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Justin Pawlak Takes the Victory at Round 2: Road to the Championship

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Justin Pawlak Takes the Victory at Round 2: Road to the Championship;
Pawlak Remains on Top of the Standings and Becomes the Tires.com Triple Crown Leader

Long Beach, Calif. – May 12, 2012 – Formula DRIFT returned to Road Atlanta for Round 2: Road to the Championship. Justin Pawlak takes the victory in the Falken Tire Mustang increasing his point lead in the Pro Championship Points Standings.

Round 2: Road to the Championship brought the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship back to the Series birthplace nine years ago. Fans came in droves seeing an increase in attendance at Road Atlanta. This marks another consecutive season of growth.

“It’s very satisfying that Road Atlanta and Formula DRIFT have formed a partnership nine years ago to help grow drifting in this region,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We look forward to our ten year anniversary at this venue next season.”

Justin Pawlak takes his second consecutive victory to increase his points lead. Additionally, Pawlak is now the points leader in the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. Pawlak faced Fredric Aasbo in the Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC and edged out the 2010 Rookie of the Year to take the victory. Walker Wilkerson in the Falken / Fatlace / Garage Autohero Nissan 240SX battled Formula DRIFT rookie, Daigo Saito in the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 in the consolation round. After a one more time battle Saito beat out Wilkerson to take his second third place finish of the season.

“The boys at ASD and Falken gave me what I need to help me get to that number 1 spot,” said Justin Pawlak, winner of Round 2: Road to the Championship. “Next round is West Palm Beach and with a great car and great team we were able to take the win there last year and plan to remain focused and keep this momentum going.”

The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with Round 3: Invasion at West Palm Beach International Raceway on June 1-2, 2012.

Formula DRIFT Announces Second Season of Formula DRIFT Insider

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Long Beach, Calif. – May 1, 2012 – Formula DRIFT has announced today the continuation of the popular online program, “Formula DRIFT Insider.” The first episode will premiere on Thursday, May, 3 on Formula DRIFT’s social media outlets and website.

After a successful trial during the last 10 weeks of the 2011 Formula DRIFT Championship season, Formula DRIFT will launch the second season of “Formula DRIFT Insider,” this Thursday, May 3. Subsequent episodes will air every other Thursday until the conclusion of the season in October. Formula DRIFT Insider will cover much of the behind the scenes action of the world’s premier drifting organization and go on the road with teams, drivers and staff to show exclusive access never before seen to the public. The show will continue to be hosted by Formula DRIFT co-founder, Ryan Sage.

“We are really happy that Insider was received well by fans last year,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Now we have the chance to cover the entire season and it should make for some really exclusive and captivating content to share with our fans.”

The first episode of Formula DRIFT Insider will have an exclusive interview with 2011 Champion, Daijiro Yoshihara, an exclusive news release surrounding one of the top teams in the Series and finally a surprise surrounding the second round of competition at Road Atlanta, which takes place on May 11-12.

Long Beach Local Kyle Mohan and Rookie of the Year Aurimas Bakchis Take Team DRIFT Victory

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 15, 2012 – Formula DRIFT’s Team DRIFT competition during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach concluded today with a victory from the team consisting of Long Beach native Kyle Mohan and the 2011 Rookie of the Year, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis.

14 drivers paired up over the weekend to compete in front of thousands of spectators during the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Judged on tandem execution and style the teams put on a show through the entire street course. Guest judges Andy Yen (Formula DRIFT lead judge), 2011 Formula DRIFT champion, Daijiro Yoshihara and 2-time champion Tanner Foust awarded the win to Mohan and Bakchis. Coming in second place was the team of Taka Aono and Cyrus Martinez. Rounding out the podium with a third place team finish was the pairing of Walker Wilkerson and Dennis Mertzanis.

The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with Round 2: Road to the Championship at Road Atlanta on May 11,12, 2012.

Replay XD To Sponsor Formula DRIFT Team DRIFT Competition during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

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Long Beach, Calif. – April 12, 2012 – Formula DRIFT announced today that Replay XD will sponsor and support this weekend’s Team DRIFT competition at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach from April 13-15.

