Congratulations are in order for Andy Hateley. A former Formula Drift driver who has been MIA for some time is back and in full form. Look for Andy as he has returned from lands unknown and has come back meaning business. Watch for Andy next week at Top Drift!
2nd Place was J. Guild and taking 3rd was Tony Cisneros. Full Gallery up in a day. Enjoy the shot above of Andy taking his win.
VegasProAm Round 2 from Robert Strohmeyer on Vimeo.
Vegas ProAm Round 2 registration is now open… Click here to register!
For full gallery from this event click here…
April 7th, 2010, the day started at 1 p.m. as the drivers begin preparing for today. Today was the first round of Pro Am at Evergreen Speedway. The day looked very promising with no clouds insight. The day before there were over 16 drivers registered for the event. Everything was going fine and things were great. As the day progressed, we learn that more than half the drivers that were currently registered could not make it due to car troubles, the usual. But the people at Evergreen did not look at this at a negative aspect. Instead they did what they could to make the day enjoyable and presentable to the crowd. Around 2:30 p.m. the drivers that were there began practicing the 5/8ths part of the track. This was new to most of them because it is much longer and requires much more speed than the usual 3/8ths that they do. Everyone was prepared to what they had to do later that day. They were practicing over and over to get that 5/8ths down, if anyone knows the track they would think it is scary just by glancing at the length of the track. Everything had to be perfect. Things were going great until the problems started to appear. Cars were just not able to withstand the intense runs that the drivers had to perform. Clutches, motors, turbo leaks, anything you can imagine happened. By the end of the night only about 4 drivers were able to continue to the actual qualifying rounds. In the end, there were three that stood at the top. Those three were Ian Fournier, Peter Funatake, and Mike Phillips, all great drivers who had the endurance to make through the long 9 hour day.
Photos & Story BY: Brandon Thai
Photos from Round 2 located here…
“Round Two, serious-face time. Winged Warrior VI, and we were brining the show. It was another cold/early morning as all the drivers unloaded their cars at O’ Reilly Raceway Park this past Saturday. The fast track setup was no joke, and there was no room for error. It started with a fast 3rd gear decreasing radius sweeper from the main oval into the infield for two 2nd gear transitions, ending with a smoky sweeper back onto the main track.
During practice, it took most drivers a little time to get comfortable with the first initiation. Staring down the barrel at some k-rails has got to be intimidating, but even the new guys were trying to rip it up on the bank (I’m looking at you tclange, nice work buddy). As we all know, there is no room for error when you are on the chase to drive at a professional level. There were some love taps and hits during the day but everyone left the event with a running car. That really speaks to the level of talent the Midwest has developed. The last drift event at this track was in ’05, with a less manly setup, with what were high level drivers at the time, and no one ripped it up like our guys did this past Saturday.
The top gun top 8 tandem battle was on with some serious heat. The leader of the season, Clinton Florczyk, didn’t have much luck qualifying, but his other Neukin teammates did; Austin Barron qualified in eighth and Mike Feiock in the second spot. The match ups were the following… first place qualifier Bill Highlife Cook in his blood red 240sx vs Travis LaCombe in his Foxbody Mustang. Mike Feiock vs Kris Hackenson in the shiny S14. Brian Nackers Vrchoticky in the THMotorsports 350z vs Adam Ouziel in his Zerolift Autolab S13 coupe. And finally Cody Tobe of Dayton vs Austin Barron with the DriftClutch S14. All top 8 drivers took their parade lap around the track and there was no turning back.
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Formula DRIFT Continues to Expand ProAm Network
Long Beach, Calif. – April 1, 2010 – Formula DRIFT continues expansion of the ProAm network signing 8 Formula DRIFT Affiliate Series for the 2010 season that will cover America’s top drifting markets.
Entering its seventh season, Formula DRIFT continues to be the global leader in drifting. The ProAm network bridges the gap for drivers looking to enter the Formula DRIFT professional ranks. Current Formula DRIFT professionals such as Justin Pawlak and Joon Maeng have successfully moved through the ProAm system each finishing the 2009 season within the Top 20.
“The Formula DRIFT ProAm Affiliate system is an extension to the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship,” said Jim Liaw president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We have partnered with the nation’s most experienced regional, grassroots, and amateur organizations to help take amateur drifting to new heights. We will continue to expand this program as it progresses throughout the season”
The Formula DRIFT ProAm network consists of various regional point series that caters to the team/driver in transition from amateur to the professional level. Currently, the 9 Formula DRIFT Affiliate Series within in the ProAm network include:
Club FR – www.clubfr.net
Evergreen Drift – www.evergreendrift.com
Just Drift – www.justdrift.com
Midwest Drift Union – www.mdudrift.com
Southeast Drift – www.southeastdrift.com
Streetwise Drift – www.streetwisedrift.com
ThunderDrift – www.thunderdrift.com
Vegas Drift – www.vegasdrift.com
Xtreme Drift Circuit – www.xtremedriftcircuit.com