the lead up to summer every single year in japan is by far without a doubt the busiest and craziest time of the year due to multiple events clashing together, one being kansai all stars in which for the most part everyone involved in this sport does what they can to prepare both the car and mentally for this event.

this year is my 4th year in a row driving this event, qualifying 1st for nara prefecture 2-3 weeks prior to kansai all stars at the end of july had put me in a good, somewhat confident mood for this years all stars!

i have stated this before on the blog but want to re-write it to give a little insight on how the event works and ran over the course of the day:

roughly 128 cars who attend the event.
– 5 minute practice sessions within your prefecture
– 1st session of qualifying which runs for 10 minutes (approximately 12-15 cars in each group and a total of 3-4 go through to the next round)
– 2nd session of qualifying pending you made it through the first round which once again goes for 10 minutes and 3-4 cars once again go through to the 3rd and final round of qualifying.
– lastly before the tournament (top 12) is the 3rd and final round of qualifying
– tournament (top 12) which is the battles but tanso (single runs only). this is the part that is usually shown on the kansai all stars videos on youtube released every year.
– prefecture dantai (5 cars together)
– super dantai where anyone is free to go out and take place in the extremely high number of cars running all together sun as the sun sets and the event is finished.

this year i managed to get through practice, 1st, 2nd and 3rd qualifying into the tournament (top 12) up against naoki nakamura then into top 6 against fukuyama and then into top 3 (finals) with nakagawa, hiro and myself finishing in 1st place.

below is the youtube video from the day – all outside footage from morning to PM – giant thank you to macey and keisuke for all the footage. photos are by keisuke, drift tengoku & cooper. i will do my best to be a little more mentally prepared next year to get some onboard footage.

a very large thank you to each and every single one of you lovely customers, fans, supporters globally who watched the kansai all stars live on youtube along with the insane amount of lovely messages showing love and support. this was a day i will never forget and i think will never feel real no matter how much time goes on. i will continue to keep pushing the limits with this brand and driving along with day to day life. level up forever, loveee always, caseyyy x

3037 S13 update as it hasn’t seen any sunlight let alone run under its own power since september 2021 (last year) blowing an engine at meihan sports land a month after kansai all stars. it is a very common situation in japan, even for myself for the time i’ve spent here with cars & driving to have cars pulled down and rebuilt immediately in order to get back out driving and practicing ASAP as that is priority, at least in the kansai region of japan. luckily enough i have had the 2530 practice car to fill in those gaps of weekly events, practice and traveling whilst the 3037 car got pulled down and rebuilt very thoroughly.

i will have some more in-depth information, photos & videos very soon with what changes and upgrades have been done specifically however will wait until the car is a little more complete. below is a small youtube video of some raw clips earlier this week heading out to PRO SHOP DIVERSION from SKY MOTORS as the car is now back together and running. a pre-run-in setting check before the engine is run-in as the engine itself and components are all different for the most part

the following update will be running-in the motor at suzuka motorland hopefully later this week, following that back to DIVERSION for the full-setting and finally PARTS SHOP TAKA for the livery install x

another RAW youtube video now uploaded from the last run of 2021. smack bang in the middle of winter for good friend shin-chan’s CAT’S EYE free run soukoukai at meihan sports land c course. the 2530 practice car has done nothing but bring help create some amazing memories and serve its purpose during the back end of 2021. i look forward to cleaning this car up and making it even more reliable this year.

both normal and reverse running with great friends all across japan. grab a beer and enjoy 30+ minutes of RAW onboard and outside footage. love always, enjoy the weekenddd. caseyy x

Firstly, once again I want to apologise for the lack of blog posts on here recently, unfortunately it just hasn’t been high enough on the priority list of things to do over the past few months but here is the first of many updates to come; Kansai All Stars 2019 (20th Year Anniversary).

Post qualifying for Nara Precture for this years Kansai All Stars most definitely got my nerves going for the first time in a long time like nothing else. The amount of hours I used to spend back home in Australia daydreaming of running in this exact event for so many years was almost a daily thought and motivation to keep pushing forward.

