July 29th 2010

STREET-WISE DRIFT CONCLUDES ITS 2010 FORMULA D PRO AM EVENT SERIES

Street-Wise Drift has completed its Formula Drift Pro Am series for 2010.
Congratulations to Pro AM Driver Kiely Mackey for winning the SWD Pro AM Points Championship and earning an FD Pro Championship License for 2011. We are stoked to see Kiely moving into the professional ranks and look forward to watching his progress drifting with the pros next year.

SWD also has awarded its top Pro AM drivers from the 2010 Season with invitations to the Formula Drift Pro AM Finals in Irwindale, CA. This is where they will battle it out with the nation’s best pro am drivers for a shot at a 2011 Formula Drift Pro Championship license.

Invitation Winners:
Patrick Goodin
Zoltan Hajdu
Brad Heyl
Hayden Horton

Pro AM wrap up:
Street-Wise Drift ran 5 FD Pro AM events in 2010 along side its growing East Coast amateur event series. The Pro AM drivers stepped up their game early in the year during the March and April Pro AM rounds held at the famed Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.
SWD’s new blood Pro AM talent then continued to round 3 at Road Atlanta for a top 16 battle in front of thousands of fans in conjunction with Round 2 of the Formula Drift Championship Series. With only 2 more events to go, SWD’s Field of Pro AM drivers would soon face back to back competition events on Z MAX Dragway’s perfect surfaces, 85+ MPH entry’s speeds and technical sweepers that challenged not only the drivers but their cars as well. Its was a great season and we look forward to doing it again next year.

About SWD
Street-Wise Drift: www.streetwisedrift.com
SWD is based in Charlotte, NC and is run by Brian and Todd Phillips. SWD’s Leaders have over 20 years combined experience in grassroots motorsports. SWD runs both Amateur and Pro AM drifting events at challenging track locations in the SE and has built a strong presence in the region’s motorsports market since its start in early 2009.
SWD’s Focus is to provide opportunities for drivers and teams to develop and grow in the sport.
SWD also hosts local drift clinics, practice days, time attack competitions, gymkhana competitions, and Demos.

Series Rules and regulations questions: Contact Brian Phillips @ 704-577-3560 or support@streetwisedrift.com

Few pictures from Spcom this past weekend. Our booth featured the following cars: Chris Forsberg’s NOS Energy Nissan 350Z, Ross Petty’s Garage Boso Nissan S15, and Kyle Mohan’s Nexen Mazda RX-8. Thanks for everyone who came by the booth and definitely NOS Energy Drink for handing out massive amounts of product. For everyone else that weren’t able to come to Spocom, come to Round 5 “After Dark” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to see these cars in action!

For 2-Day Tickets

For 1-Day Ticket

SpoCom Super Show Long Beach, CA
Long Beach Convention Center
300 Ocean Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90802

Sunday, July 18th, 2010
11:00am-6:00pm

Final results are:
1st – Kyle Pollard
2nd – Nik Jimenez
3rd – Kohei Nakamura
4th – Peter Funatake

Kyle had only driven in one drift event in over 2 years prior this ProAm round and had never slid the 5/8ths bank. He was driving a borrowed car that just had ITBs installed and the ECU tuned a couple days before the event (this means he was risking mechanical issues with untested upgrades for those not up on the jargon). Even with 176HP at the wheels from a Honda S2000 engine swap the Corolla was still underpowered for the mega sized FD pro course but Kyle quickly figured out how to make it work and drifted to the top of the podium! Outstanding.

For full event results

What: Formula DRIFT Official Pre Party
When: July 9, 2010
10:00 P.M. – 2:00 A.M.
Where: Venom
2218 Western Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
Info: 21 & Over
Guest list closes at 10:30 P.M
www.whisperla.com

What: Formula DRIFT Official After-Party
When: July 10, 2010
10:00 P.M. – 2:00 A.M.
Where: HG Lounge
722 E. Pike St
Seattle, WA 98122
Info: 21 & Over
Guest list closes at 10:30 P.M
www.whisperla.com

Click for more information

Local as well as some international drifters will be making their way to this action packed event, set to kick off on June 12 and 13 at Precinct 3, Putrajaya. Spectators can expect a high-octane experience as participants take to the course two-at-at-time, often only inches apart featuring nail-biting power slides along a series of tight corners as powerful engines roar and tires slide with skilled precision.

