2017 Achilles Radial Formula DRIFT Team Announcement

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2017 Achilles Radial Formula DRIFT Team Announcement

IRVINE, CALIF., March 22, 2017 – Achilles Tires USA

Formula DRIFT USA

Achilles Radial is pleased to announce that the major sponsor partnership with Formula DRIFT USA continues in 2017, with a full roster of drivers competing in both PRO and PRO2 classes.  “Formula DRIFT has been a wonderful partner for our brand in the US and throughout the world,” said Cheralyn Hale, Director of Marketing.  We are excited to get back to the track and watch our awesome Team Achilles drivers burn up a lot of our 123S tires.” Achilles Radial is proud to announce the roster of talented drivers that will compete on Achilles Radial tires in Formula DRIFT USA during the 2017 season.  Continue reading 2017 Achilles Radial Formula DRIFT Team Announcement

Climbing the Ladder – Dirk Stratton and his LS7-Powered #Driftvette

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Holley’s LS Fest(link is external) is an event near and dear to our hearts. We attend every year for a chance to witness drag racing, autocross and drifting, all in one weekend and all cars featuring an LS or LT engine. This is where Dirk Stratton comes into the picture. Two years ago, at the 2015 Holley LS Fest, we saw a grey C6 Corvette ripping through the gears at Beech Bend Raceway with a trail of white smoke behind it and we were blown away. It was refreshing to see a Chevrolet chassis dominating in a motorsport series comprised almost solely of small Japanese cars, so we have been keeping our eyes on the driver, Dirk Stratton, ever since.

As it turns out, he has grown leaps and bounds since we last saw him at LS Fest. That year, in 2015, he won the Midwest Drift Union Championship which earned him a spot in the Formula Drift Pro2 series, only one tier below the big dogs of Pro1. He competed in the ‘16 season of Formula Drift (FD) and came in a very impressive 4th place in the overall series points which earned him the prestigious “Rookie of the Year” title.

Dirk is now positioned to compete in the FD Pro2 series again in 2017, although his “Rookie of the Year” title did earn him a license to compete in Pro1. “You know, I just think my team and I should compete another year in Pro2 in order to refine a few things and continue to grow. We hope to enter the Pro1 series in 2018 as a better team and I’m confident we can dominate,” Dirk told us.

So, within a matter of just a few years, Dirk climbed the ladder from the grassroots level of drifting to a professional level, competing alongside some of the best drifters in the world. We were intrigued to find out how he got here and how he progressed so quickly, so we gave him a call to learn more about his story.

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Midwest Drift Union, the region’s official Formula Drift pro-am licensing body, announces its expansion into the Southeast region for 2017.

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10/21/2016
Indianapolis, IN

In it’s quest to expand its reach and develop a new field of talented drivers, Midwest Drift Union, the region’s official Formula Drift pro-am licensing body, announces its expansion into the Southeast region for 2017.

“We’re humbled and very excited to move into this new era, into the Southeast, and growing awesome drivers and building the future generation of Formula Drift drivers,” said MDU co-founder and president Edgar Sarmiento.

Along with co-founder Jon Gillatt, Sarmiento formed Midwest Drift Union as an evolution of the Drift Indy brand in 2009, holding its first competition series in 2010. Since then, they have developed the Smashed USA apparel line utilizing Gillatt’s experience as founder of Enthusiast Apparel, along with the new Street League Drifting series. Now, the duo announces the development of the Drift Group, which will focus on building a new region in the company’s first foray into Southeast territory.

“We really enjoy sharing what we know and preparing drivers for the next step of the Pro 2 Formula Drift world,” Sarmiento said.

Formula Drift pro driver Geoff Stoneback, along with Pro 2 drivers Dirk Stratton and Andrew Lewis, have earned their licenses through the MDU program. Now, the series hopes to build the driver base in a new area.

“We’ll be bringing another side of the professionalism we bring to the table to the Southeast and running a fair, fun competition series for our friends in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, the Carolinas and beyond,” Sarmiento said.

As of this release, no venues have been confirmed, but Sarmiento stated there would be four to five events spread out around the Southeast in addition to MDU’s traditional Midwest series.

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