(Words and photos by Kaleb Kelley) – When I got off work one day during a rainy, cloudy week, I looked at the weather for the weekend and saw that it was going to be absolutely gorgeous. I googled and found a couple of local car shows and was planning on attending one. Then I got a text from a friend about an event Nitto was putting on in Arlington. After a quick look at the website, my plans had instantly changed. Not only was there a large car show with a great variety of cars being held, but Vaughn Gittin Jr., Odi Bakchis and Matt Powers were holding drifting demonstrations with a few other events. The event is Nitto Tire’s Auto Enthusiast Day, which is being held again in Cali this fall. I’m a classic car guy and I like a traditional car show, but I love watching those guys drifting in close quarters.
I actually got the chance to do a ride along with Vaughn Gittin Jr. when he took out his Ford F-150 Ecoboost “Ultimate Fun Haver,” around the track. For a 6-cylinder pickup, that thing got down! It floored me how quick it was and how easily he could tweak the wheel and set is in a seemingly uncontrolled slide. Big thanks to Vaughn for that ride.
Although the majority of the show was filled with anything and everything but classic cars, it was still fun. I don’t know of another show that has anywhere close to the variety displayed at Auto Enthusiast Day. For example, within 100 yards of each other was an immaculate ’70 Boss 302, an LS-swapped Nissan and a 4-door jeep with a bed. My favorite car of the whole show was Gittin’s 1967 Mustang RTR-X which is one of the most sinister looking fastbacks I’ve seen. It’s powered by a 5.0 Coyote motor with a trick suspension setup for drifting. To learn more about it, go check out thespeedhunters.com feature on it.
There is another Auto Enthusiast coming in California this fall. Check out their website for more details!
