Okay… here comes a big one… blog that is. Prepare yourself, as I am about to touch on some drag racing, time attack, SEMA stuff, and drifting… yes, you read correctly… drifting. Let the Speedhunting begin!

So some have you may or may not have heard through the rumor-mill that I have been out at Willow Springs five days over the past two weeks causing some ruckus with veteran drifter Tony Angelo. Why you ask? Because in 2009, WORLD Racing will be starting their own drift program. That’s right folks, no need to check your eyes… drift program. Two weeks ago I started testing with Tony using his Nissan Silvia S13. I have had the best time learning with Tony; he is not only a great dude, but a great teacher as well.

It’s definitely been a huge challenge for me. While it’s true that a lot of the fundamentals are high-level basic driving skills, it is the timing and execution of these techniques to put the car exactly where you want it that has really been the biggest challenge for me. Sure I’ve got great car control from drag racing and road racing, and my throttle imputes and braking are very smooth, but with drifting it’s a whole different animal as I have been learning. These guys that are on the professional level are just that - TRUE professionals - and for me to compete with the best of the best, it’s going to take me quite a bit of practice. But as you all know, I am always up for a new challenge, and what more of a challenge can I face myself with right now in my career than to try to get to the level of these amazing guys and compete with them?

Day one of drift practice was pretty fun. Tony told me to get out there and do some tight donuts around a cone, which was pretty much no problem for me. Then we moved on to wide circles around a big group of cones, which was still pretty easy only because it didn’t involve any transitions of the vehicle,then we moved on to figure-eights. Figure-eights became a challenge for me at first because there are a lot of vehicle transitions involved. The perception of where to point the car in order to rotate the car around the cone and start my transition at the right time, how long to let go of the wheel, when to grab hold of the wheel again, were all factors I was battling with to get it down right. Once I got that down pat, Tony wanted me to move on to the next challenge - linking a small course.

Day two was interesting. I’m not going to lie; this small course was a big challenge for me at first. Especially coming from the last two-and-a-half years of road racing my FWD Scion tC, because one thing I learned from that was you can NEVER EVER let go of the wheel. If you let go of the wheel for one split-second, that car of yours is not going to go where you want it to go. This is completely opposite of drifting a RWD car. When a FWD car goes into a slide, you don’t breathe the throttle and counter-steer, because if you do that the car doesn’t go where you want it to go. In a FWD car, you point the wheels where you want the car to go, and you mash the throttle down and the car will pull out of the slide and go in the direction you want it to.

In a drift car, this is completely opposite, you need to let go of the wheel, and as a matter of fact, as I learned the hard way, even touching the steering wheel with one light tap before it has unwound to the correct amount, guess what? You’re gonna spin and not be successful, which is something I had a real hard time with. Sometimes it would feel like I had it, then my brain and my FWD instincts would kick in and I would give the wheel a little tap, like “Oh I need the car to go over here”, and guess what, I would spin.

It had finally started to set in that I needed to stop touching the stupid wheel and steer the car with my feet. After Tony beat this through my head of what to and not to do, at the end of the day, some of it actually started to sink in and I started to be able to link the course. Now believe me, this was not without many, many, many trials of me spinning or messing up that I was finally able to link this course. But when I finally did, damn it felt good. Here’s a quick video of my practice.

At first Tony was telling me these things and I was like “Oh yeah, I got it…” but you know what… I didn’t get it. I’m the type of person who has to do and feel things for myself and that’s the only way I was going to get it that day, and the only way I’m going to get it in the future. I still have a really long way to go to get to a competitive level, but the most important thing about my drifting practice with Tony was that I HAD A BLAST!

I am going to try - and I do mean “try”, because in no means do I think I’m going to be able to get out there after a couple weeks practice and knock ‘em dead - to get my FD license this year at the PRO/AM event in Long Beach. I’ve been in this business of motorsports for 11 years now and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you’ve got to pay your dues. If anything comes easy, you’re probably not doing it right anyway. I’m going to go out there and give it 100 percent of my effort because it’s the only way I know how, and if I fail, then I fail. But if I fail, then I am the only one to blame, because Tony Angelo has been a great teacher, and other friends of mine in this sport, like Vaughn Gittin, are great mentors as well. These are guys that I look up to and anytime I need help and guidance, they are always there for me. So do I think I will eventually be able to make it in drifting? Yes, I do. And that’s only because I am not the type of guy who gives up easily. How long it might take? Only time will tell!

