Lawrence debuts in FD PRO with back-up car

Lawrence debuts in FD PRO with back-up car

Posted on by Konig Gfx

FORMULA DRIFT LONG BEACH, CA – ROUND 1 | August 8th and 9th

What’s up everybody! Kevin here with my recap of the Formula D season opener at Longbeach, CA.

After losing the engine in my S14.3 on the dyno just a few days before leaving to Long Beach, The team and I revised our plans and decided to run Enjuku Racing’s R32 Demo car as this was our quickest option to have a car ready for Long Beach. We scrambled to bring the R32 up to tech regulations for Formula D competition as well as swapped over my last seasons nitrous kit and Garrett 3582 turbo to try and get some more power out of the R32. After a last minute trip to Tampa, FL to see my tuner Martin from RS-Enthalpy we were table to turn the R32s power up to 685whp from 505whp and off we went to make it out to Long Beach. After the 2.5 days travel filled with traffic stops and loosing parts of the roof of my trailer we finally arrived to the venue and loaded in for tech inspection, we passed tech with flying colors and then we were ready for practice and qualifying the next day.

FRIDAY

Friday morning after warming up the car in the pits I headed off to get in line to take my first practice pass. However after entering the burn out box and doing a few circles I heard a pop and realized my left rear axle had snapped. I scrambled back to our pits where the team confirmed the axle was broken and we got to work swapping it out. Unfortunately the spares we brought were a different length and would not just swap right in, we had to swap the outter stub that broke from the new axle to the old one in order to get the car back out to make a pass. This took a bit of time but we finally got it done and back out. After waiting in line again I was up next for a pass, this time no pop in the burn out box so I pulled up to the start line. Off I went and entered into the first turn of the tight course, I probably went into this pass with way more trust than I should have but I did alright for the first turn. Coming into the second one I pass the touch and go and then realize im going in too deep towards the Judges wall. I pitched more angle and pinned the car to try and dig out away from the turn but the impact was still going to happen. I tagged the rear wall which in return pulled the front of the car into it as well. I got the car back to the pits for evaluation of the damage and was suprised to find that other than all the cosmetics of the car the only suspension
part to really take the hit was the front lower control arm. We swapped that out as well as hammered out the chassis as best we could to keep the fenders from rubbing the rear tire and I rushed to try and get in a pass before qualifying. Unfortunately practice was called when I was about 3 positions back from making a pass so I would move on to qualifying with out making a full complete pass.

Pulling up to the line to take my first qualifying lap also my first ever full pass at long beach it felt as if there was a building sitting on my chest. I did my best to put all that aside and was able to take a very conservative pass and not hit any walls and earn a score of a 68. Knowing that was good enough to put me in the show I did what I could on my second pass to tidy it up a bit which worked and netted me a score of a 71. After the qualifying meeting I was informed I would battle Chris Forsberg in the Top 32.

SATURDAY

I was able to get in 6 complete passes before my battle with Chris, all of which I dialed in a bit better than the run before. Chris being the higher point qualifier was up to lead first. Light goes out and off we go, I was excited to see that on the run up I was able to keep up with him in our R32 demo car on the straight. We enter into the first corner and thats exactly when I realized he had way more grip in his car when in drift that what I had. We did take a bunch out in hopes to prevent another axle breaking. He is able to gain some distance on me and I do everything I can to keep up. Coming into the final transition I reach over to down shift from 4th to 3rd and the car accidentally shifts into 5th causing me to bogg out and loose more distance from Chris going into the final turn. Now my turn to lead I knew Chris had the advantage on me going into this half of the battle so my best defense was to put down the best lead lap I could in hopes that Chris would make a big mistake behind me resulting in us getting a OMT call. We leave the line and I give this pass my all, I honestly would say it was the most comfortable / cleanest pass I have had all weekend. I was hoping for Chris to make a mistake on this pass behind me but hearing his car not far behind me I knew that he wouldn’t let me have the win that easy. He kept right up with me and followed my line just as the judges asked. Chris would be awarded the win and this would wrap up my first time driving Long Beach as well as my Pro1 debut in Formula D.

I want to extend a huge thank you to my Team, Sponsors, and Family for all their absolutely amazing support and keeping me going and not letting me give up on this event. Everything it seemed was going against us to not make it out to Long Beach but we never gave up and I was able to get out there, Qualify, and run my First Pro 1 battle with our Demo car turned Pro1 legal car with that was done with in under a weeks time. Again thank you all so very much for everything I cant wait to get the S14 back together for the next one.

Kevin is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.

