Adam Knapik Recaps Formula Drift Seattle!

Adam Knapik Recaps Formula Drift Seattle!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY ADAM KNAPIK****

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE – PRO 2 Round 3 | August 4th and 5th

Round 3 of the Formula Drift Pro2 series was held in Evergreen Speedway, located in Monroe Washington. This track has a massive high speed 5/8th mile banked right hand turn, and immediately follows into an infield that has a slower technical portion that has two outer clipping zones and two inner clipping points. I had never been to Evergreen but have only heard great things about it, so me, and the whole teams excitement was high to be testing our abilities there.
The drive up to Washington from Southern California was effortless, but that’s where our good fortune stopped. Come Thursday’s practice we where met with constant challenges and issues.

For this round we had installed a supercharger system, as we knew that we would need more power than the back up stock LS2 that we had in the car. With this new system on our car came some hurdles that we didn’t foresee. Because the long bank puts so much stress on the motor, and then coming off the bank unloads just as much, we where having issues with our serpentine belt snapping. Since the belt controls the water pump and power steering as well, when that belt goes, you looks everything. On our third practice run we hit some more bad luck. Our belt had snapped, and the slave cylinder o-ring had failed. We got the car back to the pits and noticed that when the belt snapped, it had also hit the wiring to the fans and not just cut the wiring, but had pulled it out of the fans. . The team scrambled like champs though. In no time the car was in the air, the front end was disassembled to get to the fans so that we could re-solder the wiring, changed the belt, and the transmission was out so we could replace the o-ring. We got the car back out for some practice runs, but on our 2nd lap the belt tensioner actually broke past the “stopper” and the pulley seized up. Again we brought it back to the pits and started working away. Right away one of the guys hopped into the truck to run over to a parts store to get another belt and tensioner. Unfortunately all local stores where out, and the closest store was 20 minutes away. And as luck would have it we where due to run our qualifying runs in about 15 minutes. We did what we could with what we had. We popped the tensioner back over, realigned the pulleys, threw on a new belt (that luckily Jeff Jones was nice enough to lend us), and lined up to qualify!

First run I put 2 tires off on the first infield outer “touch and go”, scoring a 61, and on the second run the belt had had enough, and snapped when I was coming off the bank. Down on power because the blower was no longer working, and with no power steering I was almost able to finish off the run, but unfortunately straighten at the very end, giving us a 0.

The score landed us just outside the top 16 in 18th place. The weekend was a tough one for us, but everyone worked great as a team, we learned alot, and can’t wait for the final round in Texas!

Adam Knapik is a Konig Sponsored Professional Drift driver that competes in Formula Drift Pro 2 Series. Adam drifts on Konig Rennforms in 18×9 et 23 all the way around. The Konig Rennform is Flow Formed.

Make sure to follow Adam Knapik on INSTAGRAM!

The Konig team is ready for Formula Drift Round 6!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

FORMULA DRIFT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – Round 6 | August 4th & 5th
As Formula Drift descends on Seattle, WA this weekend for round 6 (round 3 of pro2), Konig sponsored drivers from all over the country are making their way to the city of coffee and rain. Hopefully it wont rain this weekend because we’re excited to see what will be served up at Evergreen Speedway. With this season only a few events from the end, we thought we would give you a quick rundown of some of our FD drivers.

THE KONIG FORMULA DRIFT TEAM


Nate Hamilton has returned back to FD Pro and has really shown his skills and maturity in the sport. This season as proven to be almost a graduate course for Nate. He has had more top 16 finishes this season then in his entire career. It just seems that Nate gets better and better at each event. That has shown through his confident and aggressive driving. Currently in 16th place the last two events this season are going to be defining for Hamilton. Of course it will be his best professional season in Formula Drift but it will also be an incredible benchmark in his professional drifting career. We’re super proud of Nate and are excited to be part of his program. Go get’em Nate!

Nate is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Kevin Lawrence is for sure a rising star in the Formula Drift series. With his most recent win at FD Orlando, Kevin and the Enjuku Racing team are pushing for another “W” in Seattle and are chasing that championship. Kevin is an extremely knowledgable and all around great person. He is the definition of a true enthusiast not to mention has one of the coolest cars in FD pro2 with his right hand drive RB25 powered S14. Kevin is making that journey across the country and looks nothing less than ready and prepared to come out on top! Kevin is currently in 5th place.

Kevin is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Travis Reeder is a 100% the one to beat on the PRO 2 track! The battle for the series at this point could be a face off between two Konig sponsored drivers, Reeder and Lawrence. Travis placed 2nd in Orlando to Kevin Lawrence but took the win in Atlanta. He is currently in 1st place in the pro 2 rankings. Travis and his 240SX are on Konig Ultraforms and are coming into Seattle armed and ready to take out the competition!

Travis is running Konig Ultraforms in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9 et 25 rear. The Konig Ultraforms is Flow Formed.


