Formula Drift - Round 6 Sonoma

Just got home from Sonoma which was a short weekend in comparison to all our other events being that it is just a short drive to San Fran and also that we do not have Thursday practice available at this track like we do the others. That being said, I am glad we debuted our new Nissan Motorsports engine last round in Vegas because we would not have had the time to adjust with the few runs we have on Friday before qualifying.

 

 Our first lap of qualifying is always pretty straight forward, push hard, get a clean run in, and get nuts on the second lap. However, our first pass put us in 2nd place, and held all the way through the second round! I still pushed hard on the second run trying for a backwards entry but went slightly off course which threw off the run and our hopes at the top qualifying spot.

 

 Landing in the second spot put us in a great position for tandem because we would pretty much be leading first in all our tandem runs. First we were matched up with Matt Field, who is a rookie to Formula Drift this year. He was driving the course very well for his first time out, however he made a few mistakes on his lead run which gave us the win to move into Top 16. Our next pairing was against my Drift Alliance brother Joon Maeng, his new ride with Bergenholtz Racing has proven to be a help to his recent success. He has adapted to the new car rather well and has been much higher in the rankings since he parked his Nissan S13. Our first run was rather smooth and simple, I lead and stuck to my line. I knew Joon had a very similar driving style to mine so on the chase run, I pushed to drive close and not let his car get away from ours. We stuck together through the course and took the win. Our third matchup was with James Deane, he was driving very well and had a high entry speed. We both ran a good lead run and close chase runs so the judges ruled a One More Time. Our next lead run was solid and James stayed close behind so to get an advantage, I would have to get even closer. So, on my chase run, I entered into the first corner with only a few feet between our cars. I was able to slowly pull in closer to his car through the braking zone and with only inches between our cars we both jumped onto the throttle and cleared the rest of the course. The judges gave us the win! We were now in the final four.

 

After we cooled the car down and got back to the start line, I am told we will be facing Vaughn Gittin Jr. in the Semi-Finals. After I had a moment to think, I realized that the two of us were not the only Drift Alliance members still remaining, Ryan Tuerck had also reached the Semis. Holy crap, it could be a 1,2,3 DA podium!!! The only thing standing between us and our long time dream of having 3 of us up there together is Tanner Foust, which is no easy task being that he would have to lose twice. Tuerck runs through the course and beats Tanner, putting Tanner in the consolation round which means it would be either Vaughn or myself who would have to face Tanner for that last spot on the podium. I lead against JR with a solid clean run, on the follow I wanted to keep the gaps close to try to ensure a win, as we enter into the course and start to slow down and I realize that we were both on the brakes pretty hard. At this point, I try to follow JR as best as I could, on the outer clipping point he dropped into the dirt so I do the same but my car spun to a stop which gave Vaughn the win. Now it was up to me to defeat Tanner.

Tanner’s car is fast so I tried to beat him with angle, my first pass I threw the car as hardas I could and went past the lock, sliding into the first corner with all four tires screaming, I was able to pull the car out and continued through the course! This was about as hard as I could run the Sonoma course but on the follow run, Tanner pulled a couple car lengths on me as we entered into the first corner, I was unable to catch up and remained about three car lengths behind for the entire run… The judges gave Tanner the win and I took 4th. An awesome finish that I would be super happy with in any other circumstance but I have to admit, I was so sad to see us get so close to sweeping the podium only to miss it. We’ll get ‘em next 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.

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.

ThunderDrift: Nor-Cal Formula Drift ProAm Round 2

 

  Round 2 of the ThunderDrift Championship Series was a truly epic battle between some of Nor-Cal's best drifters.  The course was incredibly fast and challenging which put a serious amount of pressure on the drivers to minimize their mistakes.

  This was the largest turnout of the season and drivers even showed up from out of state to compete with Northern California's finest.  There were V8 powered imports, turbo charged 240's, and of course AE86 Corollas.

   Shout out to our boy Geoff from Lab17 as he throws back a cold one!

  During qualifying, the drivers were laying down the law and we saw who looked most promising for the tandem battle ahead.  One of the drivers that qualified in the top 8, Jared Thompson, experienced a mechanical failure with his waste gate breaking off of the manifold under the hood.  The remainder of the top 8 were: Andy Gillespie, Luke Lonberger, Ryan Kado, Scott Sherod, Julian Jacobs, Al Pulido, and Matt Madrigaldi.

