by Michael Kitchens

Scott-Michael Waracka has been racing since he was ten years old with the Pacific Karting Club.  Before that, his father raced SCCA – and still does.  His grandfather had a passion for Corvettes.  If there was such a thing as a family tree for petrol-heads, Scott would be the newest branch.

Scott was introduced to the world of drifting as a freshmen by way of his buddy who would bring Japanese Option mags to school.  It was further cemented when he had a chance to witness hachi-drifting legend, Katsuhiro Ueo at a special session.  “Some of the local talent was gathered so Ueo could witness guys like Stanford Lau, Justin Kikawa, Barry Wong, & Shige Hirabayashi tear it up.  I jumped in with Scott Pierce…it took about two times around turn 1 and I was done. I wanted to do it.”

Scott’s first car was a 1993 Nissan 240SX, purchased in 2003.  He immediately began drifting at Drift Session. “I wasn’t any of the big wigs back then, but I had a fun time.  It was a nice car till I got a hold of it.”  When the track closed, Scott traded the battered shell to Ross Petty (that guy gets around) for a fastback. With nowhere to drift, Scott then went square with an Xb and cruised for a bit.

The 240SX gracing this page was purchased for a steal…$700 with a blacktop SR20DET.  “The previous owner purchased the blacktop from Japan, couldn’t get it started, so I came in and got it running for him.  A year later, I saw it sitting with no plates in his garage.  I wrote him a note and ended up buying the car.”

When Scott first rolled into the parking garage of the Aloha Tower Marketplace, I had to put the camera down and check it out with my own eyes.  The amount of fabrication and detail work is immense, and what’s even more amazing is that it’s all home built.  “I had Snyder’s do the bottom end, and Munkywurks the tune, but everything has been done with passion and love by myself and my buddy Waylon Bankirk.  He’s my motivator…he’d come over and wake me up early morning on a Saturday.”  Very little of the car has remained stock…the majority has been massaged with a performance-minded touch, and the end result is absolutely epic.

In fact, the car is so built that without an asphalt racetrack on the island, one might question the thinking behind such extreme modifications. Scott says “I built it as a racecar…I wanted to be ready and happy with the car when something did get rolling.  I remember Barry, Shige, Steve-O…all their cars were built.  I want to be remembered in the same way.”

Draped in an amazing Ash Khaki color, the car screams pure drift intent.  The car features an Origin Aggressive style kit that combined with beautiful rainbow flakes leaves a lasting impression on your retinas.  The rear is especially striking with the Koguchi Power over-fenders and Kouki wing.

Power-wise, the entire engine bay has been reworked from the ground up to push over 435 ponies through the 19×10 Weds Kranze Rapiers.  “It’s more than enough to go drifting”, Scott says.  He also rewired the car totally from the front to the back…the interior looks like the cockpit of a fighter jet in comparison to its stock origins.  Corbeau FX1 seats set off the look while providing a better fit for Scott’s tall, stocky build.  Check the spec sheet for the full build, but needless to say, the car is serious work.