The morning begins extremely early, earlier than any regular Meihan drift day purely of the fact of how many cars, entrants and spectators there are and how much there is to get through within the time frame of the sun rising and setting. After the drivers meeting you are given 1 session of practice for roughly 10 minutes in which you run with your prefecture in seperate classes which isn’t long but more or less to make sure both you and your car are ready and everything is working as it should. Immediately after the practice session you’re straight into 2 qualifying rounds which are divided into the qualifying number you came within your prefecture. I qualified 9th out of 16 which meant I was to run in the same class from the other prefectures as too qualified 9 in their prefectures.

Getting warmed up in the first qualifying session was definitely heart racing but was feeling somewhat confident in myself and the car for the most part as I had driven quite frequently prior to the event. The Kansai All Stars judging criteria is short and simple; make it as aggressive, fast and exciting as possible for the judges and spectators, the flick has to be aggressive and your 2 rear wheels on the jagged cement on the outer line around the main corner at the bottom. The entire day too is single runs only so there is definitely a brighter spotlight shining on you and your driving throughout the day for everyone.

Into the second qualifying session I got about 4 solid laps in before the car decided to break down and into limp mode around the bottom corner causing me to sit out for the remaining 10 or so minutes. Managing to get the car back into pits and check it over it was luckily just a loose bolt that holds the TPS sensor. Missing 3/4 of the second qualifying session definitely didn’t help with more chances of getting through to top 32 however the level of driving at this event is seriously hard to grasp but the urge to continue running and practicing is as high as ever.

At the end of the day there are multiple winners, prizes and what not. There is also an overall prefecture winner in which who gained the most points overall. For this years 20th anniversary Nara Prefecture managed to take the win :)).

Below is a brief summary in photos throughout the day. A huge huge thank you to Keisuke Nagashima from 86 Fighters who I leant my camera equipment to for the day to shoot with. We have both been coming to Kansai All Stars for many years in a row and to have run in this years was something I will genuinely never forget not to mention having some amazing photos to compliment.

Concluding with a group photo of Nara Prefecture for 2019 in last months Drift Tengoku. A big love to all of you who to continue to support myself and SHIRTSTUCKEDIN. Such goals, challenges and accomplishments are 100% helped by each and every single one of you. Casey xxx

last monday at meihan sports land, c course. a few runs in the 3037 car x

i have always been thoroughly into NA S13s and ever since i crashed the beige one in late 2017 in japan a replacement had to come along and be built sooner rather than later. i have done a few posts here and there more-so on social media of the new 4 throttle black one. this week last year i actually purchased it off a good friend i’ve known for quite some time in osaka.

early last week the new computer – haltech elite 550 which replaced the old tech TOMEI raytech was installed alongside its harness & tuned out in hyogo prefecture right near central circuit. following so a day of maintenance was cured over the car before agreeing to drive a free soukoukai (practice) day at suzuka twin last saturday.

i have included a 15ish minute RAW video at the bottom of this post just like late last year in the 3037 turbo silvia which seemed to gain some interest. i have always enjoyed raw non-edited videos with no music. enjoy xxx

the newest product to be added to the DRIVING FORCE range – full carbon bucket racing seats produced by SHIRTSTUCKEDIN. these are now available for pre-order and the first 25 sold will also receive a free SHIRTSTUCKEDIN full nylon, waterproof bomber jacket at your preferred size & a pair of side bolster cushions to protect your seat from wear. 3 different colors to choose from – black, blue and red all weighing in at at a very lightweight 5.1KG – 11.2LBS thanks to the carbon kevlar backing. all seats come with brand new hardware (allen key head bolts and washers) ready to bolted straight onto your desired side mount rail. to shop please visit the online store – www.store.shirtstuckedin.com

For more updates on car racing and other related subjects, visit GrandPrixTimes. They publish articles about updates on the Grand Prix and Formula One world.

PS: we are only a few short weeks away from our newest collection plus a large re-stock of inventory to be online and available for purchase very shortly – to follow more frequent updates feel free to follow our INSTAGRAM 

cool pair in ecopa, shizuoka – SR all stars meeting 2018 x

suzuka twin circuit hitomiGO practice day. enjoy 11 minutes of uncut raw footage. can’t wait to drive this car again x

shirtstuckedin meeting, daikoku parking area late 2018 x