DIGP Takes DISL Formula to Next Level at Round One

The first round of the Drift Indy Grand Prix season went down right alongside Drift Indy Street League, but somehow managed to avoid most of the weather-related trickiness DISL drivers had to contend with. The track at Xenia, Ohio’s Darana Raceway was still a little wet in spots for DIGP qualifying, but overall in much better condition and they didn’t have any trouble filling their Top 16 bracket.

While the top DISL qualifiers earn extra points toward their overall standings and the top 16 drivers on the season are seeded after the first round and don’t have to qualify, DIGP drivers aren’t given any such luxury. Every driver has to fight to qualify for a spot in the 16 at every round, and there are no extra points awarded to high qualifiers. This means that the only way to earn more points is through winning battles. Higher stakes for pretty damn high bragging rights, considering the level of competition. Sam Cornewell, driving his SR-powered S13 coupe, took the top spot in GP qualifying.

There’s a certain level of fatigue that comes from watching so much drifting in a weekend, but the hype that comes with DIGP has a habit of immediately pulling you back in. The level of driving is so high and the cars are so sick that you can forget that you’re going on hour 11 at the track.

Roy Outcalt, inaugural DIGP season champ, squared off against fellow Drift Indy veteran Kyle Robertson in the Top 16. Because Robertson’s S15 was having issues, the judges elected to allow him to borrow a car from Outcalt’s teammate, DISL competitor Mike Drake. Because of that allowance, spectators were treated to a super tight battle between similarly styled cars. Despite being behind the wheel of a loaner, Robertson absolutely did not hold back. Drake’s LS-swapped S14 is no slouch, and proved to be a solid matchup to Outcalt’s turboed M54 E46. Nevertheless, the reigning champ managed to show Robertson the door.

DIGP has a habit of delivering heater after heater. Something about killer drivers piloting exciting, fairly evenly-matched whips makes for a pretty great spectator experience. Justin Medina and his 2JZ-swapped GT86 were on a tear all weekend. He was one of the earliest to seem like he had really figured the course out, and he was putting his fire-spitting smoke machine in all the right places. His course through the table took him past rookie Ty Gondek to a Top Eight matchup with Stu Kelly and his boat of a Lincoln.

Kelly was looking extremely solid, too, and seeing him toss all 16 feet of Detroit metal through the initiation was super satisfying. After winning a battle of V8-powered sedans against Chad Anderson in the Top 16, Kelly’s matchup with Medina felt like it could go either way. Unfortunately for both Kelly and the crowd, 18 PSI proved to be too little to keep his tire where it was supposed to be and a de-bead on initiation put a premature end to their run.

One battle over on the same side of the bracket, Mike Steele was squaring off against a very confident, very consistent rookie in Justin Bailey and his LS-swapped E90 sedan. Bailey podiumed at last season’s first round as a DISL competitor and was pushing hard to do the same in his first season in DIGP, but Mike is consistently one of the series’ most hard-charging drivers. Undeterred by some contact from Bailey, and having given his own nudge here and there, Mike pushed through to pit himself against Medina in the semifinals.

Mike’s Bobby’s Crew teammate, Josh Estey, was making his own push for the final on the opposite side of the bracket. He finished third overall last season and eliminated second overall finisher Britt Kaukeinen in the Top 16 before doing the same to Colten Terrell. Estey’s NASCAR-inspired liveried S14, finished up just in time to compete, looked and sounded pretty sweet. He and the folks at JEM-Sport have really figured out the sometimes-unpleasant Ecoboost sound and delivered a really sick exhaust note.

While Estey’s lead runs are generally very solid, he seems to really shine in the chase position. He finished every run tucked right in behind whoever was leading, including when it came to his matchup with Outcalt. Unfortunately for the Jeff Gordon of drifting, Outcalt managed to find an edge. Estey headed to a matchup with Medina for third, while Outcalt and Mike threw down for the top step.

Medina and the Bobby’s Crew fellas have a healthy rivalry, with Medina claiming a 6-0 win-loss ratio against his fellow Michiganders coming into this round. Steele finally managed to get a point on the board for him and his teammates with his win over Medina in the semis, but Estey wasn’t able to make it two. Following his battle with Outcalt, Estey’s car caught fire in the pits as they were quickly refreshing it before his run at third place. It was quickly handled and he returned in time for the first leg of their battle, but bowed out before the second because of a suspension issue he was feeling.

Perhaps the most comedic moment of the whole competition came when Outcalt and Steele were about three quarters of the way through the first lap of their battle. It wasn’t exactly clear what caused it, but with Steele leading, his and Outcalt’s front driver side wheel and front passenger side wheel, respectively, got locked together. They came to a stop at about a 90 degree angle to each other, fairly firmly stuck. It took Steele throwing it in reverse and dumping the clutch to pull his wheel out of Outcalt’s wheel well. Miraculously, neither car showed any damage and they were able to run their second lap without any issues. Evidently the judges ruled that the incident was Outcalt’s fault, because when the podium trio was announced, it was Steele on the top step.

“It feels great. I've been trying for this for a while. It feels good to finally get on top of the box. I think I had second at the beginning of last year, so to come back with first place feels good,” Steele said. He leaned in close to the mic to add, “It feels good to beat Medina. That’s Justin Medina.”

The drivers will bring all that good-natured competitiveness to the series’ second round, being held in Steele and Medina’s home state of Michigan at the M1 Concourse August 15-16.