2018 Konig Formula Drift Drivers

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Getting to know 2018 Konig Supported Formula Drift Drivers

The 2018 Formula Drift Season is in full effect with the Streets of Long Beach just behind us and Orlando approaching this weekend. We thought we’d take a few minutes and give you a quick rundown of our 2018 FD drivers and telling you what wheels and fitment they’re running. Check them out, show them love, and remember to follow their journey this season here! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kevin Lawrence – Formula Drift (RB30DET powered Nissan S14.3)

Kevin Lawrence hails from Florida and has been drifting Nissan cars as long as we can remember. He took home the 2015 Three Palms Drift Championship and has never looked back in his drifting career. His reliable RB30DET powered Nissan 240sx helped him drift his way to the Pro 2 championship last season. An amazing victory at Texas Motor Speedway with all the pressure in the world on his shoulders allowed him to become Pro 2 championship by the thinnest margin in Formula Drift history of just two points.

Kevin Lawrence and the Enjuku Racing team are clear favorites for the 2018 Formula Drift Rookie of the Year award in the pro series. Kevin also is heavily involved in the drifting community in Florida and tours the country with his demo R32 Nissan Skyline to events like Hyperfest in Virginia.

Kevin is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matt Vankirk (SR20DET powered Nissan 240sx)

Matt VanKirk comes to you from the Northwest where the drift scene is strong! He really has become known for his aggressive driving style and his 3rd place, podium finish in Formula Drift Pro 2 last year. This year he is now stepping it up a notch as he competes in Formula Drift Pro! We’re excited to watch MVK try and earn that FD Rookie of the Year award! 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Litteral – Formula Drift & Pro 2 (LS3 powered Nissan 350z)

Ryan Litteral is a driver famous for having a drift vehicle with top class style over the years. Ryan comes from Southern California and has been drifting for 12 years now. He earned his license with his black S14 in the Just Drift series back in 2013. His last appearance in Pro 2 was in 2016 where he finished a solid 6th  place running his own program.

For the 2018 season he has teamed up with KoruWorks in Marietta, Georgia to campaign an LS3 powered Nissan 350z. The team will attend all four rounds that have a Pro/Pro 2 weekend and they will do double duty trying to sweep the Formula Drift weekend with a victory at both levels. You can also catch his YouTube series called IT’S LITT! Documenting his demo car 240sx build.

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.

 

Geoff Donati

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Geoff Donati – Formula Drift Pro 2 (LS3 powered Nissan 240sx)

Geoff Donati hails from a small town in Ohio and once he discovered drifting he wasted no time heading out to the track to give it a shot. His first full season of Pro-Am soon followed at the Midwest Drift Union in 2016 and where he fell just short of earning a license when the year ended by one point! Geoff went right back to MDU for the 2017 season and managed to win almost every round that year and became champion of the series with ease.

Geoff Donati dominates his competitors with consistency and some have even compared him to a young Chris Forsberg. He seems incapable of making a mistake at times behind the wheel and looks to carry that ice in the veins approach into Pro 2 for 2018

Geoff is running Konig Hypergrams in 18×9.5 et 25mm front and 17×8 et 40mm rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

 

Travis Reeder Konig Ultraform

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travis Reeder – Formula Drift Pro 2 (LS3 powered Nissan 240sx)

Travis Reeder is a drifter from the Pacific Northwest who cut his teeth in the Evergreen Drift series. Travis dominated the 2016 season in the Evergreen Drift Pro Am easily becoming the champion of this regional Pro Am series. He made his Pro 2 debut last season and managed to earn Rookie of the Year for his amazing efforts behind the wheel in his 240sx. In fact, he was basically announced champion at Texas Motor Speedway and could only mathematically lose if Kevin Lawrence qualified first and then won the event. Sadly, that happened and he finished the season in second place by the smallest margin in Formula Drift history after some amazing drifting all year.

Travis Reeder caught the world’s attention when he won Road Atlanta last year and took a commanding early lead in the Pro 2 championship. He has committed to the Pro 2 season again for 2018 and is determined to win the championship at all costs.

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

 

Kelsey Rowlings Konig Hypergram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelsey Rowlings (5.0L Coyote powered Nissan 240sx)

Kelsey Rowlings earned her Pro 2 license in the Three Palms Drift series down in Florida and became the first-ever female to earn a Pro 2 license through the Pro-Am drift promotion ladder. Kelsey was one of the few drifters who traveled in the younger part of her career and she managed to also compete in the Streetwise Drift, Lone Star Drift, and XDC series before stepping into the Pro 2 stage.

