Fan Art

Craig Anderson from Virginia dedicated some 7+ hours to give us a really unique and amazing work of art. Taking a photo from Brian Young's Road Atlanta gallery, Craig uses his skill to recreate the moment as he puts my stick figures to shame!!

You can see more of Craig's work @ https://www.facebook.com/S302artwerks

StreetWise ProAm1 with FD at Road Atlanta

Kicking off the season the right way can really echo for the entire year.  Leading up to our first round of the StreetWise ProAm Series, we were finally making headway in the car’s handling and sprucing up the look even more. First was the handling. We made some alignment changes, and added the DriftWorks rack offset spacers. We are hoping this helps the binding we keep getting at large steering angles. The spacers change the geometry of the tierod as it moves through the steering arc to help keep it from over-centering.

Our fancy Grip Royal steering wheel, and Circuit Sports hub and quick release were all here and we finally got rid of the ugly stock wheel. The interior is looking pretty awesome with the Autometers, the dash wrap, the new shift knob, and ASD handbrake. Grip Royal has a vast selection of wheels available, but if you don’t see the color you like, don’t be sad!  Grip Royal will get any color you want and get you the look you desire. For us, we chose to match all the driver controls to a similar silver/polish look. I think it came out fantastic!

Lastly, the wing. OH THE WING.  By chance, I met a rad dude (Cody Stanfield) who wanted to help out with the car. One of the aspects was the wing posts. We had talked about wanting to make them taller, but how!?  Well, Cody works at a machine shop, with access to a CnC machine, that’s how!  He spent a huge amount of time working on the design, and layout of the posts so they would plug-n-play with the wing and mounts I already had. Our only setback was we had to check with the FormulaD rule book, which limits wing heights to 16” (we were thinking 20”!). The night we were leaving we installed them and it was AMAZING sitting on the car. Unfortunately, the wing was highly unstable side to side and had to come off for now until we have time to fix it.

 Leaving at nearly midnight on Thursday, we drove straight through the night and arrived at the Nexen tires HQ in Atlanta to pick up some sick tires. We were given the opportunity to run the ultra-performance N9000 and N6000 stagger for the FIRST TIME EVER on our car. The N9000 are so amazing looking and just holding it you can feel the softness of the rubber! Super excited to see how much they add to the car.

We check in at the track at 10:30am and get the car to tech, bunch of little things that they want addressed, so we take our time and fix it all up and get cleared, game on!  George Grob was awesome and had a tire machine and mounted up those fresh Nexens for us.  Already getting dark,  we turn our focus to the rear wing. It hasn’t been seen yet since we took it off, and with everyone gone, we wanted to get it right. After going to the local Home Depot, we came up with a stabilizer idea of making larger mounting plates on the underside of the hatch. After some hacksaw and drill action, we fit the new plates. Stood back and gave her a rough shake…..the wing was almost dead rock SOLID and we celebrated like it was midnight on New Year’s Eve . We were so pumped that we would get to debut it here at Road Atlanta with the crowd FormulaD draws in.

Bright and early the next day at 8:45am, we are set for practice. First run up was a little crazy. We have changed alignment, installed the offset spacers, adjust sway bar settings, haven’t really put the ASD handbrake to a higher speed test yet, and we are also running totally different tire compounds! Not to mention in the driver’s meeting, Andy Yen (FD Judge) explains how hard the new course line is and that many Pros were struggling after the 4 hour practice session they had; we get 1 hour to practice. Back to our first run… head in, and had to redo my intiation as I didn’t throw it hard enough on the new grippy tires. After that,  I was able to stick the line really well! The other 2 practice laps I got we had all the elements, and just had to bring them up a notch to really be comfortable… too bad practice was already over after 3 runs.  With some drivers visiting the kitty litter and other having broken or crashed cars, our time was gone.

