Gridlife Kicks Off 2025 Season at Carolina Motorsports Park
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Gridlife returns to CMP
GRIDLIFE returned to Carolina Motorsports Park (CMP) for the third year in a row, launching the first leg of its 2025 tour with a healthy dose of tire smoke, new classes of competition, and unmistakable paddock vibes. If you’ve never been to a GRIDLIFE Festival, the formula is surprisingly simple: drive all day, party all night. It’s an automotive enthusiast’s playground, with stops at iconic race tracks around the US and a nightlife that keeps the energy high long after the track goes cold.
The Drifting
While GRIDLIFE hosts a stacked lineup of competitive time attack and wheel-to-wheel racing, full-course drifting on CMP’s 2.3-mile, 14-turn layout absolutely stole the show. With triple-digit entries into turns 1 and 10, drivers like Kiely Mackey in his Plymouth Satellite and Justin Pawlak in the Falken Tires Mustang had fans on their feet every session. Rumor has it Chris Ward from Top Garage may have even broken a land speed record. And with CMP’s newly added kart track, drifters had over 20 hours of total seat time—running deep into the night under the lights during Drift HQ’s Night Shift.
The Racing
Of course, the grip side brought its own flavor, featuring everything from Unlimited Time Attack monsters to the wheel-to-wheel action of the GRIDLIFE Touring Cup and RUSH spec series. With a mix of IMSA-level talent and YouTube personalities, the racing was intense—but never at the expense of camaraderie. Even the humble Honda Fit made its presence known in the Sundae Cup, reminding us that a real race car is defined more by spirit than horsepower.
The Lifestyle
Whether chasing lap records or linking tandems, the paddock vibe stayed the same: share tools, lend parts, hype each other up. The grip guys next to us even had a lunch box welder that got broken out a few times for big fixes on the picnic table. Drifters and grip racers might come from different corners of motorsport, but at GRIDLIFE, they’re all in it together
The Nightlife
After the track went cold Friday night, the party ramped up. Sunoco’s Pump Party turned the gas station into a full-blown rave, complete with a live DJ and flashing lights bouncing off body panels. Saturday’s main stage kept that momentum going with Emo Nite headlining a cathartic, scream-your-heart-out singalong that felt perfectly on brand for the event. By the time the set ended, the crowd naturally migrated back to the pumps for an impromptu car meet and another round of late-night hangs. Over in the campgrounds, Queen City Overlanding brought their own flavor of nightlife, with party games, music, and a full-on s’mores bar that fueled conversations well into the early morning.
Sunday
Sunday came slowly. Some hit the track for their final sessions while others packed up to hit the road. There’s a kind of shared reluctance in the air—an unspoken understanding that weekends like this don’t come around as often as we’d like. People lingered over goodbyes, retelling stories, and savoring every last minute before heading back to reality. Because in the end, it’s not just about the laps, the parties, or the podiums—it’s about the people. The ones who turn a weekend at the track into something unforgettable. The ones who remind you that motorsport isn’t just about competition—it’s about community.
