Formula DRIFT unveiled its Hall of Fame monument outside the Long Beach Arena on Tuesday, putting a permanent marker on the place where the series began more than two decades ago. Ryan Sage also announced Dai Yoshihara as this year’s Hall of Fame inductee during media day for the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The monument is built around four tire replicas stacked on top of one another, each marked with a representation of the treads from original tires used by the series. A carbon fiber Formula DRIFT trophy sits on top, while the names of Hall of Fame inductees are etched into the base. White and red flowers were placed around it.
The timing matters because Formula DRIFT opens its 2026 season on Friday and Saturday, April 10-11, then continues its schedule during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach from April 17-19. Long Beach has been part of Formula DRIFT since the beginning, and the series chose the city for the monument because of its rich motorsports history.
Technical director Kevin Wells designed and built the monument after spending two years trying to assemble it under the constraints of a downtown city location. Sage said Wells’ work showed both creativity and commitment, and he pointed to the importance of preserving the series’ legacy in a place that has shaped it from the start.
The tribute also arrived just weeks after Jim Michaelian died at 83 on March 21. Sage said Michaelian’s first call after the monument was announced underscored how important the link between Formula DRIFT and Long Beach had become. Sage also recalled a conversation from 24 years ago, when he and Jim Liaw were told the sport would never work because the drivers were “just kids” and “totally out of control,” a judgment the series has spent the next quarter-century proving wrong.
Yoshihara said he still remembers the first event in Long Beach and thanked the city for supporting Formula DRIFT over the years. “So, having this here and then having my name here is amazing,” he said, standing beside a monument meant to outlast the season and, in a city built on racing memory, make the sport’s history visible at street level.
