Drift Indy & ClubFR have teamed up to bring two full days of drifting and fun to USA International Raceway in Shawano, WI May 26 & 27th.  Registration for the event is now open.  Early registration closes on the 18th.

We’ll be running 10am till Dark on Saturday, and 10am to 5pm Sunday.  The Midwest NO STAR BASH will run a variety of the available track configurations at USAIR to keep things interesting.

Grilling and camping  are allowed at the track, and there are several restaurants and hotels nearby, details here.

BALTIMORE, Md. (May 16, 2012) – Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the Monster Energy Falken Tire 2013 Ford Mustang RTR were on top of their game all weekend at Formula Drift Rd. 2 Road Atlanta. Friday night, Vaughn qualified 2nd out of over 50 competing drivers, and would go on to drive top-notch during Saturday’s sold-out main event.

This round at Road Atlanta, known for it’s die-hard fans and spectacular drifting under the illumining lights on the track, did not disappoint this year with attendance higher than ever, and Formula Drift Pro/Am and Global Time Attack running throughout the weekend as well. The drifting course was changed up a bit this year, allowing for closer tandem battles between drivers. Watch this VIDEO of Vaughn Gittin Jr. blasting the Monster Energy Falken Tire 2013 Ford Mustang RTR through the course during one of his practice runs.

After defeating his Falken Tire/Autosport Dynamics teammate, Darren McNamara, in the top 32 battle rounds, Vaughn would move on to be paired with former D1GP Champion, Daigo Saito. This would for sure, be a highly anticipated battle, not only by the two competitors, but by the fans as well.

Being the higher qualifier, Vaughn would lead first, putting down an amazing run underneath the lights on the Road Atlanta track. When it was his turn to give chase, Vaughn would follow Daigo amazingly close throughout the course, only to let off when his competitor went extremely off-line in the second-to-last turn, leaving Vaughn with no where to go. During the switchback, the drivers made contact, ultimately causing Vaughn to blow a tire and unfortunately spinout in the final turn. Watch the VIDEO of the top 16 battle between Vaughn and Daigo Saito.

“While the result isn’t exactly where we wanted to be, overall I am very happy with our performance this weekend,” says Vaughn Gittin Jr. “We were on our game and our Mustang performed flawlessly. There are just some things you can’t control, especially in drifting.”

Next up for Vaughn, he heads down south to West Palm Beach, Florida June 1-2 for Round 3 of Formula Drift, where he plans to flight hard to keep climbing up the ladder in the points chase for the 2012 Championship.

For more information, please visit Vaughn’s Facebook Page or VaughnGittin.com.

Its Finally here. Keep Drifting fun THE MOVIE.  Filmed by Will Roegge  & Joshua Herron in 2010 as they crisscrossed the USA interviewing drivers and covering grassroots drifting events. A very amazing piece of work. Be Sure to check out keepdriftingfun.com  and also head on over and fallow the KDF crews Facebook.

Driving the 2013 Falken Tire Ford Mustang, Pawlak has now notched the first two wins and leads the Formula D championship rankings by commanding margin.  The number of entrants competing in the popular drift series has grown significantly with 48 drivers fighting for a chance to compete in the top 32 tandem round.  Falken teammate Vaughn Gittin, Jr., qualified second; Pawlak eighth; while the remaining Falken team members sat in 9th (Daijiro Yoshihara); 21st (Falken privateer Walker Wilkerson); and 31st (Darren McNamara, who debuted his new Falken Tire 350Z).

Pawlak, Gittin, Jr., and Wilkerson advanced to Top 16, where Gittin, Jr., was defeated.  Pawlak and Wilkerson continued to advance until Justin beat the privateer in the Top 4.  It was Wilkerson’s first fourth place finish in only his second season of drifting competition in the Formula D series.

“Falken and Justin are experiencing a strong start to the new season,” stated Jonathan Bradford, Team Falken’s Drift Supervisor.  “His Mustang and our Azenis RT615K tire are a strong combination, and coupled with Justin’s superb driving talent, it’s no surprise he’s at the top of the leader board.”  Pawlak led for much of the 2011 Formula D season as well.

“Road Atlanta is a fast track, and I wanted to do well after suffering a bad crash in Atlanta last year,” said Pawlak.  “I’m excited to be where we are right now and while it’s never cool to beat another Falken entrant, it’s clear that any driver has the capacity to run to the top.  Based on the number of entrants Atlanta attracted, this will continue to be a tough season and you’ve got to stay alert and ahead of the competition.”

“I would echo Justin’s statement about the importance of staying ahead,” added Nick Fousekis, Falken’s Director of Motorsports Marketing and Events, “and Falken will continue its aggressive testing and preparation program in order to do so.  This is Falken’s second ‘command performance’ – finishing first three years in a row – and it truly invigorates our team and corporate efforts.”

From a marketing standpoint, Falken entertained 235 dealer guests in its hospitality center.

Round three – the “Invasion” – will be held June 1-2, at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Falken Tire Drivers’ Formula Drift Series Position Standings
1. Justin Pawlak
7. Daijiro Yoshihara
13. Vaughn Gittin Jr.
22. Walker Wilkerson
23. Darren McNamara

WAYNE, N.J., May, 14, 2012 – Hankook driver Fredric Aasbo placed second in round two of the 2012 Formula Drift season this past weekend on the new for 2012 course layout at Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, GA.

The sold out event attracted over 20,000 spectators and saw Aasbo driving his Hankook/Need for Speed Scion tC against Hankook Tire teammate Rhys Millen in the Hankook/Hyundai Genesis during the Top 8 round.  The tandem run was so close the drivers went out on the track for a ‘One More Time’ run, with Aasbo coming out on top over Millen.

