Rancho Cucamonga, Ca. - Since early 2003 the Falken
Tire Motorsport Program has been a leading force in the growth of the
sport of drifting here in the United States. It is apparent now that with
2005 behind us Falken Tire has single handedly changed the face of the
sport. Throughout the course of the year they have traveled near and far
to compete. They have won, they have lost; they have had the ups and downs
as with any racing program. But in this journey they have made the name
Falken Tire stand tall in the drifting community.
This truth was further exemplified most recently at Irwindale Speedway, on
Dec. 17, 2005. The 2005 year end exhibition All Star match of the D1 Grand
Prix Series was held to match the top drivers from Japan, against the top
drivers that the US had to offer. From the start, the event seemed to fall
into the hands of Vaughn Gittin Jr. Round after round the Team Falken
driver, proved to be amongst the elite in the world as he toppled driver
after driver from the highest ranks of the Japanese contingent. Vaughn
Gittin had indeed piloted his RT-615 equipped Falken Tire, XMP built, 2005
Ford Mustang GT to the winners circle. By doing so, he also became the 1st
ever American driver to win a D1 event as well as receiving credit for
putting the first American manufactured car on a D1 podium. This win marks
Falken Tire Corporation’s first victory (home or abroad) in the D1 Series.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. on his monumental victory for American drifting and
Falken Tire: "Words cannot express how I feel after this amazing victory
for myself, my sponsors, and drifting in America. I would like to
sincerely thank Falken Tire Corporation and all of my supporting sponsors
for believing in me and giving me all the necessary support to continue to
stay competitive.
I would especially like to thank my friends, family and most importantly
all of the fans of drifting for the cheers and mental support that has
been so important in my confidence and success. I hope this victory opens
opportunities for up and coming drivers and also opens all eyes to the
dedication and heart American drivers possess. I am looking forward to
what 2006 brings American drifting.”
Falken Tire Motorsports will campaign a nine car team in 2006 and will be
competing in the Formula Drift Series, all stateside D1 Grand Prix events
as well as drifting demonstrations at the Falken Tire Drift Showoffs’.
Emerald has her car featured in this months ( Jan 06 ) issue of
MODIFIED MAGAZINE.
------------------------
Our very own
Emerald has her car featured in this months ( Dec 05 ) issue of
SUPERSTREET MAGAZINE.
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KUMHO debuts red smoke tire for
drifting competition
FONTANA, CA … May 6,
2005… In the last few years, KUMHO Tire has achieved a number of firsts:
the first company to make a 26-inch light truck tire; the first company to
produce a 28-inch light truck tire; a class win in the company’s first
race in the American Le Mans Series. And now, KUMHO has another first: a
tire that produces red smoke. This special version of KUMHO’s ECSTA MX
ultra high performance street tire--dubbed the ECSTA MX-C--will make its
public debut with Enjuku Racing at the Formula Drift event at Road Atlanta
on May 6 and 7.
Enjuku tested the MX-C for the first
time the week of April 18, and it literally left the team’s members
speechless. “When we saw the red smoke boiling off the rear tires, we just
stood there and stared in awe,” said Enjuku lead driver and team captain
Matt Vassallo. “I think people will be blown away when they see this.”
The ECSTA MX-C was developed at the
KUMHO Technical Center in Akron, OH. “At a product meeting here late last
summer, several people were talking about the sport of drifting,” said Guy
Edington, manager of the Technical Center. “While watching a drifting
video, someone opined that it would be cool if the tire smoke coming off
the cars was colored.”
From there the idea blossomed, and Jim
Palombo, KUMHO’s senior product chemist, and Gary Bradnick, lead lab
technologist, set about looking for a way to make colored smoke. They
developed the right mix of chemicals and now have a patent pending for
their colorful compound (they’ve also developed a compound that produces
blue tire smoke). Following successful testing, KUMHO produced a limited
number of the tires.
“We don’t intend to sell the ECSTA MX-C
to the general public,” said KUMHO brand director Rick Brennan. “We built
them to demonstrate our forward thinking, technical capabilities and
ability to respond quickly to the market. Like our race-winning ALMS tire,
the MX-C was developed in a very short time—about six months. And like our
26-inch and 28-inch light truck tires, the MX-C gets attention by charting
new territory that no other tire company even thought about entering.”
Enjuku’s Vassallo agrees. “ With the car
show market and drifting scene ever-expanding in the U.S., the constant
effort to make your vehicle stand out in the crowd is the ultimate goal,”
he said. “KUMHO has upped the ante with the ECSTA MX-C.”
