UC Berkeley Auto Parts Discounts

Purdue Auto Parts Discounts

Looks like some really good deal for Andy’s Auto Sport parts. Only problem: you have to be an alumni to get the discount! Is anyone here an alumni of UC Berkeley or Purdue?….

bullrun logo

I just got finished watching the last Bullrun for season 2. SPOILER ALERT If you’d like to know who won click the read more tag here:

3rd Place – Team Corvette
2nd Place – Team Avalanche
1st Place – Team Shelby

Advan AD08

FULLERTON, CA (Apr. 22, 2009) –Thousands of BMW and Mini Cooper lovers attending car club events on opposite sides of the country will get a first-hand
look at Yokohama Tire Corporation’s newest addition to its flagship ADVAN line, the ADVAN Neova AD08 ultra high-performance tire.

The ADVAN Neova AD08 is an updated version of Yokohama’s ADVAN Neova AD07, known since 2006 as “the fastest street tire.” The all-new ADVAN AD08 will be available in the U.S. starting May in 32 sizes, ranging from 15 to 19 inches, but BMW and Mini Cooper lovers will get an early preview of the tires. Yokohama will have the tires on display at the 7th annual Minis on the Dragon, April 29-May 2 in Fontana Village, North Carolina; and the 10th annual Bimmerfest, May 2 in Santa Barbara, California.

“These two large club events will help us introduce the AD08 to enthusiasts who are passionate about ultra high-performance tires,” said Mark Chung, Yokohama director, corporate strategy and planning. “The fans who attend are our core customers and the events are a great opportunity for us to share with them the AD08. The tire definitely lives up to the ADVAN legacy and ADVAN enthusiasts are going to love it.”

Minis on the Dragon – named after an 11-mile stretch of road with 318 curves in the Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina – attracts 600-plus Minis and more than 1,000 fans. Bimmerfest, held at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, brings in approximately 6,000 BMW enthusiasts and more than 2,000 cars.

“The new AD08 is the best of the best,” said Chung. “Extensive testing reveals the Neova AD08’s distinct advancements in four key areas: dry grip, wet grip, ride comfort and noise level, taking it to remarkable new heights and maintaining our leadership in the industry. All these areas of improvement are very important to consumers in the ultra high-performance segment and demonstrate Yokohama’s technical achievements and innovations.”

Many of the new Neova’s improvements, especially the wet and dry gripping, are attributed to a new Micro Silica compound with Hyper Density Carbon (H.D.C.), which also extends treadwear. Other highlights include specially-placed steel sidewall inserts for improved handling and enhanced cornering; rapid reflex twin ribs that add stability and steering response; an extra-wide unibloc shoulder for continuous rubber-to-road contact during high-speed cornering; adaptive flare blocks for better lateral strength and turning power, and stress control grooves that minimize uneven wear.

For more on the ADVAN Neova AD08: http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/advan_neova.aspx

For more on Minis on the Dragon: http://minisonthedragon.info/index.html

For more on Bimmerfest: https://eventreg.bimmerfest.com/events.php?action=eventdetail&EvId=3

Yokohama Tire Corporation is the North American manufacturing and marketing arm of Tokyo, Japan-based The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., a global producer and distributor of premium tires since 1917. Servicing a network of more than 4,500 points of sale in the U.S., Yokohama Tire Corporation offers a complete line of tires, including high-performance, light truck, passenger car, commercial truck and bus, as well as off-the-road mining and construction applications. For more information on Yokohama’s extensive product line, visit www.yokohamatire.com.

Yokohama is a strong supporter of the tire care and safety guidelines established by the Rubber Manufacturers Association and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration. Details can be found at the “Taking Care of Your Tires” section at www.yokohamatire.com.

