Behind The Wheel Podcast: FD Edition – FDATL 2019

Behind The Wheel Podcast: FD Edition – FDATL 2019

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Check out this FD edition of our podcast as we go into Joey Redmond’s TOP 10 THINGS LEARNED points from Formula Drift Atlanta! Make sure to share your thoughts with us!

If you like what we’re doing here, please subscribe! We’re on iTunes and Google Play! Additionally, every full episode is uploaded right here to our YouTube Channel!

See you after FD New Jersey!

If you like what we’re doing here, please subscribe! We’re on iTunes and Google Play! Additionally, every full episode is uploaded to YouTube!
…. (details/cheat sheet below! – Audio )

00:47 | “Passionate Pat” Goodin is the Underdog Everyone is Cheering For
05:02 | A Great Top 32
11:44 | It’s Electric and Qualifies – Now What?
17:39 | Fans Remain the Real VIP with Weather
19:04 | Odi Bakchis vs. Forrest Wang is the New Rivalry FD Needs
22:46 | Josh Robinson Wins Pro 2 – Makes Championship Wide Open!
26:06 | James Dean Back on the War Path!
28:48 | Odi Bakchis Falls Just Short of All-Time Tandem Wins in a Row Record
30:24 | The Big Statement from Ryan Tuerck
34:26 | Fredric Aasbo Capitalizes in the Rain with Perfect Event
43:27 | Outro

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Scott Weiss (Konig): Scott_Konig
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Konig Wheels USA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/konigwheelsusa/

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Kelsey Rowlings recounts FDATL!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

FORMULA DRIFT PRO 2 ATLANTA, GA 2019 – ROUND 2

Kelsey’s drifting for April 2019

After a power steering pump failure led to a bad crash in the first round of Formula Drift Pro 2 competition, my team and I were crunched for time with only a week to repair the car for round two at Road Atlanta. We were determined to make it happen, and with the help of our friend Billy Mitchell at Sanford Paint and Body, we were able to get the car on a frame machine as early as possible.

The damage had pushed the strut tower in, but we were able to get it back to “close enough,” to align and compete with. We knew the car was not going to be perfect, it just needed to work. We were able to get our vinyl quickly reprinted by Socal Sign Craft, and our good friend Tahir at Guardian Wraps made himself available to re-wrap the damaged parts of the car on short notice. Including some sleepless nights for repairs by my crew chief, it was a true group effort, which ultimately gave us time to take a couple of laps on the skid pad of OSW right before we left for Atlanta, to make sure our newest power steering pump and changes in the system were working.

While the power steering pump seemed to be working, I was noticing some resistance and notching in the steering. We discovered that the tweak in the firewall had slightly changed the angle of our power steering shaft. We already didn’t have a lot of room with our steering shaft passing between runners of our exhaust manifold, and the damage was just enough to cause a problem. We spent some time sanding down the steering shaft, which appeared to help, and we continued on to Atlanta.

Our first practice session was pretty decent considering we only had time for 2 laps. They weren’t laps up to my standard, but I knew they were laps I could build upon in the next session. When the next session came around, I started noticing the resistance in my steering again. I radioed to the team and we figured that the amount of heat in the engine bay was causing everything to expand and rub again. When we were testing, we never ran the car long enough to let it experience the same levels of heat.

With qualifying quickly approaching, we decided to pull out of the line a little early to address the steering shaft. We borrowed a file from another team and tried to hand file the parts that appeared to be rubbing based on the score marks on the steering shaft, and just turning the wheel side to side in the air. We hoped that the additional filing of the steering shaft and allowing it to cool before qualifying would help our problem.

My goal for the first qualifying lap was to take somewhat of a safe lap to get a score and make sure the steering was feeling better. While it definitely wasn’t my best, it gave us a score of 62 and it was something to build off of the next run. Unfortunately, not long after my first qualifying lap, the skies opened up and it started to pour.

