#FormulaD

BMW is out to prove that self-driving cars are capable of much more than grocery runs and dull commutes.

Ford Mustangs have enjoyed great success in the sport of drifting, with Vaughn Gittin Jr. claiming the 2010 Formula Drift Championship, and sitting atop the points standings leading into the final round this season.

During the Formula Drift Pro Am event in Las Vegas, drifter Jim Guthrie and his Ford Mustang had a scary run in with the wall.

Venerable pro drift racer Rhys Millen got his first chance of the year to work toward becoming the next Formula DRIFT champion but came in second place.

Versus, the network that currently airs Formula Drift coverage, was recently acquired by NBC Sports. Starting on January 2nd, 2012, Versus will officially become the NBC Sports Network.

Currently up on eBay is Hubinette Racing’s / NuFormz Dodge Charger SRT8 originally built for the Formula Drift competition. And while it’s a truly formidable drift machine – it captured first place in Summit Point in 2007 – it’s more about owning a piece of history if you’re a a fan of the sideways sport. The reason? It was the first domestic four-door drift machine ever built, having spent the last couple of years sitting in the NHRA Museum after Sean Carlson’s untimely passing.

In the most shocking drifting-related news we’ve heard thus far in 2011, Tanner Foust will be taking a temporary retirement from the world of American drifting, announcing today that Formula DRIFT will not be on his schedule of events to attend this year. This is after hearing rumors that the new Papadakis Racing Scion tC would be one of the craziest vehicles we’ll ever see in the Formula DRIFT series.

So with Tanner Foust leaving the driver seat, who will be filling his role? None other than 2010 Formula DRIFT’s Rookie of the Year, Fredric Aasbo. Aasbo, known for aggressively piloting a Toyota Supra, will be a great fit behind the wheel of a RWD Scion tC. Stephan Papadakis Racing will also be joining forces with Team Need for Speed with the newly built Scion tC.

“No offense to Papadakis, the team, the fans or the competitors, but the thing that I will miss the most about not drifting this year is that crazy NASCAR TRD V8-powered Rockstar Scion tC,” says Foust. “It’s been an amazing two years behind the wheel of the Rockstar Scion tC. Best of luck to Aasbo and the new Need For Speed Scion tC.”

We’ll keep our eyes out, as the two-time Formula DRIFT champion will surely be missed in the series. The good news is, we’ll be seeing plenty of Foust as his schedule of events include European Rally events, X-Games and his television responsibilities. Foust’s last competition in the Rockstar / Papadakis Racing Scion tC will be at the Formula DRIFT UAE on February 25th.

Two different press releases available after the break.

There was certainly a lot of hype around Vaughn Gittin Jr’s Ford Mustang at the beginning of this year’s 2010 Formula Drift season. The newly built 2011 Ford Mustang, with help from sponsors Monster Energy Drink and Falken Tire, featured every bit of experience Gittin and his team has developed over the years of drifting American muscle. And all the hard work has finally paid off as Gittin Jr. has taken the 2010 Formula Drift championship.

This past weekend, the season finale took place at Irwindale Speedway. And while Vaughn Gittin was clearly the leader in points, Tanner Foust and teammate Daijiro Yoshihara still had an outside chance of taking the championship. But Gittin wasn’t letting off the gas anytime soon facing two-time champion Tanner Foust in the grand finale. Even with the championship locked down at that point, Gittin put on a show for the spectators, taking Foust to a one-more time battle. Ultimately the Irwindale event would belong to Foust with Gittin still taking home for the 2010 championship.

This season was a dominating one for Gittin Jr and his Falken Tire / Monster Energy Drink team. He found the podium at six of seven events showing just how much experience pays off. So a huge congratulations goes out to the Falken Tire team for finally locking down a championship and we look forward to seeing what they have in waiting for 2011.

Official press release available after the break.

Think the 3D craze is just a fad and going away silently into the night? Think again. As skeptical as we were with the whole Avatar movie craze in 3D, seeing was believing. How technology has changed over the years has seriously impacted how we enjoy our entertainment at home. With more and more sports broadcasts going towards 3D, it’s no surprise the brilliant minds over at Formula Drift have teamed up with DIRECTV to bring the first ever 3D drifting broadcast to households nationwide.

The footage will be filmed at this weekend’s season finale at Irwindale Speedway and DIRECTV couldn’t have picked a better venue. With its high speed banks and insane clipping points, Irwindale Speedway is also officially known as the “House of Drift” and will truly let viewers get a great idea of what drifting is all about. For those who have witnessed drifting at a live event, the excitement level is intense. And perhaps drifting in 3D will come as close as we can get to the excitement from our households.

