{"id":13601,"date":"2026-06-09T08:40:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T12:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=13601"},"modified":"2026-06-15T07:44:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T11:44:41","slug":"drifter-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=13601","title":{"rendered":"Driven to drift"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a car starts to skid, most drivers panic; they might try to grip the wheel and slam <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the brakes, trying to regain control.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peyton Young \u201927 has trained herself to do the opposite. She leans into it, turning the wheel, hitting the throttle, and sending her car sideways through the turn \u2014 a driving technique otherwise known as drifting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recalling her first exposure to drifting two years ago, Young says she was \u201cimmediately flabbergasted.\u201d At the time, she didn\u2019t yet know what drifting was. She was at a local car meet, an informal gathering of auto enthusiasts, when she wandered into the pit area of a track. It was <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">there that a vehicle caught her eye. Standing beside it was a woman driver. \u201cI told her, \u2018Your car is so cool,\u2019\u201d Young recalls. \u201cAnd she said, \u2018I have an extra helmet if you want to hop in.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;height:50px;\"><\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Driven to drift | TCNJ Magazine\" width=\"422\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CXHQCsu6zsY?feature=oembed&#038;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;height:50px;\"><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minutes later, Young was in the passenger seat, strapped in, and trusting a stranger. As the car launched into its first drift, everything changed. \u201cThe excitement, the butterflies, the feeling of being sideways, the speed,\u201d she says. \u201cI had never experienced a thrill like that before.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mechanical engineering major, Young has long had a passion for cars. What began as simply driving her trusty 2021 Camaro V8 SS to car meets soon became something more immersive once she discovered the motorsport of drifting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She began attending drifting events regularly, carving out a role by shooting photos and videos for drivers. But soon it wasn\u2019t enough to watch from behind a lens. When the opportunity arose to buy her own drift car, she didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter her 2000 BMW E46: well-used and far from showroom condition, with its patchwork of multicolored body panels, bold stickers, and even a disco ball. Young had to put in significant hands-on work to make her car drift-ready.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13666\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13666\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13666\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-3-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Female drift car racer checks oil between races.\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-3-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-3-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-3-768x769.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-3-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-3.jpg 1079w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13666\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young checks oil between races.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She spent months adding suspension components to lower its center of gravity, angle kits to aid steering, and hydraulics to allow the rear brakes to lock. Since car maintenance and modifications are essential to drifting, Young taught herself everything from the ground <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">up \u2014 researching online, leaning on friends, and applying theories from her engineering courses. \u201cI had no idea what I was doing,\u201d Young recalls. \u201cI would watch videos or call my mechanic friends and ask, \u2018Can you just show me the first time, and then I\u2019ll do the rest?\u2019 I call myself \u2018YouTube certified.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Young spent nearly every day for six months modifying the car between classes. The process laid the foundation for both her confidence behind the wheel and her growing <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mechanical skill set.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Young, drifting isn\u2019t just a weekend pursuit, it\u2019s become a defining part of how she approaches her future. While she initially developed an interest in cars long before college, it was her real-time experience with drifting that solidified her path in mechanical engineering. Her coursework, in turn, has played a critical role in helping her advance as a driver and builder. \u201cThe car aspect is definitely what drew me to mechanical engineering,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve used a lot of what I\u2019ve learned in my classes to help with fixing and improving my car.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She is a member of TCNJ\u2019s car club, Roar Performance Motors, a growing community of about 50 students who gather in campus parking lots to share ideas, compare builds, and discuss all things automotive. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool to see how many people are into cars here,\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">she says. \u201cYou just start talking to someone in the parking lot, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suddenly you\u2019ve found your people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During drift season, which typically runs from April to November, Young\u2019s schedule is jam-packed. She spends her weekdays repairing, upgrading, and troubleshooting, with weekends reserved for the track. Some events last a single day, while others stretch <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">across full weekends. She also attends events like Formula Drift, North America\u2019s premier drifting championship series, where she continues to study the sport as a spectator and push <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">herself to improve. She aspires to compete at the local level.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13662\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13662\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13662\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-2-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Female motersport drifter sits in car with helmet on, ready to race.\" width=\"350\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-2-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-2-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Peyton-2.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13662\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young competes in a new drift car.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, Young made a change to support that goal. While she remains proud of her well-worn BMW E46 \u2014 with its mismatched panels and unmistakable personality \u2014 she has <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">since purchased an unmodified 2006 Nissan 350Z \u2014 a faster, more reliable platform she can build from square one as she continues to improve her skills. And one that she hopes to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make just as distinctive as her first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One thing has become clear the more she\u2019s immersed herself in drifting culture: It\u2019s still a space largely dominated by men. While that might intimidate some, Young sees it as an opportunity to stand out. \u201cThere are definitely fewer women than men in motorsports,\u201d she says. \u201cI think some of it comes from the stigma. It can feel like you don\u2019t fit in. But, personally, I like that I\u2019m different.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through her emerging presence in the drifting scene \u2014 including local media coverage \u2014 Young has found herself unexpectedly being a source for other women looking to get involved. \u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of girls reach out to me, asking how to break in,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her answer is simple: show up and ask questions, just like she did.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Young hopes to pursue a career in the automotive industry, potentially designing vehicles or manufacturing high-performance parts. Her experience in the drifting community, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">combined with the technical foundation she\u2019s building at TCNJ, has already given her a head start. And while her long-term career may take her into automotive design labs or production facilities, she has no plans to leave drifting behind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever stop,\u201d Young says. \u201cDrifting never fails to amaze me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Photos: Hannah Yoon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peyton Young \u201927 engineers a hobby into an automotive career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":357,"featured_media":13641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-campus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/357"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13601"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13696,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13601\/revisions\/13696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}