Here at the Lucas Legion, we have the opportunity to connect with a multitude of talented athletes driven to be the best in their sport. But some of these athletes take their passion to the level of innovation, daring to dream beyond the confines presented to them and driven to change the sport itself.
Meet Dan and Doug Jakiela, two brothers who decided to take their love of drifting to a national level, making the grassroots sport more accessible to enthusiasts across the country. It all began with a dream of traveling the country drifting at as many places as possible, in as many states as possible. The goal was to drift in all 50 states—and thus 50 States of Drift was born. But their journey didn’t come without challenges, and it was their willingness to work as a team and reject the status quo that brought 50 States of Drift to life.
Dan is the builder—with a background in mechanical engineering and experience working as the Electrified Vehicle Integration Engineer at BorgWarner, Dan is the visionary behind their one-of-a-kind BMX E30 drift car.
Doug is the organizer—with a background in project management within the financial services industry, Doug took to designing, managing, and growing the 50 States of Drift program, which involved connecting drifters and promoters across web, video, and social platforms.
Dan and Doug soon realized that it would take more than their custom vehicle and some gas money to accomplish their goal of drifting across the country. Said Doug, “One of the first challenges we faced was simply finding events that were a manageable distance for us and that fit into our schedules. What we have learned since then is that many grassroots organizations rely heavily on word-of-mouth marketing to attract new drivers to their events, which unfortunately makes it much more difficult for new drivers to get involved and find local events without knowing the right contacts. The second challenge we saw… was a struggle faced by many of the drift event organizations. Many people seem to forget that track rentals, track insurance, and event staffing, etc. all come at a cost. Without enough drivers in attendance, these organizations struggle to financially make ends meet.”
The solution presented by www.50StatesofDrift.com is the creation of an all-inclusive events database that includes every grassroots drift event nationwide. In an effort grow the sport, 50 States of Drift makes drifting more accessible to drivers, fans, and promoters, and helps enthusiasts across the country to coordinate and collaborate.
Stay tuned this month for the video release of their BMW E30 for 2019. Follow along with Dan and Doug Jakiela and 50 States of Drift on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube as they document drift car builds and events.