We were forced to take a break due to the heavy rain and lightning, but we were able to continue once the storm lightened up. The only difference was that we now had a wet track and completely different driving conditions from practice, and it showed. My 62 managed to keep us on the board up until our second qualifying lap. I knew I could improve on it and get a safer score to keep me in the competition for the top 16 battles the next day.

I took my sight lap and quickly discovered that the track was like ice all the way through the entry and first outer zone. The car was able to find a bit of grip through the horseshoe, before losing it again on the way back down and up the hill to the start line. Being from Florida and pretty confident in the rain, I felt good about my lap all the way up until I tried to throw my car into the first turn.

Because of the wet conditions, I knew I didn’t want to flick the steering wheel too hard. I tried a small flick, went to grab my handbrake, and suddenly realized there was no pressure. My car simply bobbled with my little flick because my rear wheels didn’t lock up. I desperately yanked on the hand brake a coupled more times to build pressure and then threw it sideways heading towards the first inner clip. I was pretty sure I was past the final initiation cone, which would result in a zero, but I was determined to put down a good rain lap.

I made my way around the up the hill and into the keyhole. I clutch kicked where I found grip and rode the slide down the hill and transitioned into the final turn up the hill. It was a solid wet lap, besides the entry. My suspicions were confirmed and I was given an incomplete run due to my entry. I was disappointed in the hand brake failure, but proud of the lap otherwise. Our win in Atlanta was being able to show up with a fixed car that was able to make it around the track. We now have some issues to sort out before St. Louis, but I know that we can make some magic happen now that we have a little more time to spend on the details. On to St. Louis!

All the best to each of you!
Kelsey (aka Drift Chick) and Dan Rowlings

www.driftchick.com
www.facebook.com/KelseyRowlings
https://www.instagram.com/kelseyrowlings/

Kelsey is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25mm rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Kelsey makes to TOP 8 at FDATL!!!

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FORMULA DRIFT PRO 2 ATLANTA, GA – ROUND 1 | May 11th and 12th

“BREAKTHROUGH”

On Wednesday May 9, in the rolling hills of Braselton, Georgia, Kelsey’s 2018 PRO2 season of Formula Drift officially began by passing tech inspection for the new season. Held at Road Atlanta, the premiere drift venue in the country, the setting and weather were perfect for the next few days of competitive drifting and Round 1 for all the Pro2 drivers and teams. Team Drift Chick was ready to go and Kelsey was feeling good with the fixes made to the car’s steering working well.

After taking advantage of the awesome setting and scenery for some photo shoots with the new livery on the car, the crew got to work checking and making final adjustments to prepare the car for competition. Every fastener and wiring connection was checked to help make sure car reliability would not be a problem. With the Crew Chief declaring the car good to go, the team took the evening off, to rest up and be ready for Qualifying on Thursday.

Thursday kicked off with a short driver’s meeting. During this meeting, the Formula Drift judges explained the course layout as well as their expectations for the drivers. By the end of the session, the judges had clearly explained what was needed to attain a high score in the qualifying rounds.

Following the driver’s meeting, practice began. The drivers had a few hours to practice on the course while teams made needed adjustments to the cars in anticipation of qualifying runs. With the crew watching from their hot pit on the top of the hill, Kelsey put down a number of solid runs in practice with her spotter offering advice for improvement during each and every practice pass. With practice complete, it was on to qualifying. Each driver is given two passes to obtain their best qualifying score. In Kelsey first pass, she scored an 80. Pretty good overall, but the field included 30 talented drivers and Kelsey felt she could do better. On her second pass, she improved to a score of 84 which would be good enough to qualify ninth in the field of 16. Over all, the team was pleased with the first qualifying round of the season and looked forward to Tandem completion the following day.

On Friday, the crew again got to work and completed a thorough check of the car to make sure everything was ready for tandem competition later in the day. During this time, the car was also on display in the pits and Kelsey engaged with many fans stopping by to say hello.