Qualifying 3 hours later…  First run,  BEST of the DAY and then I get greedy with angle, almost spinning on the exit of the horseshoe!  I save it and the bobble was ugly, but I had a score. Next run up was everything the first was and much more!  No bobble and a great line and angle gave me huge confidence that we were in for Top16. I can really feel the Nexens added grip as I toss the car around. As we returned to the pits, I dashed into the horseshoe, jumped out, and threw a few shirts to the hungry crowd. They were diving trying to get the J1Nracing shirts!!

Driver’s meeting reveals our last run earned us an awesome 4^th place qualifying position! Since our competition was not until 9:30pm (9+hours later!), so we made a few minor adjustments on the car and placed it in the Exedy booth in the pro pit vendor area and went to watch Pro practice and qualifying.

Competition drawing near, we gear up, suit up, and head out to the track. Round of 16 brought us up against fellow ASD Mobster Lee Alexander. The track had changed grip as the temperature had dropped so much since we last ran.

Leading in the car nosed over the first 2 rumble strips and was a little shallow up the hill. I couldn’t get the car to glide across the track as the tires just wanted to grab and go, but it was still a pretty solid run. We did some adjustments, and lined up to follow.

The increased grip was still too much and we lost drift as we started up hill, but at the top of the hill things got crazy. Entering the horseshoe I was getting pretty close to Lee and just then, he had a big correction and got really slow and straightened… I had no where to go, and we made contact!  He pulls away and I’m just hoping I didn’t shatter my sweet headlights LOL! As I’m heading around the course, a terrifying scraping sound as the front is dragging on the ground. Fearing it might go under the car and get exploded, I took matters into my own hands. Put it in 1^st, whipped her around, and drove in reverse up the hill! The crowd and announcer apparently LOVED the move as they could relate to not wanting to destroy their kits, LOL! We were awarded the win and moved to Great 8.

The next battle was against a local friend Brett Collins. Driving an S13 with a supercharged 1UZ, he was doing well and was 5^th qualifier. I lead first and as I transition up hill- OH NO, too much angle!- I have to straighten up and intiate at the top of the hill- as I start to come around the horseshoe, I see Brett is backwards on track after the first clip. (phew, his spin saved my mistake). I pull up and ask him “What’s wrong?” – “I don’t know, car won’t start!”—“Oh, hold on”….  Brett has a stock bumper-  so I pull behind him,  and inch up… a loud “NO WAY!” rings out from the crowd as I make gentle contact. I roll on into 1^st and the crowd goes insane, cheering me on. Eventually pull 2^nd gear and push Brett all the way up the hill to his crew.  I stage up and realize it was really odd move, but I was just thinking, he needs help, I got this crash bar here, might as well use it! Unlucky for Brett, his supercharger had thrown the belt and he didn’t have any recourse, so he withdrew. I got the win by default and got to make a fun run- which I utterly obliterated the track with my best run of the night!

Final 4 put us against the number 1 qualifier of James Evans. We both had some mistakes and were told it was declared a OMT. As I followed him in, I was gunning for the win. I enter and get RIGHT on him, it’s ridiculous how aggressive I’m being, but I know James is a solid driver and its pretty safe move.  His car was so loud, I didn’t hear my RPMs so low that I bogged a split second after the first clip. I had to accelerate and reinitiate up the hill, leaving me at a disadvantage on the next run. I absolutely KILL the run and even hit the outside clip marker with my bumper- knocking it off as well. James is a great driver and stayed smooth and I was knocked to the consolation round.

Doug Van Den Brink, a drifting veteran and former FD pro competitor (who currently holds a legit FD license) somehow spins out and lands in the battle for 3^rd against me.  The first time we faced off was in 2006 where I won, and last year at Zmax where he won. This will be our personal tie breaker!  Leading first, I take off, hard on the throttle like I’m running from a nuclear blast! Enter suuuuuper early and lay down possibly my BEST run of the night!  We swap positions and head down the hill.  As we dive in, I decide that I’m going to enter before he does. I rip the ASD brake and a split second later he enters and I suck RIGHT up on his side!  It’s PURE INSANITY! I might be closer than I was to James just last round!

