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

FOLLOW:

Scott Weiss (Konig): Scott_Konig
Joey Redmond : joeyredmond
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.

Ryan Litteral finishes top 4 at FDATL Pro 2!!!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

KORUWORKS takes us up-close, personal and gives us a behind the scene look of Formula Drift Atlanta. Capturing amazing footage of the teams hard work and dedication. Koruworks faces a few issues early on and races the clock on getting the build in tip-top shape for competition. At the end, the team succeeds with an amazing performance in Pro 2 with Ryan Litteral solidifying a TOP 4 Finish at FDATL!

We are super excited for the future rounds and from all of us here at Konig, go get’em fellas!

Ryan is running Konig Ampliform in 18×9 et 15mm front and 18×10 et 20mm rear in DARK METALLIC GRAPHITE. The Konig Ampliform is Flow Formed.

For more on Koruworks follow them on instagram: @KORUWORKS

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.

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

Posted on by Konig Gfx

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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FDATL 18 Friday Need To Know!

Posted on by KONIG

Tonight at 6pm EST Formula Drift will be heading into Pro1 Qualifying and then directly following that, around 10 pm EST, Top 16 for FD Pro2 will kick off.  We wanted to bring you up to speed in case you want to follow some of the Konig Team as they take to the grid!  So here is your Friday Need To Know for Formula Drift Atlanta.

In Pro1 make sure to look out for Kevin Lawrence and Matt VanKirk as they attempt to qualify.

In Pro 2, FIVE out of SEVEN Konig Drivers qualified into the top 16.  Travis Reeder, Kelsey Rowlings, Adam Knapik, Ryan Litteral and Geoff Donati.

Travis Reeder is your #1 seed as he qualified with a 95!  You should also note that Travis won this event last year so he’s looking for a repeat victory!

Make sure to watch it all godown LIVE starting at 6 pm.  http://www.formulad.com/live

And make sure to SUBSCRIBE to our PODCAST!  We will be running through highlights from this event early next week and we will do so after every Formula Drift event!  If you like the PODCAST, please subscribe (available on iTunes and Google Play)

Josh McGuire Formula Drift Atlanta Pro2 Round 1 Recap

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY JOSH MCGUIRE ****

Day 1: Practice session, we were super excited and nervous at the same time. We looked forward to getting out on track to drive because it’s a track that we had not had the opportunity to experience so we did not know what to expect. Once out on track, we were given minimal practice time, with one practice lap while conditions were dry we put together a blind run to establish whether we needed set up changes or not. I felt comfortable in the car, so we didn’t make any changes. Then it started to rain. The rain was beneficial in a way to see how the track and car handled in wet conditions. We were conservative while in the wet conditions, and we were only one of a few cars that didn’t go off track during these conditions. Going into qualifying: Definitely we were nervous because we were only allotted a couple practice runs. We were able to complete a run that locked us in for 6th position in qualifying.

Day 2: We were excited about our qualifying position and couldn’t wait to battle in top 16 when we went out for practice we had ignition problems with the car that would let the car run for only an allotted time and then it would shut itself down. Knowing this we knew we were gambling to be able to throw down a solid run. This added a stress but my crew members and I tried to fix the problem before our first battle we thought we had it fixed, when I went out on my first run, the car shut itself down at the top of the horseshoe, claiming us a zero. We called 5 minutes to make repairs on the car. Which we were able to complete in the 5 minutes. We then re-lined up to do our follow run, knowing we were at a big fault, it didn’t change my mindset on how I should drive, giving my 100 percent. In our 5 minutes of repair time, track conditions changes immensely, causing the car to grip up, which we had not planned for. So we ended up shallow on our first inside clip, I quickly corrected and fell back into the follow position keeping close proximity for the remainder of the course. It however was not enough to compensate for the zero on the first run.

Over all even though we didn’t advance, it was a great learning experience. We are looking forward to Rd 3 in Orlando, and also to return to drive again at Road Atlanta in 2017.

-Josh