Triple Header Weekend!

Busy busy weekend! First we started with getting the missile over to Apex’i USA to get the Power FC tuned… That’s right! Kevin installed a Power FC onto the KA, he is a wiring genius. We were having some overboosting issues, but we got them sorted out and Kevin finished up with 275whp. The setup it capable of much more, but since the engine is still stock internals, we do not want to push it.

Here’s the car as we got up to Irwindale for their first drift night with the Adam’s Motorsports Park crew. It has been a long time since Irwindale held a grassroots drift event so we wanted to go up and support!

The event brought out 98 cars total! The track also said that they turned away 38 cars putting the total of drivers that showed up to 135, but there would not be enough run time for that many. They are already working on what they need to do to ensure enough run time for that many drivers. Overall the event was a great success, NOS Energy Drink was out as well to support the Adam’s crew and Toyota Speedway. I was able to take our southern California manager Jean for a ride a long in the missile. It was his first ride in a drift car!

It drifts!

    
Daijiro came out as well as well to check out the drifting. He says he will have his personal car up and running soon!

  On Saturday we went back out to Toyota Speedway to support the Kids Against Cancer fundraiser. They had all types of racing going on all night, from Legends to Late Models… They filled the main grandstand and gave everyone a great show to watch while raising money for a great benefit. We took our team rig out and set it up and displayed the car in the vendor area.

We took the NOS Energy Drink 350Z out for a quick demo right before the big race! We hit the track and drifted the infield and the big banks until the tires popped! The crowd was super excited as they were up out of their seats clapping and cheering! It was a great feeling to be able to drift the entire track and show another new crowd what drifting was all about.

Lined up with the Legends cars…

 Waiting to go…

My favorite car of the night!

  Popped the tire and debeaded it off the rim! No damage to the car though…

 After the Saturday night racing was done… we packed up the truck and headed over to K&N Filters for their annual car show. They placed us front and center of their big meet and had a great display with the help of Jean and his crew who were giving out NOS Energy Drink to everyone that came by. We took the car out for all the fans to come by and check it out as well.

  We met with many fans throughout the day as well…

 We had a great time seeing everyone over at K&N and want to thank them and Toyota Speedway for having us out to their events this past weekend.

CupCake Meet 7 - Cupcakin' For Kids

Whenever CupCake Meet throws an event it is sure to be a huge success and Cupcakin' For Kids was no exception.  This year CCM and Import Performance brought together over a 1,000 attendees and raised $12,000 for the Scottish Rites Hospital, Cupcakin' For Kids was one of the largest meets in Dallas, TX this year.  NOS Energy Drink was out at the American Airlines Center supporting the event with cold NOS, live entertainment, and prizes.  Given away at the event was a custom helmet from NOS Energy Drink, Memphis Audio, and EFX. 

    

Imported Performance and CCM present: Cupcakin' for Kids from John Jiles Jr. on Vimeo.

 

    

 

Texas Heat Wave

This past weekend was full of excitement when NOS Energy Drink came down to Austin, TX for the Texas Heat Wave.  Along with barrels full of NOS Energy Drink and an appearance by the NOS Honda S2K.  Both the NOS Chevy Suburban and Scion TC were unveiled for the first time.  

 

  

 

NOS Energy Drink Takes Over BLOX Open House

One of the most anticipated events to hit the Bay Area this summer was the BLOX Open House in Fremont, California. NOS Energy Drink was on hand to provide the energy and entertainment for the crowd as they checked out over 300 of the Bay Area’s finest import tuner cars. Hundreds of models were featured at the NOS Energy Drink Lounge and Main Stage, where ice cold NOS was distributed to thousands of car enthusiasts throughout the day.  For more information on this event, check out BloxRacing.com or TunerPlayground.com

Check out this teaser video from our friends at 360VM:

Blox Open House Teaser (NOS / 360VM Edition) from Roland Posadas on Vimeo.

Roll out... new wheels for this guy.... 24" to be exact...

