Utah Drifting Events: Salt City Drift

| August 1, 2024

Why do some car people like getting their cars sideways while churning their tires into noise and smoke? Because being able to ride the line between slide and spin, while still making the vehicle go where you want it, takes a special kind of advanced car control.

Audio Transcript: Salt City Drift Article

Salt City Drift—run by Jordan and Katie Collier—offers regular, participant-focused events for Utahns wanting to get their cars on a great drift course. For their July 6th event, Jordan had marked out a large, snaking circuit, using cones and plastic barriers, that accommodated several cars at a time.

Unlike Utah auto events that start early and go all day, Salt City Drift kicks off at a leisurely 2:00 pm and goes until 10:00 pm. So temperatures are dropping and many drivers put on an amazing light show while drifting after dark. Also, spectators are free. If you’re ready to try drifting, or just check it out, it’s the place to be.

I got to hang out with this crowd at the Utah Motorsports Campus West Paddock on July 6th. The adrenaline was pumping almost nonstop. It didn’t hurt that I got my hands on a ride-along wristband—$25 for spectators—and got to connect with some pro drifters.

Jerry Drift

“Jerry Drift” Johnson is a rising Utah star. Recently certified for pro competition, Jerry will compete in Formula Drift in 2025.

Meanwhile, he came out for some testing and practice, and introduced me to pro-level drifting in a very personal way. Jerry and his team were not only friendly and happy to share their knowledge, but he also gave me a wild ride in his #97 Scion FRS. This little beast boasts a NASCAR-prepped Mopar engine that revs to 9000 RPM and pumps out 820 HP.

Needless to say, that engine had no problem keeping the rear wheels energized or rocking my world.

I’d attended a drift clinic in my Miata, which spins the wheels enough to look like my engine is burning some oil. Jerry’s car, on the other hand, can reduce a set of rear tires to smoke every session on track.

We were barely into our first lap before Jerry joined up on another driver and I got to experience tandem drifting. Videos of tandems fall way short of what it feels like to be there. Going sideways in a car producing hundreds of horsepower and rolling in clouds of smoke, all while just a couple of feet from another car, is staggering. What control!

Team Hansen

Team Hansen is a husband-and-wife Pro-Am duo in which Rudy is an experienced formula drifter and Chellee an accomplished amateur. Their cars are both highly modified, LS-swapped Nissan 240SXs. Rudy’s, in fact, is pushing 1020 HP with the help of a Magnuson blower.

Rudy was willing to accommodate a ride along, so I rode with him while Chellee took the lead. If that wasn’t crazy enough, we quickly joined Jerry Drift for a trio.

The smoke was so thick I lost the other cars at times. And I had to close my helmet visor over my sunglasses because rubber particles were bouncing off my face. While it was all mind-blowing to me, Rudy of course took it in stride and maintained impeccable control.

Video: Salt City Drift Action

Support the Pros

Drifting at the professional level is pricey, even with sponsors. If a driver can show potential sponsors that they have large social media followings, it’s easier to attract them.

In other words, we can all support these pro and pro-am teams by following their social media accounts. Rudy’s Instagram handle is @rudyhansen119 and Chellee’s is @chelleehansen. Jerry Johnson’s Instagram is @jerrydrift.

Why Try Drifting?

I’ve met several drivers who grew up wanting to drift in the worst way. They don’t need much of a nudge to try it. Others may be dismissive of drifting. For some insight into why it might still be worth a try, I spoke with Besim Hojhalli.

Besim is a great track driver. In fact, he’s a National Auto Sports Association (NASA) Utah instructor, and I’ve personally benefited from his excellent coaching. When I begged another ride-along at Salt City Drift, I discovered it was Besim under the drivers helmet and that he’s every bit as good on a drift course as he is on a road course. He and a buddy—both amateurs—displayed outstanding car control while tandem drifting.

So why might all types of drivers want to consider drifting? Besim described the difference between auto racing and drifting like that between speed skating and figure skating. Racing is about precision, speed, and of course crossing the finish line first. While there’s still a need for excellent control in figure skating, and drifting, there are multiple ways to express yourself using a really cool skill set. Thus, judging success is subjective.

He also described drifting as “more of a party” where he can just have fun with friends. So, if you haven’t tried drifting, you might find that it’s a great outlet for a different set of passions.

Getting Started

Some potential drifters are intimidated by extensively-modified cars. At the Salt City Drift event, there were plenty of talented amateurs using essentially stock vehicles; often older and affordable.

The basic formula is a rear-wheel drive (RWD) car with a manual transmission, since a clutch makes it easy to spin up the rear wheels. Jordan Collier emphasized that “there is no bad seat time” and said that you can bring whatever RWD vehicle you have. Automatic transmission cars, according to Jordan, can be drifted if you just leave them in second gear.

Tires aren’t free, and some drifters use whatever is cheapest. Jordan mentioned 400-treadwear Ironman tires as an example of decent wear, grip, and cost.

Salt City Drift events are a reasonable $150 for eight hours of course availability. From what I saw, drivers got on course any time they were ready, so got as much seat time as they wanted. Registration also included a ride-along ticket for a friend.