Josh McGuire Archives - Konig Wheels

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

Day 1 at Formula Drift Orlando was the Practice day, we were trying to build our confidence back up from the electrical issues we ran into while driving in FD Atlanta. Not having a solid test a prior, we were unsure that are repairs had fixed the car.

Being rushed during Orlando’s practice everything basically fell apart because of stress and I couldn’t seem to throw together a qualifying line. The heat was taking a toll on my body, making it difficult to think straight during practice time. We did our best to dial in the car even though the runs were not consistent, or our best.

Qualifying quickly approached, and the pressure was on to make a solid run. Still not 100 percent confident that the car would maintain running while we’re throwing it in at the wall as we left the start line only thing I remember saying was “don’t lift!”

Our first qualifying run was a 68. It wasn’t our best run throughout the day, but we were pleased to be able to put a score on the board. Once we were confident that the car was running solid to complete the course, we lined up for our second qualifying run. Leaving the start line on our second run, I made myself mentally motivated to drive 100 percent or crash trying. We threw it in at the wall, immediately we made contact with the wall, dragging the rear bumper throughout the entire wall. We were aggressive throughout the remainder of the course, and on close proximity with all the clipping points, which scored us a 74. Putting us in 10th for qualifying.

Day 2 My mind was clear, my body was hydrated, and the team was focused. After a few repairs to the car. We were waiting for our time to practice. Practice session went well, we got about 4 laps in, feeling comfortable in the car, and having fun.

In top 16, we were paired up with Jeff Jones. Inside I didn’t feel there wasn’t any reason I couldn’t win this battle. So we lined up, Jones lead first, as we left the line, we charged towards the wall, I clicked 3rd gear, and quickly had to lift dramatically. Jeff Jones’ car was significantly slower then I anticipated. Jeff Jones jumped in a small gap, which we were able to close immediately. Being conservative on the follow run, but keeping close in proximity we both finished the course with no faults or errors on either driver.

My lead run against Jeff, I charged at the wall 100 percent, had a high line and made slight contact as I left the wall. Which upset the car a little. I quickly adjusted but it put me off the first inside clip farther then I wanted to be. However it did not interfere with the rest of our line finishing out the rest of the course aggressively and solid.

Unfortunately the initial bobble in my run gave Jeff Jones the win. Knocked out early in the competition, we spent the rest of the day speaking with fan and supporters at the event about the car and amazing products we use.

Looking forward, we have a few months of off time, we are going to test and play with some more car setups for FD Texas. We have a positive outlook, and excitement for Texas being my home track. Stay Tuned and thanks for following along.

– Josh

*** Josh McGuire runs Konig Hypergram Wheels in 17×9 et25mm offset front and 18×9.5 et25mm rear. Josh races on behalf of Enjuku Racing. ***

**** 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