Category: Press Releases

Formula DRIFT Launches “Formula DRIFT Insider” Web Show

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Formula DRIFT Launches “Formula DRIFT Insider” Web Show;
Weekly Web Show to Debut Today

Long Beach, Calif. – August 11, 2011 – Formula DRIFT has announced the launch of a new web program, “Formula DRIFT Insider.” The premiere episode will debut today, August 11, 2011 on the website, www.formuladrift.com.

Formula DRIFT has teamed with Ubiquity Studios to produce a weekly web show that will provide viewers with more in-depth coverage on the sport of drifting and the Series. Coverage will include event reviews, exclusive interviews with key figures of the Series, trending topics on-going in the Series, and custom segments.

“We are very enthusiastic about this new venture with Ubiquity,” said Ryan Sage, vice president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Formula DRIFT has always been on the progressive front with new media, especially social media and this web show is just another extension of that.”

The weekly web show will run in a 5-7 minute format and will air throughout the remainder of the season. Formula DRIFT Insider can be viewed on all Formula DRIFT social media platforms including the website, Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo pages.

“Ubiquity Studios is excited to partner with Formula DRIFT on this exciting project to create and produce Formula DRIFT Insider. This content is extremely dynamic and is a perfect fit for our award winning team and state of the art digital production studio,” said Ubiquity Broadcasting Corporation CEO Chris Carmichael. “We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with FD and see this as one of many exciting franchises we will be developing with them over the coming months.”

Formula DRIFT Round 5: Throwdown Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 5: Throwdown Results;
Daijiro Yoshihara Takes the Victory and the Lead in the Standings

Long Beach, Calif. – July 23, 2011 – Formula DRIFT returned to Evergreen Speedway for Round 5: Throwdown. Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Nissan S13 takes the victory and the lead in the overall Pro Championship points standings. Attendance records were broken as the event reached capacity for the venue.

Round 5: Throwdown reached capacity as fans came in droves to Evergreen Speedway. Attendance was up over 10% from last season continuing the increase in numbers for the Series. Fans were treated to an exciting round of action from the top drivers in the sport.

“The Pacific Northwest has an amazing fan base, which was proven today,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We are excited to see the growth of the sport and the Series this season with a continued increase in attendance at each event.”

The competition heated up with the final four drivers aiming to move closer in their chase for the championship. Fredric Aasbo in the Need For Speed / Scion Racing TC went head to head with Rhys Millen in the Red Bull / Hankook Hyundai Genesis Coupe and edged out the former champion earning third place. The Finals matched up the 2009 champion, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z with Daijiro Yoshihara. Yoshihara took the victory and gained the lead in the Pro Championship point standings and remains the leader with a commanding lead in the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus.

“It feels great to be in the lead,” stated Daijiro Yoshihara, winner of Round 5: Throwdown. “After the Top 32 when Justin Pawlak was taken out of the competition I knew I had a good chance to win, but I didn’t want to think about points and focused on winning one round at a time, which worked! We have 2 competitions left so I need to focus on them still before I can think too much about the championship.”

The Formula DRIFT Championship continues for Round 6: After Dark at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on August 26 – 27. Tickets are available to purchase online.

Formula DRIFT Continues Social Media Success

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Formula DRIFT Continues Social Media Success Surpassing 100,000 Fans on Facebook and Announces Launch of Mobile Version of Website

Long Beach, Calif. – June 30, 2011 – The official Facebook page of Formula DRIFT has surpassed the 100,000 mark in total fans. Formula DRIFT has also launched mobile version of website.

Formula DRIFT has seen a dramatic growth to their Facebook page fan base this season as the 100,000 mark was broken during Round 4: The Gauntlet at Wall Speedway weekend. The amount of Facebook fans has doubled since the season began. To celebrate this milestone Formula DRIFT will be selecting a couple lucky fans from the Facebook page to receive a prize package including Formula DRIFT merchandise and apparel.

“Formula DRIFT has embraced new technology and is very pleased with the growth of our social media outlets this season and we have our tech savvy fans to thank for this,” said Ryan Sage vice president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “In addition to Facebook we have also seen an increase in our Twitter followers along with viewers of Driftstream, our live webcast. We will continue to explore new and exciting ways to engage our ever-growing audience and provide them with the latest content and promotions.”

The Series continues to be the leader and innovator for social media and technology when compared to other emerging motorsports. Formula DRIFT has invested into new technology in order to cater to their demographic of fans who are proven to be tech savvy and early adopters for the latest trends.

“We are proud of this accomplishment as it is evident of the growth of the sport of drifting,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Formula DRIFT has taken the lead in providing ways to connect with the fans and give them what they want.”

