For drifters, the straightaways alone just aren't fast enough.

"Drifting is the automotive art of sliding a car through a corner with complete control while the tires are slipping," said Kainoa Valente, 24, a writer and photographer for SpeedHawaii.com. "It's about going sideways through a corner with maximum speed and angle. It's motorsports' contribution to the world of X-games."

Drivers say the thrill of drifting through a turn at nearly triple-digit speeds is only akin to adrenaline-pulsing stunts like bungee jumping and far superior to the fastest, spine-jelling roller coasters.

"I can hit turns at 109 mph," said Steve Oliberos, a Big Island-born professional racer. "It's all one fluid slide through the turn. I go from 109 mph down to 25-35 mph when I leave the corner."

Oliberos, who competes in Formula D, the nation's largest drifting circuit, uses the drift sessions at O'ahu's Hawai'i Raceway Park to hone his skills while he is home in the Islands and appreciates that Hawai'i drivers have a legal avenue to pursue their hobbies.

Drift sessions began in 2001 and have offered racers, beginners and advanced, the chance to soar through corners in competitions held within the safe confines of a track and off perilous city streets. The $35 to $65 price tag to compete in drift sessions is much cheaper than a ticket.

"A lot of beginners think it's too expensive to run at the track events," said Alex Pfeiffer, another Hawai'i-born Formula-D competitor. "But after your insurance premiums go up from tickets and you crash your car a couple times, you will wish you spent that money on track time and tires."

Barry Wong, 26, has been competing at drift sessions since its inception, and believes that the legality and safety of the track has allowed him to progress much faster than if he were racing on the street.

Wong also attributes much of his success on the track to his girlfriend, Candice Higa, who has been his "co-pilot" since he began drifting.

Higa describes herself as Wong's biggest critic and compares the duo to Bonnie & Clyde. Higa hopes one day to move into the driver's seat and burn some rubber of her own.

The sport of drifting began in Japan in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was a form of street racing that mimicked earlier Japanese styles that were developed while racing on windy mountain roads or during races around the seaports.

The origins of drifting in Hawai'i go back to the late 1980s, when the sport was mostly underground and not very popular. It began to take hold in the mid-1990s when groups of racers would gather on mountain roads to catch a view of small import cars sliding around the sharp turns.

According to Valente, drifting has its roots in stock car racing, rally racing, and to some extent, ice racing. All involve racing with less than ideal grip.

"Eventually, the racers learned that they could corner faster if they slid the car through the turn and regained grip at the corner exit," Valente said.

"I first witnessed drifting in 1996," said David Shimokawa, drift sessions' marketing director. "While hanging out with friends at Tantalus Drive, 20 to 30 of my friends would line up their cars on the roadway and take turns drifting through a series of switch-back turns."

Some drifters think there are a few things that can be done to keep these racers off the streets and safe on the track.

"There have been talks that Hawai'i Raceway Park will be closed down soon," said Pfeiffer, 29. "Hawai'i Raceway Park is the only legal place for all of O'ahu to enjoy the motorsports lifestyle and I feel it is important to keep the facility open until we are able to open another area. It doesn't need to be an extremely large track with lots of spectator seats, but we do need something to start happening, and now."

Shimokawa said he believes that people need to start supporting drifters or they will be without a home and back on the streets and highways.

"In order to stop illegal drifting and street racing," Shimokawa said, "the general public needs to get to the racetrack to support legally sanctioned drifting events. Only by watching these guys perform and cheering when they win will we provide the attention they seek and discourage the negative behavior we want to avoid. Watch, drive, volunteer, whatever; you need to get involved."