ANAHEIM, CA (January 24, 2005) -- PRIMEDIA, Inc. (PRM) the country's
leading targeted media company, today announced the expansion of its
popular Tuner Bash Spring Break automotive lifestyle events to include
three new large-scale nighttime events aimed at the burgeoning Generation
Y demographic. The ultimate tuner event, Tuner Bash AfterDark showcases
the nation's premiere tuner cars alongside the trendiest club DJs, live
entertainment and model contests to draw crowds ranging from 10,000 to
300,000 attendees. The AfterDark events come five years after the launch
of the first Tuner Bash event and the expansion builds on the leadership
position of PRIMEDIA's tuner titles in the automotive market, furthering
the company's portfolio of industry-leading events.
"PRIMEDIA's expertise in the tuner automotive sector is unmatched. With
more than five of the top titles in the category, we have led the space
since its inception," said John Rousseau, president of PRIMEDIA's
International Automotive Group. "The expansion of the event series in 2005
is a testament to the year after year success of the Tuner Bash events and
satisfies a growing demand in the marketplace for more interaction, more
content and more fun. Our target Gen Y demographic is the largest since
the baby boomers and with over 32 million new Gen Y drivers in the market
and growing every year, now is the ideal time for our male youth brands."
Created and produced by PRIMEDIA's International Automotive Group and led
by the industry's foremost editorial experts from Super Street, Import
Tuner, Sport Compact Car, eurotuner and Honda Tuning, the Tuner Bash
series is comprised of both "under the sun" and "under the stars" events
with Tuner Bash Spring Break daytime events held in Daytona Beach and
South Padre Island, and the new Tuner Bash AfterDark evenings scheduled
for Seattle, Chicago and Baltimore.
Automotive enthusiasts travel hundreds of miles to Tuner Bash Spring Break
events to participate in the industry's most prestigious tuner car show
and see featured cars straight from the pages of Super Street and Import
Tuner magazines. Tuner Bash Spring Break events are free to more than
300,000 high school and college kids who descend on Daytona Beach and
South Padre Island each year.
The new Tuner Bash AfterDark features a nightclub-like environment for
more than 10,000 male and female attendees in Chicago, Baltimore and
Seattle. Complete with a car show, live entertainment, laser light shows,
dancing, and DJ contests, Tuner Bash AfterDark draws in core enthusiasts
for a safe evening of the best the tuner nightlife scene.
"No other events compare to our Tuner Bash," said John Naderi,
Editor-in-Chief of Super Street magazine. "We don't just write about the
trends, we help create them which is evident at every event we produce."
2005 dates and
locations for the Tuner Bash events include:
Spring Break Tuner Bash South Padre Island
March 12-13, 2005
Schlitterbahn Waterpark
South Padre Island, TX
Spring Break Tuner Bash Daytona Beach
March 18-19, 2005
Plaza Resort & Spa
Daytona Beach, FL
* Tuner Bash AfterDark
May 7, 2005
Stadium Expo
Seattle, WA
Tuner Bash AfterDark
July 9, 2005
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, MD
Tuner Bash AfterDark
August 20, 2005
McCormick Place
Chicago, IL
As part of PRIMEDIA's dedication to this dynamic automotive market, the
company recently announced Hard Drive, a 10-city interactive tour
featuring officially sanctioned racing, live entertainment and "ride and
drives," which puts drivers behind the wheels of the newest cars. For more
information, visit www.harddrivelive.com.
About PRIMEDIA's International Automotive Group
PRIMEDIA's International Automotive Group (IAG) represents almost a dozen
category-leading enthusiast titles in the tuner and urban automotive
lifestyle segments. With brands such as Super Street, Import Tuner,
European Car and Lowrider, this group reaches more than 6.3 million males
in the 14-34-year-old demographic through an integrated network of
magazines, online properties, events and television programming. IAG is
part of PRIMEDIA's Enthusiast Automotive Group, the largest portfolio of
automotive information products in the United States. With a comprehensive
portfolio of more than 50 magazine titles, online properties, events and
branded products, PRIMEDIA's Automotive Enthusiast Group reaches an
average of more than 55 million enthusiasts each month.
