Hard-charging drone provides a unique perspective of the F-150 drifting in an icy lot.
This week’s Freaky Friday comes to us from the YouTube channel of Joey D’Annaand it features an 11th generation Ford F-150 drifting around a big, empty parking lot after a snow storm. The snow is just deep enough to allow the 2004 through 2008 to easily spin the rear tires, drawing circles in the wintry slush.
What makes this clip unique from other footage of an F-150 frolicking in the snow is the fact that it is filmed by an aerial drone being controlled by a very rambunctious pilot. As a result, this video allows us to watch the Ford fun from the perspective of an angry bird that is repeatedly attacking the truck.
High Speed Drone
The video begins with the F-150 sitting stationary in the snow and the drone sitting on the ground next to the truck, but at the same time at which the truck pulls away, the drone goes rocketing into the sky. The first few seconds of the video are really more of an aerial acrobatics display, but after the pilot showcases his or her skills, the truck becomes the focus of the video.
However, unlike many drone footage automotive videos where the camera is just hovering in the sky or moving slowly with the vehicle, this airborne video recorder is constantly moving, often swooping down close to the truck. As a result, it is kind of like the perspective of an angry bird that is protecting its nest from a hooligan in a pickup.
Cooking Up Sno-Nuts
We don’t have any details on the Ford F-150 in the video above, but we know all that we need to know. With the layer of snow in the huge parking lot, this truck easily keeps the rear tires spinning as the driver throws the rear end around over and over again. At times, the angry bird view transitions to slow motion, giving us a better look of the rear tires slinging snow into the air.
Would this tire-spinning action have been done in a dry parking lot of in the dirt, we would have called them donuts, but since the snow is playing such a vital role here, we call them sno-nuts. Towards the end of the video, a Volvo 240 joins in on the fun a bit, but it doesn’t play in the snow as well as the truck.
While the tire-spinning action and drone piloting is good, the music is odd, so this is a video best-enjoyed with the volume left on mute.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
