Drifting a rally car is difficult in a drift context but Verdier is pulling it off. (Bill Wood photo) » More Photos

My first conversation with Stephan a year ago at the Long Beach Formula Drift round was a unique one. I’d seen the name connected with rallying but here he was throwing his unsponsored Subaru around hoping someone would notice.

They were. They especially were noticing the crowds gathering around his Subaru, a rare commodity in the RWD world of drifting. After a year of showing up all over the country in all sorts of competitions, Verdier is now fielding calls from people who want to be seen by the crowds he’s gathering.

Verdier’s intensity is best described in this anecdote. He came to the U.S. when he was 21 with French as his native language. Remember, the goal was to learn how to fly helicopters, a career that took Stephan’s heart as well as his father, who died in a crash when Stephan was only 18. But when Verdier started racing here in the U.S., he had to learn the language of racing just to talk with the engineers and the other racers.

“All the car terms such as A-arms, strut, anything that related to the car, I learned here in the United States. All the technical terms for racing I know in English but I don’t know them in French. I never raced cars in Europe before I started racing here.”

So, when I asked Stephan how many languages he speaks, he had this unique answer: “Only two: three-quarters French and three-quarters English.” He said he’s still learning English but he’s forgotten some of his native French, because he’s had to immerse himself in English to continue his racing career here in the U.S.

“The way it is now, I think in English. I don’t think in French anymore. When I talk with someone in French, I almost have to think in English in my head and translate it to French.” He still has family in France, including his mother, so reunions must be difficult!

So, you see, Stephan Verdier isn’t your garden variety Tuner guy. Maybe the final straw is his interest in rock music instead of hip-hop. He’s a U2 guy instead of Jay-Z or Snoop. In fact, if you push him he’ll admit that music just isn’t his thing. Racing is Stephan Verdier’s Jones.

Maybe that’s the one thing that puts him square in the middle of the Tuner demo. He’s committed.