Nopi Drift 2007
June 5
NOPI Motorsports is proud to announce their 2007 television schedule on SPEED TV. Starting in July NOPI TunerVision will be airing on Thursday’s, Friday’s and Sunday’s with new up to the date coverage of NOPI Motorsports events. With SPEED TV adding additional television coverage from the previous half an hour spot to an extended hour-long segment. The new hour segment will be cut into two with the new episode airing first and a re-run of the previous NOPI event after. You can be sure there will be plenty of action throughout the entire episodes.
Michael Meyers, President of NOPI Motorsports said, "SPEED TV extended the coverage of NOPI Tunervision from the original 1 show into the new format of 2 episodes with the extra episode making it an hour long segment, the second half hour being a re-run. We feel that with this format the NOPI events will finally get the attention that they deserve. With the new hour long segments catching all the action should no longer be a problem."
So this July starts the new 2007 show season and you will also notice a change in production as well. NOPI TV is now working with City Lights on the production of the NOPI TV shows, which is going to elevate the excitement of NOPI Tunervision. Things have never been better for NOPITV. From NDRA to NOPI’s New Professional Drift Series and the ever-impressive NOPI Car Show to the beautiful NOPI Chic’s, you will not want to miss any episodes. If you do, SPEED TV will be running the shows in rotation so you will be able to see any reruns of any event that you may have missed!
NOPI would like to thank you for your continuing support for NOPI Motorsports.
May 28
Wow! What can we say, if you were not at the NDRA event this past weekend at Maryland International Raceway, man did you miss out! There was a ton of close exciting races and there were even a handful of 200mph passes! The NDRA racers and teams are really getting a hold of their racecars and the results are definitely starting to show.
Glenn Woods, Race Director for NOPI Motorsports said, “This weekend’s event had the most side by side racing in every class that we have seen in a few years! It was nice to see the level of competition between not only the drivers but the crews that support these vehicles.” Michael Meyers, President of NOPI Motorsports said “With an event like this past weekend, there is nothing to show me that this market is slowing down. We had over 300 cars in competition in the NOPI Car Show and the attendance soared over 20k! All in all this weekend was a huge success and all that attended was sure to have a fantastic time!”
A few exciting things happened this weekend with one of them being Jason Hunt in the Pro Outlaw FWD class taking the win light twice this weekend. The first win was a makeup race from the previous NDRA event that had been rained out, that final was Jason Hunt vs. Gary Gardella. Jason took the win and posted his first 200mph pass! The second win light for Hunt happened for the Maryland International Raceway event and this run was again Hunt vs. Gardella! Jason took the win again and has currently won all 4 finals and sits comfortably atop of the point’s schedule.
NOPI Motorsports is proud of the racers this past weekend and would like to thank and congratulate them! “Keep up the good work guys and thanks for all of the exciting races this weekend, I am sure that there is plenty more where that came from!” said Michael Meyers.
NOPI looks forward to seeing you at the next event and would like to thank you for your continuing support for NOPI Motorsports.
May 20
Vaughn Gittin Jr. continues to prove his skills behind any machine thrown his way
JR jumps into a Miller Motorsports-built Mustang for some road racing in Tooele, Utah for GT Live and Falken Tire Drift Experience.
and .JR proved himself worthy in a 240 hp SR-powered Corolla for D1 US season opener in Englishtown, NJ.
Hopping back into the Falken Tire Mustang for Formula D Round 2 at Road Atlanta, JR was defeated by Mother Nature and a misshift.
and .Tooele, UT – Recently featured in a Super Street editorial column, Vaughn Gittin Jr. spoke about the troubles and triumphs in recently giving up his full-time IT job to work in a suit – a racing suit that is! JR promised his fans, family, and sponsors nothing but hard work and dedication, and thus far, he has kept his word.
JR traveled to Utah in late April for GT Live to participate in the Falken Tire Drift Experience. The Falken Tire Drift Experience is an event dedicated to giving fans a true, intimate feeling of being in a professional drift car on Falken Tires. JR says, “Falken Tire has worked unbelievably hard to make this dream for fans come true.”
“Miller Motorsports Park is an absolutely amazing dreamland for any motorsports enthusiast,” says JR. Miller Motorsports Park contains multiple tacks, karting facilities and supermoto tracks.
On practice day, JR and his team realized that the Falken Tire Mustang had some issues that needed to be taken care of before they got any worse. The team decided to pull the car out of the event to prepare it for D1 and Formula D coming up because the competition series is a number one priority.
“Being at this event and not being able to drive is like taking a little kid to a candy store and not letting him get a Snickers.” Fortunately for JR, he was graciously allowed behind the wheel of one of the Miller Motorsports Mustang Challenge cars to participate in the Time Attack and do some road racing.