So being the announcer at all these drift events and car events people wonder what I drive... Well, on the daily I push a Nissan Armada... I want/NEED to get some sort of project car, hopefully coming sooner than later.... ;) But in the mean time I need to hook up my daily driver.... I hooked up the Armada with some new rollers, 24" wheels for the big beast... Thanks to Pirelli Tires, KMC Wheels and for sure Discount Tire for the hook up, always a good experience at Discount Tire... Pirelli took care of me sending me the rubber needed for the wheels, next stop Discount Tire... Stock as we show up... Check out Formula Drift driver, Dai Yoshihara on the wall of each Discount Tire... Nice hair! As always! Hooked up the hard working DTC crew with some NOS Energy Drink and gave the Asst Manager a Discount Tire colored Incipio Dotties case for who he thinks deserves it... The wheels are KMC Brodie 24" x 9.5" btw.... NOS in the lip... Parker's feeling the wheels, they're HUGE! Mounted now time to get it on the ground and roll out.... Check it... Thanks everybody, looks good... Should I lower it, of course you're going to say yes but it's a daily ya know...

Fighting Spirit

Being an IZOD IndyCar driver affords me a lot of special opportunities; I get to travel to exotic locations, attend awards shows and VIP events, and meet all sorts interesting people. Not the least of these individuals are the kids that I get to meet each year during my annual trip to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. I have always had a great partnership with the St. Vincent Sports Performance team, so when they asked that I take a trip to the children's hospital in Indianapolis during the month of May I immediately said yes. I have always committed to an hour at the hospital but I have to tell you...I don't think I've ever gotten out in under an entire morning...these kids, their families and the staff are so wonderful and inspiring it makes a person not want to leave!!! 

  

Each year the children participate in a helmet design competition where they color a helmet design and write a little bit about themselves. From the submissions I choose a design and have a helmet crafted in that design to be worn at a race during that season. This year's helmet was worn at Watkins Glen...and boy did it bring us all the luck we needed to battle from the back of the pack to a 6th place finish...very true to the fighting spirit in which it was designed!!! 

DW 

  

2010 Indy 500 Parade

One of the most interesting things about the Indianapolis 500 event is that we spend weeks during the month of May at the track and in the community. It's really cool because it gives us the opportunity to interact with so many of the IZOD IndyCar Series's most dedicated fans. Here's a little video of the parade that my wife Susie took as we went through downtown Indianapolis before the race...

DW

http://gallery.me.com/mistypinkston#100026

Grassroots Racing

After 16 straight weekends of racing the Sprint Cup series got a much needed weekend off. And most decided to take the opportunity to get in some down time and relax. For once Kyle actually decided to take the weekend off and get away, while KBM was on track at Gateway in the Camping World Truck Series. Kyle headed off to the Bahamas for some much deserved time off.

Since it was a slower weekend for me with Kyle being on Vacation, I decided to join NOS District Marketing Manager Matt Ambroziak at the Legends Million taking place at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NOS was out sampling product to all the competitors, race teams, and fans and for 3 days fueled everyone in the garage area.

The Legends Million was a grassroots race that offered a one million dollar purse with the winner of the main event taking home a cool two hundred and fifty thousand dollar! Competitors from 35 states, Canada and even the Netherlands converged on the Charlotte Motor Speedway for this great event.

Racing began on Thursday with qualifying heat races to determine the 30 starters in the 100 lap A-Feature which took place Saturday night live on Speed TV.

From the first laps of the event, some of the best in the country showed that they had what it takes to contend for the large cash purse. Doug Stevens put down the fastest lap in qualifying then backed it up by winning his 20 lap heat race to claim the top spot in the A-Feature. Other top performers included Kannapolis, NC native Daniel Hemric and Sprint Cup series regular David Regan.