- World’s Number One Drift Series Gears Up for Anaheim Opener -

ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 20, 2009) – Excitement is mounting as D1 Grand Prix (www.d1gp.com), the motorsports industry’s premier drifting series, enters the final stages of preparation for its return to competition in the U.S. The premier event, round 1 of four scheduled events in the Championship Points Series, is set to take place on Saturday, May 2 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. As the event nears and the final pieces are being put in place, D1GP USA released its schedule for the event weekend.

Industry & Fan Appreciation Night
On Thursday April 30th the D1 drivers will be at K1 Speed in Anaheim for an autograph signing from 5:30pm – 7pm in the parking lot. Afterwards, attendees are invited inside the facility to witness industry executives, members of the media and fans doing battle on the track against the D1 drivers.

Official Pre and Post Parties
On Friday May 1st D1GP USA, in association with the Gumball 3000, will be holding its official launch party at the Santa Monica Pier beginning at 5pm. The pier will be shut down for special live performances, a showcase of Gumball Rally cars, celebrity drivers and more. The event is open to the public and admission is free.

On Saturday May 2, D1GP USA will host its official after party at the Sutra Nightclub in Costa Mesa, with a live DJ and performance by the Speaker Junkies.

D1GP USA
On Saturday May 2, D1GP USA Round #1 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim will feature the largest build-out of a drift track in history. Some of the highlights on and off the track will include:

Track Build

* Largest build-out for a drifting event in history
* 1,000 foot long entry allows competitors to reach 3rd gear and high speeds before entering the 500 foot by 500 foot drift course.
* Newly developed half-circle truss clipping point markers within the course.

Off-Track Entertainment

* Extreme AutoFest car show competition featuring more than 250 highly modified exotic and tuner vehicles.
* Stunt bike, shifter kart and skate demos.
* HPI Racing RC drift track.
* Celebrity drivers and cars from the Gumball 3000.
* Live performances by the reunited members of Sublime, Speaker Junkies and more.

Event and Championship Prize Purse

* Event registration fees go directly into the prize purse, with 50 percent going into the event payout and 50 percent being added to the “pot” for the series championship.
* D1GP USA’s Progressive Prize Payout system ensures that the prize purse will be no less than $7,500 per event and $30,000 for the championship, although the amounts could be much higher depending on the number of drivers registering and any contingency money thrown into the pot.

Competition Format

* Practice and qualifying rounds will take place on Friday, May 1.
* The top 16 qualifiers will compete in the “SUPER16” main event on Saturday, May 2.
* Features tournament style bracket and head-to-head battles (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc.).
* Championship series points will be awarded to all 16 positions – from 25 points for the first place finisher to 1 point for sixteenth place.

Judging Format

* The D1GP USA Pro1 system introduces advanced computerized scoring into the world of drifting competition, allowing 75 percent of the total score to be calculated from unbiased data measurements.
* Remaining 25 percent will be based on style points and averaged out between the three judges.

Event Head Judge

* The head judge for the Anaheim D1 event will be Hisashi Kamimoto, who also serves as a judge for D1GP Japan.

Associate Judges

* Recently announced series judge Brian Norris, Southern California native and one of the earliest adopters of the sport of drifting in the United States.
* Adam Andretti, professional race car driver and member of one of the most legendary families in all of motorsports.

Competition Director

* Terence Jenkins – Jenkins founded Lateral G Racing and along with his driver Samuel Hubinette, the team went on to become crowned the first ever championship winning American drift team. Jenkins went on to form the WDC and since 2005 he has provided drift exhibitions, promoting the sport of drifting at major Indy Racing League events. Additionally Terence ran Octane TV, a cable TV On Demand, Broadband and Mobile network focusing on automotive programming.

Technical Director

* Chiaki Goto – Goto’s storied racing career includes championship wins in the N1 Endurance Race in Japan for three consecutive years, from 1995 to 1998. He also served as the director and mechanic of the JIC Magic drifting team in 2003. From 2004 to 2007, Goto served as Race Operations Director for D1GP USA.