Always wanting to improve his skills, JR talked to many of the other drivers in order to learn some of the tricks and lines of the course. Only his second time participating in road racing, JR gave it is all and won 3rd overall and 1st in the RWD class. The Mustang JR was racing is one of the many Miller Motorsports Mustang challenge cars built for sale or rental by the general public; the car was lightly modified but good for road racing according to JR.
JR says he was “very impressed with the way it handled in general and the guys at Miller Motorsports do a great job of building reliable and affordable cars for someone who wants to improve their skills, or just for those ‘weekend racers’.” JR genuinely appreciates the guys at Miller Motorsports for allowing him to have such a great experience and race one of their awesome cars.
Englishtown, NJ – Returning to the place where he started drifting about 4 years ago, JR was super excited to participate in the D1 U.S. season opener. This was truly a landmark event for JR and the rest of the boys of Drift Alliance, mainly because this venue was so special to their drifting careers. JR was excited to have his family, friends and East Coast fans in attendance supporting him at an event local to his hometown.
Engine problems arose during practice Friday and the team decided to pull the plug on driving his Mustang in order to get ready for Formula D Round 2 the following weekend.
Eric Davis, one of JR’s best friends, was at the event with his SR-powered Corolla built by Mid-Atlantic Motorsports with hopes of attaining his D1 license from the drivers search. Unfortunately, Eric did not get his license and ending up hitting a wall during practice – leaving the car with quite a nasty bruise. But luckily for JR, Eric agreed to let him drive his car for the competition.
JR was determined not to let his family, friends, and fans down and, without hesitation, hopped in the Corolla and qualified 11th after only two practice runs! Switching from a lighter, extremely less-powered vehicle proved to be no match for JR’s skills behind the wheel. “I was ecstatic… I was just having so much fun driving this little Corolla. It was a whole new challenge for me to conquer.”
For the Top 16 battles, JR was paired up with Takahiro Ueno in the 530hp Toyota Soarer. After an amazing battle and two “one more times”, Ueno took the victory over JR. Overall, JR was thrilled that he could just hop in a crashed Corolla and put on such a show for the crowd.
“one more times”, Ueno took the victory over JR. Overall, JR was thrilled that he could just hop in a crashed Corolla and put on such a show for the crowd.“I’m very confident in my new mechanics this year – Doug from Streetwise is a genius. Problems that we are having with the Mustang are a result of what we have done to give the car more bite. The car’s suspension is really working very well, but the motor is getting a lot more loaded from working so hard than it has in the past. We are finding that the motor-build that we have gone with in the past is not going to work for us this season. We have some new tricks up our sleeves and we are hoping to get through Atlanta with our spare motor, and we are doing everything possible to debut our new secret at Summit Point.”
Atlanta, GA –Vaughn Gittin Jr. traveled to “Hotlanta” in hopes of packing a major punch in Round Two “Fight Night” Formula D, and boy was it a scorcher. Due to the motor problems from the previous weekend, Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Falken Tire Mustang ran with a spare motor. JR was in high spirits Friday even though the car was down in power about 100 hp. JR was forced to go down two sizes in tires as the power of the spare motor was unable to spin his usual massive 315 Falken RT615s.
Due to a dose of bad luck during qualifying Saturday, JR was the only driver who had to run during a heavy downpour. After making his way down the hill, his first entry was like a sheet of ice and threw him into the gravel pit. JR was very disappointed but decided to not let this occurrence get him down.
For the second qualifying round, JR put down the fastest entry speed of the day – 93 mph. His run started off beautifully, but on the last entry he misshifted into first rather than third gear. JR straightened up and unfortunately was completely taken out of the ballgame.
“I was feeling great all weekend. The guys from Falken Tire and Streetwise made sure I had an amazing car setup considering the circumstances. I made a very big mistake and it really cost me the event. It was a very big wake-up call – the first time I’ve had to sit on the sidelines for the top sixteen in three years! You can bet I will be putting this minor bump in the road behind me and I will be ready to rock at Summit Point in West Virginia June 2nd!
Written and edited by Abby Baker
May 14
Well, if you thought that it couldn’t get any better running with NOPI Motorsports, you were wrong! NOPI Motorsports has teamed up with Wench Jewelry to create something completely unique to the NOPI Professional Drift Series and NDRA (NOPI Drag Racing Association). What both companies have come up with is sure to create some major buzz in the market and among the drivers.
“This is a special year for us, and we wanted to do something unique for our drivers. NOPI and Wench Jewelry have collaborated to come up with a series specific ring that will only be handed out to the top drivers.” Said Michael Meyers, President of NOPI Motorsports. “We wanted to go over and above every expectation for this years events, and I believe that this helps us accomplish that!”