Kelsey’s engine package makes her one of the most unique car setups on grid in 2018. Instead of the traditional LS-engine setup, her team has picked the 5.0L engine out of a new Mustang GT to power her 240sx. Kelsey returns to the Pro 2 series in 2018 looking to outperform last season.

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

 

Garrett Denton Konig Dekagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garrett Denton (2JZ powered Nissan 240sx)

Garrett Denton is one of the most unique racers in the Pro 2 field today. At the age of 14, Garrett was the youngest driver to win a sanctioned NASCAR event race in North America. His love of driving and racing started as early as 5 years old and he has been behind the wheel ever since. Garrett also came from the Midwest Drift Union series where he finished in second place in 2017 and took plans to run in the Pro 2 series.

His Pro 2 campaign involves a crew full of University of Northwest Ohio graduates where he also attended college earning an in dual Associates Degree in High-Performance Motorsports Technology and Automotive Technology. Garrett will be taking to the Pro 2 circuit with a 2JZ powered Nissan 240sx with support from Koruworks to help him make a run for the championship.  

Garrett is running Konig Dekagram in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25mm rear. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.

 

Alec Robbins Konig Hypergram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alec Robbins (LS powered Nissan 350z)

Alec Robbins is a unique individual who famously ran a slammed pickup truck drift build with an LSX engine in the Pro-Am ranks. Alec Robbins saw success as the 2016 Midwest Drift Union champion and made his rookie year debut in 2017 in the Koruworks 350z for some Pro 2 rounds.

Looking forward to the 2018 Pro 2 season, Alec Robbins has built his own 350z with a LS engine making 550/560 to the wheels. This should be a great setup to keep up with the competition at all four rounds of the Formula Drift Pro 2 series.

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

 

Adam Knapik Rennform

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Knapik (LS powered Nissan 240sx)

Adam Knapik hails from Southern California and earned his Pro 2 license through the Just Drift Pro-Am series. In 2016, he managed to take home the Just Drift Championship and has been working to improve his LS-powered Nissan 240sx ever since. His day job is a Porsche driving instructor giving him endless amounts of time behind the wheel of racecars. Moving into the 2018 Pro 2 season we cannot wait to see what Knapik Racing has put together to go out and compete with the big boys of Pro 2.

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

 

Donovan Brockway e30 beast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donovan Brockway (LS powered 2014 BMW 2-Series)

While Donovan Brockway has opted to take the 2018 season off he is still a part of the Konig Wheels Drift team. His 2018 season off is allowing him to put a new “BeastMW” together that starts with an F22 BMW 2-series chassis that will have a full HGK carbon/Kevlar widebody kit and one big RHS 427 race engine. We know Donovan will be missed on the paddock this year but we cannot wait to follow his build progress and see it debut on Konig Wheels in the 2019 Pro 2 season.

Donovan is currently running Konig Rennforms in 18×8 et 35mm front and 18×9 et 35 rear on his 1000hp e30. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.
ampliform

However on the F22 he will be running the Konig Ampliform’s! Make sure to stay tuned to his build!

Kevin Lawrence smokes out Hoonigan Donut Garage

Posted on by KONIG

Konig Sponsored, Formula Drift Pro2 Driver and 2017 Formula Drift Pro 2 CHAMPION Kevin Lawrence dropped by the Hoonigan Donut Garage to cause a blackout. He took a perfectly good set of Hankook Tires and well…Tire smoke for days…check it out!

Travis Reeder breaksdown FDTX & 2nd place series finish!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY TRAVIS REEDER****

FORMULA DRIFT TEXAS – PRO 2 FINAL ROUND | August 8th and 9th

Prepping for Texas wasn’t as smooth as previous rounds for the team. Just nine days before the car had to be on the road we had an internal engine failure while testing some setup changes we had made after seattle. The timing chain had snapped which netted us eight bent valves, two bent pushrods and a collapsed lifter. Luckily the pistons were fine. We quickly got ahold of the awesome guys over at Thompson Motorsports of Texas and they got us everything we needed to rebuild and had the car in he trailer and back to 100% just in time.

As we arrived at Texas motor speedway we were quick to get unloaded. The team performed the usual fluids changes, alignment and bolt check. We were ready and eager to get out on track and demolish some Achilles radials.

Practice was a definite learning process. The track at Texas was extremely fast with brutal consequences if mistakes were made. After focusing on perfecting a line and finding the correct gear ratio for the car we were ready for qualifying.

The team and I felt solid going into qualifying. On my first run I had made a slight mistake after inner clip one and ended up throwing my line off for the rest of the run. Run one scored a 67 which at the time was already deemed out of the top 16.

