Site: Buttonwillow Raceway Park, CA

Site: Orlando, FL

In the last few years, we were beginning to think the Tokyo Salon had lost its former glory, but things were looking very promising for 2012. It was the performance-oriented cars that stole the show from our point of view, from Trust with its 1,200hp R35RX (that’s gracing our cover this month) to HKS’s own GT1000 1,000hp GT-R. RE-Amemiya, like every year, surprised everyone with yet another extreme RX-7 creation, the naturally aspirated Super NA7 with what has to be the most unique aesthetic treatment Ameiya-san has ever come up with. As expected, Toyota went full out promoting the 86 with a pair of tuned show cars built by TRD and Modellista. Subaru had its BRZ STI concept at the show, which sheds a little weight thanks to a carbon hood and roof, while the Prova Black Edition thinks a little more extreme with a more aggressive body kit and central exit exhaust system.

We can all breathe a sigh of relief because the 2011 SEMA Show brought back some much-needed confidence (and enthusiasm) to the aftermarket industry. Compared to years past, the show had more vendors and foot traffic, signaling an upbeat revival of sorts. Despite the overall uptick, the tuner side of the show seemed somewhat lacking. There weren’t as many EVOs, STIs, 370Zs or even GT-Rs as we had hoped, although the quality of the few on display were top notch, and we’ll take quality over quantity any day.

Site: Olympia Nissan, Olympia, WA

More than 1,300 Subarus and 2,300 Subaru enthusiasts made the pilgrimage to Stafford Motor Speedway in Stafford Springs, CT, for the sixth-annual Wicked Big Meet, which has become the largest Subaru enthusiast gathering in America. This event is the Woodstock of the Subaru community, with enthusiasts driving from as far as Canada and the Midwest.

For the last installment of our season-long journey documenting the behind-the-scenes aspect of what makes a professional drift team work, I knew there was one driver we needed to cover and would provide a fitting end: Daijiro Yoshihara, one of the most recognizable drivers in the FD field.

Site: Eastern Creek International Raceway, Sydney, Australia

Maybe it’s human nature for like-minded people to splinter off into their own little cliques and sub-groups, or at least this seems to be the case with car enthusiasts. You’ve got your Show & Shine guys gathering in coffee shop parking lots, you’ve got your time attack guys going to the track on weekends, you’ve got your drifters sliding around industrial parks at 4 am, and you’ve got your hardcore drag guys keeping the straight-line scene alive.

Throughout the Formula DRIFT season, we get to go to a pretty wide variety of locales: sunny California, the muggy Southeast states of Florida and Georgia, the always-unpredictable New Jersey, and the lovely mid-summer Northwest. But there’s one more in there, another event that takes place in an unlikely sort of situation. The middle of the Nevada desert during the hottest part of the year is not really what I would consider the “ideal racing environment,” but for the last few years FD has been held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and despite the weather, it makes for one of the most exciting and action-packed venues of the season.

Imagine for a moment that the year is 1989, and Nissan has just unveiled a vehicle that will change the course of automotive racing and how the rest of the car world views Japanese sports cars. The Nissan Skyline is an instant hit around the globe and quickly fills the dreams of every JDM fan and racing enthusiast from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Fast-forward 15 years, and that same vehicle is now eligible to import legally into Canada.

All sorts of triple-diamond-logoed automobiles converged at Mitsubishi’s North American headquarters in Cypress, CA, for the annual Mitsubishi Owners Day meet. Arguably the largest Mitsu gathering in the country, MOD is host to raffles, vendors, dyno competitions and hundreds of cars ranging from heavily modified Evolutions to old school Starions. If it wore the triple-diamond logo, then chances are you’ll find it here. MOD has been a huge success in years past and continues to grow, thanks to the dedication of Mitsu Corporate, which backs this event fully. It’s the company’s way of saying thanks to all the enthusiasts for their continued support.

Quite a few things have changed over the years since the first Texas Supra meet in 2000 (TX2K). Since my first trip nine years ago, there are still more Supras of every generation than you could ever imagine, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a fourth-generation Supra with stock turbos anywhere at the meet, but the mix of cars looks a little different as each year goes by.

Among all the drivers in the professional drifting scene, few are more recognizable than Matt Powers. With his bright green and white Rocket Bunny S14, the always present (but never predictable) brightly colored sunglasses and backed by the insatiable antics of the “Matt-ley Crue,” Mr. Powers is certainly a bit of the proverbial rock star in the world of FD. But the thing about Matt that you might never guess if you don’t take the time to get to know him is that his real personality isn’t like that at all. Soft spoken and polite, Matt Powers is, for lack of a better description, a straight up cool ass dude.

