Total Domination
Oct 12, 2003
Written by Dan Mermelstein.
Pictures courtesy of Xander and Function Garage.


It was showtime again for the Vivid Racing boys and Team Garage Life. I was
not wanting to go to this show as it was another Sunday event and that means
driving back to Arizona late at night. But knowing that it was a big event
for Vivid and for Garage Life, I was there. We packed up our 350Z and our
EVO VIII and headed out to Irwindale, California from Phoenix to represent
the strongest force in this awesome business!
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Drift Showoff is an extension of Import Showoff by Mainstream Productions.
Having the best JDM show cars in conjunction with a drift event provided a
great venue for both enthusiasts and spectators. Since Drift Showoff is on a
smaller scale then D1, it was more friendlier to be involved. The course was
faster and shorter, the show cars lined the outside wall of the unused
track, and the vendors including Function Garage Clothing setup to display
their products in the center of the track.
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With spectators coming in it was showtime! Garage Life by far had the nicest
cars as well as best represented team. We were missing some but most showed
up: Skyline R34, Nissan 350Z, BMW 323, Subaru WRX, Audi A4, VW Beetle,
Toyota Levin, Audi TT, and EVO VIII.
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Four of the top drifting drivers show up to put on a great display of
driving. 2 Silvias, a Skyline, and a Trueno took to the track having the
cars do more sliding then possible. Each driver performed their own routine
of stunts including donuts while having the door open and hanging out the
window during a slide.
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As the event came to a close the trophy presentation was about to begin.
Since I was the only EVO there and the hottest Mitsubishi there I figured I
had it in the bag. Lets chalk up another one for VividRacing.com's EVO VIII.
Well it went a bit different!
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When they began reading off the categories they came to DSM. I was not in
that one but that was OK. Then we reached Mitsubishi and no name still??? So
it was best Mitsubishi time and they started to say "2003 Mitsubishi...." I
literally started to take a step foward and then they said "Lancer". What a
dumbass I felt like. For the next 30 secs I contiplated the sale of my EVO.
I lost to a Lancer, huh? Then it was time for Custom Showoff. The big dog.
Puts you into EXC class. Custom Showoff is the best of all the cars outside
of EXC. With my head down they started reading the car, "2003 Mitsubishi EVO
VIII". For the first time I **** my pants and was shocked! I had just won
the big dog and took home the 6 foot trophy. Not only that, our team, Garage
Life placed 1st winning $500 and a nice piece as well. The moral of the
story...we know what we have, and we will never doubt it again!
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Check out our new Video from the show called "Garage Life"
www.vividracing.com/garagelife.mov