With the pressure building I lined up for my second run. All second runs granted a parade lap before the run due to some fluids spilled during Danny George’s roll over. I threw a new set on the car and decided to make two full runs. Practice is practice right? I ended up with a 79 which put me in the 9th spot for the big show.

With the bracket set for Friday I was lined up against Austin Meeks. I knew his car was fast so I was preparing for a solid battle. Austin led first due to qualifying position. I matched his pace all through the course until he made a correction in front of outer zone 3, at the wall. From my perspective it looked like he was going to drive off track so I dove in and attempted to finish my run. He then jumped back on track and we made contact, which was unavoidable. I was deemed at fault for the contact and Austin was awarded 10 minutes to look over his car and fix what I assumed to be a bent suspension arm or tie rod.

Once fixed, we were ready to swap positions. I made as close to a perfect lead run as I could as Austin made some mistakes in the chase position. The judges awarded a one more time.

On our second run I was in the chase position first, again. I maintained proximity with Austin through the first half of the course and ended up making a small mistake through the last inner clip and going a bit wide. On my lead I put down a solid lead run as Meeks made a very similar mistake as I did in my chase run. After some review from the judges it was a 2-1 decision flavoring Meeks and my weekend was cut short.

With Texas being the final round, the rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and reflecting on what an awesome rookie season I had in formula drift pro 2. I ended up 2nd in points for the season which felt amazing and was awarded rookie of the year on top of that! I can’t thanks my family friends and sponsors enough for the outstanding support, especially Konig Wheels for lacing the car up with the raddest wheels in the game! That’s a wrap for me, see everyone next year!

Travis Reeder is a Konig Sponsored Professional Drift driver that competes in Formula Drift Pro 2 Series. Travis runs Konig Ultraform in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9 et 25 rear. The Konig Ultraform is Flow Formed.

Make sure to follow Travis on INSTAGRAM!

Kelsey Rowlings FDTX PRO 2 FINAL ROUND recap!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY KELSEY ROWLINGS****

FORMULA DRIFT TEXAS – PRO 2 FINAL ROUND | August 8th and 9th

The Final round of Formula Drift Pro 2 at Texas Motor speedway arrived quickly after round three in in Seattle. After some repairs from our incident at Evergreen Motor Speedway, we were ready to take on Texas.

This round, the schedule on Thursday was completely different than previous rounds. Instead of Pro 1 and Pro 2 alternating practice sessions, and Pro 2 qualifying occuring at the end of the day, Pro 2 practice was one long session, followed by qualifying, with Pro 1 practice occuring at the end of the day. I was excited for the change, because I felt like I would have more energy with qualifying earlier.

While I was hoping for some good luck this round, my Thursday morning started early with feeling nauceous around 4 am. Determined to push through, I headed to the track and suited up for practice. Despite feeling worn out from a rough morning, I was actually feeling very confident during practice. By my third lap, I felt like I was ready to qualify. I was putting together very solid runs and took a break around halfway through the long session to watch some of the other drivers.

After some rest and rehydration, I returned to the track for more practice. I wasn’t driving quite up to par with earlier that morning and decided to lower the pressure in the tires mounted on my Konig Hypergrams due to the higher track temperatures and loss in grip. I made a few more decent laps before pulling into my hot pit to wait for my turn in qualifying.

I lined up for my first qualifying pass and took off from the starting line. Immediately I noticed my tires spinning more than anticipated and I knew I had to adjust my driving for the loss in grip. I managed to enter into the outer zone and settle the car into a nice line leading me right past the first inner clipping point and into the second outer zone, filling it completely. I extended from the second outerzone to the second inner clipping and aimed for the final outerzone. After passing the front clip with good proximity, I transitioned and lost it. I spun and backed my car lightly into the tire wall lining the outer zone. I was devastated. The run was going so well, and now the pressure was on.

I knew I didn’t have enough grip on my first run so I decided to lower my tire pressures slightly before the second run. I didn’t want to change too much and risk having too much grip on a such a technical track. I was in my head and nervous. I lined up for my second run and took off. Again, I didn’t have enough grip but I knew I could drive through it. I set my car to angle in the first outer zone and kept it locked there to the first inner clip and into the second outer zone. My rear wheel was on the rumble strip as I exited the outer zone and towards the second inner clipping point. I realized my line was a little too shallow and “bobbled” past the inner clipping point. At that point I got in my head because I knew I couldn’t afford such a silly mistake, and because of my “bobble,” I was off line heading into the final outer zone. I try to extend my drift and push out towards the zone but I’ve lost to much speed. I push past the final clip and cross the finish with disappointment. I knew it wasn’t a good score, and I knew I could drive so much better.