Wench Jewelry will be creating and presenting 13 rings in total, 10 for the NDRA events that will be split up by classes, 7 rings for the pro class, 3 rings for the sport class and 3 rings for the top 3 drivers at the NOPI Professional Drift Series events. All of the rings will be made with Tiffany grade silver and there will be different sizes for all of the podium winners for NDRA: First Place will receive a 7millimeter wrench ring and second and third place winners will have 5.5millimeter wrench rings. All of the NDRA rings will have “NOPI NDRA” molded into the outside of the rings and will have an engraving on the inside of the band.
For the NOPI Professional Drift Series, there will be 3 rings awarded to the podium winners. First place will receive a 7millimeter wrench ring, Second place will receive a 5.5millimeter wrench ring and Third place will receive a 4millimeter wrench ring. These rings will also have a “NOPI DRIFT” logo molded to the outside bands and an inscription on the inside of the ring band as well. Needless to say, these rings will be extremely well made and will be a perfect addition to any driver’s trophy collection or hands! This excitement comes by being apart of the NOPI Motorsports family.
NOPI looks forward to seeing you at both NDRA and NOPI Professional Drift events, and would like to thank you for your continuing support for NOPI Motorsports.
The NOPI Professional Drift Series and NDRA Series are here! The time is now – be part of the excitement. To learn more about the NOPI Professional Drift Series, please contact Caleb
May 7
NDRA Maryland International Raceway – Maryland - May 19th & 20th
NDRA has another exciting event coming up this weekend. On May 19th & 20th NDRA will be at Budd’s Creek Raceway in Maryland, with the points lead going back and forth the race to the finish is getting closer each and every event!
As many of you have come know and love the NOPI events, the Budd’s Creek NDRA event will not disapoint at all. There will be a full car show with cash prizes, as well as a Swimsuit Contest with the hottest girls from the northeast competing for the prize. Vendor row will be in full effect with top companies in attendance showing off their newest products for you to come by and check out. As always, there is too much going on at each NOPI event to list. You can be sure that both Saturday and Sunday will be action packed and worth every penny!
“NOPI Motorsports likes to provide entertainment throughout the entire race weekend. From the intense Drag Racing to the Swimsuit Contest and the NOPI Car Show, there is always something for everyone. NOPI Motorsports has always worked hard to bring a fantastic array of entertainment to each event. With the spotlight this weekend being on a band called the “Politicks”. NOPI is proud to have this group of performers on their stage and we are anticipating their debut performance with NOPI Motorsports.” Said Michael Meyers, President of NOPI Motorsports.
Since coming together in 2001 while at Radford University, the Politicks have performed on the east coast from New York to Florida, shared the stage with several Grammy Award winning artists, recorded in Los Angeles and received regular radio play in their hometown of Washington, DC. Last summer the Politicks performed with icons of soul and hip-hop including Al Green, Lauryn Hill, The Roots and India Arie. In the fall they joined the Heineken Red Star Soul tour, performing with major artists in soul and R&B including Raphael Saadiq, Floetry, Raheem DeVaughn, Chrisette Michele, Claudette Ortiz & Ryan Toby (City High). Most recently, the Politicks brought in 2007 with the Sugar Hill Gang, Pat McGee band and DC101 at the Downtown Countdown NYE event in DC. While working on their professional debut album, Two Coffees, One Juice, the band wrote and recorded the theme song for a major motion picture, entitled "The Perfect Game." Politicks features Matthew Green on vocals, Brian Chafin and Mike Trella on guitars, Brad Moore on bass, and Brendan McCourt on drums. Make sure to come out and check out the Politicks live in concert at this weekends NDRA event held at Bud’s Creek Raceway.
For more information on the Politicks check out - http://www.myspace.com/politicks
NOPI looks forward to seeing you this weekend and would like to thank you for your continuing support for NOPI Motorsports.
The NOPI Professional Drift Series and NDRA Series is upon us! The time is now – be part of the excitement. To learn more about the NOPI Professional Drift Series, or the NDRA series, please contact Caleb Garrett at caleb@nopi.com or Glenn Woods at glennw@nopi.com.
May 4
Vaughn Gittin Jr. starts the Season off the right way!
It is no secret that Vaughn Gittin Jr. has been working extremely hard during this year’s “off season”. Between developing and testing the new Mustang with Team Falken and Street wise, the mental training of his transition to a full time professional driver was a lot to deal with. JR and Team Falken are doing everything possible to prevent the minor issues that have held them back the past 2 years and with the start of the much anticipated Formula D season opener in the “Streets of Long beach” was a
testament to all of the hard work of everyone involved.
While JR showed up feeling good and looking good in his brand new custom AlpineStar race suit, the Team Falken Mustang was also sporting some new looks for itself. The weekend didn’t start out as good as JR had hoped for. After successful testing
sessions with the Falken Tire Mustang, the car decided to have some freak engine issues that resulted in broken rocker arms during practice the day before qualifying. The only solution was to work all night and replace the head to ensure that JR would at least make it to qualifying in the morning. “I am very fortunate to have a team that is willing to do whatever it takes to get me on the track.” Said JR, Driver for Team Falken.
