Co-Driver: Casey Coull and the art of going sideways

Co-Driver is back with another piece written and photographed by Shawn Pierce. Pay Shawn’s Facebook page a visit to check out all of his photography.

In recent years, the once relatively unknown sport of drifting has seen tremendous gains in popularity. National races and tournaments are a regular occurrence and even here at home, local groups like Drift Spot and Drift Faction routinely hold events at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway during the summer months, filling the air with enough smoke to make Cheech and Chong jealous. I caught up with one of the local drift scene’s rising stars, Casey Coull, and got him to dish a little about his car, the sport, and his plans for the future.

When did you initially get into drifting?

I started drifting back in April of 2010, but was first introduced to drifting in 2005. At the time my family and I were living in Tacoma, Washington. My older sister’s boyfriend, Victor Moore, got me into watching Initial D and I was instantly hooked. At the time, Victor had a stock black Nissan S13 hatch with 5zigen FN01RC, and to this day I can still remember the first time he drifted with me. I wound up moving to New Hampshire with my family later that year. It took five years, but eventually I found Drift Spot and was able to start drifting.

What did you do in your time away from drifting?

When I first moved to NH I was a little lost because the car scene seemed totally dead. While I was still in school, drifting was put to the side and I picked up a BMX bike. The group of friends I had at the time didn’t have licenses either so we kept on pedaling. My junior year of high school is when I finally got my license.

What are you currently running?

It’s a 1992 Nissan 240SX (S13) coupe equipped with a S13 SR20 engine. It is a super basic setup with roughly 270 horsepower. You don’t need much to drift and be able to keep up with high horsepower cars. In fact, I did four one-more-times with a car that had an extra 200 hp on me! Some future goals would be to replace the S13 SR20 with a 1JZ VVTI. A stock JZ motor holds the power I will need to compete reliably. Eventually, I’d like start on a fresh new chassis and take all the things I’ve learned over the years building this car and build a new, perfect car for myself.

While Coull’s car might have a basic setup, there is nothing simplistic about its extensive upgrades and modifications. Under the hood it benefits from a host of performance parts including an aftermarket intercooler, intake, turbocharger, injectors, and fuel pump to name a scant few. His dedicated drift weapon also features completely a completely revised suspension setup, a full rollcage, and an interior barren of anything that distracts from the art of sliding about in great, smoky arcs.

What is it about drifting that attracted you to the sport?

What I love most about drifting has to be the people. Drifting is not a competitive sport in my mind. Everyone is out there to just have fun, help each other, and make new friends. Even though we all get a little stressed out from time to time, you bet we are having the time of our lives. It is what I look forward to everyday, spend my money on, and it’s what keeps me happy.

In general, racing is expensive, how do you keep it affordable?

Well, drifting can be cheap. That is if you keep it basic and try not to be too different. Being different will cost you more in the long run. Keeping things simple will keep you on the track.

Are you sponsored or backed by anyone?

I am currently with Universal Technical Institute. In 2013 they brought me to a majority of my events. I am super stoked to be working with them again this year. I would like to pick up some tire sponsors in the future, and it would be nice to land a race team, but I have to start from the bottom and work my way up.

What are your goals for 2014 and beyond?

My main focus this season is to get out to Englishtown and Lime Rock as much as possible to get lots of media coverage and hopefully catch the attention of a few sponsors. So as far as 2014 is concerned, I’m shooting for Pro AM events.

Is there anyone you would like to thank?

My family, Shawn Paradis, Russell Barcomb, Evan Tuerck, Justin Tuerck, Ryan Tuerck, Ryan Lannan, Chris Williams, Matt Cochran, Brain Mitchell, Tyler Bacon, Mike Simmons, George Osminkin, Nate Haskins, Jordan Threlfall, Dan Popowich, Jay Cyr, Kyle Landers, Matt Lavalette, Matt Gleason, Joe Ascoli, Tommy Brownell, Ryan Fothergil, Victor Moore, Pat Payne, Will Petropoulos, Tom Jewel, Ryan Woodbury, and Joe Grencho.

Many thanks and much respect to Casey Coull for his time and effort on this piece, as well as to Shawn Pierce for his talents behind the pen and camera. You can follow all of Coull’s exploits on his website, xmgnfcntx.blogspot.com. He can also be found on Instagram (@risensun).