It’s not every day that our company gets to hold a meet at our El Segundo, CA, headquarters but when Need for Speed came to us with a chance to let readers and fans alike have a crack at the new SHIFT2 game before its release, it was just too hard to pass up. After some quick planning and car reconnaissance, we had ourselves the makings of a great car meet. Quality over quantity was the theme for this event, and some of the best cars from all over California converged on our parking lot to show off their latest mods and styles. Inside our photo and tech centers, Need for Speed was kicking it off in full force with a gnarly force-feedback setup that literally put you in the driver seat of SHIFT2. Fans had a chance to race against Vaughn Gittin Jr. and try to beat his lap time in the game.

Chris Forsberg is one of the most recognizable drivers in all of Formula DRIFT. Be it his dashing good looks and lively attitude, his brave and incredibly well-controlled driving style or the unmistakable bright orange and new for ’11 NOS Energy Drink–liveried Nissan 370Z, it’s hard to ignore The Force (Chris’ nickname, adorned by FD’s official hype-man, Jarod DeAnda) and the role he has played in bringing Formula DRIFT to where it is today.

Since its inception in 2003, the Formula DRIFT racing series has done a lot of things. FD has achieved commercial and grassroots success, gained massive amounts of popularity and a huge fan base, and brought together drivers from across the world to compete together on U.S. soil. Widely regarded as the Major Leagues of drifting, FD is a unique kind of experience for everyone involved.

Location: Fremont, Ca

Now in its 21st year, the Rev Speed Super Lap Battle has become one of the most definitive Japanese tuning race events. Every year, demo cars that have been built through the course of the season come to prove themselves on the famed Tsukuba Circuit.

SITE: Carrollton, GA

The Tokyo Auto Salon is a cultivation of everything Japanese in the automotive world, where enthusiasts get a taste of parts, trends and styling to come. TAS is also a great indicator of where the aftermarket scene is going, but most of all it’s a place to take away a lot of inspiration.

Every November, the best time attack teams in the country make a pilgrimage to the small central California city of Buttonwillow for one purpose. Barely a blip on the southbound Interstate 5 truck stop radar, this small town is known for only one thing. Sorry, but no, it's not for the BBQ ribs, nor the Indian food. It's not even for the lesser-known Mexican gem right next to the old Red Roof Inn (try it, you won't be disappointed) - shockingly, it's entirely unrelated to cuisine all together. The reason why everyone who's anyone in the world of time attack convenes at this small Podunk town in the late fall season is because there happens to be a racetrack there. Buttonwillow Raceway Park plays home to the now famous Super Lap Battle Finals, the biggest and most important time attack event this side of the Pacific.

SITE: Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving / Chandler, AZ
We won't deny it: we're a pretty competitive bunch here at Modified. So when Goodyear Tire told us they would be hosting a special event designed to determine which of the top automotive magazines in the industry has the fastest editor on staff, there was just no way we were going to miss out on the opportunity to stick it to our friends and competitors at those other mags (including Car & Driver, Road & Track, 0-60, DSport, PAS mag, Car Craft and Super Chevy). The fact that we'd also be testing some of Goodyear's latest and greatest tires while flogging some pretty cool cars at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in the Phoenix area made it all the sweeter.

Site: Mazda Headquarters / Irvine, CA
There's no denying it, there's something very special about the rotary that Mazda built back in 1967. Its inception has spawned a cult of loyal followers that few manufacturers have, and there's no better place to find them all in one spot than Sevenstock, which is held every year at Mazda's headquarters in Irvine, California. In its 13th year of operation, Sevenstock is considered the largest gathering for rotary cars in California, thanks to Mazda's continued support of it and the many vendors that showcase the company's products. From vintage Mazda rotary pickups, to rotary-swapped Datsun 510s, to RX7s as far as the eye can see, Sevenstock is a must-visit for any rotorhead. Long live the rotary!

Site: Mitsubishi Headquarters / Cypress, CA
Every year the good folks over at Mitsubishi hold their annual Mitsubishi Owners Day (MOD) at the company's corporate headquarters in Cypress, California, and the gathering gets bigger every year. While older-generation DSMs are starting to become less popular, they're quickly being replaced by Evolutions. Plenty of vendors are also in attendance showcasing their products and services. The icing on the cake is the lunch that's provided by In-N-Out burger and all the prizes that are given away throughout the day.