I am more aware of my RPM’s and keep her ripping up the hill, staying decent proximity on Doug back down the hill. As we finish off the course I BARELY keep it on I’m going so fast!  Top of the hill we sit, waiting on word---   I get the thumbs up!!  I WON!  I give a fist pump to my crew waiting up the hill further who explode and jump around with high fives!

We drive in and again toss a couple shirts out to the fans that stayed late to watch. Awards are set to go out tomorrow, during intermission between FD Top32 and Top16 rounds. We head to the pits and after some laughter and handshakes we get to work on the front and rear bumpers so the car is ready for the Exedy booth in the morning.

Awards were about 6pm, right at the FD podium down the row from Exedy. We pull up and time it so the crowd is dumping down from the stands during intermission. Awards go off with Jason Jiovani (3^rd), James Evans (2^nd) and Bill Stenger (1^st).  I brought up some shirts (crowd LOVES shirts!), sprayed some champagne, and tasted some victory!  I try to drive the car back to Exedy, there are so many people I can barely move. As I roll on, people are drooling over the car, the wing, and the dash as I pass by. Non-stop comments and pictures as we make our way; our car is definitely a crowd pleaser!

Hanging out in the booth a bit, I had a fan come up and ask for an autograph! We got a marker and signed on his Exedy bandana, immediately igniting my own autograph session. After it died down, I headed up to watch the main event and cheer for my fellow Nexen drivers!

This event was crazy from the time we left until the time the car hit the trailer, but this is always my favorite event. I love Road Atlanta.

It's Showtime !

The local short track near me closed down years ago when the government took it over to do high speed toll booth system testing. The neighboring 1/8^th mile stayed open, keeping some sort of fun. Recently, the government wrapped up its operations and the track was acquired by a local garage owner who named it Showtime, based on his own racing nickname. I have been chosen as the ambassador of drifting to bring it to this new venue. We are still waiting on the track to finished needed maintenance so it can re-open.

To help spur interest, the track held a 1^st Annual Showtime Car Show & Swap Meet.  Our partner, All American Street Car Performance, was already setup to display a vendor booth, and I was taking part in the car show area. I think we were the only import there among the domestic beauties. The humor in that is we have the heartbeat of a domestic.

Lots of people showed interest and just amazement at the idea of the swap, let alone a drift car. Most have never seen the sport besides the movies or quick flashes on TV. Hopefully, once the track opens, we get some new fans into drifting. 

I thought the show was a great success in size and it was enjoyable to just talk to people about the car without having to worry about when my next track session was. 



the Swap Meet area



J1N Team Shirts from 40mm!

One of the coolest additions to the team this season is team shirts!

With one of our newest partners Forty Millimeter Inc., we are able to have these for give-a-ways and for fans to purchase! The quality is on point and they really are easy to work with when it comes to options and design help. I created a character to embody the fun and zany side of drifting, but with an aggressive kick!


We will debut them at Road Atlanta in just a few short weeks!

LS Fest Revisited: HorsePower TV Show

A while back, we went to Kentucky for the Holley LS Fest and came back with a 4th place finish. With short notice, we found out we were set to be on SPIKE TV on the HorsePower TV program. We blasted about it on social media, but if you missed it they graciously uploaded the episode!

We got a lot of camera time on our car during the drift segment. Ben Lewallen and myself are used as a pre-commercial bump (just before 10 min mark) and then after the break we are shown lots more!

