The Street Life Tour seems to get bigger and better every year. For the past four years the sleepy town of Xenia, Ohio gets flooded with thousands of tuners and their cars for two days of absolute anarchy. Xenia’s local Kil-Kare Speedway acts as the stomping ground for all who dare to show their skills behind the wheel, and the closest analogy we can think of is this event is like an amusement park for petrol heads. There is something for everyone here without all of the political B.S. that comes with larger events of this caliber. A “come one come all” invite still stands true today, so you will find grassroots drivers competing right alongside pro drivers, and a general feeling of getting back to the roots permeates the entire event. This is what car culture should be all about. To hell with who has sponsorship and fame, whether or not you have raced before, or what car you drive. For two glorious days those who love cars and love driving them are gods amongst men. So let’s get you guys up to speed…
Street Life Tour is the final round of the Midwest Drift Union (www.mdudrift.com) and so drifting takes center stage for the event. Zerolift Driver “Magic” Mike Pollard took home 1st place in the Drift Competition this year. There are many other elements present to keep the crowds at bay; Stunt Riding (both BMX and Street Bikes), Drag Racing, Car Show, Cruise-In, DJ Battles, and a Hot Body Contest can be found in various areas of the raceway during the event. The voice of drifting “J-Rod” was flown in to act as announcer, and all of the judges came from various pro am/pro drift backgrounds. There were drivers from Canada, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, and even Norway who made the trek to Street Life Tour this year, signaling that this event is just getting bigger and better every year.
Since Scion acted as chief sponsor this year with their “Go Exposed” campaign, there was free food and schwag for every Scion owner who showed up with a toy for Toys for Tots. The United States Marine Corps was on hand to collect the toys, and by the end of it all they had filled an entire Semi Trailer with Christmas loot! And the hits just kept on coming from the Scion booth. When asked what volume the DJ had his sound system on, he modestly responded, “Actually, I had to turn the music down because it was hitting so hard it made my hard drive skip!”
Next year’s event will likely take place during the 3rd weekend in September, and all dates are still TBA. So until then you have all year to contemplate over what you have missed, and whether or not you have what it takes to compete in the Street Life Tour! www.streetlifetour.com
SPONSORS :
SCION – Go Exposed – www.goexposed.com
MONSTER ENERGY DRINK – www.monsterenergy.com
COMPETITION CLUTCH - www.competitionclutch.com
PASMAG – Performance Auto & Sound Magazine
MARINES – www.marines.com
ZEROLIFT AUTOLAB – www.zerolift.com
JAY RACING – www.jayracing.com
KIL-KARE Speedway – www.kilkare.com