At the drivers meeting, my suspicions were correct. I received a score of 54 and it wasn’t enough to get me into the top 16. While I had a rough year and didn’t finish the season the way I had hoped, I learned so much from every new experience and I have Konig Wheels to thank for that. I am looking forward to putting all of my new knowledge to use and come back stronger next year!

Kelsey Rowlings is a Konig Sponsored Professional Drift driver that competes in Formula Drift Pro 2 Series. Kelsey runs Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9 et 25mm rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Make sure to follow Kelsey on INSTAGRAM!

Lawrence Takes Top Honors FDTX!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

FORMULA DRIFT TEXAS – PRO 2 FINAL ROUND | August 8th and 9th

Formula Drift texas

Formula Drift Pro 2 Podium Filled By Konig Drivers:

The last and final round [Round 4] of Formula Drift Pro 2 was insane! Starting the Top 16 there were 5 Konig Sponsored drivers ready to throw down and claim a win. Kevin Lawrence, Matt Vankirk, Travis Reeder, Alec Robbins and Donovan Brockway all had qualified and were ready to battle in top 16.  

Brockway, Reeder and Matt VanKirk did not advance to the Great 8, only Kevin Lawrence of Enjuku Racing and Alec Robbins of Koruworks has advanced on.  That is where this story takes an interesting turn.  Going into #FDTX Matt Vankirk and Travis Reeder were the Formula Drift Pro 2 series top point holders.  Kevin Lawrence, who won Round 1 in Orlando and was the top point holder going into Round 2, went into Texas ranked 5th.  

At the start of the day if you tried to think about how Lawrence could even potentially reclaim the series you would have to have a “perfect storm” the way the event would play out.  Essentially Konig drivers Matt Vankirk and Travis Reeder, both top point holders, would have to lose their first matches in Top 16 or not qualify.  Then Kevin Lawrence would also have to win (his second event for the season) in Texas.  Clearly this isn’t something you could ever plan for.

Going into the Great 8, with both Reeder and Matt Vankirk not advancing, the stage for Lawrence was set.  There was still a ton of work to do, and clearly while the thought may have occurred somewhere in the back of Kevin’s head, he couldn’t let that occupy his thoughts!  But round after round, Lawrence proved he meant business.  In the Great 8 Kevin defeated Gyorgy, then Saxsmith in the Top 4 and Finally Jaeger in the Final Battle to win his 2nd event of the season and become the 2017 Formula Drift Pro 2 Champion by only 2 points!  

Congratulations to Kevin Lawrence on his INCREDIBLE win  at FD Texas and becoming the 2017 Champ!  Also a big congratulations to Travis Reeder and Matt Vankirk.  They were standing on the season podium right next to Kevin Lawrence as they took 2nd and 3rd respectively.  It was a great honor to be involved and a small part of these driver’s programs.  Having all 3 spots of the podium filled with Konig sponsored drivers is a real honor for us.  These driver’s and their teams work so hard all year long to maintain and run these programs and we thank them for their support!

Stay tuned for exciting recaps from all of our sponsored Formula Drift drivers including Nate Hamilton, who still has the last and final round to head too for Formula Drift Pro in Irwindale, CA!

Kevin Lawrence

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

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

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

Travis Reeder makes top 8 at FDSEA!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

After a long couple months off, the team and I were anxiously awaiting Seattle and stoked to get back on track. Here is a breakdown and recap of our weekend at rd 3, the throw down.

The car was prepped, up to temp and it was time to go out for the first practice session of the weekend. We were in for a rude awakening as the track conditions turned to be drastically different than previous pro-am 5/8 rounds. The car was over gripped and under powered. Unbeknownst to the team there was a NASCAR race a couple weekends back, and with pro 1 practice being before us, there was no shortage of traction to be had on the longest and largest bank in Formula d.

Once suspension changes and adjustments were made we stepped into qualifying. I kept the first run conservative, and pushed a little harder on the second. We ended up seated in the 6th position after qualifying, which the team and I were pretty happy with.

It was now time to step into top 16 eliminations. We were paired against Brody Goble, who’s a good friend of ours and absolutely rips behind the wheel. I led first and put a decent lead run on the board with some minor corrections. Brody ended up getting into the wall behind me and disrupting his line slightly and I got the small advantage. On the second run I chased Brody on the bank with decent proximity as well and through the rest of the course, I was awarded the win and advanced to the great 8.

