Two years ago, Brent Pursifull was driving down the road when he got an unsuspected DM on Instagram. What he didn’t know was that two years later, he would be competing against some of the best drivers in the world on a Netflix show named Hyperdrive.

The show, which debuted on Aug. 21, makes drivers go through multiple stunts with the fastest times moving on to the next round. The main focus of the show is drifting, a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers to make the car do a tail whip.

“At first, I was very much in disbelief,” said Pursifull about his initial reaction. “So, we talked about an hour driving down the road, and I did a Skype interview with them the next day. It’s been two years in the making.”

Pursifull was discovered after producers saw his Instagram page. While the show focuses on drifting, producers wanted a variety of drivers and cars for the show. Pursifull’s Firebird stood out.

“We weren’t very serious contenders when we got there and saw the level of competition because they had the best of the best up there,” said Pursifull. “We took a knife to a gun fight. At first, I was a duck out of water. I truly felt like I wanted to come home because this is not any of the usual.

“Everything that we were doing was 180-degrees against what I’m used to doing, but in 24 hours we made friends. We got lifetime friends from people all over the world now. It was amazing how we come together as a group and took care of each other and took care of what had to be done.”

Pursifull advanced past the first round of the competition after “coasting through the timing lights.” He said the motor went out on the car after going through the “walking on water” obstacle. They were able to get the car going for round two — where communication problems with the headset created issues.

While he didn’t win the competition, Pursifull said he was happy to bring a positive light to the Bell County area.

“I just appreciate getting some good notoriety for our area. It kind of tickled me because you hear so much bad about our area,” said Pursifull. “Our area isn’t bad. It’s our home. It makes me feel good that we brought some good publicity to our area. It makes me feel proud.”

As for how Pursifull got into racing, he said he always had an interest in cars. He built a 1966 Chevelle when his son was sick and decided to try it in an autocross event in Charlotte, N.C.

“My friend and I went down, and we loved it. So, then I ended up building a car that is basically the Firebird.”

The Firebird, which he used on the show, has a super-charged LS motor, 6-speed transmission, Baer brakes and a cage.