Formula DRIFT has also announced the launch of the mobile version of the website, www.formulad.com. The mobile friendly version of the site has optimized content for mobile browsing while also maintaining the connection for the fans to live event data, results, news posts, and more. A custom blog theme for mobile users has been created allowing users to browse through the blog with ease. The mobile version also allows users to use multiple mobile devices and if equipped with Flash can access the full version of the website.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Announces 2011 Television Program Schedule on VERSUS

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Formula DRIFT Announces 2011 Television Program Schedule on VERSUS;
Premiere Episode to Air on Sunday August 14 (5:00 p.m., EST)
Long Beach, Calif. – June 27, 2011 – Formula DRIFT announces the 2011 television program schedule on the VERSUS network. Premiere episode to air on August 14 at 5 PM (EST).

For the third consecutive year, Formula DRIFT will air the television program titled, “Formula DRIFT,” on the VERSUS network. The 14 half-hour long episodes will run for 14 consecutive weeks on Sundays at 5 PM (EST) beginning on August 14, 2011 with re-airs showing on Fridays at 5:30 PM (EST) beginning on August 19, 2011.

“We are delighted to be back on VERSUS, the home of such properties like UFC, Tour de France, IndyCar and NHL. It will be interesting to be part of the Comcast/NBC merger and the positive implications of VERSUS becoming part of the NBC Sports family. As our relationship with VERSUS has grown, so have the ratings of the Formula DRIFT programming,” said Ryan Sage, vice president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “VERSUS’s 75+ million households combined with an additional 300 million household distribution internationally, we are glad to continue to not only be the leader in drifting programming, but a real force in motorsports and entertainment.”

The episodes will document all 7 Championship rounds and 1 invitational competition that took place in Qatar. The programs will be hosted by Formula DRIFT co-founder, Ryan Sage along with Formula DRIFT announcer, Jarod deAnda.

The Formula DRIFT program is scheduled for national and international distribution.

Formula DRIFT International Television Distribution to include:

BAND SPORTS
Brazil

SPEED CHANNEL
Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvadore, Brazil, Columbia, Argentina, Columbia, Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Peru.

MOTORS TV
United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic, Holland, Estonia, Germany, Macedonia, Serbia, Russia, Portugal, Latvia, Greece, Slovenia, Romania, Cyprus, Belgium, Ukraine, Spain, Malta, Hungary, Iceland, Sweden, Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Switzerland.

SPORT TV
Portugal

AUTO TV RUSSIA
Russia

In addition to the TV programming, Formula DRIFT can be also seen streaming each competition live on the internet at www.formulad.com/live. Also scheduled to air in the coming months is the Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach event in 3D on DirecTV’s n3D channel.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Round 4: The Gauntlet Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 4: The Gauntlet Results;
Conrad Grunewald Wins at Wall Speedway

Long Beach, Calif. – June 18, 2011 – Formula DRIFT returned to Wall Speedway for Round 4: The Gauntlet. The capacity event was action packed with Conrad Grunewald in the Hankook Tire Chevy Camaro taking the victory. This marked Grunewald’s first victory in Formula DRIFT history and second podium since 2005.

Round 4: The Gauntlet at Wall Speedway was another exciting event where the combination of the banking on the track and the competitive nature of the drivers pushed them to the limits. As a result a few of the vehicles were damaged in competition in dramatic fashion keeping them from advancing to the later rounds. The fans witnessed a true showing of world class drifting.

“Despite the brief storm that caused chaos after qualifying on Friday, the Formula DRIFT community pulled together to help one another to put on another great event,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Fans came out to fill the capacity of the venue on Saturday to showcase the ever growing sport this season.”

The final four vehicles gave a tremendous show for the fans with the first battle pitting number one qualifier Ryan Tuerck in the Mobil 1 / Gardella Racing Chevy Camaro against Conrad Grunewald in the Hankook Chevy Camaro. Tuerck went high on the banking, making impact which damaged his vehicle taking him out of the competition and automatically giving him fourth place. Current points leader Justin Pawlak in the Falken Ford Mustang faced teammate Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Nissan 240SX to meet Grunewald in the finals. Yoshihara lost the battle and took third place due to Tuerck’s damaged vehicle and moved into second in the Pro Championship points standings. The finals saw a battle of American muscle with Pawlak facing Grunewald. Grunewald edged out Pawlak for his first victory of his career. Pawlak remains the points leader with this third podium finish of the season.

“I’m really happy for the team,” stated Conrad Grunewald, winner of Round 4: The Gauntlet. “We overcame a lot to get to this position this weekend. And I am overwhelmed to be on top of the podium for my first time and especially to do it by beating a Ford Mustang.”

The Formula DRIFT Championship continues for Round 5: Throwdown at Evergreen Speedway on July 22-23. Tickets are available to purchase online.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com