P116
CN
III EMPIRE OF DIRT
BY STEVE COX
I
recently did an interview with a
Drifter named Vaughn Gittin Jr.
who drives a Monster Energy-
sponsored Ford Mustang in the
Formula Drift series. As it turns
out, he's a motocrosser. Way
back before he became one of
the biggest names in drifting, he
spent his time riding and racing
local motocross at Budds Creek
Raceway and a bunch of others
in the area. As we were talking
about it, we quickly found com-
mon ground.
"After I had to quit racing
motocross in the mid-'90s, I
did a NASCAR driving school at
Irwindale Speedway," I said. "I
was immediately on the tail of
the instructor, giving him hell. Af-
terward, he asked me, 'Have you
driven racecars before? What's
your background?' I said, 'I'm a
motocross racer.' 'Oooohhhh,'
he said. 'Okay. Yeah, that makes
sense.'"
"You see a lot of people who
are good in your sport and find
out they did motocross, too,"
Gittin said. "And they're in all
kinds of other sports. It all con-
nects. Motocross hooks you
up to be awesome at just about
anything."
Motocross racers understand
why this is, but I don't think a lot
of other people really get it. In
motocross, once you make it to
the intermediate level or so, you
have every possible dynamic at
play:
Balance (front/back and left/
right).
Weight distribution (slightly
different from balance, as it's
MX TEACHES EVERYTHING
If you're
successful at
motocross then
you will probably
be successful
at anything
else you do
with a motor.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
STEVE
COX