The A-Feature began with the 50 laps segment, followed by a 20 minute break for the teams to make adjustments, followed by the final 50 lap shootout. All race the car to beat with Doug Stevens, but with just 11 laps remaining Stevens car slid up a bit going into turn 1 giving Daniel Hemric the opportunity, he needed to take the lead. Once out front, Hemric was unstoppable and drove off to the Victory by about 2 car lengths.

Many thanks to Ladyga Motorsports for supporting NOS all weekend and letting the crew set up camp outside their garage. To all the fans, competitors, crew members that stopped by the NOS tent. It was great to meet all the Kyle Busch fans that support Kyle by drinking NOS.

Back to Cup racing this weekend as the series heads to the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hope to see NOS Fuel Kyle back to Victory Lane this weekend!

-Ryan

KBWebTeam

ThunderDrift: Nor-Cal Formula Drift Pro-Am Round 3

Willows, CA – June 30th was Round 3 of the 2010 ThunderDrift Pro-Am Series, with Nor-Cal’s top drifters gathering to go for a shot at a pro license.  Of the three points leaders, two returned in new cars. Andy Gillespie was driving Tomasz Olech’s SR-powered Corolla while his Miata was down, and Ryan Kado was in his new orange S14, recently purchased from Inland Drift. Luke Lonberger was still using his Turbo LS1 S14.

NOS Energy Drink was out in full force, with photographers and models making the rounds and handing out free NOS to anyone who looked thirsty.  Resident judge Richard Kong was joined by Don Ahn and Conrad Grunewald to round out the judging staff for this round.

Kado qualified first and was favored to win, but a stroke of fate pitted him against 8th qualifier Julian Jacobs in the Top 8 round. On the second run, Kado was following just a tad too close, hit the brakes, and straightened out for a second in turn 3, costing him the battle and giving him 5th place. Had he qualified 2nd, he would have finished 6th and lost out on an additional 30 points.

Lonberger and Virgil Brosseau went One More Time in the Top 8 after Lonberger made an epic pass on the inside of Turn 3, sending him far off the track at the exit. Lonberger also went One More Time against Gillespie in the Final 4, and almost got another One More Time against Jacobs in the Championship Round, but Jacobs got the win. Gillespie went up against Josh Sher in the Consolation Round and came away with 3rd place.  This was Jacobs’ second win of the series, but he’s still in 4th place overall with 261 points, due to a poor finish in Round 2. Lonberger is still in 3rd with 285 points, Gillespie is hanging on to 2nd with 288, and Kado has the tenuous lead with 295.

In addition to the Prizes and Trophies the drivers usually receive, NOS Energy Drink presented the winners with NOS Hats and Hoodies!

With only 10 points separating 1st and 3rd, the series could still go to any of the top four drivers. All Kado has to do is show up to Round 4, and 5th Place Brosseau won’t be able to squeeze by.

The 4th and final round is August 31st at Thunderhill Raceway.  NOS Energy Drink will be there providing refreshments and adding to the excitement as the drivers make their final attempt at achieving Formula Drift greatness!

For a more in depth look at all of the action from Round 3 of the ThunderDrift Pro-Am Series, check out this great video from our friends at Lab17:

ThunderDrift ProAm 2010 Round 3 from Lab17 on Vimeo.

NOS Energy Rally Team and ACP Catch Fire at Maine Forest Rally!

Yeah, I know. We were on fire and everything.

Then we really were on fire....

We ran as high as fourth overall, but the downpipe failed, which heated things up a lot on an already hot rally. It melted my shoe to the floor (not the actual bad-@ss Oakley shoe, it melted the paint to the shoe) and melted the shift cables, making the gearbox hard to shift, then it melted part of the harness, and on the second-to-last stage, we were out with the harness on fire. Sucks, but that's racing.

Now we're in full prep for X Games, in about ten days! Running both of the events there, along with Block, Pastrana, and Foust, we're the only ones to do it every year. Follow us here and wish us luck!

Photo is my Mat Janiak at World Rally Sport. That's on the famously gnarly Concord Pond stage.

