Competitive drift racing is a type of motor sport that is judged on style and not on the speed or position of the car. Drivers compete in rear wheel drive cars and are judged on many factors to win points from judges. Even though it is not the quickest way to get around a racetrack, it is thought to be the most efficient way of getting a car around a corner. At the higher levels of competition, drivers are able to keep their cars sliding for longer time periods and often times through several turns. Some of these competitions include: The D1 Grand Prix in Japan, Drift Mania in Canada and the Formula D in the United States.

Drifting is much slower in circuit racing but much faster in conventional racing. The only time it is used for speed is when a corner comes up quickly and a turn has to be taken right away. Today, drift racing has become a sport all in itself and used usually by drivers who want to keep their cars on the sides as long as they can. Drift racing is not seen as a professional form in motorsport by the International Federation of Automobiles, which is the governing body for motorsports.

There are drift racing competitions where drivers are judged on the line, angle, speed and show factor. The show factor is the amount of smoke given off, how close the car can get to the wall and the overall crowd reaction. The speed is judged and measured while a car is entering a turn, the speed while in the turn and the speed throughout the entire turn. The higher points come from faster speeds. To make the judging easier during these competitions, a Drift Box has been created. This equipment measures the turn angle, speed and G-force at the point at which the drift occurs.

Amateur drivers typically choose to drive sporty rear wheel drive cars like the Toyota Sprinter, Corolla Levins, Mazda RX-7, Nissan Silvia and the Nissan 240SX. These cars tend to be less expensive and still provide good handling. More expensive cars include: RWD Toyota Supra, Toyota Soarer, Nissan S200 and the Posche911 and for AWD Nissan Skyline, Mitsubishi Galant, Subaru Impreza and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. All of these model cars have been used in professional competitions of drift racing such as the Grand Prix and the D! The AWD drift race is performed differently than the RWD, but both are still excellent when performed properly.