Formula Drift claims that it’ll be aired before the end of the year on DIRECTV’s 3D channel, n3D. Perhaps it’ll be a sign of things to come for 2011?

Formula Drift’s success has been overwhelming in America. Not only does the series do a great job ensuring the fans get the excitement they expect after paying the ticket price, but they do a fantastic job in taking care of their drivers, sponsors and race teams. Formula D’s TV show scheduling is about to begin on Versus and they have recently released the opening video segment that stars plenty of Formula Drift’s finest.

The intro video features coverage up to the Seattle event, and really does a good job capturing the excitement one would expect from drifting. The show will be offered in HD starting on August 30th and will air every Sunday for fourteen weeks for seven events. The time slots are 2:00PM EST, 11:00AM EST and each episode is re-aired each week following the initial airing.

More kudos to Formula Drift in teaming up with a successful television network to garner more fans and attention, keeping racers and sponsors happy around the nation.

Check out the video after the jump:

The perfect spectator sport, drifting’s rapid growth is also due to its drivers that have come to have their own celebrity-like status. Always overly enthusiastic and true characters of the sport, fans are quick to attach themselves to their favorite driver, much like their favorite basketball player or quarterback.

Will Roegge has been releasing some top-notch digital films centered around the automotive industry and this one is no different. He traveled to the first couple of Formula Drift events, capturing coverage of the Team Need for Speed Drift drivers Matt Powers ( Nissan 240SX S14) and Mad Mike (Red Bull Mazda RX-7) along with interviews and highlights.

What this video shows the world is how each and every driver has such different driving styles and personalities on and off the track. But at the end of the day, they’re all still vying for the same championship and share the same passion and love for a growing sport.

Check out the fantastic video after the break.

[Source: Formula Drift]

Back in May, we caught wind of Rogue Status’ Drift xB that they built. Initially we were a little skeptical that it would be more of a show car and street performer, rather than a competition-ready drift machine. Would it ever go sideways on a track? No one knew or could tell, so needless to say we’re surprised and pleasantly happy when this video surfaced.

Professional Formula Drift driver Patrick Morduant headed to Willow Springs in the RWD 2JZ-Powered Scion xB to really put it to the test. The car actually does pretty well and looks wicked going sideways around Horse Thief Mile and we’re loving every second of the video. What’s also interesting is that Patrick Morduant was the one putting it to the test and not one of the Scion-sponsored drivers such as Ken Gushi or Tanner Foust. Regardless, we’re sure it was just for fun and isn’t a sign of things to come. But hey, it would be interesting to see how it would hold up in real competition wouldn’t it?

[Source: WreckedMagazine]

Check out the Rogue Status Scion xB drift video after the jump:

Product placement has always been a key part of any successful marketing and advertising campaigns. It all started with movies and television shows and now has even entered the realm of video games. Some campaigns are just pure tacky while others are cleverly placed to really inspire the consumer to go out and get the product. With the advent of YouTube and online videos, companies have taken their campaigns online where they can easily reach millions of viewers in a matter of minutes, literally. Viral marketing is now king and online media is the throne that it sits on.

Ever since NOS Energy Drink was acquired by the Coca-Cola company, good ‘ol corporate America has done a real strong push in bringing the product into the face of the masses. By teaming up with all facets of motorsports, NOS Energy Drink has done a great job tying their product to the right consumers. Chris Forsberg is one of the main NOS Energy Drink drivers, competing in Formula Drift and being a two-time champion. So it’s no surprise that NOS would be more than willing to spend some advertising dollars with some clever marketing.

The Bro Show consists of Jeff and Curtis, two brothers willing to do “anything” to get their own online series on Break.com. So episodes mainly consist of wild and crazy stunts and this one is no exception. The brothers headed out to Irwindale Speedway with Chris Forsberg and his NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z convertible to get a taste of drifting…and naturally, NOS Energy Drink.

After Forsberg did a demo lap, Jeff climbed into the passenger seat believing Curtis, his brother, was just hanging out on the track dressed in bright orange. Easy for the driver to spot and avoid…right? Well what Jeff didn’t know was that Curtis was swapped out for a dummy and Forsberg was told to crash straight into the dummy. Check out the video after the jump to see how it all unfolds.

[Source: Formula DRIFT]

Now that Luke Lonberger has gotten his hands dirty helping build Conrad Grunewald’s Hankook Drift Chevrolet Camaro, it looks like he’s interesting in getting his hands behind the wheel of his own sideways machine. A render has surfaced of a drift Chevrolet Corvette sporting Lonberger’s shop logos and full Hankook theme.

If anyone ever told you video games were a waste of time, show them this article. Robert  Waddell from Rock Hill, SC took home a customized 2010 Nissan 370Z, built by Chris Forsberg Racing.