Now on to my favorite battles of the weekend, not due to stellar driving but due to the fact I got to drive against one of my best homies, Dylan Hughes. Dylan led first due too a higher qualifying score. I made a few mistakes on the bank in the chase position but kept proximity in the power alley and latter part of the course. On my lead run dylan fell back in proximity at times during the run which led the judges declare a one more time battle.

During dylan and I one more time battle I made a pretty sizable mistake on the bank in the chase position, giving dylan an advantage going into run two. On my lead run I did my best to put down a solid run but unfortunately I was unable to overcome my mistake in the chase position and dylan advanced.

Seattle overall was an amazing event in more ways than one. We learned a lot about car setup as well as team work. I had an absolute blast driving my home track and can’t wait to get back in the drivers seat. Massive thanks to Konig wheels, my family, friends and sponsors that have a hand in making my program run. See you all in Texas!

Matt Vankirk wins FD SEATTLE!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY MATT VANKIRK****

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE – PRO II Round 3 | August 4th and 5th

Matt Vankirk

PICTURE PERFECT!

WE DID IT! The team received our very first win in Formula Drift Pro2 during Round 3 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe Wa! The entire MVK Racing team worked very hard for this moment and there was no better place to do it than our home track in front of all our fans, friends and families! Knowing this we decided to go all out for this event debuting “The Vankirk Experience” where fans are able to drive the MVK Racing Formula Drift S13 onto Evergreen Speedway in a Fanatec Club Sport Racing Simulator paired to a VR Headset. With all the extra attention we knew we needed to look apart so F7LTHY Clothing provided us with shirts that stand out amongst the crowd. Popeye Energy Drinks brought everything together by providing an expo booth and all natural energy that propelled us onto the podium!

Fanatec Club Sport Racing SimulatorThe Vankirk Experience

CHANGES

When we showed up to practice / qualifying on Thursday we had a few different changes to the car. We are making quite a bit more power thanks to the Brian Crower 272 cams, valve springs, retainers and a tune by GetADomTune. We upgraded our wheels to Konig’s new HYPERGRAM model which saved us a lot of rotating mass compared to our previous wheels. This was my first time running Achilles Radial 123s tires, we ran Achilles ATR Sport 2 the past two events, so we came into the event expecting to have a lot more power and grip than what we are normally used to.

PRACTICES

Our goal for practice on Thursday was to dial in the vehicle and set up our Fortune Auto Dreadnought Pro 2-way suspension and Achilles Radial 123s tire pressure for the new amount of power we are now making. After a few laps we actually left the tire pressure where we started. Matt from Fortune-Auto stopped by to adjusted our rebound a little bit and we felt good heading into qualifying!

QUALIFYING

As we head into qualifying I tend to get a tad nervous even though I was feeling quite comfortable with the track and car in practice. During our first lap I transitioned a little too soon in the power alley which made me have a slight correction and the judges gave us a score of 75. During my 2nd run all my nerves dissipated and I was ready to put everything on the line to up my previous score. On my 2nd qualifying run I felt like we hit all of our clipping points and did everything the judges wanted to see. We received a score of 85 which put us as the 4th Qualifier.

Matt Vankirk

TOP 16

Friday the team showed up ready for the big day! In top 16 we got paired up with Austin Meeks. Unfortunately in practice before the main event Austin had hit the wall and his car was unrepairable. This gave us the opportunity to do a bye run and feel out the track before heading into the great 8.

Matt Vankirk

GREAT 8

We went up against round 1 winner, Kevin Lawrence! I knew this battle was going to be a tough fight. Kevin was looking solid all weekend and this track really resembles his home track at Orlando Speed World. We ended up leading first. We had a great line on the bank and even tapped the wall half way through it! After transitioning in power alley we finished off the run cleanly and Kevin Lawrence was right on our tail! During my follow Kevin laid down an identical run as us and from the live stream it almost looked like two identical runs! Coming into the final turn Kevin over rotated slightly and we advanced on to the Final 4!

Top 8

TOP 4

The Final 4 battle was the battle our team has been waiting for all year! We were up against Dirk Stratton in the Lingenfelter Corvette who beat us in round 1 by completely out running us! Now that we teamed up with Brian Crower and was able to upgrade our engine we felt confident at getting our rematch! Dirk lead first and remembering how fast his car was in Orlando I took off of the line before him and by the time he caught up we were a little over half way on the straight and he slingshot right past us. We were able to reel him in on the bank and got back on his door by power alley and finished of the course with him. My spotter Justin relayed to me that we had to put it all on the line if we were going to advance and I knew that after our follow run was not what we hopped for. Taking off the line I went as fast as I could and initiated right up on the wall which looked like it threw Dirk off a little as he ebrake entered and brought him up into the wall with the back of his car. We rode the wall all the way around the 5/8ths and with Dirk trying to play catch up coming off of the bank he went 4 tires off and could not catch back up to us. We were awarded the win and advanced on to the final match of the evening.