Watch the full episode or jump ahead to the goods!

http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/keh14i/powerblock-horsepower-all-ls-and-all-high-performance-fun-season-1-ep-245

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White Water at CFRC

After last weekend, we had some good information on what settings were good and what needed attention. The worst part was that we were still fighting the steering; I am unbelievably over it. I decide to swap back to stock knuckles to see if they have been the problem all along. Once removed, Shaun lets me know that at some point I had bent the driver's side knuckle! Eureka! We have found why the car has had so much steering problems! John re-aligns the car, giving it a near OEM setup so we can figure out the steering for sure, make sure no setting is akward and causing trouble.

We set out for CFRC and the weather calls for rain. Being optimistic, we arrive and change the rear tires as the course was soaked (and it was still drizzling). By the time we got the tires swapped, rain seemed to play along and left for the night. With it already dark out, there isn't much chance the course will dry, but at least it won't get worse.

We added grip to the setup since last weekends ajustments, and even in the rain, the first run tells us we went a little too aggressive with it. There is so much grip that when I was on throttle sideways, the car wanted to straighten up. It is really nuts to see the ASD knowledge play out in your hands. I sure hope I am able to really get a handle on it, but I think I'm headed in the right direction!

A few adjustments are made to loosen up the car some and we head back out. Car breaks away pretty well, and I have a decent feel for the car under throttle and off. It is behaving a good bit considering the river rapids we are navigating.

I hang out some big angle; I'm really impressed what stock knuckles can do with just a drift standard rack spacer. Then it happens.... STEERING BIND. Its still here! It wasn't the knuckles! All night I kept making really similar runs but it kept binding in the same areas of the course causing either an understeer moment or a spin. Not only was it binding, but it was worse than before. I was only able to link the course when I played it safe on angle, which won't go over well with the judges in competitions coming up.

While packing up, I start talking with a few other drivers, comparing my setup to theirs. Nothing really is different. I have a new rack, a new LCA/ball joint, new tie rods, stock knuckles, standard alignment.... nothing stands out as an issue. The only difference I can think of is my large spacers in front. I put spacers on partially to fit the wheel to the fender, but also to move the steering arc away from the tension rod so there is no contact at high angle. On the trip home, at 3am with nothing but white lane markers flashing to keep me company, I start thinking hard about what could be going on. ASD classroom flashback, and eveything falls into place. The change I made, when I made it, what the issue is, and things that compound it.... it ALL aligns to the same thing. Those spacers and my scrub radius.

To get technical, scrub radius is a relationship of the supsension geometry in relation to the tire contact patch. I have effectively made the steering more resistant to my inputs, and more prone to interference from bumps/suspension travel. The solution is fortunately simple, get smaller spacers and correct this large positive scrub radius. Some alignment settings can help this issue, but those settings would hurt the cars performance in other places. We shall see soon! Our next scheduled event is Road Atlanta in just a few weeks!

I Love Drifting

We had some minor things to tweak on the car and John did some quick work to make sure the car was safe to run on course.  Most notably was a new crash bar design, and an alignment.  I was getting really anxious to feel some of the changes in the car as the weekend neared.

Friday, I was messaged about shooting a commercial for the CFRC track early morning Sunday, before the event. So, suuuuuuper early on Sunday we headed for CFRC. Unload and give the new hand brake a quick test. Feels way better, I’m really excited to actually use it on track and put it through a real test!  While we wait on the commercial camera guys to setup, I do a few basic donuts to just see that nothing is really odd in the steering, and there is no clearance issue with the fenders or bumper. Everything checks out and... MAN DOES IT FEEL GOOD TO BURN SOME RUBBER!  After almost 6 months, I instantly remembered why I pour so much effort into this sport!

The premise of the commercial was to show off the variety of events they hold. Myself and FD Rookie Patrick Goodin were to give a short autox style pass using the return roads at the end of the drag strip, then we got a shot of us doing a side by side turn into a straight. Next, we cut to a tight 90* right hander that leads to the drift track. The film guys are on a moving car next to/on  the course. We started off on a normal course run (this portion was filmed later in the day, I was having some binding in the steering still), intiated ALONG the cart, and right mid-entry the steering locks up, and waiting for it, Pat jumped out a good gap on me, but it was a clean run from us both and was good enough for the film guys. Lastly, we rolled onto the drag strip and did standing into rolling burnouts and roared down the strip. The commercial should be pretty sweet and we might add more shots as they edit and see anything, but it was fun to do something creative and different like that!

