Piedmont Drift: How TandemTown Helped Build North Carolina Drifting
Most local drifters know Piedmont Drift by another name: TandemTown.
What started as a drag strip with a few service roads available for drifting has grown into one of the most important grassroots drift destinations on the East Coast. I have watched much of that transformation firsthand—from short driver lines and simple practice layouts to packed weekends, constant drift trains, and two circuits that demand completely different driving styles.
When Places to Drift Were Hard to Find
When I got into drifting in 2008, there were not many places nearby where someone could safely learn.
The main options for me were Myrtle Beach Speedway or Piedmont Dragway. Myrtle Beach was more than three hours away. MB Drift held open-practice nights and competition days there, while Piedmont was primarily focused on practice and seat time.
Back then, Piedmont used the dragway’s service roads as drift areas. There were two basic layouts. The beginner course consisted of two left-hand turns. On the opposite side of the property, the advanced course was made up mostly of right-hand turns.
Compared with what exists today, those layouts were simple. At the time, they were exactly what the local scene needed: an accessible place to learn, test cars, make mistakes, and keep improving.
The driver line was rarely long. Most days had fewer than 20 drivers, but the people who kept showing up were laying the foundation for the drift community that exists in the area now.
Learning in the Early Days
That was when I met Ryan Deavers. We were both driving FC RX-7s.
I was still in high school, as green as someone could be, and trying to absorb every piece of automotive and drifting knowledge available. Those early events taught me much more than how to initiate a slide. I was learning about tire choices, tire pressures, suspension setup, car preparation, and how small changes could completely alter what a car did on track.
The paddock was one of the best classrooms available. Someone was usually willing to explain what they were running, why they were running it, and what I could try on my own car.
The online community mattered just as much. Forums such as ImportsNC and GunEmDown.net were the main way many of us found events, followed builds, bought parts, and shared technical information. Before social media feeds took over, those forums gave the local car scene a central place to communicate and grow.
As the culture grew, Piedmont grew with it.
From Service Roads to TandemTown
Piedmont added pavement and opened additional areas, creating possibilities that the original service-road layouts could never offer.
Today, Piedmont Drift is best known for two very different courses: the OG Circuit and the Boss Circuit. One rewards speed, flow, and confidence through elevation changes. The other demands accuracy, commitment, and a willingness to stay on throttle with tire walls close by.
Together, they have helped turn Piedmont into TandemTown.
The OG Circuit
The OG Circuit is the larger and more flowing of the two layouts.
A typical run begins with a large left-hand flick entry before transitioning into a flat right. From there, the car crosses an over-the-top left crest and drops into a wide right-hand downhill sweeper. The course then carries the driver back uphill toward a tight left hairpin that finishes the run.
The crest is one of the layout’s defining features. Depending on whether you attack the inside or outside of the turn—and how committed you are—the car can become extremely light over the top. Hit it correctly and there is a brief moment where the car and driver can feel almost weightless.
The combination of speed, elevation, direction changes, and available track width makes the OG exceptional for tandem. It gives lead drivers room to build a line while allowing chase drivers to stay close and make meaningful adjustments. That is why the layout can produce long trains without every run feeling identical.
The OG has room to move, but its speed and elevation changes can still punish a mistake. I have experienced that personally, and I have watched other drivers do the same.
Both the white Miata and my green 350Z shown here found the tire wall on the OG Circuit. Those incidents were not the result of a bad layout. They were examples of what can happen when drivers push themselves and their cars to the limit. Carry a little too much speed, miss the intended line, or run out of usable track, and the lesson can become expensive very quickly.
That risk is part of what makes a clean OG run so satisfying. When the flick, crest, downhill sweeper, and final hairpin all come together, the run feels earned.
The Boss Circuit
The Boss Circuit is nowhere near the size of the OG, but that does not make it easier.
It requires pinpoint accuracy and a nearly no-lift attitude, which is why it deserves the name. The course is much narrower than the OG, and tire walls surround most of the layout. Going wide can become catastrophic before the driver has time to make a second correction.
The grass infield gives photographers and videographers an excellent view of the action. A properly placed car can pass only inches from the tire stacks, producing the kind of crisp, close-range media that makes the circuit instantly recognizable.
The Boss Circuit also has subtle elevation changes. They are not as dramatic as the OG crest, but they matter—especially through the fastest portion of the course. The elevation can push a car wider than expected, and plenty of drivers have learned how little room is available once that happens.
The Boss rewards confidence, accuracy, and trust in the car. A small hesitation can ruin the line. A committed run with the bumper close to the tire wall feels completely different from driving the larger OG Circuit.
The Community Is the Most Important Part
The layouts are a major reason Piedmont Drift stands out, but they are not the most important part.
The community is.
When a driver has a problem, it usually does not take long before someone offers tools, parts, advice, or another set of hands. Experienced drivers help newer drivers. Media teams stay busy around the track. The willingness to tandem is built into the culture rather than reserved for a small group at the top.
Single-day and two-day events draw strong driver fields and crowds. Drift trains stay active, and the track provides enough variety for drivers to keep pushing without every lap becoming repetitive.
Piedmont also offers private days for drivers who want extra seat time, focused testing, or a private gathering with friends. That flexibility gives the facility value to everyone from a beginner learning transitions to an experienced driver dialing in a new setup.
The Mayor of TandemTown
Ryan Deavers has remained one of the driving forces behind Piedmont Drift.
I met Ryan when we were both driving old FC RX-7s on basic service-road layouts. Since then, I have watched the facility and the community grow together. That growth did not happen simply because more pavement was added. It happened because drivers kept returning, bringing friends, helping each other, sharing knowledge, and running closer.
Ryan continued giving that community a place to do it.
That is why the local scene knows him as the Mayor of TandemTown. The nickname was earned through years of keeping the scene active and giving drivers a reason to come back.
Built by the People Who Kept Showing Up
Piedmont Drift represents what grassroots drifting is supposed to be.
It is not only about having the fastest car, the most expensive build, or the largest following. It is about seat time, commitment, shared knowledge, and drivers pushing one another to improve.
The facility has changed considerably since the days of fewer than 20 cars sliding around service roads. The layouts are faster, the events are larger, and tandem driving has become central to the experience.
The foundation, however, remains the same.
People show up to drive, help one another, capture the action, and keep the culture moving forward.
A drag strip gave local drivers a place to practice. Those drivers built a community around it.
That community built TandemTown.