Round 4
Round 4

FINAL

The grand finally against Dylan Hughes! The team and I were excited to make it to the finals but it wasn’t over yet we put our game faces on and headed into the final match of the night. Dylan was looking solid all day with some of the best tandem runs that weekend so I knew we would have to be right there with him throughout the track. Dylan led first, as we initiated into the bank I was right there with him. This was one of our closest tandems of the night as I left foot brake across the 5/8th’s. Coming off the bank we were a little shallow compared to Dylan due to me having to clutch kick and not having that low end torque Dylan has but we stayed with him and finished the run. On my lead run we pulled about 2 car lengths on Dylan but coming off the bank we went two tires off resulting in a OMT.

Final Round
Vankirk vs. Hughes

FINAL

During our OMT battles as I followed Dylan coming off the bank we went all four tires off which put us in the advantage going into our lead run. We knew all we had to do was lay down a solid lead run with no mistakes and the victory was ours. We initiated up on the 5/8ths wall and as we were coming off I chucked the car and almost had backwards angle coming into power alley which through Hughes off and he ended up hitting us. We stayed in throttle and finished off the course granting us our first ever Formula Drift Podium!

Hamilton hits FDSEA Hard!!!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY NATE HAMILTON****

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE – PRO Round 6 | August 4th and 5th

Photo: provided by @CoreyDenomy + @Max_fuerst + @Valtersboze

Here we go again, another Formula Drift Recap presented by Konig Wheels, at your fingertips. ha! I want to start this recap by saying, thanks if you are reading this

This recap will cover Formula Drift, round 6.

hypergram

Seattle, Evergreen Speedway. My first impression…. this track is FAST. I know what you’re thinking…Atlanta is also fast. But it’s different… this track we enter fast and then go faster. Such a Rush! Teams clocked speeds of upper 80’s coming off the exit of the bank.

Evergreen Speedway

Thursday schedule, two practice sessions. The first session was basically a shake down. Remember I missed the 2016 season being in Pro2, this makes for some quick progression keeping up with the Pro1 class. Luckily, with my spotter Matt Perkins, I was able to make sense of the line and get comfortable.

Nate Hamilton

Thursday’s practice, for the most part, is especially fun, running with some of the best drifters in the world.

Friday morning, Qualifying is my main focus. Personal goal, try and qualify 11th or better. Reason being, my highest qualifying result is 13th to this day.

Qualifying results: Run1 = 79 Run2= 84
Overall Qualifying I landed in 15th position battling the 18th position which is Justin Pawlak. Not the result we were looking to accomplish but I feel great about my battle with Pawlak.

Nate Hamilton

Saturday Main Event, two goals, beat Pawlak and then beat Ryan Tuerck. This is the part of the story that hurts to type…

Nate Hamilton

You know that feeling when you don’t make many mistakes, but the mistake you do make is a big one… Welp, that sums up my battle with Pawlak.

240sx

This photo above is not a good look. Argh! I made a mistake and was late on the throttle… With the grip added to the car, this can result in a huge correction. In the wrong place, this is a front end collision to the wall. OUCH!

I do have a great team on my side and my right-hand man Bub Robarge, Is hard at work at Enjuku Racing getting this issue straightened out, literally. ha!

240sx

Huge thanks to everyone checking out this Konig Recap. I have a great group of Family/Friends/Sponsors surrounding me and thru the good times and bad times I am thankful for the opportunity to pilot this Nissan and I can’t wait for another opportunity compete and make my dreams a reality. Until Next time, Much love.

Top 5 Finish for Kevin Lawrence!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

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

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE – PRO 2 Round 3 | August 4th and 5th

Whats up guys! Im back with my FD Seattle Recap for your reading pleasure.

Seattle!

After a long 4day drive from Florida I finally arrived to Seattle with my crew guy Justin. A quick stop by the track on Wednesday to drop the trailer off and take a track walk reminded me just how awesome this track was. I have not been to this track in 2 years since the last pro2 stop there in 2015. My last time out there I had some car troubles that prevented me from qualifying so redemption is what I was here for!

