Matt Field and his crew prepare to go to Long Beach, California for the first stop of the Formula Drift tour. As they're tuning their newly upgraded car, they realize that something isn't quite right. They work late into the night attempting to solve the issue, but finally have to leave to make it to the track in time for mandatory tech inspection. Matt and the team make it, but they are still struggling to solve the issue, until they finally realize that it's too late. Matt and the team must head back home to San Jose, California without any points at the first stop. Despite the disappointment, Matt knows that he has business at his shop (The Drift Cave) to attend to, and more opportunities to score points in the future.
Matt and his crew are determined to make up for their missed points at Long Beach. With only 2 short weeks before they must drive to Georgia for the next stop, the crew battles with mechanical issues once more. At the same time, they are rushing to prepare a customer's car. Ekaterina, a drifter from Russia, has hired The Drift Cave to prepare her vehicle for the ProAm series. Matt qualifies, but his first opponent is Fredric Aasbo, one of the top drivers on the tour. During the battle, Matt's car hits Aasbo's while following, costing him the battle, and preventing him from driving in the remainder of the competition.
Matt and the team adjust their focus back on The Drift Cave. Ekaterina's hash ordered a new car and is hoping to drive it in the upcoming ProAm event. The team is also working on Ty Milner's car. Ty, Matt's main technician, won the last Golden Gate Drift ProAm event, and is looking forward to showing off again.
Matt and the team head out to Miami, Florida to compete in the third stop of the Formula Drift tour. A completely new track for the Formula Drift circuit, this track adds an interesting element: none of the drivers have ever practiced there. This means that skill can shine over experience. Matt has a solid qualifying run, and then launches through the ranks, making it into the top 4. He battles Chris Forsberg, one of the highest-ranked drivers on circuit. Although he doesn't make it to the podium, Matt has proved that him and his vehicle can take on the best drivers Formula Drift has to offer.
Matt and his team head to Wall, New Jersey for the fourth stop of the Formula Drift circuit. Confident from his performance at Miami, Matt feels ready to compete, but his vehicle starts experiencing some problems. Matt must rush through his contacts searching for a specific and rare part for his engine. In just the nick of time, the car is up and running. Matt qualifies 12th, and wins his first battle, but when he goes against Odi Bakchis, Odi takes the win. Matt becomes frustrated, and his fans become outspoken against the judge's decision.
n order to get exposure for the shop and make some extra money, Matt decides to start a local drifting event. As he attempts to plan and organize, work at the shop becomes overwhelming. He has new, big budget clients that he needs to please, and limited time. In the end, the client work is completed on time, and Matt has a successful and fun day at The Drift Cave series.
The team prepares to go to Monroe, Washington for the fifth stop on the Formula Drift circuit. Matt qualifies and wins his first battle, and gets put up against Chris Forsberg, who took the podium over him in Miami. The battle is extremely close, with some of Matt's best driving of all time, but Forsberg is chosen by the judges. Matt questions the viability of taking on so many roles at once, and wonders if some extra rest and reduced stress would have given him the extra edge to beat Forsberg and move up in the tour.
Matt and the team head to Fort Worth, Texas for the sixth stop of the Formula Drift circuit. Amidst stress and tension, Matt qualifies, but is placed against one of the best, Vaughan Gittin Jr. Gittin, a crowd favorite, takes the win, but Matt keeps his chin up. This season in Formula Drift may not be the most successful one, but Matt has proven his worth before and he knows that each failure is a learning experience.
Matt and his team head to Anaheim, California for a special event put on by his tire sponsor, Nitto. Auto Enthusiasts' Day is a celebration of drift fans, featuring a car show, raffles, giveaways, and professional drifters having fun and doing stunts. Matt and his crew are relieved to have a non-competitive event, and it shows. Matt drifts with Vaughan Gittin Jr. in front of a crowd of excited fans. Matt reflects on his lifestyle choice, and how happy he is to be pursuing his dreams on a daily basis, despite all the stress and chaos.
The final stop on the Formula Drift tour in Irwindale, California, is known as the greatest stop in Formula D. Each driver pushes their limits to the max, knowing that they have months to get their cars back in gear before the season starts again. Matt is in the same boat. With his parents and girlfriend rooting him on, Matt is determined to flex his skills. Matt wins his first battle against Justin Pawlak, a Ford-sponsored driver in a Ford Mustang. He then wins his next battle against Aono, a Japanese drifter and privateer. As fate would have it, Matt once again gets put up against Chris Forsberg. In a close match, Forsberg gets the win, making him winner of the 2014 tour. Matt's final standing for the 2014 season is 15th out of 60. Matt is disappointed, but a new opportunity arises. One of his Japanese sponsors, Hardcore, has invited Matt to Japan to get in touch with the roots of drifting. Matt's disappointment is overshadowed by excitement to go to a new and exciting place.
With the stakes high on the final day of the Formula Drift Championship, Matt Field is calm and focused on what he needs to do to protect his and his crew's livelihood. Before setting out for practice runs, Matt meets with Daniel Chow to discuss a strategy for beating JTP, Justin Pawlak, in the Top 32. Matt pushes his car to the limit, blows off his bumper, but completes a solid practice run against JTP. He follows up with a few more practice runs. After practice, Matt and his team discover his supercharger bracket is cracked and hurry to fix it before his official run. The Top 32 runs begin and Matt's car is fixed just in time to face off against JTP. Both drivers perform outstandingly and it's a close call, so the judges call an OMT; One More Time. Matt knocks out JTP and moves on to the Top 16 but the euphoria is interrupted by additional car troubles; this time, it's the clutch. With the clock counting down to the Top 16 round, Matt and his team are able to fix the problem and get the car to the start line. Matt moves on to the Top 8 where he will face Chris Forsberg. Matt is out for redemption as he and Forsberg go head to head. Despite going hard, the judges call in favor of Forsberg, ending Matt's Formula Drift season. He finishes in 15th place with fresh determination to refocus and do better next year.
Matt Field leaves his team to manage the shop while travels to Japan to get acquainted with the roots of drifting. He explores Japanese culture and tradition, and most importantly, the drifting scene. From underground street drifting to the Tokyo Auto Salon, this is sure to be an experience Matt will not soon forget.
In the epic finale of Season 1, Matt gets the opportunity to drift at the legendary Nikko track just outside of Tokyo. After a fun-filled week of exploring Tokyo car culture and meeting up with Japanese drivers, Matt has to head back home to San Jose to tend to The Drift Cave and prepare for the next season of Formula Drift.