Tag: Irwindale

Formula DRIFT and the Irwindale Event Center Announce Thursday Drift Nights

News

Posted on

Formula DRIFT and the Irwindale Event Center Announce Thursday Drift Nights; Events to Begin June 12 at Irwindale Speedway

The on-track sessions will consist of various drifting courses for drivers of all skill level to learn the techniques of drifting in a safe environment under the supervision of Formula DRIFT officials. There will be three different courses that are created based on experience, with each course progressively more difficult and faster than the previous with the final course being the full Formula DRIFT course that the Series uses during their annual season finale at Irwindale Speedway.

This will be a rare occasion that non-professional and licensed drivers will be able drift on the infamous course at the, “House of Drift.” The events will be open to all drivers and their vehicles that meet basic safety specifications. Registration will take place on the day of each event beginning at 2pm at the venue, which will then be followed by a technical inspection on-site. Registration cost is $100 per entrant. Event hours are slated for 5pm to 9pm.

“The event will not only caters to amateurs, but also to the professional teams that would like to test and tune their competition vehicles,” says Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Drivers of all skill levels will be able to interact with each other and amateurs will be able to receive valuable tips from the pros. We are excited to give the drivers some additional practice time at a place like Irwindale Speedway.”

The Formula DRIFT Thursday night sessions will be open to the public. Admission to the track’s grandstands will cost $10 including free parking and access to both drift and drag. Gates will open at 4:00 PM with the event ending at 9:30 PM. The event will begin on June 12 and continue on the following Thursday dates: July 24, August 14, September 25, November 13 and December 18.

“There have been so many drivers and fans who have asked about setting up a series of sessions like this,” said Jim Cohan, CEO of Irwindale Speedway. “These unique Thursday night sessions here at Irwindale Speedway are going to answer a need that we’ve been hearing about for a long time.”

A Deeper Look Into the 2013 Stats Leading into the Championship

News

Posted on

With only one event remaining in the 2013 season the competition is as fierce as ever with only 15.50 points between first and second place in the Pro Championship Standings. Introduced this year were the additional championship titles: Manufacturer Championship and Tire Championship. The Manufacturer Championship is currently lead by Ford followed by Lexus and Nissan. Totals for each championship are determined by taking the top two eligible drivers from each event and adding both their qualifying and event final points for each category. Manufacturers are eligible when the chassis of the vehicle matches the engine i.e. Ford Mustang with Ford engine. Not eligible are chassis with non-matching engine i.e. Nissan 370Z with LS1 motor. Each championship will be determined at Round 7: Final Fight on October 11-12 at Irwindale Speedway.

Tire Championship Standings Top 5
Hankook 899.5
Falken 896 -3.5
Achilles 792.25 -107.25
Nitto 744 -155.5
Yokohama 697.5 -202

Manufacturer Championship Standings Top 5
Ford 810.5
Lexus 801.5 -9
Nissan 794 -16.5
BMW 755.5 -55
Scion 742.5 -68

We will share a few interesting statistics from this season as we head into the Formula DRIFT finale.

In 2013, we have seen a total of 61 different vehicles compete in the Pro Championship Series. 42% are running Chevy engines, while Toyota engines are represented in 20% of the field and Nissan in only 13%.

However, the diversity of various engine manufacturers to see the podium with 18 podium spots through six rounds is more competitive with 22% for Nissan and Lexus, 17% for Ford, BMW and Chevy and the remaining 5% for Scion.

Breaking this down even further we found the following engine types on the podium. Naturally aspirated V8’s have lead the way with 50%, 39% have a Turbo V6, 6% with a Supercharged V8 and only 5% with a Turbo 4 cylinder.

As we look into the tire manufacturers to reach the podium it is very close between the many manufacturers in the Series. Hankook has a majority of the podiums with 28%, Achilles follows with 22%, Falken and Yokohama both have 17%, Nitto with 11% and Maxxis with 5%.

There is also a variety of ECU Manufacturers involved with AEM represented in 34% of the vehicles in the Series followed by GM and Motec with 15% each and Holley with 13%.

Interestingly, enough only three ECU manufacturers have found the podium this season with Motec having 50% of the podium finishes, AEM with 33% and Pectel with 17%.