Since the thoughts are straying yet again, as always, to the "drifting will make you a better racer" thoughts, let's clear this little bit up....
To drift, in the sense that this topic is about, is to slide the car sideways and hold the angle as long as possible to look as good as possible. In drifting, to get the car drifting is, well, done on purpose.
In racing, you don't drift, or you don't drift in this sense. Drifting is an entirely different meaning and it doesn't mean the rear end sliding out. Four wheel drift is what would be refered to when talking drift in racing, but that's a seperate topic. From here on, the term "drift" will be assumed I am meaning drifting as in the sport where you slide the rear end at extreme angles and hold it.
So, now we look at drifting in racing. It is called a slide, oversteer, or a mistake. It is something that is NOT done on purpose, nor when it happens, do you want to maximize it and hold it. When the car oversteers and the tail kicks out, you want to MINIMIZE the slide, catch it, and recover. It's a completely different thing than drifting.
Thus, if you think about it, drifting skills would be detrimental to a racing lap if you would happen to use them if you make a mistake and the rear slides out.
The skill of catching and recovering a slide is a racing skill. In no way can the statement be made that "with drift skills you will be a better racer." This is because, to be a better racer, you will already have the skill of car control and oversteer recovery, 2 very basic skills that is necessary for racing, far before "drifting" had ever happened.
Disclaimer: In no way should it be assumed that I state drifting does not take any skill in the above text. I only want to point out the difference between drifting and slide control in racing.....