Triple Header Weekend!

Busy busy weekend! First we started with getting the missile over to Apex’i USA to get the Power FC tuned… That’s right! Kevin installed a Power FC onto the KA, he is a wiring genius. We were having some overboosting issues, but we got them sorted out and Kevin finished up with 275whp. The setup it capable of much more, but since the engine is still stock internals, we do not want to push it.

Here’s the car as we got up to Irwindale for their first drift night with the Adam’s Motorsports Park crew. It has been a long time since Irwindale held a grassroots drift event so we wanted to go up and support!

The event brought out 98 cars total! The track also said that they turned away 38 cars putting the total of drivers that showed up to 135, but there would not be enough run time for that many. They are already working on what they need to do to ensure enough run time for that many drivers. Overall the event was a great success, NOS Energy Drink was out as well to support the Adam’s crew and Toyota Speedway. I was able to take our southern California manager Jean for a ride a long in the missile. It was his first ride in a drift car!

It drifts!

    
Daijiro came out as well as well to check out the drifting. He says he will have his personal car up and running soon!

  On Saturday we went back out to Toyota Speedway to support the Kids Against Cancer fundraiser. They had all types of racing going on all night, from Legends to Late Models… They filled the main grandstand and gave everyone a great show to watch while raising money for a great benefit. We took our team rig out and set it up and displayed the car in the vendor area.

We took the NOS Energy Drink 350Z out for a quick demo right before the big race! We hit the track and drifted the infield and the big banks until the tires popped! The crowd was super excited as they were up out of their seats clapping and cheering! It was a great feeling to be able to drift the entire track and show another new crowd what drifting was all about.

Lined up with the Legends cars…

 Waiting to go…

My favorite car of the night!

  Popped the tire and debeaded it off the rim! No damage to the car though…

 After the Saturday night racing was done… we packed up the truck and headed over to K&N Filters for their annual car show. They placed us front and center of their big meet and had a great display with the help of Jean and his crew who were giving out NOS Energy Drink to everyone that came by. We took the car out for all the fans to come by and check it out as well.

  We met with many fans throughout the day as well…

 We had a great time seeing everyone over at K&N and want to thank them and Toyota Speedway for having us out to their events this past weekend.

CupCake Meet 7 - Cupcakin' For Kids

Whenever CupCake Meet throws an event it is sure to be a huge success and Cupcakin' For Kids was no exception.  This year CCM and Import Performance brought together over a 1,000 attendees and raised $12,000 for the Scottish Rites Hospital, Cupcakin' For Kids was one of the largest meets in Dallas, TX this year.  NOS Energy Drink was out at the American Airlines Center supporting the event with cold NOS, live entertainment, and prizes.  Given away at the event was a custom helmet from NOS Energy Drink, Memphis Audio, and EFX. 

    

Imported Performance and CCM present: Cupcakin' for Kids from John Jiles Jr. on Vimeo.

 

    

 

Texas Heat Wave

This past weekend was full of excitement when NOS Energy Drink came down to Austin, TX for the Texas Heat Wave.  Along with barrels full of NOS Energy Drink and an appearance by the NOS Honda S2K.  Both the NOS Chevy Suburban and Scion TC were unveiled for the first time.  

 

  

 

NOS Energy Drink Takes Over BLOX Open House

One of the most anticipated events to hit the Bay Area this summer was the BLOX Open House in Fremont, California. NOS Energy Drink was on hand to provide the energy and entertainment for the crowd as they checked out over 300 of the Bay Area’s finest import tuner cars. Hundreds of models were featured at the NOS Energy Drink Lounge and Main Stage, where ice cold NOS was distributed to thousands of car enthusiasts throughout the day.  For more information on this event, check out BloxRacing.com or TunerPlayground.com

Check out this teaser video from our friends at 360VM:

Blox Open House Teaser (NOS / 360VM Edition) from Roland Posadas on Vimeo.

Roll out... new wheels for this guy.... 24" to be exact...

