished as well.

Dom from Goldstar literally drove his Z32 from California to Wisconsin for the event. He managed to make it into the Top 20 in the competition. Not sure what he was running under the hood.

Laim Kirby’s ER34 might just be one of the best sounding cars I’ve ever heard. It’s actually a ex Cockpit Tatebyashi demo car. RB25 NEO over RB26 all day.

Mike Hahnen brought out both his rotary powered Roadster and SR20 powered R32. Considering the amount of seat time he gets in his Roadster I’m sure he’d have a good rebuttal for the “unreliable rotary” argument…

Along with Mike, Tony managed to get into the Top 20 competition with his One-Via. I love this car. Reminds me a lot of my One-Via before I tore it apart.

Illmatic 86. These cars look so much better without shit-ass Rocket Bunny fenders riveted to them. MWB Work XT7s on black loos so good!

Another black car on chrome XT7s. I always thought a CTS-V would make for an interesting drift car. None of the High Fade cars were hurting for horsepower.

Kevin Phan from Bosstown’s 180SX next to the Bosstown FC. You can never go wrong with TE37s.

The Dark Squad 180SX is one of my favorites in the US. Such an interesting mix of aero. Looks like he added some Garage Mak diffuser/canards to the rear?

React broke the internet with their new graphic schemes. Mike Martino (S15 owner) designed the schemes for the S15 and R32 and Biglands from D-Magic did their 180SX. They all look like Japanese shop demo cars from 2006.

One of the biggest benefits of these full graphic packages is the ability to make cars that are different colors a uniform look. Take all the graphics of the React cars and you wouldn’t be able to tell they are a team. With the graphics it’s clear they all belong together.

The React 180SX was totally putting out a Sekia Hills vibe. It reminded me a lot of the Reussir 180SX. Again, you can’t go wrong with TE37s.

I really dug this blue 86. After owning an RX-8 for a bit I’ve come to appreciate the capabilities of a modern chassis.

All these pictures were taken on my phone. I was actually shocked at how good this one turned out.

Tracker in the pits.

Rich Whitemare drove the shit out of his 100 Chaser all day and ended up coming out on top during the competition. Smoke show.

It was a hot day that required a few air conditioning breaks back in the car, but he had a blast. He ended up with my good digital camera and took pictures all day, which came out great. I’ll be making a post soon with some of the pictures he took.