Under the setting sun, a short tandem practice round began. After a few solid runs it was time for opening ceremonies. With a solid crowd of fans cheering them on, the drivers were introduced one by one. It was then game time.

In the round of 16, Kelsey was paired against the number 8 qualifier, Josh Robinson. Josh hails from Australia and is an awesome driver. In 2017, Kelsey competed head to head with Josh in the Orlando round, ultimately losing a close battel. Kelsey was determined to even the score. In the first pass, Josh led and Kelsey followed. Kelsey had a good follow run while Josh had some problems in the lead position. Going into Kelsey’s lead run, it appeared she had an advantage. In the second pass, Josh followed Kelsey. While Josh gave it his all, Kelsey put down a solid lead run. After a few moments to evaluate both passes, the judges awarded Kelsey the win. It was on to the Great 8!

In the Great 8 round, Kelsey was paired against Travis Reeder. Travis is a formidable driver and missed winning the 2017 season of Formula Drift Pro2 by just two points! But, Kelsey had been driving well, so an excellent battle was anticipated by all. Unfortunately for Kelsey, Travis’s car was a little quicker off the starting line and he created a gap ahead of Kelsey that gave him an advantage in his lead run. With Kelsey’s crew and spotter totally stressed, Kelsey calmly lined up for the second run. Kelsey took the lead position and put down her best lead run of the entire round. Unfortunately it was not quite enough and the win was awarded to her opponent.

Ultimately, Kelsey finished seventh in Round 1 of Formula Drift Pro2 competition, her best performance to date and a real “breakthrough”. Kelsey and the entire team were ecstatic and look forward to improving the performance of the car further in advance of Round 2. The next round will be held August 9 and 10 in St. Louis, Missouri when the team plans to build upon success.

www.driftchick.com
www.facebook.com/KelseyRowlings
https://www.instagram.com/kelseyrowlings/

Kelsey is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25mm rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Podium finish for Travis Reeder at FDATL 2018!

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FORMULA DRIFT PRO 2 ATLANTA, GA – ROUND 1 | May 11th and 12th

New year, new team and a whole new energy. Coming into the 2018 formula drift pro 2 Season, I was uncontrollably excited, anxious and hungrier than ever. After an extremely successful 2017 pro 2 season and a relatively uneventful off season I was more than ready to jump in the car and throw down at my favorite track in the formula drift series, Road Atlanta.

Coming into our first practice of the season the team and I had our data from last year collected and set up the car quickly. We immediately found out that having previous experience at a racetrack, especially one this challenging was more valuable than anything in this sport and it showed after executing a very strong first few laps in practice. The car was fast, settled and extremely drivable right out of the box, which allowed us to really dial in and fine tune the setup efficiently as well as develop a good strategy for the weekend.

With qualifying coming up quickly Thursday night, I knew I needed to improve on how I performed last year drastically considering only a few qualifying points had cost the team and I a championship in 2017. My first qualifying run was a conservative one, only to try and guarantee a spot in the big show Friday night. I had been a little shallow in outer zone 2 in the keyhole but hit all my clips, touch-and-go’s and zone the rest of the run. We were given a 91 and a second position seeding at that time which guaranteed the team a top 16 showing the next day. On qualifying run 2 we pushed harder as we had nothing to lose. I was deeper into the 2nd outer zone and was extremely committed and on throttle 99% of the lap as well as hitting all my clips with angle. The judges awarded the team and I a 95, which earned us the top qualifying position for the event!

After practice and opening ceremonies, the team and I were excited for top 16 and to put on a good show for all the awesome fans Road Atlanta attracts. My first battle was uneventful as I was set to battle Crick Fillipi but he had unfortunately broke minutes before, giving me a free ride into the top 8. So, I had taken advantage of the opportunity to practice putting down my closest rendition of a perfect qualifying run. On to the top 8!