Thursday the whole crew arrived at the track early for pit setup and a quick once over on both my and Nate’s cars. After bolt checks and drivers meetings it was time to get behind the wheel. Seattle is a very fast track from the beginning but slows down quite a bit once the cars come off the main wall. First set of tires out was a feeler to get me into the groove of driving again since our last competition was about 3 months prior in Atlanta, We did have some days of car setup and testing but nothing really gets a driver in the proper mindset like the actual comp/qualifying days. Second set of tires now on the car and it was time to get the high line on the bank figured out. This is a rather intimidating thing as our entry speeds into the first turn are in the high 70s to lower 80s mph. I didnt quite get the line figured out on the 2nd set so 3rd set I decided to bump into my old friend the wall out there with the rear bumper just so I it knew I was back and town. Once I got the car up there and bumped the wall it was like a the flip of a switch and now I was in the groove on the high line and everything was coming together on the rest of the course in the second practice.

Qualifying.

Befrore the first pass out the team and I noticed the track temps had cooled down a bit and that eant the car was going to have a bit more bite in it which may make it harder to keep the rear up on the wall. We made some adjustments to slightly loosen up the car some and im glad we did! First pass out netted me a score of a 82! Going into the second pass we again made a bit of adjustment to the car to loosen it up a bit as the track was still cooling down as the sun was setting. My second pass out I was looking to better my score and it wasnt as clean as a pass as I wanted it to be I did better my score with an 83! After the rest of the field had made their second pass we were called to a drivers breifing to go over the official results. I landed a 5th place qualifying position putting me up against Danny George again in the top 16. Danny and I had ran against each other in Orlando where I took the win so I was ready for battle again!

Battles!

My first battle in Seattle was Danny George I was the higher qualifier so I was up to lead first. The track after practice had gripped up a bunch and unlike when it was time for qualifying the amount of grip we took out of the just wasnt enough. I wasnt able to get the tires spinning as much as I wanted on the run up to do the flick entry I had been doing before. So my entry was quite slow to angle and I was fighting the cars grip to keep it high on the bank but I did end up coming down early. From the start im not sure what happened with Danny if he didnt see the lights go out or what but I he had slept quite a bit on the line which gave me a very large lead gap on this run that he wasnt able to make up fully before the finish line. Going into my follow Danny got a gap on me on the entry that I was forced to take a shallower line on the bank to make up the distance. Closing the gap by the touch and go and really reeling him in just before the first inside clip, He made the mistake of going a bit wide on that first inside clip which ended up choking him off for the second inside clip. With no real room for him to get the car to transition around the second clip he had a moment of driving straight just as he passed the clip right before I made some slight contact with his rear bumper pushing him a bit just before the finish line. After a few mins of the judges reviewing the footage i was deemed the winner of the battle and advanced into the Top 8 where I would be up against Matt Vankirk.

This time Matt was the higher qualifier so I was due to follow first. We entered in high on the bank and I made the mistake of getting on the foot brake just a bit to much to keep the car higher on the bank for this pass which ended up giving Matt a chance to make some ground on me. I kept he car high on the bank behind him and did my best to make up the ground as well as I could. Going into the first front clip I attacked to make some ground and went a bit agressive and too shallow of a line and took out the first enter clip before making the final transition and finishing off the run. Now back at the start line it was me to lead and I knew I had to make this one count with my mistakes in the follow position. I entered high on the bank and stayed there Matt this time ended up with a bit of a lower line but good proximity to me. I filled the touch and go as well as the second outter zone and had a fast and tight line at the first front clip. Matt at this time did nearly a similar mistake to mine and went in a bit too agressive and bumped the inner clip just as I had one. I kept as much speed through the first clip as I could to finish the run out strong but ended up over throwing the transition causing me to nearly spin the car completely forcing me to pretty much “crab walk” the car through the finish line in hopes that it would be a full pull on the run. After a just a moment of consideration the Judges deemed my mistake on the lead run at the finish line was enough for me to hand Matt the win. Matt would later go on to the top of the podium with a first place finish here in Seattle at his home track.

All in all Seattle was a absoulte blast of the team and I, We were able to come back and over come our previous years bad luck of not qualifying and take home a 5th place finish!

I again want to thank everyone apart of the team for all of their hard work and efforts put into our program. By the current points standings things are looking good for me moving up to the Pro1 ranks next season and I honestly wouldnt be here with out everyones support. Texas is just a few weeks away so with a quick once over of the car we will be ready for battle in Texas with high hopes of a strong finish and moving up a few ranks in the series!

Thanks!
-Kevin

Kevin is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.
Make sure to follow Kevin Lawrence on INSTAGRAM!