Driver Story
Meet Nathan McDuffie
Nathan McDuffie started drifting in 2008 in an FC RX-7 at Piedmont Dragway, back when the basic layout was two left-hand turns and the advanced course was all rights. After a few months he started driving to Myrtle Beach for MB Drift competition.
He later moved through several chassis, including S13s, an SC400, Toyota Corona, turbo Miata, and more while hosting events through Driftaholic Racing. Driftaholic Racing started when Nathan was local to Virginia International Raceway and saw an opportunity to create affordable skid pad events.
The program grew from skid pad days to Patriot Course drifting and even a one-off event at Danville Airport. He bought a tire changer early to help support events and keep entry fees aimed at covering costs while giving drivers a safe place to practice.
Nathan eventually settled on the 350Z after seeing how capable the platform was. The original DE engine worked well for smaller tracks, but competition pushed the car beyond stock power.
The car went through nitrous, then a Vortech supercharger, then a VQ37VHR swap from a 370Z. With help and support from On Point Parts and Cruzin Auto Performance, the car made 509 whp on E85 with a Vortech setup, but reliability suffered.
Nathan later stripped the supercharger setup back off and focused on making the car reliable again. The current car weighs around 2,900 pounds, makes about 320 whp, runs E85, and has a cage, welded differential, tune, GKTech lower control arms and bolt-on angle kit, dual caliper kit, Racequip halo seat, MOMO steering wheel, and Zamp helmet.
His path has been shaped by seat time, event hosting, building the community, and learning when reliability matters more than chasing power.