Chadwick Drive was commissioned by the Kroustikon Ensemble. The conductor and the leader of the group, Risto Pulkkinen, had previously given Räihälä some valuable advice on percussion instruments. In Chadwick Drive, the ensemble consists of five players who each play their melodic percussions and a selection of unpitched instruments. The work was started in autumn 1997 and finished just days before Christmas that year. The first performance was heard in March 1998 in Turku. Later that same year the piece was also played in the PASIC (Percussive Arts Society's International Conference, Orlando, FL) and was thus Räihälä's American debut. The Kroustikon Ensemble recorded the piece the following year (FFCD-1025). Chadwick Drive was also heard during the Nordic Music Days in 2000, performed this time by the Breath Ensemble.

Chadwick Drive's title refers to Edgar Chadwick, an Everton player during the 1890's. Before a game between Scotland and England, the Scottish press wrote off England's chances because they thought their opposition were too old and lacked the necessary bite, but within seconds of the start of the game England were in front, after Chadwick drove a shot past McLeod, the Scottish 'keeper. The work also starts with an immediate, powerful impact, and after a convincing spell it reaches a relative calmness. In this section one can hear soft and melodic lines and some longer processes for the first time in Räihälä's music.