Director of Track Operations

* Naoki Kobayashi – Kobayashi hosted the first ever drift clinic in North America, called Drift Day. Soon after, he formed the Drift Association and started working with D1GP to host its first Ikaten competition. He also helped bring the first D1GP competition to the United States, co-organizing the 2003 event at Irwindale Speedway. Since 2002, Kobayashi has hosted well over 250 events nationwide. His most recent projects include the Pro Am Drift series and Drift 101.

Announcer

* Will Mattox takes over as the voice of D1GP USA. He is currently the voice of Rally America and has played as host for the rally portion of X Games 14 and 15. Lisa Uchida, the voice of D1GP Japan, will also be calling the play by play in both English and Japanese.

Line Production

* Dennis Condon & Associates –The Dennis Condon and Associates team represents the pinnacle of event production, with a resume that includes the Olympic Games, MTV Music Awards, Disney events, and Supercross. They will be responsible for all on-track entertainment as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

Option Video

* D1’s Option video will be filming with legendary host Manabu Suzuki – the voice of D1 in Japan

Ticket Prices

* Bleacher & General Admission tickets are available at www.d1gp.com and at the event box office.

For more information about D1GP USA and the Anaheim event, please visit www.d1gp.com.

For Immediate Release

April 20, 2009

Formula DRIFT Team Drift Results;
Team Drift Alliance Takes the Victory at the Toyota of Long Beach Grand Prix

Long Beach, Calif. – April 20, 2009 – Formula DRIFT held the annual Team Drift competition during the Toyota of Long Beach Grand Prix this past weekend. The Drift Alliance team won the event for their second consecutive victory. The team consisted of Chris Forsberg, Justin Pawlak, and John Russakoff.

For the 4th consecutive year Team Drift has been apart of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Team Drift entertained thousands of fans during the 3-day event weekend that was highlighted with the IndyCar racing event. With an estimated attendance of about 175,000 for the three days, the Team Drift competition introduced drifting to many new fans.

“Drifting has become a fixture on the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach schedule. The Formula DRIFT teams and drivers definitely add an extra flare to the race weekend and the fans look forward to it,” said Jim Liaw president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The organizers of the Grand Prix were the first to put Formula DRIFT’s drifting cars on a full course demonstration 4 years ago. It speaks volumes about their innovative vision and about the drifting’s mass audience appeal.”

For the 2nd year in a row the Drift Alliance team came out on top with a score of 29.5 points. Team Drift Alliance consisted of Chris Forsberg, Long Beach local Justin Pawlak, and John Russakoff as a late addition to the team. Team TBA with Samuel Hubinette, Kyle Mohan, and Conrad Grunewald came in a close 2nd with 26.75 points. In 3rd place, Team Underdogs consisting of Dan Pina, Michael Essa, and Cody Parkhouse finished with 16.75 points. Parkhouse was a late addition after a crash during practice took out both his teammates, Matt Powers and Patrick Mordaunt, on Team “The Heat”.

“The Drift Alliance team was the most consistent throughout the weekend,” said Formula DRIFT judge Andy Yen. “They stayed the tightest through the hairpin turn with all 3 cars coming out together in unison, which the fans really enjoyed.”

Judging for Team Drift was based on the teams ability to drift in unison, closeness between cars with the closer the distance the better, and overall excitement including fan reaction. Both Formula DRIFT judges Ernie Fixmer and Andy Yen judged the event on a 15 point scale awarding each team a maximum of 15 points based on their performance on Turns 9, 10, and 11 of the Long Beach Grand Prix street course.

The 2009 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship series continues on May 8-9 in Braselton, GA at Road Atlanta for Round 2: Proving Ground.

Formula DRIFT Team Drift Results
1. Team Drift Alliance Chris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, and John Russakoff 29.5 Points
2. Team TBA Samuel Hubinette, Conrad Grunewald, and Kyle Mohan 26.75 Points
3. Team Underdogs Michael Essa, Dan Pina, and Cody Parkhouse 16.75 Points

Full official standings available on: www.formuladrift.com