Kelsey Rowlings FDTX PRO 2 FINAL ROUND recap!

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!

Kelsey Rowlings putting in work at FD SEA!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

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

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

After a long break, and a long drive from our home in Florida, my team and I arrived at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington for round three of the Formula Drift Pro 2 series. I was coming into this track with very little practice since my first and only other experience there was when my SR engine lost compression during my rookie season… on the first lap.

Needless to say, I was hungry for practice time to try to make up for my lack of experience, as well as to take a shot at the extremely long bank. After taking the couple laps, I realized I had way too much grip dialed into the car. Along the bank, the car was wanting to straighten into the wall if I lifted at all and I was fighting the car the whole way around. After making adjustments during the remainder of the first session , the car was finally starting to feel more settled in drift.

Heading into the second practice session before qualifying, I was less concerned about the handling of the car, and I could now perfect where I was putting the car throughout the course. My spotter was watching my runs as well as listening to judge feedback. One of the main tips was to enter later; Since I was entering at the second set of entry cones, it was suggested that I enter at the last entry cone.

With this in mind, I decided to concentrate on my entry. I accelerated towards the bank and threw the car sideways – too late. My rear end hit the wall and started to rotate. I tried to turn my wheel fast enough to save the front but I had too much momentum. The front of the car hit and I bounced off the wall and down the bank to a halt.

As soon as the safety crews arrived and checked me out I jumped out of the car to assess the damage. When I returned to the pits we got to work replacing: Broken rear wheel, bent rear upper control arm, bent front lower control arm, bent tie rod, bent cross-member, and broken power steering rack. Unfortunately, due to time restraints and qualifying just around the corner, we decided to leave the bent suspension in the rear and just try to align it close. For the front, we hammered on the cross-member to bang it back into shape and then replaced the lower control arm and tie rod end. The power steering rack had to stay due to time constraints.

We were just about to put the car on the ground when we were informed it was out turn for qualifying. We weren’t ready, so we pushed forward to make it for the second qualifying run. When I took the car to the burnout box to test the car and see how bad the steering was, I realized that while I did have power steering, the rack would get stuck when I turned to the left and I would have to force it back the other way instead of it returning to center like normal.

I decided to run the car as-is and attempt to qualify. If I just managed to get a score high enough to get me in the top 16 I could have swapped the rack for the competition the next day.

I threw the car into the bank. My line was alright, but I had to make corrections to stay up high on the bank as I entered the infield. I managed the transition with the broken rack and continue the course. I wasn’t as close to the second outer zone as I would’ve liked, but I was able to wrap around the final two clipping points and make it past the finish line. I was pumped. It was definitely a score-able run, but it was only a 49.

I knew there was little hope to making it into the top 16 and my suspicions were correct. Although I didn’t make it into the top 16, I was really proud of myself and my team for pushing through and getting the car back on track. Now we can come home and prepare for the finals in Texas!

The Konig team is ready for Formula Drift Round 6!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – Round 6 | August 4th & 5th
As Formula Drift descends on Seattle, WA this weekend for round 6 (round 3 of pro2), Konig sponsored drivers from all over the country are making their way to the city of coffee and rain. Hopefully it wont rain this weekend because we’re excited to see what will be served up at Evergreen Speedway. With this season only a few events from the end, we thought we would give you a quick rundown of some of our FD drivers.

THE KONIG FORMULA DRIFT TEAM


Nate Hamilton has returned back to FD Pro and has really shown his skills and maturity in the sport. This season as proven to be almost a graduate course for Nate. He has had more top 16 finishes this season then in his entire career. It just seems that Nate gets better and better at each event. That has shown through his confident and aggressive driving. Currently in 16th place the last two events this season are going to be defining for Hamilton. Of course it will be his best professional season in Formula Drift but it will also be an incredible benchmark in his professional drifting career. We’re super proud of Nate and are excited to be part of his program. Go get’em Nate!

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


Kevin Lawrence is for sure a rising star in the Formula Drift series. With his most recent win at FD Orlando, Kevin and the Enjuku Racing team are pushing for another “W” in Seattle and are chasing that championship. Kevin is an extremely knowledgable and all around great person. He is the definition of a true enthusiast not to mention has one of the coolest cars in FD pro2 with his right hand drive RB25 powered S14. Kevin is making that journey across the country and looks nothing less than ready and prepared to come out on top! Kevin is currently in 5th place.