Follow Chris Rado’s Blog over at Speedhunters: http://speedhunters.com/archive/tags/Chris+Rado/default.aspx

Chris Rado is joining all the drag racers in the lifeboat as they have jumped off the sinking ship known as sport compact drag racing. He has been spotted testing with “The Hurricane” Tony Angelo recently and perhaps we could possibly see him at the 2008 Formula D Pro Am? Further reports have unveiled that his testing has been in Tony Angelo’s S13 Nissan 240sx. We will keep an ear out to any breaking news of him Drifting. Many drag racers have entered the Drifting community with open arms but we have a feeling it might be a little different for Scion drag racer Chris Rado. Many people in the Drifting community have yet to forget his comments made in Sport Compact Car magazine. Below are a few comments he made in the article talking about Drifting and the D1 Grand Prix series

“There’s no mystery to drifting,just solid techniques;basically what I’ve been doing since high-school to showoff”

“Way too many of the guys at D1 seemed surly to the fans;like they’d rather slump over in a lawn chair and inhale Marlboro Reds than shake hands,sign autographs,or even listen to questions”

“Wow.I understand that a lot of guys there didn’t speak english,but that’s no excuse for not representing yourself, your team,and your sponsors well”

Although these comments took place several years ago when Drifting was new to the United States, it would appear the community and fans have yet to forget what Chris Rado has said. The last post on Drifting.com was 7/3/2008 which is over four years after the thread was made. We have the link below to the full thread, read it for yourself and you be the judge.

Read the full thread at Drifting.com: http://www.drifting.com/forums/

Check out Friday’s gallery sponsored by Bosch from the House of Drift. We have some great footage of unseeded qualifying and the late night top 32 practice. This event was looking to be a great one as we rolled into the main event with a championship on the line and victory on everyone’s mind. Check out all of our great coverage from Formula D.

Check out this Formula D Irwindale Gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=68

Tony Angelo wrote a blog this morning about getting a new chassis from Mazda and it looks sick. The whole thing came in a box just for Tony Angelo pre sound proofing and all. The thing looks amazing and we love the east coast gray color! Check out his new present from Mazda USA on his blog.

Read Tony’s Blog: wreckedmagazine.com/tonyangelo

How can you forget about all of the great action from the 2007 Formula D season? Well in case you didn’t make it to all 7 stops or you cannot quite remember all the amazement that happened like Sonoma 2007 then check out the trailer that Livesocket x Formula D just released and you might want to consider picking up the DVD that comes out next week on Tuesday.

Watch the Trailer: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/2007-formula-d-dvd-trailer-

WDS Drifting in Beijing, China

This video we have featured on the blog is a bit of a flashback but who can forget when tons of Drifting stars made the hike to China to perform in one of the world’s largest countries? Formula D stars such as Ross Petty, Chis Forsberg, Tony Angelo, Ryan Tureck and much more made the trek out to Beijing, China! Until this video the only real Beijing footage we had seen before was featured in the Drift Alliance: Stay Hungry film! Don’t miss this great clip.

Like we told you Mexico was a wild one so check out our video. We put together a two minute review of what was Formula D Mexico!

Formula D International: Mexico

Ok no more teaser posts or taunts…..here she is in all her perfection. Thanks to the WHOLE Wrecked Staff/Team to help get this thing out over the virtual universe.



Here comes Issue 6 of Wrecked Magazine onto our e-newsstand.

Don’t miss:
-Tanner Foust - He talks about Top Gear, X-Games, and FD
-General Motors: An American Icon
-Formula D Recap- The points race and the chase to win
-Industry Insider- with sports agent Jacob Agajanian
-Great new ads from S-MAX and Disc Brakes Australia
-Redbull World Challenge: Explained
-Much more inside!

READ IT NOW by clicking here

Well we were hoping to have you a gallery already from the practice day in Monterrery but due to some technical difficulties and the lack of a Circuit City within walking distance we are on hold for the time being. Our taxi driver managed to get lost four times getting us to the racetrack yesterday after we landed in Monterrey and the taxi ride was about 40 miles and cost us $24.00 roughly American! Man, I love this place already. Luckily Hiro Sumida (driver of the Discount Tire Lexus IS350 currently in FD) has got some pics of setup and his old Toyota Chaser he brought to the dance.

Photos provided by:http://blog.driftpro.com

Here is the official drivers list for Mexico. We will be out at the track tomorrow and get you guys content and information as soon as we hit the ground and buy some burritos!

1. Henry Schelly
2.Casper Canul
3.Colin Frost
4.Tony Angelo
5.Patrick Mourdaunt “Pat Attack”
6.Dan Pina
7.Joon Maeng
8.Tony Brakohiapa
9.Jairus Wharerau
10.Ross Petty
11.Hiro Sumida
12.Chris Kregorian
13.Justin Pawlak
14.Samuel Hubinette
15.Forrest Wang
16.Tyler McQuarrie