McQuarrie started down the road to notoriety setting the Buttonwillow Time Attack track record with this drift-prepped Nissan S15. (Bill Wood photo)

McQuarrie said it's gripping when you're under the car's limits: "In drifting, you want to have the car out of control and maintain it out of control. You're asking the car to reach its limits, then go beyond that."

McQuarrie and his Porsche are among the hottest things in Redline Time Attack, an eight-event national series that's maybe the hottest discipline in the Tuner world now. In Time Attack, drivers race the clock in three-lap competitive sessions. Tyler was the Overall Grand Champion and Unlimited Class Champion at the Redline Time Attack event in Summit Point, West Virginia last month shattering his own track record by more than two seconds in the process. This adds to a growing reputation that was born in April when he set the Buttonwillow track record in the Redline Time Attack Unlimited class in his former drift car, a Nissan S15. It was a record held by Tuner icon Tarzan Yamada in another Tuner icon the Mitsubishi Cyber Evo, a purpose built Time Attack car from Japan.

While talking with McQuarrie I was reminded of a recent conversation with Mario Andretti, who won championships in everything from USAC dirt on Saturday night short tracks to Formula 1 on the world stage. Andretti said drivers today miss the point, that he learned something from every car he drove that fit into every other car he got into. He even chided his own grandson Marco for not being at the Grand-Am finale when the IRL season was finished.

Tyler agreed: "They're all different. but at the same time you're using the same disciplines as well. At the end of the day it all helps."

What about rallying? Is that in Tyler's future?

"Rallying looks really cool because that's definitely a cross between Time Attack and drifting. You kind of throw all the elements in there. But I'm running out of days. With racing and Time Attack and drifting next year it's going to be kind of crazy."

Tyler said he's talked with Foust about getting more drifting guys into Time Attack. "We think it's good for the sport to see guys doing all kinds of stuff. I think it's interesting to see the crossover. Even the NASCAR guys doing the (Daytona) 24-hour, I think it's cool!"

Stretch it a little further. Imagine Tyler, Tanner, Sam and Rhys in a Rolex Daytona Prototype or GT at the Rolex 24. The headlines alone would make the project worth the marketing effort.

"I think that's a great story. There's no question we'd do well. It's just something different."

There was a time when racing itself was an extreme, action sport. Now it's sold as another form of entertainment, like a movie or a roller coaster ride at Disney World. That's something else we've lost in the fire. The Tuner world, however, is navigating the debris and discovering the strength to move forward and put the sport back together in its original image.

Maybe we need Halle Berry to help but that'd be a different story, wouldn't it?


The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SpeedTV.com, FOX, NewsCorp, SPEED Channel, or Haymarket Worldwide.