So being the announcer at all these drift events and car events people wonder what I drive... Well, on the daily I push a Nissan Armada... I want/NEED to get some sort of project car, hopefully coming sooner than later.... ;) But in the mean time I need to hook up my daily driver.... I hooked up the Armada with some new rollers, 24" wheels for the big beast... Thanks to Pirelli Tires, KMC Wheels and for sure Discount Tire for the hook up, always a good experience at Discount Tire... Pirelli took care of me sending me the rubber needed for the wheels, next stop Discount Tire... Stock as we show up... Check out Formula Drift driver, Dai Yoshihara on the wall of each Discount Tire... Nice hair! As always! Hooked up the hard working DTC crew with some NOS Energy Drink and gave the Asst Manager a Discount Tire colored Incipio Dotties case for who he thinks deserves it... The wheels are KMC Brodie 24" x 9.5" btw.... NOS in the lip... Parker's feeling the wheels, they're HUGE! Mounted now time to get it on the ground and roll out.... Check it... Thanks everybody, looks good... Should I lower it, of course you're going to say yes but it's a daily ya know...

Fighting Spirit

Being an IZOD IndyCar driver affords me a lot of special opportunities; I get to travel to exotic locations, attend awards shows and VIP events, and meet all sorts interesting people. Not the least of these individuals are the kids that I get to meet each year during my annual trip to the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. I have always had a great partnership with the St. Vincent Sports Performance team, so when they asked that I take a trip to the children's hospital in Indianapolis during the month of May I immediately said yes. I have always committed to an hour at the hospital but I have to tell you...I don't think I've ever gotten out in under an entire morning...these kids, their families and the staff are so wonderful and inspiring it makes a person not want to leave!!! 

  

Each year the children participate in a helmet design competition where they color a helmet design and write a little bit about themselves. From the submissions I choose a design and have a helmet crafted in that design to be worn at a race during that season. This year's helmet was worn at Watkins Glen...and boy did it bring us all the luck we needed to battle from the back of the pack to a 6th place finish...very true to the fighting spirit in which it was designed!!! 

DW 

  

2010 Indy 500 Parade

One of the most interesting things about the Indianapolis 500 event is that we spend weeks during the month of May at the track and in the community. It's really cool because it gives us the opportunity to interact with so many of the IZOD IndyCar Series's most dedicated fans. Here's a little video of the parade that my wife Susie took as we went through downtown Indianapolis before the race...

DW

http://gallery.me.com/mistypinkston#100026

Grassroots Racing

After 16 straight weekends of racing the Sprint Cup series got a much needed weekend off. And most decided to take the opportunity to get in some down time and relax. For once Kyle actually decided to take the weekend off and get away, while KBM was on track at Gateway in the Camping World Truck Series. Kyle headed off to the Bahamas for some much deserved time off.

Since it was a slower weekend for me with Kyle being on Vacation, I decided to join NOS District Marketing Manager Matt Ambroziak at the Legends Million taking place at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NOS was out sampling product to all the competitors, race teams, and fans and for 3 days fueled everyone in the garage area.

The Legends Million was a grassroots race that offered a one million dollar purse with the winner of the main event taking home a cool two hundred and fifty thousand dollar! Competitors from 35 states, Canada and even the Netherlands converged on the Charlotte Motor Speedway for this great event.

Racing began on Thursday with qualifying heat races to determine the 30 starters in the 100 lap A-Feature which took place Saturday night live on Speed TV.

From the first laps of the event, some of the best in the country showed that they had what it takes to contend for the large cash purse. Doug Stevens put down the fastest lap in qualifying then backed it up by winning his 20 lap heat race to claim the top spot in the A-Feature. Other top performers included Kannapolis, NC native Daniel Hemric and Sprint Cup series regular David Regan.