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 is a 100% the one to beat on the PRO 2 track! The battle for the series at this point could be a face off between two Konig sponsored drivers, Reeder and Lawrence. Travis placed 2nd in Orlando to Kevin Lawrence but took the win in Atlanta. He is currently in 1st place in the pro 2 rankings. Travis and his 240SX are on Konig Ultraforms and are coming into Seattle armed and ready to take out the competition!

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


Kelsey Rowlings is an exciting driver to watch and definitely ready to show the field what she’s made of. Kelsey’s driving style is super agressive which makes her the one you can’t keep your eyes off. She’s struggled a bit the first half of the season but not due to lack of effort or skill. Seattle could really be an exciting breakout event for her. Its refreshing seeing a women driver in professional drifting but be very clear, Kelsey is as solid of a professional drift driver as anyone in pro 2. Make sure to keep your eyes on her, because she really is an incredible driver!

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


Donovan Brockway and the Red Baron team are like no other! His turbo E30 BMW, nicknamed “theBeast”, throws more smoke than you can imagine and the platform is one of the sickest in FD. Brockway is another one of those extremely aggressive drivers. They have been working out the kinks the first half but its looking better and better every event. When they put it all together Donovan is going to pop in to action in a major way! Follow Donovan and the Red Baron team as they prepare to move up on the rankings in this round of Formula Drift Pro 2!

Donovan is running Konig Rennforms in 18×8 et 35mm front and 18×9 et 35 rear. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.


Alec Robbins and the Koruworks team are getting the 350Z on Konig Hypergrams ready for the FD Seattle! If you follow pro-am drifting last year and a bunch of grassroots drifting events you will know this dude can drive. Pairing him with one of the coolest shops on the East Coast (Koruworks) is a killer combo. Alec is currently in 15th place and is looking to show the field whats up! Unfortunately he wont be driving in Seattle due to mechanical issues, however look for him at Gridlife and back at FD Texas.

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


Adam Knapik had a rough start to the Formula Drift season. It seemed like anything that could go wrong…well…went wrong for Adam. Blown engine, crazy electrical problems, etc, etc. So this round is definitely one of redemption for Adam and his team! Gearing up the V8 powered 240SX on Konig Rennforms, stay tuned and be ready to see Knapik lace up the track this time around!

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


Matt Vankirk is now part of the Konig family and we are super excited to have him. With a ranking of #4 on the PRO 2 board with 105pts, which is only 2 points away from 2nd place, it’s obvious Matt and his team are aiming for the top spot! MVK took second place at FD Atlanta right behind Travis Reeder. Who knows how that battle would have ended up as a mechanical issue forced MVK to shut the car down just as he entered into the first battle between him and Reeder. This event will be a test to see if MVK, Lawrence or Reeder will be the top Konig sponsored Pro 2 driver. Super exciting! Be sure to check out Matt’s 240sx on Konig Hypergrams!

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

Kelsey Rowlings talks FD Orlando

Posted on by KONIG

Kelsey Rowlings took a few minutes to run through her experience at Formula Drift Orlando. It’s not everyday that you can climb in the mind of a professional driver and really know what they were thinking and feeling. Kelsey takes over the rest of this blog to do just that! Check it out below!

Round One of Formula Drift’s Pro 2 at Orlando Speedworld was a solid start for my team and I. We had a few hiccups starting in Thursday’s practice where we had to deal with a low oil pressure issue that we thought we had fixed during testing. The issue popped up again during Thursday practice when the oil pressure would drop below 35psi ever so briefly, and trigger a “safety mode” we set on our Haltech ECU. That safety would set the rev limiter to 5k RPMS to save any damage to the engine without cutting all the power in case it were to happen at a bad part of the track. It is a great safety feature, but drifting the OSW bank when the power is limited is still extremely sketchy!

Besides the low oil pressure issue, we noticed that the amount of blow-by coming from our driver-side head was not normal. We were getting too much blow-by from one side and not the other. Worried we had an internal issue, we compression tested the engine. To our relief, the numbers were perfect, but we did notice another issue while looking over our data logs. The engine ran so cool that the oil temperature was not rising above 200 degrees. We also discovered that the breather on the passenger side head that led to our catch can had a PCV type valve in it. We drilled out the valve to allow more breathability, and we covered a portion of our oil cooler with tape to make the cooling less efficient. With these few small changes, we fixed the problem and were back in business!

