KAPOLEI, Hawaii -- “I fell in love with drifting a long time ago. I went on a ride with a friend and, to me, it was like an addiction. The adrenaline rush just can’t be beat.” Hooked on the slippery sport of drifting about eight years ago, David Arai, amateur drifter, is an enthusiast of the quickly growing legion of drifting converts, a sport born on the racetracks of Japan.What is drifting, you ask? Drifting is, essentially, the art of controlling and steering a vehicle in a sideways skid, often around corners, while maintaining a high rate of speed. Without having witnessed it firsthand, the drifting technique is easier to envision for those familiar with racing and hot rodding. For the uninitiated, imagine driving around a bend in a car that’s traveling at a high speed when, suddenly, the rear tires lose all traction and begin skidding, forcing the vehicle sideways as the car continues to move in the direction it was going prior to losing traction.For those who are not used to controlling a vehicle in such a scenario, to attempt to compensate for the skid may result in oversteering — causing the vehicle to fishtail uncontrollably. For drifters, however, oversteering is an essential component of drifting that causes tires to skid, squeal and smoke. Creating and controlling a good drift is not easy. There is an art to creating the smoke, smell and sound from burning rubber on tarmac. It requires a good understanding of and feel for the vehicle being driven and drivers must employ technical savvy. Though it may seem chaotic at times, a good drift is a thing of beauty and a driver’s ability to balance the chaos with beauty, is what wins a competition. And with any art, the artwork is subjective. According to Drift Session, local promoters of drifting events in the United States, in Japan’s D1 Grand Prix, proper drifting “follows a correct racing line, stays low in the corners, and maintains race speeds. In the U.S., a good drift is wide, holds lots of angle, and makes lots of smoke.” Locally, the Drift Session looks at a drifter’s “speed, line, smoke, and how close you can get to the guardrails.”Tom Bryant, one of the partners and organizers of Drift Session, said there are two main groups of people who participate in drifting. “It’s dominated by young people and that just draws more young people.” The second group is people who enjoy modifying their cars and taking them to the track.”There is no special license or vehicle required to participate in the sport of drifting. Everyone is welcome to participate at Hawaii Raceway Park’s public drift sessions that are held about once a month. Spectators at the track have seen a wide assortment of vehicles. While rear-wheel drives are the norm, front-wheel drive vehicles, though more difficult to drift with, also offer a showing. Arai said the sport has come a long way from its days of obscurity to a safer venue promoted at the Hawaii Raceway Park. “Drifting has finally evolved to where, now, you can come out every month and do drifting at the track,” said Arai. “I bring my kid to these events. My son loves drifting. My son will jump on a little plastic police car with the steering wheel on top, push it around with his feet and start drifting around turns making sound effects.” Females are not often seen in the driver’s seat, but they do make up a small percentage of the participants. “I got my girlfriend a Civic, and she’s starting to come out drifting, too,” said a smiling Arai.As a testament to its growing popularity within the United States, drifting fans were recently treated to the premiere edition of the first U.S. publication devoted to the sport: Drifting Magazine.There are a few things those interested in participating in drifting should know. Drifting is definitely hard on a car’s tires, not to mention its suspension and frame. According to Driftsession.com, the most common vehicles used for drifting tend to be reasonably priced, attainable, cheap to repair, have good aftermarket product support, and rear-wheel drive. On the day of the event, drivers should be at the track by 9 a.m. for an informational meeting and track orientation. Both drivers and passengers are required to wear helmets, long pants, closed-toed shoes and T-shirts. The fee for spectators is $10; the fee for drivers varies depending on which course they choose to drive.The next Drift Session event will be held Sept. 10 at Hawaii Raceway Park, Campbell Industrial Park but just prior to that, drifting aficionados and casual spectators will be treated to a demonstration at the Falken Drift Showoff, Sept. 3, by drift legend and the world’s top front-wheel drive drifter, Keisuke Hatakeyama in his Honda EF Civic. For more information, e-mail info@drift session.com or visit Driftsession.com.