Kelsey Rowlings was our opponent for the top 8. I lead first and put down a solid lead with minimal corrections and had pulled a bit of a gap on her after the first front clip. Going into the second run I was in the chase position and new I had to apply consistent pressure and maintain proximity to get the team into the final 4. Rowling’s was on fire for her lead run, which allowed me to really attack in the chase. I followed close with great proximity and it was enough to give me the win, the final 4 was set!

Our final 4 Battle was against Ola Jaeger, who was on an absolute war path all weekend. I led first and had a killer lead run hitting all my clips with angle and smoke and only sacrificed a few points in outer zone 2, as well as pulling a couple car lengths away from Ola in the chase. Going into the second run I knew he had a unique and difficult entry style to adjust to, so I had to try my best to match and apply pressure in the chase position and not lose ground. I was close on entry and on his door after our first transition up the hill, but he was fast and pulling away. I sacrificed angle and line slightly to gain proximity in the keyhole and throughout the rest of the run. Blazing across the finish line a foot off his door we came to a stop at the top of the hill. After review from the judges they had concluded that my correction in the chase position had outweighed Ola’s falling back during my lead run and he was awarded the win and moved on to the finals.

Thankfully, by qualifying p1 in the event, I was guaranteed a 3rd place podium finish if I had made it to the final 4. So not only were we the top qualifier but we were still able to go home with a carbon fiber trophy! I can’t complain about one thing over the whole entire weekend. The car ran flawlessly as did my crew! With round one being in the books, and the team and I in the chase for the championship, I can’t wait for St. Louis as well as more great times at the track.
I want to give a massive thank you to all my family, friends, fans and amazing sponsors for the support to chase a crazy dream that is professional drifting. Without you all I wouldn’t be able to do it. Period!

Travis is running Konig Ultraforms in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9 et 25mm rear. The Konig Ultraforms is Flow Formed.

Vankirk recounts FDATL ’18!!!

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FORMULA DRIFT Atlanta, GA – ROUND 3 | May 11th and 12th

Formula Drift Round three this year was held at Road Atlanta, one of our favorite tracks of the series! Road Atlanta is a very iconic track and I am more than stoked to compete against the best drifters in the world on it! Last year we had great success on this track finishing in 2nd place for Pro 2. With a tiny bit of more power than we had last year and the same suspension set up, the team felt confident going into this round.

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Thursdays practice came with a few hurdles. After doing a few laps I realized the same issue we had in Long Beach is also affecting us here in Atlanta. Coming up the hill I was throwing a lot of angle in the car to set me up for going into the horseshoe. However, doing this was making our car’s steering lock up and understeer causing the vehicle to go off course. With it being Thursday, grip levels were not at its peak yet and after talking to some teams it sounded like they were understeering in the same spot as well. We decided to make a few adjustments to the car and the fact it didn’t do this every lap we decided to see how things go the following day. Other than that, we got our entry location down as well as our line throughout the course and the team felt good after Thursday’s practice session.

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Friday’s practice before qualifying went extremely well compared to Thursday’s practice. The car had a lot more grip without changing any tire pressure or suspension settings. The weather was a bit hotter and there was a lot more rubber down on the track. We did roughly 6 laps before qualifying and the car’s steering only locked up once and it was on our first run. The team and I figured the car was good to go as our front tires were not warmed up yet on our first run and the remaining laps we did the car felt great. Going into qualifying I felt really strongly about our vehicle setup and this track and was ready to put down a very solid run. On my First qualifying lap I initiated a lot deeper than I have all weekend, the tires rode the rumble strip and we had a good amount of angle going into the first inner clip. After passing the first inner clip we transitioned up the hill, full throttle and was coming up to the horseshoe fast. I chucked the steering wheel to throw a lot of angle at the car. The car angled out and when I downshifted into 2nd to power through into the horseshoe the steering once again locked up and unfortunately we understeered off course. This was very unfortunate as this was my first qualifying run and knowing we had only one more lap to make it into the main event our nerves were high as there was an obvious problem with the car. I drove back to the pits and talked with the team about what was going on with our s13. Matt Coffman came by our pits to see how things were going and I showed him a video of what happened on our qualifying run. We jacked up the front end and he quickly pointed out that we were missing the bump stop for our Wisefab angle kit. Every time I drove the car aggressively and threw a lot of angle at the car our steering was over centering which was causing my steering wheel to lock up and the front end to wash out. Since we didn’t have any time to properly fix this our crew chief Greg Leone made a temporary bump stop with duct tape. Knowing this was my only chance to qualify and knowing the vehicle still had the issue my nerves were very high. During our 2nd qualifying pass I hit all the clips just like our first run but coming into the horseshoe I took it very conservative and did not angle out like our previous run. The car did not understeer this time around and we finished off the course strongly. Due to use being conservative through the horseshoe the team scored an 80 on our second qualifying pass and we were in the show for top 32. After qualifying we ended up buying a Wisefab bump stop from Faruk Kugay and fixed our over centering issue. Knowing the car was fixed we were excited for competition on Saturday.