Replay XD and Formula DRIFT have teamed up to undertake a huge video production by mounting multiple Replay XD camera’s to all 14 of the Team DRIFT vehicles and film all the action on and off the track for an online video release to come after the event. Replay XD will become the exclusive POV camera for the Team DRIFT event and also be branded on each vehicle.

“We are excited that Replay XD has seen the opportunity to partner with us on the Team DRIFT event,” said Ryan Sage, vice president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “This event is always a fun weekend for Formula DRIFT and the participating drivers, but now this partnership will allow fans to see how amazing 14 drift cars unleashed on the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Street Course can be. Fans will be able to see every initiation and all door to door drifting from every single driver’s point of view.”

“We’re all racers and enthusiasts here at Replay XD, and drifting has really pushed the envelope of what is possible in a car. We’ve been long time supporters of grassroots drifting, and are excited to take the next step by working with Formula DRIFT,” said Replay XD President, John Spar. “Having a chance to use our XD1080 to bring a first-hand, HD experience of team drifting on the streets of Long Beach to Formula DRIFT fans and drifting fans everywhere is quite an honor.”

The Formula DRIFT Team DRIFT Challenge will take place on Friday, April 13 at 9:35 AM, Saturday, April 14 at 8:55 AM and the main competition will be held on Sunday, April 15 at 3:40 PM during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach event.

Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Results

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Justin Pawlak Wins the Season Opener for the Second Consecutive Season

Long Beach, Calif. – April 7, 2012 – Justin Pawlak in the Falken Tire Ford Mustang earns the victory at the first event of the 2012 Formula DRIFT season. Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Nissan 240SX takes second place while Formula DRIFT rookie Daigo Saito, in the Achilles Tires / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 rounds out the podium.

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach kicked off the 2012 season to a sold out audience. The largest driver pool participated in the two-day event with the largest rookie field of any season with 19 rookies.

“Starting the season to a sold out crowd is a great feeling,” says Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The drivers stepped up and provided a highly competitive event that sets the tone for the rest of the year. We’re looking forward to how the season will unfold.””

Justin Pawlak found the top of the podium for the second consecutive season in Long Beach taking the lead to start the 2012 Pro Championship season. Pawlak battled the 2011 Formula DRIFT champion, Daijiro Yoshihara, in a hard fought battle to win the event. Yoshihara defeated Formula DRIFT Asia champion and rookie Daigo Saito in the Top 4 to move on to Finals eventually taking second place. Saito defeated Matt Powers, who finished in third place in 2011, in the consolation round to find the podium in his very first Formula DRIFT Pro Championship event. Saito is now leads the new X-Mini Rookie Challenge.

“Its just amazing to come back to Long Beach and put down another win 2 years in a row,” said Justin Pawlak, winner of Round 1: Streets of Long Beach. “This is a great way to start the season and go for the championship.”

The 2012 Pro Championship season continues for Round 2: Road to the Championship at Road Atlanta on May 11-12. Tickets are available to purchase online now.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2012 Point Standings After 1 Event

1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 106 Points
2. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 92 Points
3. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 78.50 Points
4. Powers, Matt Need for Speed / Nitto Nissan S14 69.50 Points
5. Tuerck, Ryan Team Retaks Nissan 240SX 66 Points
6. McQuarrie, Tyler Mobil 1 Camaro 64 Points
6. Millen, Rhys Hankook / Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Genesis Coupe 64 Points
8. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z 63 Points
9. Gushi, Ken Scion Racing Scion FR-S 62 Points
10. Moen, Kenneth Lutz Performance Nissan 350Z 61.50 Points
11. Grunewald, Conrad Hankook Tire Chevy Camaro 57 Points
12. Aasbo, Fredric Need for Speed / Papadakis Racing Scion TC 57 Points
12. Kado, Ryan Ryan Kado Racing Nissan 350Z 56 Points
14. Mohan, Kyle Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 55 Points
15. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis Motorsports Nissan 240SX S14 54.25 Points
15. Yoshioka, Toshiki RS*R Nissan Silvia S15 54.25 Points

Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results

1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang Winner
2. Yoshihara, Daijiro America’s Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 Second Place
3. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 Third Place