Photos by Matthew Olson
Story by Matthew Olson
The 2024 Import Alliance Summer Meet at the Nashville Super Speedway kicked off positively on July 19 despite a thunderstorm.
This year, organizers shifted the two-day event to evening hours, and like-minded vehicle enthusiasts came together to showcase their imported cars. Event activities include drifting, drag racing, dyno testing and vendor booths. Saturday mostly consisted of car drifting, the only activity fit for the track’s wet surface.
Chicago native Chris Hill began attending Import Alliance events eight years ago and traveled to the event this year with the 777 Drift team.
“When the rain started coming down, I was like, ‘You know, I’ll just be done until the track dries out,’” Hill said. “And I looked at the radar and I just said, ‘The track’s not going to dry out. Let’s just go out there and do it, you know. Just go down and give the people a show.’”
David Hughes was also behind the wheel at the event, driving a Nissan 350z presented as a cop car that flashed its lights as it drifted behind the other cars.
“We put on a show for the people,” Hughes said. “It makes me happy seeing people laugh and smile at me and my boys, and we just have a good time.”
The looming clouds following the challenging weather failed to dampen the community spirit of the event. Many eager spectators huddled to watch smoking tires spin on the slick track as the night continued with a drizzle.
The attendees were thrilled to witness the drivers swerve their way back to the course. Local sports action photographer and owner of Ghostface Filming Marcus McCord was one of many who stayed optimistic about the event despite the inclement weather.
“Unfortunately today we had pretty crazy weather,” McCord said. “But yesterday was actually really chill. We had a lot of guys out here doing time attacks and then I have a lot of my buddies out here drifting.”
The storm proved favorable for one specific group of people at the event. Attendees jam-packed the covered pavilion for the shelter that housed the event’s showcased cars and vendors. Many of the vendors sold much more than expected over the weekend, including Slammed Enuf booth worker Lana Moran, who was cheerful about the impressive sales from the rain-driven crowds.
“I think the rain definitely helped bring in customers and kept us pretty busy the whole time,” Moran said. “We pulled out a lot of stuff, so we did pretty good.”
Matthew Olson is a contributing writer for MTSU Sidelines
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