January 20, 2005 Press
Release from Primedia PRIMEDIA Launches Hard Drive-The
Ultimate Automotive Experience
PRIMEDIA Leverages Automotive
Expertise Across Titles to Create Premiere Automotive Lifestyle Event
Series
- 10-City Tour to Feature The
World
Drift
Championships,
Auto Cross/Time Attack, Drag Racing, Car Show, Audio Challenge, Dyno
Challenge, Gran Turismo™ 4 Challenge and More -
NEW YORK, NY (January 20, 2005) -- PRIMEDIA Inc. (PRM), the leading
targeted media company, today announced the launch of a new automotive
lifestyle event series, Hard Drive. Poised to be the premier car culture
event in 2005, Hard Drive (www.harddrivelive.com) combines the most
popular motor sport trends from around the world with key car
culture/lifestyle elements in a fast-pace, engaging environment. Hard
Drive leverages the formidable automotive expertise of PRIMEDIA. With more
than 50 brands serving the automotive market, including Super Street,
Import Tuner, Sport Compact Car, Hot Rod, Motor Trend, and European Car,
PRIMEDIA has the broadest reach to automotive enthusiasts of any media
company.
"Hard Drive represents the next evolution of dynamic driving events," said
Howard Lim, senior vice president, group publisher, PRIMEDIA International
Automotive Group. "We are combining the hottest automotive trends with the
expertise of PRIMEDIA's titles to create an experience that will change
the standard for automotive events."
The Hard Drive event series is home to the fastest growing motor sport in
the world with the launch of the World Drift Championships (WDC), where
the sport's top professional drifters compete for the championship title.
Hard Drive is a multi-dimensional, interactive driving and lifestyle event
that also features officially sanctioned racing and show car competitions,
a gaming pavilion, live music, DJs, model contests, a vendor midway and
more. A main attraction of Hard Drive will be performance car test drives.
These "ride 'n drives" will give attendees the chance to put new and
future models of manufacturers' vehicles to the test on autocross tracks,
including models such as the Dodge SRT 4, VW GTI and Jetta A5, among
others.
To add to the excitement, Sony PlayStation(R) will crown the ultimate
tuner in a national competition at Hard Drive. Challengers compete in the
five Hard Drive automotive events plus, Gran Turismo(TM) 4, the real
driving simulator competition, to win "Top Dog" honors.
"Hard Drive goes far beyond cool cars and pretty girls - we put people in
the driver's seat. By letting guys race their own cars in professionally
run competitions, test drive the newest vehicles and then watch the
world's best drifters, Hard Drive appeals to the passion of performance
driving." said Lou Mohn, President of PRIMEDIA's Consumer Automotive
Group.
Main featured attractions slated for each Hard Drive event include:
-- World Drift Championships Series - features the top international and
American professional drifters in the only true drifting championship in
the U.S.;
-- Performance Test Drives - attendees can try out the latest stock and
tuned vehicles;
-- Auto-Cross/Time Attack - SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) sanctioned.
Open to all, timed auto-cross events pit driver against driver on two
identical tracks with multiple classes, multiple runs, top prize money and
a national championship at stake;
-- Drag Racing - SCCA sanctioned. 1/8 mile drag racing open to all comers
with multiple classes, multiple runs, top prize money and a national
championship at stake;
-- Car Show - NCCA (National Custom Car Association) sanctioned. Displays
of the best built, modified and prepared vehicles in multiple classes with
top prize money for winners;
-- Dyno Challenge - Dyno Dynamics sanctioned. Contestants let the cars do
the talking, as the latest in Dyno technology shows what car has the top
running specs;
-- Audio Challenge - IASCA (International Auto Sound Challenge
Association) sanctioned. Entrants put their audio system to the test;
-- Gran Turismo 4 Gaming Pavilion and Gran Turismo 4 Challenge for "Top
Dog" Honors - contestants compete in five automotive events and in GT 4
real driving simulator competition to be named the ultimate tuner;
-- Model Competition - bikini competition to search for and crown the Hard
Drive Diva;
-- Exhibitor and Vendor Midway - for attendees to see and buy the latest
performance products designed to make their ride go fast and look and
sound great;
-- Live Music.
All competitions will award prize money with the National Championship
Finals scheduled for Los Angeles on October 7-8, 2005.
These Hard Drive events will be supported by: Car Audio and Electronics,
European Car, eurotuner, Honda Tuning, Import Tuner, Sports Compact Car,
Super Street and Turbo High Tech Performance.
The Hard Drive event series is a joint partnership between leading
automotive lifestyle publisher PRIMEDIA, Inc. and automotive event
specialists Event Solutions International Inc (ESI). Hard Drive joins
PRIMEDIA's new Tuner After Dark and Tuner Bash Spring Break events in
expanding the company's portfolio of industry-leading events.
