By Karan Singh

StreetFire.net

Ride along with Vaughn Gittin Jr. for Round 6 of Formula Drift at Infineon Raceway!

MONSTER DRIFT>> Vaughn Gittin Jr.: Battle by the bay

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Last year in New Jersey, Falken Tire swept the podium for the first time ever at a Formula Drift event. Tonight in Vegas, the teal and blue repeated that feat, led by Tyler McQuarrie in his drop-top Z. Tyler took the win on a hot night in Vegas while Dai Yoshihara and Vaughn Gittin Jr. took second and third respectively, with the battle for the championship getting hotter by the minute. We’ve got plenty of coverage on the way, but for now big congrats go to Tyler, Dai, Vaughn and everyone at Team Falken.

See more on Formula D Las Vegas on Speedhunters.

-by Mike Garrett

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

Tonight Hollywood Blvd went up in smoke. No, it wasn’t the premier of the long awaited remake to the Cheech and Chong Classic (see: Express, Pineapple). The smoke enveloping the touristy Hollywood and Highland area was of the spent tire variety from the likes of BFGoodrich, Falken and Nitto. And it was all part of a drift demo produced by Formula Drift. Hit the jump to see how and why FD scorched the Walk of Fame plus some quick videos from the event.

Continue reading "Video: Formula Drifters Tear up Hollywood Blvd" »

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

You are looking at a shot of a 2010 Formula Drift car that almost didn’t happen. Samuel Hubinette, a two-time Formula Drift Champion who finished fourth in points last year had a trying 2009 season to say the least. First was the rather untimely bankruptcy of Chrysler that left his Nuformz Mopar/BFGoodrich team without sponsorship for the majority of last season followed by the tragic death of his team owner, Shaun Carlson just before last year’s FD finals.

But Samuel picked himself up and dusted off the tire bits and is preparing to come back with this 2010 Dodge Challenger that will include sponsorship from his longtime supporters Dodge and BFGoodrich. Samuel will also campaign the car under his newly formed eponymous Samuel Hubinette Racing team. But Samuel won‘t be the only driver on Team SHR as veteran rally ace Andrew Comrie-Picard will drive the team’s iconic Dodge Viper SRT-10. Hit the jump to see more pictures and a rough video of this car, which is very much still a work in progress.

Continue reading "Sneak Peak: Samuel Hubinette’s 2010 Dodge Challenger Drift Car" »

By Antonio Alvendia

Antonio Alvendia

As this weekend’s much awaited Formula D Pro Am event at Irwindale Speedway draws near, the members of the Motor Mavens Crew from Los Angeles are getting more and more excited to see all our friends from all the different grassroots drifting scenes from all over the country.

Our whole crew has a ton of respect for all the grassroots drivers out there; they are certainly working hard to step their game up and make it into the pro ranks… and for me personally, I think sometimes watching the grassroots guys compete is even more exciting than watching the pro drivers go at it. Some people may be thinking, “What?! Are you crazy?” I know, I know… it may be a bit different to outsiders or to those who are just sitting in the stands… but for those of us who circulate through the pit areas and go to the different shops and hang out with the drivers even outside of track events, it’s really inspiring to see the hard work and perseverance of normal, everyday individuals, the grassroots enthusiasts, pay off.

This is what passion is all about. And this is why I think people are crazy when people think drifting is just a fad. Maybe it is for outsiders… but for the people who live and breathe this stuff day in and day out, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

One guy who lives and breathes drifting is Roland Gallagher. The first time I saw Roland drive was at Formula D Las Vegas, where he was competing to earn his invite to the Pro Am. I was standing trackside with my younger brother David, and I saw this flash of teal pass me, followed by clouds of billowing white tiresmoke. My eyes followed the tiresmoke and somehow became fixated on his WHEELS which had ridiculously fat lips… I remember muttering “helllll yeah” under my breath, because these days, it’s becoming more and more rare to see drift cars with good looking wheels and stance on the FD circuit. Continue reading and view more photos on MotorMavens!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Ah, motorsports–it’s so much more than racing these days. The motorsports contingent is always huge at SEMA, and it’s one of those categories that can literally go from A to Z: there are so many variations on automotive competition that there’s no way you can expect to capture a representative cross-section. That’s okay–it just allows us to focus on what we find cool, with shameless subjectivity. In the interests of inclusiveness, we’ve tried to hit as many of the hottest motorsports series as our five entries will allow. NASCAR is represented by the new Nationwide Series Mustang, running Ford’s all-new Roush Yates FR9. Then there’s the 2010 Camaro’s debut entry in Formula Drift, which will definitely be on our radar in the coming season. Chris Rado’s insane Time Attack Scion carries the torch for that genre. SCCA is represented, albeit in vintage form, by Bob Boileau’s multiple-championship-winning Civic. And the Traxxas short-course race truck rounds out the motorsports fleet for off-road racing. Um, yeah, we totally skipped NHRA. And a bunch of other stuff. Oh well, time to hit the polls!

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[polldaddy poll="2269393"]

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’m one of a number of people who just doesn’t quite get the ’10 Mustang. It’s not that it’s awful, it’s just that I like the ’05-’09 better. Well, this year’s SEMA show, with all its awesome ’10 Mustang builds, has done a lot to help the new car grow on me–and it certainly doesn’t hurt the cause to see one tricked out as a badass drift car. According to the guys at the Falken booth, Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Mustang is the only 2010 currently in Formula D, and the car is expected to run a full season next year. Under the hood is a Whipple-supercharged 4.6L Aluminator v8 by Ford Racing, putting out 680 hp and 650 lb-ft torque, mated to the same 4-speed gearbox they run in their NASCAR program. I’m thinking that Hankook Camaro had better watch out! See more pics below the jump.

Continue reading "Vaughn Gittin Jr's 2010 Formula Drift Mustang" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Well, NASCAR’s Nationwide Series might not be getting a Camaro, but Formula Drift sure is! Check out Grunewald Racing’s new drift Camaro, which will be competing in the 2010 season. It’s running a GM LS-A crate motor with internal mods by Hennessey Performance. Carbon fiber front clip, decklid, and spoilers are by Seibon, and the carbon fiber driveshaft is by PST. Aeromotive handles the fuel delivery, AEM the engine management system. It’s also running Eibach MultiPro R-2 coilovers and front and rear sways. Rubber (you guessed it) by Hankook, and the beast will be piloted next year by Conrad Grunewald. Do you think it’ll have anything for the now-veteran drift Mustangs?

Continue reading "The 2010 FormulaD Camaro" »

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

I always love it when you got to a baseball game and you either get something free for being one of the first 1,000 people in the door or because your team hit a home run in the 7th inning. Well, the guys at NOS Energy Drink just one upped the good old Mariners by sounding out some cool NOS Gear to celebrate Chris Forsberg as the 2009 Formula Drift Champion. Being that I”m constantly switching from computer to computer my NOS flash drive is my favorite item!

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

The 2009 Formula Drift season is in the books and what a wild ride it’s been. At times it even felt out of control, like a Crown Vic careening backwards down a hill with no steering wheel while your hands are tied behind your back (see Wrong for reference). And yet somehow amidst all the chaos and cacophony they created there were the drivers and teams at the center of the storm hanging it all out with reckless abandon. And yet as a hapless spectator I am continually amazed at constant improvement in skill and precision from the entire FD field. Take a jump with me and I’ll show you some of the goings on from Irwindale’s House of Drift.

Continue reading "2009 Formula Drift Finals: A Champion, a Tribute, a Standout, a Stalker and Hampsha" »