FORMULA DRIFT PRO 2 IRWINDALE, CA – FINAL ROUND! | OCT 12TH and 13TH
** Before Travis jumps into his recap from this past weekend below we just wanted to say a few things. We want to start out by congratulating Travis and his entire team on a great season. These drivers and teams work extremely hard and spend so much time, money and effort all year long to be able to attend these Formula Drift rounds and perform at such an intense level.
We’re extremely proud to have Travis as part of our extended family. Over the past couple of years, he has been the definition of class and really lives up to, and exceeds, what we look for in a driver. The season’s last event at Irwindale is the perfect example of that. He stripped parts off his own car to help his friend, and competitor, Dylan Hughes be able to make his Top 16 battle. Dylan was the only one that could have beat Travis for the championship this year and all he needed was a single win in his Top 16 Battle. Travis knew that but still wanted to make sure that his friend had the opportunity to be champion. That is not just sportsman ship…thats the definitiion of class.
Travis always puts the sport first. So Travis CONGRATULATIONS again and THANK YOU! **
TRAVIS REEDER RECAPS FDIRW:
This event recap is going to be a little different than past examples for several reasons. Some of those reasons I am proud of and some…not so much. Formula Drift Irwindale was the most difficult, eye-opening, crazy and humbling event I’ve ever been a part of. If you would have told me in 2011 when I started drifting that I would be where I am today and what happened this past weekend was going to happen, I would laugh at you hysterically.
The crew and I started the weekend like any normal pro 2 round. Double checking things on the car, organizing parts and going over a general game plan for the coming weekend. The time came to head out on track for our first and only three-hour practice that connects straight to qualifying afterward. Immediately after the first lap, I knew the car was WAY off from what it needed to be for the steep and fast Irwindale oval. We made gear changes, shock changes, tire pressure adjustments and anything else we could do to try and get grip out of the car. It was overly tight and damn near undrivable. The difficult part of the situation we were in was that with our time limit, we had to juggle seat time and time making changes so that we didn’t favor one thing or another. In the end it only netted us 9 practice laps before it was time for qualifying.
I lined up on the grid, nervous as usual, but ready to get qualifying going to see where we land for the ladder part of the competition. I made my first lap, still fighting the car and struggling with the outrageous amounts of grip the car was still producing. I made multiple mistakes on the first and second banks but kept the car sideways for the whole run. We were given a 65 which was disappointing and placed the team and me outside of the pack for the comp on Friday. With the pressure high and me struggling to think of anything other than a championship, I lined up for my second run. I drove the car 120% with nothing to lose. I was prepared to wreck the car or get into the show, and although the team and many of my peers felt my second lap had solidified us a spot in top 16, it did not. I had scored only a few points below the cutoff and didn’t know how to feel. I had never failed to qualify for a drift competition throughout my career until now. And it just so happened to be the most important event of my life where a championship seemed the most possible. I felt like I let everyone down who had ever supported me. the déjà vu set in from last year where I had to wait on the sideline and let other drivers decide my championship at the final event of the year. We had a couple whiskey’s that night lol.
Friday was competition day, and although I was still feeling embarrassed and down, I held my head high and was ready to bench warm and wait for everything to unfold. With the focus on my good friend Dylan Hughes who had qualified 15th, the only driver who could clinch the championship from me, we watched from the grandstands as practice started. All Dylan had to do in the competition was advance past the top 16 and the championship would be his. Shortly after practice started, something happened that changed everything. Dylan had made a mistake and driven his car into the wall on the first corner.
Immediately after the hit I had stood up rapidly. I had only two choices. Knowing Dylan had very minimal spares for his car I could lock up my trailer and wait to see if he can fix the car before competition starts, most likely handing me the championship, or I could do what most people wouldn’t and do everything I could to get one of my closest friends back on track for a fighting chance at the title. I sprinted to my car which was parked at the AEM booth and drove it (faster than I should have) to the pit and waited for the tow truck to drop off Dylan’s mangled s13. I had gotten word that he needed nearly every passenger side suspension piece replaced to get the car 100% again. I made the decision to get my car on jack stands and offer Dylan and his crew any part they would need off it. With only an hour until opening ceremonies, I and my team, alongside Dylan’s thrashed as hard and as efficiently as we could to get his car together in time. We replaced front and rear lower control arms, front and rear coil overs, camber arms, tie rods, repaired a bent subframe and realigned the car. Dylan pulled the car on track just in time for opening ceremonies. We all were ecstatic seeing what we had done in such a short amount of time, and before we knew it the competition had started. Dylan lined up for his top 16 battle against Fillipi. As I stood on the outer bank, unable to see what was happening, I stared anxiously at the finish line. I was overflowing with nerves as I awaited the call from the judges. The decisions were in, and Dylan had failed to beat Fillipi and advance to the top 8.
This was the strangest feeling I had ever felt in my entire drifting career, I was unsure if I was supposed to feel bummed that a great friend was knocked out of competition after all of our hard work to get him back to the line, or to feel overjoyed that something I had always wanted so badly was finally mine, a pro 2 championship. Something hit me right then, it was now that It had dawned on me what professional drifting was all about. It’s about family all coming together to help each other and enjoy this crazy motorsport we all love so much, even if it means sacrificing certain things that mean worlds to you. So, with that, I am so proud and thankful for my amazing team for supporting me tirelessly through the ups and downs of this 2018 formula drift season. My family, for standing by my side no matter what and always having a smile on their faces. And my ever so awesome sponsors for believing in my small program and making sure I have every tool I need to succeed in this insane game. You are all the real MVP’s!
WE ARE THE 2018 FORMULA DRIFT PRO 2 CHAMPIONS!
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Travis is running Konig Ultraforms in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9 et 25mm rear. The Konig Ultraforms is Flow Formed.
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