No waiting here! CHECK OUT THE COMMERCIAL NOW!

Prior to the drift run with Pat, we got to get some shakedown runs in the car. Now, we have added big front and rear sway bars, and now have bumpstops back on the car (with the new FLCA’s);  we did not change any settings on the suspension or the tires so we could see the differences. WELL…First run out I take it EASY and spin THREE times! 3! In a single run!! It was madness. I jumped out and took out about 7-8 psi in each rear tire.

Another run, slow-mo spin entry (hand brake works great!) and then the rest of the course I’m steering a TON just to keep her in control. I never have worked the wheel so much while drifting. We take out another 5psi, and go get the adjustment tool for the shocks. I make them so soft, your mattress would be jealous. Take it back out for last minutes of the first session and I link the course finally. It wasn’t a ‘killer’ run, but it was a huge improvement.

In between our groups sessions, I take out some more stiffness on the coils, and then remove those new bumpstops that were killing my angle; you never realize the deep angle you get until it’s gone! Second session out the car was even better! Getting great angle, and much less steering work needed, though we are getting some binding at aggressive angles and flicks. I have to dial back the aggression some, but we start putting in some pretty solid runs. The change was so evident, I had many seasoned drivers come talk to me about what I changed and how much it showed.

After talking with Ian over at ASD, we are making some more advanced adjustments to regain the balance in the car and then a few more tweaks to have the car on point! We are returning to CFRC this Friday night to continue testing, our last good chance, before Road Atlanta in May!

Public Parking

The car was finally running again, and looking incredible, so we brought her out to V2Lab’s Mystery Meat taking place in Orlando, FL. We hooked up with our partner, SSP Vinyl, to be in the vendor area in their booth. This event was months in the making, with people from all over the southeast US showing up. Problems for the event started early when they had the city revoke permits and then scramble to find a new location for the expected 1500+ cars.

They couldn’t get much, and cars were arriving, parking everywhere on the road, in parking lots, blocking traffic, it was just INSANE! I had a little bit of work to do on the car, so I parked and unloaded the car. As I am setting up inside the parking garage with SSP, people start yelling about cops writing tickets for vehicles parked outside… time to move the truck! After finding some crazy parking 4 blocks away I return and finish up the car so it’s good to go.

About 2 hours later, I am about 7 blocks away getting some grub  (no one open on Easter Sunday!) and streets still lined with cars here for the show. This car show is HUGE. I get a call from Carlos @ SSP, the garage we are in decided to void the agreement and was trying to lower the gates and lock everything inside!  I sprint back the 7 blocks and get the car out and park it in the road. Barely got it parked outside for a minute and here we are.

It was too bad that the show had so many issues, it was the craziest and largest show I’ve ever been to! I also was pulling double duty, working the NOS Energy booth in between all the insanity.

After about another 90 minutes, the show was losing momentum with tow trucks starting to make rounds. We loaded up and headed home.

Though the show was cut a little short, we got nothing but people complimenting the car, both inside and out!  Never had so many people wanting to talk about the car- what a difference some lights and fiberglass can make!

We had 2 notable moments during the show. There was Orlando TV news was there and spent a good amount of time scanning the car with the video camera. A short time later, we were interviewed for an online article with the Florida Journal, which can be seen here. Out of so many cars, it’s great he chose to include us!

http://www.thefloridanewsjournal.com/2012/04/08/v2lab-import-car-show-brings-out-crowds-orlando

Back to All American for some last tweaks and we are set to test next weekend at Central Florida Racing Complex (CFRC) in Orlando.