Final Bout Special Stage South
First event of the 2020 Final Bout season was Special Stage South down in Texas. Late 90s to early 00s vibes were in full effect with some of the best styled teams of the country. Team Fatcats, D-Realm, Silhouette, Team Oblivion, Essence, Garage MoonPower, Team Breakshift.
Style. Either you get it, or you don’t.
There was an era in drifting, particularly in the late 90s/early 00s that the way your car looked was just as important as how you drove your car. It mattered, this is before the missile car videos out of Ebisu, before Formula D.
Final Bout keeps that era alive, it’s part of our journeys of discovery with drifting, friendships we’ve made along the way and life memories with this beautiful form of motorsport.
Why don’t these cars have overfenders? Why are they so low? The money spent on these wheels could have been spent on seat time?
The style aspect is a hot topic, but it’s something that either you get, or you don’t. If you’ve never seen the history, whether is via Battle Magazine scans or physical copies, or VHS copies on YouTube or Instagram. It’s hard to wrap your head around an event like Final Bout if the only experience you have with drifting is either Formula Drift or grassroots events filled with cars that have seen better days.
Final Bout is a place where that era of drifting in Japan can come to and stay alive, a lot of us grew up reading those magazines, and idolizing these cars. I’m 36 years old and I’ve finally been able to build my personal dream S-chassis. Having an event like Final Bout gives us a place to create new friendships and celebrate this era of drifting.
It’s not a competition, but…it is.
Ultimately the top 3 teams of each special stage around the country will make it to the main event in September called Final Bout 4, the winners of Special Stage Texas were.
Team Breakshift (congrats to Florida’s own)
Team Getaway
Team Silhouette
Huge congrats to the three winning teams that will make it to Final Bout 4.
All the drivers at Special State South in Texas killed it.
Enjoy the gallery below.