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Our qualifying result paired us to go against 2017 3rd place champion Odi Bakchis for our top 32 battle. Odi is a great driver and is one of the fastest cars on grid and we were looking forward to do battle with him. Our goal for Saturday’s practice was to get as many follow laps as possible. This quickly came to an end, on our 2nd practice run of the day we snapped a stub shaft exiting the last turn. Knowing we didn’t have a spare and that top32 was close to starting, I frantically ran through the pits looking for a team with a spare stub shaft for our s13 differential. Luckily Enjuku Racing was kind enough to lend us their spare. Funny thing is we actually broke an axle last year in Atlanta and Enjuku Racing also helped us out, big shout out to the guys over at Enjuku! Since the stub shaft broke inside the differential we were unable to get it out and ended up swapping the differential with a spare that we brought. This took quite some time as top 32 started and we were about 75% of the way done. Our battle was the fourth battle in the bracket so we ended up having to call our competition 5 minute timeout. With 30 seconds left on the clock we finished installing the new differential and stub shaft and headed to line up against Odi. I knew we would have to give it our all for this battle. We initiated with Odi and kept great proximity through the first inside clip. Coming up the hill we surged forward on him into the horseshoe, I had to check up pretty good and when we hit the throttle the car was out of its power band and I sustained drift but started to shallow out. After the 3rd clutch kick we got the rear tires spinning again and transitioned to go back down the hill. Unfortunately this put me and an awkward line and I just fell into Odi’s tire smoke. We were in Odi’s smoke for about 3 seconds which felt like eternity when going those speeds not being able to see a thing. I was contemplating on when to transition and did not want to transition late due to that outside wall taking out a few vehicles this weekend. When I ended up transitioning we were just a tad too soon and I ended up going tires off and hitting the inside clip. On our lead I knew we had to give it everything we had. I laid down what I thought would have been a 100 point qualifying run. We hit all our clips and even through tons of angle going into the horseshoe. Coming down the hill we actually pulled a few car lengths away from Odi but unfortunately that wasn’t enough to upset our mistake.

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The next day we went to the local event at Lanier Speedway across the street and had a blast driving with some of the local guys. It was also Mother’s day and I was able to give my Mom some ride alongs which was awesome! The team and I learned a lot this weekend and we all worked together to get the car fixed just in time for our top 32 battle. I could not have been prouder of everyone and we look forward to driving at Wall Speedway for the first time next round!

vankirk fdatl 09

Matt is running Konig Hypergrams in 18×9.5 et 25mm front and 18×10.5 et 25 rear in Race Bronze. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Scott & Joey breakdown FDATL on Behind The Wheel Podcast: FD Edition!!!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

On this special edition episode of BEHIND THE WHEEL PODCAST, Scott and Joey Redmond of Wrecked Magazine discuss what went down at Formula Drifts Round 3 in Atlanta and much more! Tune in and give us some feedback!

