The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift movie brought new audiences to the drift scene in the early 2000s. It spurred a lot of interest in the driving technique that continues to this day, but drifting is not new. According to MotoIQ, the origins of drifting are hard to suss out, but one of the first practitioners of the technique was Kunimitsu Takahashi, a motorcycle and car racer who perfected the technique. He is known as the “drift king” in many circles.

Drifting looks incredibly cool, is a hoot to participate in, and a special motorsport in its own right. That being said, it is dangerous. If you don’t know how to handle a difficult oversteer situation, you’re bound to end up crashing your car rather than sliding around a corner in a cloud of tire smoke. So, how do you become the next drift king? You go to school. There are numerous drift schools in the country, and we’ve rounded up a list of the best.

Team O’Neil Drift Driving School

Team O'Neil Drift School

The Team O’Neil Rally School is well known, but did you know that the same company offers a drift school, too? Yep. If you want instruction from some serious pros, look no further than Team O’Neil. Located in Dalton, New Hampshire, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the school offers classes with pro drivers that have over 20 years of training in performance driving. You’ll get instruction from some of the best in the business without a doubt.

You can either rent or bring your own drift-ready car. Team O’Neil will customize your experience based on your skill level. This means it’s a great place to go if you have no experience, but it’s also a smart school for a seasoned driver looking to hone their skills.

AMG Driving Academy

The AMG Driving Academy has a number of programs and is highly-respected in the motorsports world. If you want to learn how to drift, though, you do the Drift Experience. This course is held either at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway in Salinas, California, or at the Curcuit of the Americas in Travis County, Texas.

The tracks you will drive are custom made for the event, and the experience lasts one day. You start the day off with breakfast and a safety briefing, then you move to drive modules where you’ll learn how to control the car from seasoned instructors. After that is lunch, and then more drive modules and a final drift challenge that will test the skills learned throughout the day. This experience is designed for driver’s new to drifting and high-performance driving.

Drift School USA

drift school USA

Drift School USA’s classes are held at the Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California, near Los Angeles. Drift School USA claims to have been in business before any other drift schools were in the United States. Its staff has years of experience and offers a number of courses for you to take. You can do a standard or premium package and then customize your package for the number of days and features. Drift School USA will also rent you a car.

If you have your own car, you can show up and receive instruction only. Instruction can be customized depending on skill level and driver intention. This means instruction can be for people just starting out or for people actually competing in drift events. Drift School USA also offers group classes. No matter what you choose to do, you will get a mixture of indoor classroom instruction, on-track session instruction, and pre and post-session video analysis. Basically, Drift School USA does it all.

Drift 101

Drift 101 claims to have “the most comprehensive drift course on the planet.” The school works with the idea that anyone can learn the basics of drifting. The staff at Drift 101 has over 25 combined years of experience in the sport and many of those years have been spent teaching people how to drift. Like Drift School USA, Drift 101 is based near Los Angeles, California, but the Van Nuys located establishment is situated on the other side of the city. Also like other schools, you can rent or show up with your own drift-ready car.

The classes range from a single-day introductory class that teaches the absolute basics to a two-day drift/stunt package that shows you much more than just how to drift. The school also offers private and group lessons, allowing you to customize your experience further. While Drift 101 doesn’t seem to have as much of an emphasis on getting ready for drifting competitions, if you just want to learn how to drift and totally control your car, this is a great school.

U-Drift

Looking for something fun to do in Las Vegas, Nevada, that’s not going to get you in too much trouble? Skip the casinos and everything else. Head over to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to take a drifting course from U-Drift. Like other schools, you can bring your own car or you can rent one of the schools. U-Drift claims to be the world’s largest drift school, boasting over 200,000 square feet of asphalt for you to slide a car around on.

Classes range from a simple “Learn to Drift” course to a complete rental of the racetrack. The basic course only lasts 30 minutes but it’s vastly cheaper than other experiences. No matter what course you choose, U-Drift offers instruction from experienced drivers and a heck of a good time. It’s probably the best way you can spend money in Las Vegas because you’ll actually learn something.