Hard Drive will be promoted nationally in print and online throughout 2005
in PRIMEDIA's automotive and action sports titles: Automobile Magazine,
Car Audio & Electronics, European Car, eurotuner, Honda Tuning, Import
Tuner, Motor Trend, Skateboarder, Sports Compact Car, Super Street,
Surfing, Turbo High Tech Performance. In addition, Hard Drive has retained
NXTagency, the premier youth culture marketing firm, for promoting to
young automotive enthusiasts.
2005 Hard Drive Event Schedule
Los Angeles - California Speedway-March 11-12
Phoenix - Cricket Pavilion-April 15-16
San Francisco - Alameda Point-May 13-14
Dallas - Texas Motor Speedway-May 27-28
Atlanta - Atlanta Motor Speedway-June 10-11
Boston - Gillette Stadium-July 8-9
New Jersey - Englishtown Raceway-July 22-23
Chicago - To Be Announced-August 5-6
Miami - Homestead Miami Speedway-August 19-20
Los Angeles - California Speedway-October 7-8
About PRIMEDIA
PRIMEDIA is the leading targeted media company in the United States. With
2003 revenues of $1.3 billion, our properties comprise more than 200
brands that connect buyers and sellers in more markets than any other
media company through our print publications, Web sites, events,
newsletters and video programs in four market segments:
Enthusiast Media includes more than 120 consumer magazines, their Web
sites and About.com, and is the #1 special interest magazine publisher in
the U.S. with well-known brands such as Motor Trend, Automobile, Creating
Keepsakes, In-Fisherman, Power & Motoryacht, Hot Rod, Snowboarder,
Stereophile and Surfer.
Consumer Guides is the #1 publisher of free consumer guides in the U.S.
with Apartment Guide, Auto Guide and New Home Guide and is the #1
distributor of free consumer publications through its proprietary
distribution network in more than 16,000 locations.
Business Information is a leading information provider in more than 20
business market sectors with more than 60 magazines, 108 Web sites, 23
events, and 53 directories and data products.
Education includes Channel One, a proprietary network to secondary
schools; Films Media Group, a leading source of educational videos; and
Interactive Medical Network, a continuing medical education business.
About ESI
Event Solutions International, Inc. is one of the largest event management
companies producing 2,000 consumer, mobile marketing, motor sports, press
and training events a year. ESI is client oriented and results driven with
extensive experience and expertise in event concept development, logistics
and on site implementation. Some of ESI's discerning clients include:
Audi/VW, BMW, Dodge, Ford, GM, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Bosch, Goodyear,
Hankook, Michelin, AOL, BBDO, Crispen Porter, JWT and Octagon.
About NXTagency
With extensive experience in youth culture marketing and understanding of
the various lifestyles that support it, NXTagency has a unique perspective
in achieving effective consumer marketing, public relations and creative
initiatives. With proven experience successfully marketing products to
youth culture, NXTagency has developed crucial relationships that can be
used to further their clients' brands within the Gen-Y/X demographics in
unique, authentic and creative ways.
For more information about Hard Drive and its producers please visit
http://www.harddrivelive.com, http://www.primedia.com, http://www.eventsolutions.net,
http://www.nxtagency.com
D1 Grand Prix 2005 Season Opener
February 27th Irwindale Speedway, California
Tickets on sale NOW!!!
D1 Grand Prix Series
February 27th After a successful year for the D1 Grand Prix in 2004, D1 is
forecasting a heavy downpour of rubber and a thick layer of tire smoke in
2005. We kick off the 2005 D1 point series with the D1GP Round 1 in
California! The public is suggested to stay indoors until February 27th
when the stands should fill up and cars will be ready to battle.
Season Opener
Irwindale Speedway
California February 26th will be a closed event where we hold a short
Driver Search for the first portion of the day and a D1 qualifying round
in the afternoon. As always we open the Driver Search to all hopefuls who
want a chance to be D1 Eligible. All Eligibles can participate in the
qualifying round to become D1 Qualified, where 20 available spots will be
filled to compete along side the 12 Qualified drivers from Japan for the
big day on Sunday. The 26th is also a media day where photo sessions,
interviews and a press conference will be held. D1 Point Series Round 1 will be on Sunday the 27th bringing our spectators
an official point series experience. The top 32 drivers from the US and
Japan will be competing for actual series points. Come watch the intense
battles come to life when we narrow it down to the top 16 and start Tsuiso
(tandem drifting). Watching two D1 machines in twin drift come around that
Irwindale bank at 100mph is something only D1 can bring you. There will
also be booths from your favorite import lifestyle companies, vendor
booths, activities, and a halftime show for all our fans to check out.
This is going to be another successful event and we want you all to be a
part of. We hope to see you all there in February. Yes… ONE MORE
TIME!!!
