When I had initially announced that I’d be making shirts for the site, I was met with a lot of ‘Finally!’s from friends and fans. Needless to say, in the scheme of things, I suppose this has been a long time coming. With that being said, it took awhile because the last thing I wanted to do was make a shirt for the sake of making it. I wanted to tap into the network of close friends I’ve made over the years and come up with something that includes everyone. As the days pass, NDF is becoming more and more synonymous with the sport of time attack in Japan. We enjoy it, we support those doing it, we bring you the best coverage of it, and since that’s where our interests lie, it soon became an obvious choice on what type of design to make for our first shirt.
So I decided that it would be best to make an annual tribute shirt; 2014 being the first of hopefully many years to come. The 10 organizations and shops that are represented here are some of the most prominent in the Japanese Attack scene. They are leading the sport, they are the Frontrunners. As the years pass, this list will grow.
The Kyushu boys, lead by Hiroyoshi-san, are holding down Autopolis without any effort , and have since branched out to compete in WTAC with Sumihiko-san’s R34. Aoki-san who recently dove head first into developing FD parts via Ready, Go Next!, and who is also a huge advocate of the Attack series. My good friend Takahashi at Technical Auto One’s in Gunma, who undoubtedly has the fastest FD in Japan. Hara-san and Ken at Car Shop Glow, who have supported the site for so long now, and who we’ve helped introduce to the US last year. My close friend and personal motivation, Takumi Iwata at Garage Work, whose crazy knowledge of Honda’s is only trumped by the way he drives them! Yamazaki-san at Zest Racing, who provides a solid, ‘behind the scenes’, support for many individuals that run in Attack. Masaki Kitajo at Craft Company; a shop that’s easily become a staple in RX7 tuning. The guys at Garage Mak, who not only make some of the best S-chassis aero, but also have demo cars (twin charged Z33 especially) that destroy pb’s each time they hit the track.
Last but not least, the two organizations that allow such a unique motor sport to take place in Japan. Battle Evome, one of the originating grassroots attack events, and the event that I was introduced to the sport through. Everyone involved in the organization of Evome is nothing short of an enthusiast and are some of the nicest people I’ve met. The up and coming series, Attack. Literally taking time attack in Japan to another level with vendors, live coverage, multiple media outlets, and country wide participation. Without a doubt the future of Attack.
I suppose my point is, try not to think of this as just a t-shirt, and try not to think of NDF as just another automotive website taking the next step in growth by releasing clothing. I (we) have a vested interest in the relationships we form along the way, and the feeling to these individuals is mutual. I got really excited at the reactions of everyone when I approached each person with the tribute shirt idea, and how fast they got on board with it; there’s a certain comradery there that you won’t find too often. I understand the whole connection between apparel and the automotive scene in the US; somewhere along the line someone related the two. The truth is though, you don’t need a t-shirt to enjoy cars. In fact, you don’t even have to be wearing clothing to drive a car, although I would recommend it. And hey, since most of use do wear shirts while we drive, why don’t you wear this one while you do it. Wear it to show others that you support those pushing the sport forward, and dedicating their lives to building the cars that serve as inspiration for our own builds; the perfect picture of what we all aspire to create.
As an added bonus, every time someone points out that it’s offense because it says ‘Dogfight’, you can have the fun of trying to explain what it really means…like I get to do every time someone asks me if I fight dogs.
I don’t fight dogs btw; dogs are the best.
You can pre-order the shirts here. I have a large amount printed and ready to processed, I will be back in town this weekend and ready to start processing any pre-orders we receive. We also have a restock on vinyl as well, including a new Maziora Yuta decal ^^
Thanks for the support everyone.
Sean