Formula Drift Revs Up in Long Beach Friday

North America's officially recognized professional drifting championship series returns to the streets of Long Beach Friday with the promise of some burning rubber and high speed slides through selected turns of the Long Beach Grand Prix circuit.

Formula DRIFT will make Long Beach its first official stop on a seven-city championship tour this year as drivers compete to maneuver their cars into controlled, high speed slides through a marked course on the track.

"Judged on execution and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time, drifting is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and is often compared to the freestyle nature of skateboarding and motocross," organizers said in a release.

Started 20 years ago as an underground culture on the streets of Japan and made famous in the 2006 movie Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, the sport of drifting is a relative newcomer to the world of professional racing. Formula Drift held its first world championship in 2008, and has been growing ever since, organizers said.

During competition, drivers are judged based on a variety of factors including the speed, style, line and angle of their drifts. Drivers can lose points or receive zero scores for instances such as spinning out, losing drift or having two tires run off the course.

In addition to this weekend's competition, Formula Drift will also hold night competition – termed the Super Drift Challenge – during the main Long Beach Grand Prix race weekend on Friday and Saturday nights, April 19-20.

"We are excited to change up the drifting action during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend from an exhibition to a competition," Formula Drift president and co-founder Jim Liaw said. "The icing on the cake comes in the form of night time drifting on the streets... We are truely honored to be the first series to be competing on the streets of Long Beach at night."

This weekend's drifting action begins Friday from noon until 6 p.m. and continues on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Tickets range in price from $24 for a Saturday only ticket to $32 for a two-day ticket. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.

Drifting action during the Long Beach Grand Prix race weekend is included with the price of admission to the Long Beach Grand Prix.