S3 Magazine // Issue 34

#GRIDLIFE
GINGERMAN RACEWAY, MI
MAY 29-31, 2015
PHOTOS BY GREG SZODA & WOOLEY
Gridlife is an event that you seriously need to
consider. Here’s the premise: trackday, drifting, car
show, concert, & camping. Sure - we’ve all heard of
other events that combine the same elements… but
Gridilfe has that ‘key ingredient’ extra spark of life to
it. It’s one of those events where, much like Import
Alliance, the people ARE the event… they’re not just
attending it.
Gridlife is an event where you can get your street
car out on the track - with no judgement. Where
people buy real wheels because they’re light… not
just logo’d. There’s no line drawn in the dirt between
the car show guys, and the track guys… or the track
guys, and the drift guys. If you want to take your daily
on the track, there will be an instructor ready to jump
in the car with you & show you the way. Everyone is
intermingled & inter-exposed. And everyone seems
to take an open-minded interest & respectful attitude
in what others have brought to the table. For a guy
like me - it’s so energizing to see good attitudes on
the comeback.
This year - Mother Nature was being kind of bitchy,
and threw everything short of an earthquake &
tornado at the event. It was a total ‘worst case
scenario’. 50 degrees & raining practically the
entire weekend. The track was wet, the infield was
saturated, everyone was soaked… yet literally no
one gave a damn. It’s like they didn’t even notice.
And the fact that everybody unanimously kind of
decided to rise up & not give a damn - only made the
spirits & positivity soar that much higher.
The Gridlife event really has a pulse to it. It is chill,
and it is continuously moving & shape shifting. It
never gets stagnant; you never look down at your
watch. There are cars on track all day long, and
when sessions change, it’s like a fresh wave spilling
into a tide pool - with the pits/grid coming to life. And
all the while, there are cars moving/cruising through
the infield & camp grounds. The gates are open 24/7.
You know how strange it feels pulling back up to the
event at 10pm, and seeing rave lasers and HIDs all
through a dark track?
52 WWW.S3MAG.COM ISSUE 34 :: 2015