You know with the covid lockdowns and the following hangover, I sort of went into hiatus on the drift scene. With gatherings being banned, drift spots being lost and other complications things just sort of puttered to a halt for our drift club. That didn’t go for everybody though. During this time several underground private tracks popped up right under our noses in Kansas City. I didn’t think much of it having a basement track of my own to run on when needed, I just figured everyone was doing the same. I could not have been more wrong about that though. There was a group of guys who were about to get real serious about drift in our community in a big way.
Meet Dalton, a former IT manager who was looking for a change to get out of his daily grind. Only bitten by the drift bug little more than a year ago he decided to walk away from the IT game and throw it all on the line; betting that RC Drift in the Kansas City area was about to go critical mass. All indicators point to his timing being about right for this to happen and it’s high time Kansas City had a permanent drifting venue, SlideworX RC!
Any successful business owner will tell you that location is critical to getting off on the right foot. Dalton secured premises on Kansas Avenue just a short hop off of 70 hwy in Bonner Springs KS. Super easy to get to, and visible from the street. The next step was to prepare the space to show people you are serious about what you are doing. He secured a commercial contractor to renovate the floor space to make it feel like a place you would like to spend some time. It features a permanent pit area, a retail space, a checkered flag tile floor for race atmosphere, and of course the ultra-detailed scale drift track in the back. This isn’t some hole-in-wall dirty RC shop with an inch of dust on everything. This place has polish.
So two major requirements achieved; location, and premises, now we need YOU, the bread and butter of any successful business venture… the customer base. RC Drift has always been this sort of fringe segment of RC. Even with RC drift getting bigger in recent years, it’s still super rare to walk into a local shop and see drift car parts on the shelf. This isn’t the case for SlideworX though. They are 100% dedicated to RC drift. When you walk into this shop that is all that is on the shelf and it feels so odd. I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real. I even scored a Tetsujin body shell I have been trying to lay hands on for the better part of a year.
Having a permanent place to drift is something I have always been jealous of our Japanese counterparts with their dedicated drift venues. These are finally a reality in the states with several spots being opened within driving distance of even my location. (Lateral Grip in Jackson Missouri , Scale Science in Lakewood CO and Victory Hobbies just opened a track in Bellevie NE) Who would have thought? Further proof that RC Drift has gained legitimacy in this country. US manufacturers like Redcat are jumping on board with actual modern drift chassis eliminating the need to source parts from overseas like some of the more established brands in the space. It’s a good time to be a drifter in the US, but I digress….
SlideworX opened its doors on February 23rd 2023 to a huge crowd. Drivers from all over the midwest traveled in to help make the grand opening a success. The event was standing room only as the space was packed with people eager to drive or spectate the intricately detailed track. Lead track designer David Tuggle had put together a masterpiece backdrop of a track for everyone to enjoy. While the track is limited in size it does not lack for scale details. Plenty of greenery, Tetsujin Kerbing with scale guard rails, crash barriers, and even a scale 7-11 in the parking area.
I did my best to split my time between driving and documenting the event, I’m proud to mention that I was SlideworX first official customer when I purchased the newly released Redcat RDS builders kit to review. You can find that here. I snapped a few pictures, shot a little video and then devoted my attention to drifting. I put my YD2 down on the freshly prepped surface after what must have been the better part of a year. Having never driven on a surface as icy slick as this freshly sealed and polished concrete, it took a while to get my footing. A few short laps later and my driving skills were returning, but I found myself back at the bench turning wrenches because the track surface will quickly put the shortcomings in your setup on full display. This leads me to the favorite part of this whole experience, the community.
All the people at this event were extremely friendly and inviting to veterans and newcomers alike. Everyone is more than willing to assist with setup tips, and even electronics installs as I saw on my last trip. The staff are endlessly attentive and the clean venue makes this a place you want to be. This has continued to be true on every visit I make to SlideworX.
I have learned more about RC drift in the last 2 months than I have in the last several years. You can’t do that without community. And community can’t thrive without a place that fosters it. That is why it is so important that we support the businesses that support us. I know it’s super easy to just order parts or kits from your favorite online vendor, but I urge you to reach out to your LHS and see if they have it first, or will order it for you. Give them a chance to get your business first so we can keep the momentum going. As someone who has struggled to even find a place for a club to meet and having spots come and go, I know how important this moment is. That is why I am doing everything I can to support anyway I can.
SO…..If you want to try an extremely challenging and rewarding segment of RC, I urge you to pay SlideworX a visit and see for yourself how much fun RC drifting can be.
Thanks for stopping by gang, I’ll catch you on the next one.
-ev0l
Venue: SlideworX RC
Location: 13027 Kansas Avenue, Bonner Springs, Kansas 66012
Phone: 913-602-4302
Website: https://slideworxrc.com/