Once we got the car settled, I started feeling more prepared and ready for qualifying. When we went out for our qualifying run, I realized the sun was right in my line of vision for the entry making it extremely difficult to see and judge the distance before entry. Without a tinted visor or sunglasses, I knew I had to just go for it. I committed to my entry and threw the car hard. Once I was entering I realized I was just the slightest bit late, setting me up for a really high line… too high. I tap the wall with a decent amount of force, but I correct and floor the throttle. I tap again, lighter this time and again stay in the gas. I steer my car down off the bank and past the first inner clip almost perfectly. I transition slightly cautiously through the infield, knowing I had a close call on the bank and that I needed to clean up my act towards the end. I pass the second inner clip with good proximity and push out into the final outer zone. I make my way around the apron and finish the run that would be my high score, a 73, putting me in 10th for qualifying.

My qualifying position meant I was against the number 7 qualifier from Australia, Josh Robinson, in his imported Holden Ute. I was excited to drift with a car that we don’t have in the US. During top 16 practice, my spotter informed me that Josh was having trouble during the transition through the infield, and spun almost every time due to some issues they were having with the car. Josh was also kind enough to let me know before the battle of his struggles with the car so I wouldn’t be surprised on track.

Knowing Josh’s Ute was much slower than my Coyote powered rocket ship, and knowing he was having issues, I decided I was going to give him some room for the entry so I wouldn’t get stuck behind him during initiation. Unfortunately, Once I started to take of from the line, I realized I may have been in fourth gear instead of second, the gear I normally start in. I quickly took the car out of gear and slam it back into second to be sure and take off as fast as I can behind Josh. I wanted to give him a little room… but it turned into playing a game of catch up!

I round the bank with my eyes set on the Ute. I gain on him quickly as we head down the bank towards the inner clip. In my head, I’m wondering if he is going to make the transition successfully. I navigate through the smoke and once I see his car settled the other direction, I hammer down. I bump the second inner clip as I get closer and closer, positioning myself on his door for the last few seconds of the run.

Knowing my follow run wasn’t ideal, I wanted to put down the best possible lead run. That is where I got in my head. I floored it and clutch-kicked into the bank on a really high line. I tap the wall lightly followed by a larger tap and a big correction. I stay in the gas and throw more angle to keep the front end away from the wall. I over-corrected, bringing my car down the bank a bit too early, putting two tires off course to the inside coming down the bank. I correct and make it past the first clip, transition to the second inner clip where I stay in it for a solid finish.

Unfortunately, I beat myself as soon as I tapped the wall, forcing me to over-correct and go tires off. I wanted to put down an amazing run but just went a bit too hard! Although we were knocked out in the top 16, I’m happy with my driving overall, and I look forward to Round two at Road Atlanta, where I plan to go 100%… instead of 110%… 🙂

-Kelsey Rowlings

Kelsey Rowlings teams up with Konig – Formula Drift Pro 2

Posted on by KONIG

We are extremely excited to announce that Kelsey Rowlings has partnered up with Konig for the 2017 Formula Drift Pro 2 season. Kelsey is super down to earth, a real car enthusiast and an incredibly talented professional drifter.

Kelsey started to get into drifting about 10 years ago around the time she was graduating from high school. Like many people the excitement of the sport of drifting sucked her in and paved the way for an exciting professional drifting career. She began competing in Pro-Am competitions and with several years of hard work she placed 4th overall in the Streetwise Drift ProAm series in 2014, and 2nd overall in the 2014 Three Palms Drift ProAm series. That is where Kelsey earned her Formula Drift Pro 2 license for the 2015 season.

In 2015, Kelsey become only the second woman in Formula Drift history to qualify for tandem competition. Kelsey continued to work hard on her skills and her program in 2016 by competing in the Pro 2 series as well as a multitude of drift events, exhibitions and demos. We’re very proud to be a small part of Kelsey’s program for 2017.

Make sure to check back here for more information on Kelsey and her season updates! You can also follow her:
KELSEY ROWLINGS – INSTAGRAM
KELSEY ROWLINGS – FACEBOOK

Wheels Running:
Konig Hypergrams 18×8.5 Front / 18×9.5 Rear

The Konig Hypergram is a Flow Formed wheel that is lightweight and strong. The Hypergram was a new release in 2016 and has been a popular choice in motorsports, especially the drifting community.