Behind the Wheel Podcast

You can also, subscribe or download the podcast on our website, iTunes, Google Play, Youtube & Sound Cloud:

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Thanks for listening!

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Scott Weiss (Konig): Scott_Konig
Joey Redmond (Wrecked Magazine): joeyredmond
Konig Wheels USA Instagram: @konigwheelsusa

Knapik makes top 16 at FDATL 2018!

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FORMULA DRIFT PRO 2 ATLANTA, GA – ROUND 1 | May 11th and 12th

Round One of the Formula Drift Pro2 Series is finished and in the books and it was definitely not with out some challenges. About a week before needing to leave for Atlanta our built LS2 suffered a catastrophic failure during testing. A flaw in the block gave in, and the block cracked (let that be a lesson, always have the block x-rayed for flaws). So with no time to spare, and our engine builder not being able to crank out a bottom end in that short of a time frame my crew chief, Adrian Quiroz, and I went for a hail Mary. Scouring craigslist we found a used LQ9 with about 150k miles on it for a good deal and swapped it into the S14, chucked the Edelbrock supercharger on it, gave it mild tune of 500 HP so that it wouldn’t (hopefully) explode and set off on our cross country road trip from California to Atlanta!

The drive went great and we made really good time. So good in fact that we where able to get the car teched a day early so that we wouldn’t have to be rushed the morning of practice. During practice though is when some gremlins would start rearing there heads. The oil pressure started to drop below safety perimeters and would cut power to the car to save the motor. We lowered the perimeters a bit to get in some runs with out the car cutting, but then the oil pressure only kept dropping. After practice we went through the car to check for leaks but came up empty, so we decided to change the oil to something thicker thinking maybe the oil was oiling over and thinning out. The thicker oil helped but the pressure would keep dropping, and we came to the conclusion that the oil pump was possibly on its way out. With not time to be able to swap oil pumps, I decided to turn off all the perimeters and send it, as qualifying was coming up. As luck would have it the moment I line up for the first qualifying run, it begins to rain. I put down a safe run to at least get some points on the board, scoring a 76. On my second qualifying run, coming up the hill the clutch pedal gets stuck on the floor and because of no drive, the car straightens. So the first run or 76 would have to do. We sat anxiously waiting to see if the 76 would hold up while all the other drivers finish off their 2nd passes. After the smoke had settled the score was good enough to get us into the show with a 15th qualifying spot and pairing us up with the 2nd place qualifier Dylan Hughes. After watching some replays of his qualifying and practice runs (and he did get 2nd) I knew he was a solid driver that wouldn’t play any games.

The day of competition always has a practice session before and our oil pressure was still a major concern, and now our motor is running a bit hot as well. But we had made it this far so we decided that we would go for it. I decided to only do one practice run to save the motor as much as I could, not even letting it idle, the team would push the car up to the starting line. Dylan and I had a hard fought battle for our first run, each making some minor mistakes. The judges deemed it was too close to call and we would go on to a One More Time decision. On our second battle it was another close call with the judges needing to review the replays a few times but after some time they would call Dylan the winner.

After all the ups and downs the team and I are happy with the outcome. We put some points up on the board and are pumped for Round 2 coming up in St. Louis, Missouri. This is a new track for Formula Drift so we’ll see what challenges it throws at us! Now its time to pull out the motor (again) and get to work on something with a bit more confidence. See you guys at Round 2!

Adam is running Konig Rennforms in 18×9 et 23 all the way around. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.

Behind The Wheel Podcast: FD Edition – RD3 Atlanta

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On this special episode of the Konig Behind The Wheel Podcast, Joey Redmond of Wrecked Magazine sits down with us to discuss his “10 things learned from FD Atlanta”. You can find Joey’s “10 things learned after each and every event on Formuladrift.com.
We also touch a few of the more notable highlights from Formula Drift Atlanta, interesting things from FD season so far and revisit the PRO 1 probable/potential podium finishers that we talked about from the last special FD episode …. (details/cheat sheet below!)


