Lots of people share the same dream as Eddy Gonzalez. Would-be racing champions are not in short supply, especially in Monroe. But Gonzalez, 28, has something most don't; he has a plan. The drift car driver has only been racing a year and has already wrecked his first car, but he has kept racing, constantly working to improve his skills, and has already found several professional sponsors. And Sunday, Aug. 24, he'll get a chance to take the next step in his racing career; racing in the Evergreen Drift Pro Am Grassroots V event at the Evergreen Speedway, where he'll get a chance to compete against the area's best pro drivers. Gonzalez is not new to motor sports; he grew up on dirt bikes and off road vehicles, but it wasn't until he saw drift racers practicing one day that he was inspired to make a career of it. "It was like, 'man, I could totally do this,'GÇ¥ said Gonzalez. "I talked to my wife and said, "I really want to do this and make a career of it.' And she said, "Let's talk some more.'GÇ¥ Gonzalez sold all his extraneous possessions and bought his first drift car, a Mustang modified for drift competition. Drift racing is not like most traditional track racing. The race doesn't go to the fastest, but to the best. The idea is to negotiate a track while the car is in a controlled skid, coming as near to the obstacles as possible without actually touching them. Drivers are judged on speed, the degree to which the car is skidding sideways, showmanship and the skill with which the driver manages corners. A single small mistake can lead to a crash, as Gonzalez learned immediately. "I went out in January for my first practice, and I went around the track six times, and on the seventh I totaled the car,GÇ¥ he said. Three months later he had another car ready to go, and in the meantime, he'd learned what he'd done wrong. "I let off the throttle and I was going like, 50, and for some reason was staring at the wall. In drift, you want to look where you want to go. I hit the brakes and crashed into the wall,GÇ¥ he said. Since then, he's practiced many times at the Evergreen Speedway, where on Sundays the course is open to drift drivers for a fee. And he's been in two races, both of the amateur length track of three-eights of a mile. To qualify, one much be among the top 16 or 32 drivers, depending on the size of the race. He qualified in seventh place but got knocked out in the first round. In the second, a slick track took him out in the qualifying round. This weekend will be his third race, and despite his relative lack of experience, he has been learning fast, he said. For one thing, he got a chance to spend about an hour and a half talking with one of the greats of the sport, Vaughn Gitten, Jr., an American driver who has won championships all around the world. Gitten gave him a lot of good advice, said Gonzalez. "He started from the ground up and made a job for himself, and he said it should never cost you money to race,GÇ¥ said Gonzalez. "I want to get paid to do what I love. I want to start here and get sponsors and advertise for them, and help those companies build their names. And in five or so years, I want to travel and promote people's names. Formula Drift is the pro level of racing, and Vaughn says that should be my goal. And I want to do that.GÇ¥ The young driver is moving fast; already he's racked up sponsorships from Mustang parts supplier LateModelRestoration.com and from Monroe dentist Jeremy Johnson. He has a blog, http://www.catcheddysdrift.com/, where he journals his racing experiences and promotes his sponsors. And he's media savvy, reaching out to news agencies to promote both the sport and himself, and making heavy use of social media. Not only that, he's practicing a lot. "So many people have told me that I am progressing quick and I feel as though I am, as well,GÇ¥ he stated, standing on the racetrack, leaning against his smal,l white racecar. Sunday, he'll get a chance to see how well he's done. The race on the 24th at the Speedway pits local "grassrootsGÇ¥ drivers against drivers in the higher division of drift racing, Pro Am. "Its a big deal,GÇ¥ he said. "The prize is $1,000. And we'll be able to compete against the best locally. I'm super excited.GÇ¥ After that, he plans to race once more before the end of the season, then drive as much as he can all winter. As he does that, he plans to start building a car to Pro Am specs, then try to go to the Pro Am level within two years. There are a lot of grassroots drivers, he said. But not many take it as seriously as does Gonzalez. "I think maybe a lot to people don't know how to get there,GÇ¥ he said. "But I'm actively pursuing ways to get out there and better myself.GÇ¥
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