“Following the success of our sponsorship with the Formula Drift ASIA Series in 2008 and 2009, Goodyear is proud to embark on further developing drift in the region by organizing its very own international drift series in both Malaysia and Thailand for drifters who aspire to move into the professional ranks of the Formula Drift Pro series. We aim to see some 40 drivers participating in the first leg of the Goodyear International Drift Series,” said Nasution Abdul Rahman, Managing Director, Goodyear Malaysia.

The Goodyear International Drift Series is supported as a Formula Drift Asia Pro-Am affiliate and is the official platform for aspiring drifters to participate in the 2011 Formula Drift Asia Pro series. It also supports the government’s initiative to nurture local budding talent and in playing a role in the Ministry Youth and Sports (KBS) program – 1 Belia 1 Malaysia. Activities such as the recently concluded KBS Goodyear Drift Challenge 2010 and the Goodyear International Drift Series raise the bar in cultivating grass root skills among young talent in the field of motorsports.

“It is indeed heartening to note that activities such as the KBS Goodyear Drift Challenge 2010 and the Goodyear International Drift Series are being supported by the private sector. Indeed it is our collective responsibility to ensure that we nurture and mould our youths so that they grow up to possess positive qualities that will benefit not only themselves but also the nation as a whole,” said Engku Azman Sayed Mohd, Assistant Director, Sports Development Division, Ministry of Youth and Sports. “We have seen the sport of drift in Malaysia grow from strength to strength and we are pleased to see that Goodyear Malaysia has had such a positive impact on the Malaysian community. We are confident that the Goodyear International Drift Series will continue to promote even greater interest in local sports in 2010.”

Beginning 2011, drifters who do not already have an official Formula Drift Pro license will be unable to compete at Formula Drift Asia events. The Goodyear International Drift Series changes the dynamics as drivers who achieve top 15 placements at the end of the Series will be awarded official Formula Drift Pro licenses allowing them to compete in Formula Drift Asia competitions.

“As the professional championship field of drivers gets more competitive, the grassroots level of drivers will do so as well. In order to provide a positive environment for learning, progression and competition at the local and regional level, Formula Drift has adopted the Goodyear International Drift Series as a pro-am affiliate in Malaysia and Thailand. Through this network, regional competitions are also created, resulting in a ladder system for drivers to gain the coveted Formula Drift Asia Pro License,” said Marcus Lim, General Manager of Drift Pac, the technical consultant of Formula Drift Asia in charge of the track layout, safety regulations and judging.

The Goodyear International Drift Series will adopt Formula Drift rules and regulations, and judging for the opening leg will be supervised by Formula Drift USA judge, Andy Yen, along with three other judges from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

During the event, Nasution announced that Team Goodyear Malaysia will be also be participating in the event, represented by Ariff Johanis Ahmad, Michael Gan, Hanizam bin Hamzah and Azrina Jane Abdullah. He also added that another Team Goodyear drifter from New Zealand – Daniel “Fanga Dan” Woolhouse will also be competing.

Woolhouse, the former D1 New Zealand champion is set to wow the crowd as he pushes his RB26DETT-powered Holden Commodore to the extreme while maintaining impeccable control and precision – all while using Goodyear’s renowned ultra high performance tire – the Eagle F1 Asymmetric tires.

The Eagle F1 Asymmetric tire’s cornering ability plays a vital role in drifting due to its proprietary CornerGrip technology, developed to increase the contact area between the tire and the road. This distributes a more even pressure across the width of the tires’ tread patch, resulting in better control – especially when it comes to tight corners.

“Goodyear has had a rich, 100-year long legacy in racing as the leading brand of performance tires. This strong heritage and experience in innovation and technology that we have garnered for over a century is translated into performance tires that are used on the road, every day,” said Nasution.