CONTENT CHEAT MENU:
0:18 | Intro
1:20 | Quick Review of FDATL
3:25 | Bottom Pro1 Drivers vs Top Pro2 Drivers
7:27 | Pro1 vs Pro2
14:08 | Pro1 Rookie of The Year Race
16:37 | Qualifying scores consistently higher
19:30 | Touchback on 100pt qualifying score
20:54 | Tuerck might have ended landed on podium
21:58 | Where’s the line…being accountable for contact
26:58 | Jumping the starting light
31:25 | James Deane’s Kryptonite appears to be Kristaps Bluss
32:36 | Bluss Wins!
35:44 | Uncharacteristic crashes at FDATL
39:06 | End of season podium prediction
44:33 | Lawrence qualifies!
45:11 | No tire, no problem! …de-beading
48:27 | Wrap up / Contact info

FOLLOW:

Scott Weiss (Konig): Scott_Konig
Joey Redmond : joeyredmond
Konig Wheels USA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/konigwheelsusa/

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Sometimes Champions Struggle

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Kevin Lawrence is a real champion. Not because of his win at Formula Drift Orlando in Pro II. Certainly not because of the struggles he encountered at FD Atlanta. Kevin Lawrence is a champion because no matter what happens, he pushes past it with class, dignity and the attitude that real champions have. Lawrence struggled at Road Atlanta and missed qualifying. The car had some significant setup changes that happened after Orlando, he had limited practice seat time and flat out had a few technical difficulties. Thats racing folks! Sometimes you win, other times you get kicked in the teeth and are forced to drink massive amounts of alcohol. But that doesn’t stop his love for the sport or the fact that when pro 2 returns to the west coast, Lawrence will be there showing them what champions look like and exactly what they do!

Kevin Lawrence now takes over our blog to recap his experience at FD Atlanta….

**** GUEST BLOG – BY KEVIN LAWRENCE****

FORMULA DRIFT ATLANTA – PRO 2 Round 3

Photos by: Corey Denomy / Video by: Corey Denomy / Enjuku Racing

FD Atlanta was a tough one for sure, We showed up with a few changes to the car since our win in Orlando which were great changes for the better but with out proper testing of the new setup I had trouble figuring the car out. Biggest change was we were on the New Hankook RS4 tire for Atlanta after being on their Ventus V12 tire in Orlando. The V12 is a great street tire but was quite slick in Orlando for competition so jumping to the new RS4 tire in Atlanta was a huge change.


First practice I had enough time for 3 laps on track, immediately on the first lap I could tell the car was going to drive completely different. On the entry when I went to pull the hand brake for Turn 1 I was surpised to find out how grippy the new tires were as I was not even able to lock the rear wheels with the hand brake. We made some adjustments to tire pressure, shocks, and final drive gear change and got the hand brake to cooperate but the amount of grip the car had I was still struggling with getting the tires to spin in 4th gear for the exit of the course.


Second practice we went in with another gear change in the rear end and this seemed to be our ideal gear selection / wheel speed combo. However I was still struggling with getting the first turn figured out and getting the car to float enough off throttle and have the car settled just right to power through the first clip. After our mere 3 runs in the second practice it was time to be thrown to the wolves and make an attempt to qualify.