On to Top 4, Aasbo was matched against D1 champ Daigo Saito.  Despite the smaller engine in Aasbo’s Scion tC, his Papadakis Racing crew was able to prepare his car to allow him to beat out Saito and win a second place podium finish.

“What an incredible night!  We knew that speed was going to be the determining factor here in Atlanta, and following Round 1 in Long Beach we knew we had just that,” stated Aasbo. “Coming out here, taking out top names like Diago Saito and ending up on the podium…it’s definitely complements to this amazing team.  Now, bring on Round 3 in Florida!”

Aasbo and his Hankook Tire racing teammates compete on Hankook’s Ventus R-S3 Extreme Performance Summer tire.  Developed for serious sports car, sports coupe and performance sedan enthusiasts the Ventus R-S3 offers drivers looking for outstanding race tire-like traction on the street or for use in autocross, drifting or track events.  Aasbo’s second place podium finish puts him in third place overall in the Formula Drift championship standings.

“Having all our teams qualify and Fredric finishing on the podium truly demonstrates the performance and consistency of our Hankook Ventus R-S3 tires,” said Hankook motorsports marketing manager Paul Jho.  “Now it’s on to Round 3 in Palm Beach, Florida.”

2012 marks the ninth year for the Formula Drift series and Hankook’s seventh year of involvement.  The company garnered enhanced visibility and sales increases in 2011 as a result of its motorsports sponsorships and special racing programs and has continued its involvement as an official sponsor of Formula Drift for the 2012 racing season.  Hankook also supports teams competing in Global Time Attack, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Off-Road Racing and the 25 Hours of Thunderhill race.

Formula Drift: Round 3 – Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR)!!! For the 2d year in a row Formula Drift will be hitting PBIR in Palm Beach, Florida.  As Justin Pawlak has now won the past 2 races and sits in first place and a new rookie Daigo Saito is showing why he was champion in Japan. We look on to round 3 and see if JTP can keep his lead and if the rookie Daigo can maintain his run with the Top Dogs in Formula Drift. So let’s give you the 411 on how to score some tickets! Are you coming in for this event, plan to attend or just want some tickets??  As Formula Drift continue’s it’s 9th year. We are letting you try your luck, as we are giving away 4 pairs of tickets.  Tickets will be good for both days of the event.  Now how can you get in on this…  Well the contest details are below!  Good Luck on this contest and giveaway!!

Now entering is simple, just leave a comment in the comment section below telling us what is your ultimate drift car? If you could run in Formula Drift. What car would you choose to compete in and why?  There’s no right answer just ones we like and will choose.  All entry’s must be received by May 27th, 2012 12noon(PST). Email to winners will be sent later that evening. Make sure you leave your real email address when inputting the comment, as we will be emailing you to confirm its a valid address and to inform the winners. *1  The email address will not be shown to the public (This does not include air or transportation to the event or room and board).

The best 5 comments will get the tickets to the event and get to see some slideways action live at Road Atlanta…

*1 (Please be aware any email addresses will be shared with Formula Drift and Formula Drift only. This will not go to their partners and is just for their use and our use only. Thank you and enjoy what we do for you.)

Round 2: Road to the Championship brought the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship back to the Series birthplace nine years ago. Fans came in droves seeing an increase in attendance at Road Atlanta. This marks another consecutive season of growth.

“It’s very satisfying that Road Atlanta and Formula DRIFT have formed a partnership nine years ago to help grow drifting in this region,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We look forward to our ten year anniversary at this venue next season.”

Justin Pawlak takes his second consecutive victory to increase his points lead. Additionally, Pawlak is now the points leader in the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. Pawlak faced Fredric Aasbo in the Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC and edged out the 2010 Rookie of the Year to take the victory. Walker Wilkerson in the Falken / Fatlace / Garage Autohero Nissan 240SX battled Formula DRIFT rookie, Daigo Saito in the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 in the consolation round. After a one more time battle Saito beat out Wilkerson to take his second third place finish of the season.

“The boys at ASD and Falken gave me what I need to help me get to that number 1 spot,” said Justin Pawlak, winner of Round 2: Road to the Championship. “Next round is West Palm Beach and with a great car and great team we were able to take the win there last year and plan to remain focused and keep this momentum going.”

The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with Round 3: Invasion at West Palm Beach International Raceway on June 1-2, 2012.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2012 Point Standings After 1 Event
1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 209 Points
2. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 157.50 Points
3. Aasbo, Fredric Need for Speed / Papadakis Racing Scion TC 152 Points
4. Millen, Rhys Hankook / Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Genesis Coupe 127 Points
5. Powers, Matt Need for Speed / Nitto Nissan S14 126.50 Points
6. Tuerck, Ryan Team Retaks Nissan 240SX 120.50 Points
7. Yoshihara, Daijiro America’s Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 118 Points
8. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis Motorsports Nissan 240SX S14 117.25 Points
9. Kado, Ryan Ryan Kado Racing Nissan 350Z 114 Points
10. Mohan, Kyle Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 109.50 Points
11. Yoshioka, Toshiki RS*R Nissan Silvia S15 108.50 Points
12. Essa, Michael GSR Autosport / Nitto BMW ZR4 97.50 Points
13. Gittin Jr., Vaughn Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang 96 Points
14. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z 93 Points
15. McQuarrie, Tyler Mobil 1 Camaro 88.50 Points
16. Moen, Kenneth Lutz Performance Nissan 350Z 87.50 Points
Round 2: Road to the Championship Event Results
1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang Winner
2. Aasbo, Fredric Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC Second Place
3. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 Third Place