He Gets the Drift

Eric Goodwin, owner of Garage Graphics (Stanton, CA), helped the D1 Grand Prix USA Professional Drift racers kick off their 2009 national series at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA in May by designing high-energy graphics and racecar wraps along with dynamic banners and event signage.

Goodwin’s “garage” produces everything from banners to T-shirts, but his vehicle graphics have brought him fame. Garage Graphics produces vehicle graphics for roughly 30 cars annually for the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. His work has also appeared many times on the Pimp My Ride and Monster Garage TV shows, and he frequently collaborates with Jesse James of West Coast Choppers to print and install Jesse’s designs.

To prepare for the kickoff, D1 Grand Prix USA Professional Drift Racing event, Goodwin and his team worked day and night for three weeks. They began by wrapping two, 53-ft. trucks, a job which itself took more than 1,700 sq. ft. of media. They also wrapped the race’s pace car, splashing the D1 Grand Prix USA logo and various sponsor graphics across a black BMW M6. They also produced the event banners, including a 30 x 10-ft., main-stage banner, several, 40-ft. banners that hung across the track, and 60, 12 x 4-ft. banners and 30, 2 x 8-ft. banners posted around the venue.

Goodwin and his crew also turned out every directional sign needed for the event. In addition, they die cut and applied sponsor logos for six racecars. For the 100 qualifying cars, Goodwin produced printed windshield visors, sponsored number plates for the doors and qualifying numbers.

To accomplish this tremendous workload in the short timeframe, Goodwin relied exclusively on his Roland Soljet Pro III XC-540 54-in., wide-format printer/cutter. The required printing used 50 cartridges of Roland’s Eco-Sol Max ink. Goodwin said, “With the take-up reel, all I had to do was add ink. The print quality and reliability are unmatched in the industry. I wish my Soljet had an odometer!”

The graphics and banners will travel with the D1 Grand Prix USA Professional Drift Racing team as they head to Florida for the next event in their nationwide tour. The tour will stop in Miami, Philadelphia and Chicago. Also traveling with the team, Gretchen Rossi, of the Real Housewives of Orange County TV series, drives a car wrapped by Garage Graphics.

Editor’s Note: Drifting refers to a driving technique, and to a motor sport, in which the driver intentionally oversteers, which causes loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while preserving vehicle control and a high exit speed.

Drifting competitions are judged on line, angle, speed and show factor. Line involves taking the correct line, which is usually announced beforehand by judges. The show factor is based on the amount of smoke, how close the car is to the wall and the crowd’s reaction. The angle of a car in a drift, speed entering, through and exiting a turn (faster is better). The judging occurs on a few linking corners that provide good viewing.