  The winners of the event were some familiar faces in the Nor-Cal drifting scene: Ryan Kado, Andy Gillespie, and Luke Lonberger.  Shots provided by Mike Tseng Photography at the winner's podium.     

    Come out this Wednesday, June 30th for Round 3: The Smell of Fear, where the NOS Team will be out in full force to support Nor-Cal's finest drifters.  For more information visit www.thunderdrift.com.

NOS INVADES Yerba Buena 4th Annual Car Show

NOS came out to support Yerba Buena High School's 4^th annual car show on in San Jose, California.

 

High schoolers as well as car enthusiasts surrounded the NOS tent to get their free sample of NOS Energy drink.

Models Kristee Lani, Novella Nikita, and Genevieve Chanelle were looking good as always fitted in their NOS tank tops, sweatbands, and bandanna's. 

 The girls were able to transform green energy consumers into loyal dedicated mango passion fruit lovers

At the end of the show fans gathered around to find out the winning results for the 4th Annual Yerba Buena Car Show... 

And the winner is.... 

Thunderdrift: Nor-Cal Formula Drift ProAm Round 1

  Sunday Feb. 7th of 2010 was the season opener of the newly established Nor Cal Formula Drift ProAm Series: Thunderdrift.  The event had a strong turnout consisting of Nor Cal's finest ProAm drivers and seriously impressive drift cars.  Thunderhill's turns 13-10 (counter-course direction) provided the drivers with a configuration that demanded a high speed initiation and a tricky transition over a blind crest.

 During the morning practice runs the drivers gained confidence on the course and qualifying provided a great show.  Top qualifiers Ryan Kado and Jared Thompson displayed consistent runs that were full of smoke and angle.  By the end of the day it was Julian Jacobs taking the win.

 The drivers and spectators at the event enjoyed Nos Energy Drink's involvement to the fullest.  The winners of the event soaked each other down with bottles of Nos at the podium awards ceremony.  Come out on April 13th to watch Nor Cal's finest drift drivers battle it out in Round 2 of the Formula Drift ProAm Series: Thunderdrift.

for more info check out www.thunderdrift.com

2010 Formula Drift ProAM: Thunderdrift

 

Nor Cal is stepping it up big time in 2010!  Formula Drift is now officially the sanctioning body for the Thunderdrift Championship Series.  Nor Cal's greatest drivers will be going head to head in all out tandem battle at Thunderhill Raceway.  The racetrack, in Willows, CA offers extremely fast and blind combination corners that will have drifters seeing 3rd and 4th gear speeds.  This Sunday is Round 1 in the points championship and it is going to be intense.  Spectators are more than welcome and the weather is going to be great.  Hope to see you guys there!

www.drinknos.com

NOR CAL NOS INTRODUCES JARED THOMPSON

 

 

Hey drift fans, here is some background on the newest edition to the Nor Cal Nos Team! 

Jared Thompson, a product of the bay area, was a pro driver in the 2007 World Drift Series in China and the winner of the first annual Nor Cal Track Drift Competition at Thunderhill Raceway.  Thompson finished 3rd overall in the 2009 Thunderdrift Championship Series and will be competing in the 2010 Formula Drift ProAM.

Be sure to follow us on the blogs for upcoming competitions featuring Jared Thompson and his Nissan 240sx powered by Zankoku Performance and Nos Energy Drink.

Cali car culture, Black Scale, Fatlace and Spoon Sports...

First off I'd like to introduce myself, I'm James Cale from detointernational.com.  DETO is a racing lifestyle brand that fuses the culture of racing through the form of fashion.  We are based out of New Jersey and this post is on my trip to San Fransisco, California. 

Here is a pic from our plane ride in.

Any time I travel to somewhere that I haven't been before, I always take notice on the fashion and car culture that an area has.  San Fran easily has both without over-doing itself. Here are a few random snaps I took just on the street.

streetLABS: HELLAFLUSH III Desktop

Click on the image or here to download the desktop so you wont forget about the HELLAFLUSH III EVENT going down November 14th at Blacktrax. The final flyer will be ready tonight..