JR missed practice prior to qualifying because of some car demons, so his first qualifying run was his first full run through the course on game day, so he had no room for error. JR came around the first turn inches from the wall and he was FLYING! He nailed the run and it was impressive enough to place him 2nd overall in qualifying. “It was one of those situations where I felt I was lucky to even be at qualifying, considering where we were the night before with the engine. I just went out and gave my all. I knew when I left the line it was going to be incredibly awesome or simply disastrous!”
JR was placed “head to head” against Falken teammate Robbie Nishida for the Sweet 16 match-ups. With crazy close runs and even a “one-more-time” chant, JR gained the advantage and sent his Falken Tire teammate
packing! “I love running with Robbie! I think he pushes a bit harder whenever we are paired up, especially due to the fact he wants his revenge from Seattle last year. He’s a great driver, however there is no mercy for anyone after the starting line, even a teammate.”
For the Top Eight competition, JR was paired up with his biggest rival Samuel Hubinette – a battle JR had been craving all winter! While Sam was leading and JR was following, a crazy once-in-lifetime moment occurred; JR was so close to Sam’s Charger that his front right wheel was actually inside Sam’s back left wheel-well long enough to paint the wheel black. JR said, “Sam and I have gone back and forth for years and he is one of the drivers I push VERY HARD to beat and our battles are always intense. I am very happy to have been paired up with him and shown last years champ the fire in my eyes.”
JR moved on to compete in the Top Four, with yet another Falken teammate, Mitsuru Haraguchi. JR went all out with his “never lift” mentality and made a mistake in the first head to head, which made the judges’ decision a little easier. Going for redemption and getting the advantage with the second run wasn’t enough to regain his triumph – JR had lost to Haraguchi. “Haraguchi is a great driver, he holds an extremely deep angle which makes him a bit slower then most but still very fun and challenging to battle. I went a little bit to hard while I was leading the battle and made a simple
mistake that possibly could have been avoided if I was taking it a bit easier. I have the hardest time driving light. I fell like I’m cheating myself and fans if I don’t drive 110%.” Said JR, Driver for Team Falken.
Finishing fourth overall after one last battle with Daijiro Yoshihara, JR made quite an impact on the amazing audience of Formula D Round One by giving them nothing less than expected by “The Captain Clutchkick” himself – lots of smoke, excitement, smoke, American muscle, smoke, speed and did we mention smoke?
“Long beach was such an amazing event. Our sport and Formula D has grown so much. It is amazing seeing more and more fans with diverse backgrounds and interest at each event. I cannot wait for the rest of the stops on the Formula D Schedule While I am only content with our finish at the season opener I am thrilled with the fact the Team Falken Mustang is dialed in and there is no doubt I’m ready to rock”, said Vaughn Gittin Jr.
With a great start to an exciting upcoming season, JR is craving to stand on that desired winners’ podium that he came so close to during the season opener. He wants to thank all his sponsors and the fans who continue to support him and Formula D; and he hopes to see YOU at Round Two “Fight Night” in Atlanta where he will be prepared to give his famous “one-hitter quitter” to any and all challengers.
April 27
NDRA Atco New Jersey – April 28th and 29th
Records Will Be Broken!
OK drag race fans…… NDRA is coming this week (April 28th and 29th ) with a full action packed event held at Atco Raceway in New Jersey. You won’t be lacking action here as there will be plenty of drag racing action during this 2-day event, as well as a full blown car show, entertainment, swimsuit contest and much much more! You can be assured that you will leave the event with complete satisfaction on all entertainment levels!
Michael Meyers, President of NOPI Motorsports says, “We want for everyone who comes out to have a great time! NOPI Motorsports strives for perfection in everything that we do and there is no exception when it comes to the NDRA events. With the incredibly skilled field of drivers and the constant flux of entertainment throughout the weekend NOPI is sure that you will have a great time!”
This weekend will kick off the third NDRA event of 2007 and the competition has already started to heat up. With just about every event this season, the points lead a change, which has brought a lot of teams to NDRA as they put their best on the starting line! With the Atco Raceway hosting the event, there isn’t a bad seat in the house!
For all you racers out there that want to put your car to the test, don’t hesitate to come out. There are plenty of cash prizes and trophies to go around. For the race fans, this is a weekend that you won’t want to miss. Plenty of high-powered racing will be going on throughout the weekend, with records to be broken.
NOPI TV will be in the house filming for brand new TV shows that will be aired on Speed TV and also available on the Apple iTunes Store.
NOPI looks forward to seeing you there and would like to thank you for your continuing support for NOPI Motorsports.
For up to date online coverage of NOPI Motorsports, please go to†http://www.speedtv.com/articles/automotive/
