This is the Statt Mann Baby!! Time to Scatt a little bit.

I was standing in the pits at Irwindale Speedway last weekend watching the crowd at the D1GP drift show.

It’s implied that drifting is a sport created by and for the 18-24 set and there were hundreds of that demo walking around Irwindale last weekend.

But, as always, I also saw some grey beards enjoying the sun, the fun and the midway. In fact, some of the best looking models in the crowd were thirty-something. Even they were beyond the classic Tuner stereotype.

The guy who won the event, Vaughn Gittin, is the only American to win an international D1 competition. In fact, he’s done it twice now.

We talked after the event and Vaughn, a former corporate IT executive in Maryland, talked about moving his drift preparation and training to another level, to a mental exercise in addition to his obvious skills on the racetrack.

Once again, I’m saying the sport is far beyond the media stereotypes. These aren’t young kids who’d be racing on the street. These are motorsports people doing their thing just like the competitors and fans in the ALMS or Grand-Am.

And that includes yours truly.

Peace.