Qualifying order had me going dead last as after my first place win in Orlando put me in the points lead going into Atlanta. This is a blessing and a curse as its really awesome to be able to watch how the field does before my runs but at the same time the gap from my last practice run to my first qualifying attempt is quite some time when there is around 30 drivers taking their turn to qualify. First run out I didn’t expect the track to cool down as much as it did so I attempted to enter how I had been doing in my second practice session. With the drastic temp change to the track the grip levels had spiked up again and me not being ready for it after the hand brake initiation trying to get the car setup for the first turn was met with a huge amount of grip that swung the front end of the car back forward and caused me to understeer off the edge of the track. Frustrated with my self and the outcome I shut down my lap attempt and returned to the top of the hill to clear my head and get ready for the second attempt. After the field had all taken their second qualifying runs I was last up to bat at my qualifying attempt. Now knowing the grip levels of the track I chucked the car into the first turn way more aggressive than I had been doing all day. Finally the car got settled properly and was heading in the proper direction for the first clip. However just as I got to the front clip and go to drop the hammer and get back on throttle I’m met with the sound of my car hitting the limiter but the wheels were not spinning. Yet again my car has decided to knock itself out of gear but this time at the worst time imaginable. I hammered the shifter now as hard as i could to get it now into 3rd and complete the pass for a score but the time the car wasn’t making any movement from being in neutral was long enough to net me with my second 0 score and ending my weekend in Atlanta.

I want to give a huge shout out to the team at this round they jumped under the car multiple times to make the changes needed to help me get the car and myself figured out. Unfortunately our transmission issue is still haunting us but we have now removed the transmission to have it throughly tested on a transmission dyno to see if we can figure out if the issue is possibly a bent internal main shaft or possibly something else internally out that we just cant see with the naked eye. We will get a bunch of practice in the break between the next round and will have the car dialed and ready for Seattle!

Mertzanis Puts Down Best Qualifying Score in his Career

Posted on by Konig Wheels

Before the Fuel Culture S13.4 was shipped to the East Coast to Road Atlanta, the car headed to the Sea Otter Classic at Laguna Seca for the huge 2012 bicycle show. Over 60,000 people came through the doors in Monterey, California, to see the show and catch a glimpse of the drift car. The 240sx was parked in the center of the Kenda Tire booth who built out a virtual garage around the car to attract visitors. This was one of the only vehicles at the whole show this year, gathering tons of attention.

After leaving the Sea Otter Classic, the car headed east across the United States to Atlanta, Georgia in preparation of Formula Drift Round 2. Some tweaks to air pressure and our KW Suspension between rounds really set the team up for success after Road Atlanta.

During qualifying, Dennis managed to put down his best career qualifying run of 89.5 at his hometown course Road Atlanta. The car didn’t require as much setup adjustments to accomplish this huge career accomplishment. He was one of the few drivers to meet the speed trap minimum for the weekend.

After qualifying, we found out that we would be lined up against Top 10 driver, Kyle Mohan, who didn’t qualify at his usual top level performance which gave us one tough draw in the first round. Dennis and the team made some last minute adjustments and put down some of the best lead runs he has driven in his career by far. After one round, the judges were stuck at 1 vote for Dennis, 1 vote for Kyle, and 1 vote for OMT.

On the OMT tandem battle, Dennis performed top notch on his lead run but made a wide turn on his follow run which let Kyle Mohan pass into the Top 16 with 2 votes for Kyle and 1 vote for Dennis. A tough break for the team who performed near perfect all weekend but we are looking forward to Palm Beach International.

The next day after Road Atlanta, the Mertzanis Racing team attended what might be the last event at Turner Field with several other Formula Drift professional drivers. The city council in Atlanta, Georgia, signed an ordinance that bans drifting specifically in the city of Atlanta within 1,000 feet of residential zoning. This made it very personnel for Dennis Mertzanis as he first learned how to drift and hone his skills in this very parking lot.

Sadly, the weather didn’t cooperate with this final Turner Field event but Dennis brought out his Fuel Culture S13.4 in the rain to tandem with local drivers and promote the sport within the local area. He talked with various media outlets on the importance of the sport and the need to continue in grassroots events and why it’s best to create events and have safe, controlled environments so as to keep drivers off the streets.

It has been a busy month in back to back travel. And with Round 3 at Palm Beach International Raceway just right around the corner, Dennis Mertzanis will continue onwards and upwards by shooting for another career best finish at Round 3.

//Images courtesy of Fuel Culture & Wrecked Magazine 2012//