The A-Feature began with the 50 laps segment, followed by a 20 minute break for the teams to make adjustments, followed by the final 50 lap shootout. All race the car to beat with Doug Stevens, but with just 11 laps remaining Stevens car slid up a bit going into turn 1 giving Daniel Hemric the opportunity, he needed to take the lead. Once out front, Hemric was unstoppable and drove off to the Victory by about 2 car lengths.

Many thanks to Ladyga Motorsports for supporting NOS all weekend and letting the crew set up camp outside their garage. To all the fans, competitors, crew members that stopped by the NOS tent. It was great to meet all the Kyle Busch fans that support Kyle by drinking NOS.

Back to Cup racing this weekend as the series heads to the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hope to see NOS Fuel Kyle back to Victory Lane this weekend!

-Ryan

KBWebTeam

ThunderDrift: Nor-Cal Formula Drift Pro-Am Round 3

Willows, CA – June 30th was Round 3 of the 2010 ThunderDrift Pro-Am Series, with Nor-Cal’s top drifters gathering to go for a shot at a pro license.  Of the three points leaders, two returned in new cars. Andy Gillespie was driving Tomasz Olech’s SR-powered Corolla while his Miata was down, and Ryan Kado was in his new orange S14, recently purchased from Inland Drift. Luke Lonberger was still using his Turbo LS1 S14.

NOS Energy Drink was out in full force, with photographers and models making the rounds and handing out free NOS to anyone who looked thirsty.  Resident judge Richard Kong was joined by Don Ahn and Conrad Grunewald to round out the judging staff for this round.

Kado qualified first and was favored to win, but a stroke of fate pitted him against 8th qualifier Julian Jacobs in the Top 8 round. On the second run, Kado was following just a tad too close, hit the brakes, and straightened out for a second in turn 3, costing him the battle and giving him 5th place. Had he qualified 2nd, he would have finished 6th and lost out on an additional 30 points.

Lonberger and Virgil Brosseau went One More Time in the Top 8 after Lonberger made an epic pass on the inside of Turn 3, sending him far off the track at the exit. Lonberger also went One More Time against Gillespie in the Final 4, and almost got another One More Time against Jacobs in the Championship Round, but Jacobs got the win. Gillespie went up against Josh Sher in the Consolation Round and came away with 3rd place.  This was Jacobs’ second win of the series, but he’s still in 4th place overall with 261 points, due to a poor finish in Round 2. Lonberger is still in 3rd with 285 points, Gillespie is hanging on to 2nd with 288, and Kado has the tenuous lead with 295.

In addition to the Prizes and Trophies the drivers usually receive, NOS Energy Drink presented the winners with NOS Hats and Hoodies!

With only 10 points separating 1st and 3rd, the series could still go to any of the top four drivers. All Kado has to do is show up to Round 4, and 5th Place Brosseau won’t be able to squeeze by.

The 4th and final round is August 31st at Thunderhill Raceway.  NOS Energy Drink will be there providing refreshments and adding to the excitement as the drivers make their final attempt at achieving Formula Drift greatness!

For a more in depth look at all of the action from Round 3 of the ThunderDrift Pro-Am Series, check out this great video from our friends at Lab17:

ThunderDrift ProAm 2010 Round 3 from Lab17 on Vimeo.

NOS Energy Rally Team and ACP Catch Fire at Maine Forest Rally!

Yeah, I know. We were on fire and everything.

Then we really were on fire....

We ran as high as fourth overall, but the downpipe failed, which heated things up a lot on an already hot rally. It melted my shoe to the floor (not the actual bad-@ss Oakley shoe, it melted the paint to the shoe) and melted the shift cables, making the gearbox hard to shift, then it melted part of the harness, and on the second-to-last stage, we were out with the harness on fire. Sucks, but that's racing.

Now we're in full prep for X Games, in about ten days! Running both of the events there, along with Block, Pastrana, and Foust, we're the only ones to do it every year. Follow us here and wish us luck!

Photo is my Mat Janiak at World Rally Sport. That's on the famously gnarly Concord Pond stage.