Kelsey Rowlings is an exciting driver to watch and definitely ready to show the field what she’s made of. Kelsey’s driving style is super agressive which makes her the one you can’t keep your eyes off. She’s struggled a bit the first half of the season but not due to lack of effort or skill. Seattle could really be an exciting breakout event for her. Its refreshing seeing a women driver in professional drifting but be very clear, Kelsey is as solid of a professional drift driver as anyone in pro 2. Make sure to keep your eyes on her, because she really is an incredible driver!

Kelsey is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Donovan Brockway and the Red Baron team are like no other! His turbo E30 BMW, nicknamed “theBeast”, throws more smoke than you can imagine and the platform is one of the sickest in FD. Brockway is another one of those extremely aggressive drivers. They have been working out the kinks the first half but its looking better and better every event. When they put it all together Donovan is going to pop in to action in a major way! Follow Donovan and the Red Baron team as they prepare to move up on the rankings in this round of Formula Drift Pro 2!

Donovan is running Konig Rennforms in 18×8 et 35mm front and 18×9 et 35 rear. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.


Alec Robbins and the Koruworks team are getting the 350Z on Konig Hypergrams ready for the FD Seattle! If you follow pro-am drifting last year and a bunch of grassroots drifting events you will know this dude can drive. Pairing him with one of the coolest shops on the East Coast (Koruworks) is a killer combo. Alec is currently in 15th place and is looking to show the field whats up! Unfortunately he wont be driving in Seattle due to mechanical issues, however look for him at Gridlife and back at FD Texas.

Alec is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear in BRONZE. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.


Adam Knapik had a rough start to the Formula Drift season. It seemed like anything that could go wrong…well…went wrong for Adam. Blown engine, crazy electrical problems, etc, etc. So this round is definitely one of redemption for Adam and his team! Gearing up the V8 powered 240SX on Konig Rennforms, stay tuned and be ready to see Knapik lace up the track this time around!

Adam is running Konig Rennforms in 18×9 et 23 all the way around. The Konig Rennforms is Flow Formed.


Matt Vankirk is now part of the Konig family and we are super excited to have him. With a ranking of #4 on the PRO 2 board with 105pts, which is only 2 points away from 2nd place, it’s obvious Matt and his team are aiming for the top spot! MVK took second place at FD Atlanta right behind Travis Reeder. Who knows how that battle would have ended up as a mechanical issue forced MVK to shut the car down just as he entered into the first battle between him and Reeder. This event will be a test to see if MVK, Lawrence or Reeder will be the top Konig sponsored Pro 2 driver. Super exciting! Be sure to check out Matt’s 240sx on Konig Hypergrams!

Matt is running Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Nate Hamilton Recap Formula Drift: Montreal, Canada!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY NATE HAMILTON****

FORMULA DRIFT MONTREAL CANADA – PRO 1 Round 5 | July 14th and 15th

Photos by: @coreydenomy

Nate Hamilton here, this recap covers my 5th round of Formula Drift. This event marks 5/8 our season is over half way complete.

This was my second trip to Canada. If I remember correctly, the first time was in 2012, with XDC. 5 years later I am finally able to return.



Being that this was basically my first time running this track layout.. it took me a few laps to catch on. Thursday’s conditions, dry and sunny.

Friday morning was a whole other animal. With no sun in sight and the rain pouring down we had a practice session before qualifying.

At this point I was still trying to figure out the track… lol 
Qualifying came quick and I was slightly nervous.

First run, with conditions half wet half dry… I scored a 61. Not the best. But a score. The second run, the track was drying out, I knew I had a score so I tried to remember my laps on Thursday, I landed an 82. Putting me in 13th overall for qualifying.

“Michael Essa vs Nate Hamilton” the headlines read, ha! I knew this was going to be a challenge and some would have counted me out on this battle. Essa is a champion and a real competitor. But I was focused and knew I would win! We had an insane battle, he lost his tire. We pushed harder as the crowd got way into the battle. I won, man it’s a great feeling to know you can do something and then actually accomplish it.



“Fredrick Aasbo vs Nate Hamilton” ok, ok! For sure I’m the underdog in this position. But, anything is possible. I kept my focus before the battle staying calm and collected. As soon as we left the line I realized I could have used a bit more grip in the car. I struggled with my timing coming out of the first outer zone and one mistake can cost the battle. Hats off to Fredrick, he is a true sportsman and it was a great learning experience to battle him in the top 16!



Results – As the event ended and my results rolled in… I kept my same position and closed the gap by gaining some valuable points in the championship race. We are 20 points away from Chris Forsberg and I cant be more stoked for Seattle Round 6!

2017 point standings: Pro1
Round 1: 22nd – Top32 Finish  
Round 2: 20th – Top16 Finish
Round 3: 17th – Top16 Finish
Round 4: 16th – Top16 Finish 
Round 5: 16th – Top16 Finish 
Round 6:
Round 7:         
Round 8: 

Huge thanks to my entire team and team of sponsors. It’s 100% a blessing to be in the position I am in today and I won’t forget these moments.

Nate Hamilton is a Konig Sponsored Professional Drift driver that competes in Formula Drift Pro Series. Nate runs as part of the Enjuku Racing team and drifts on Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Make sure to follow Nate on INSTAGRAM!

Nate Hamilton recaps Formula Drift New Jersey

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY NATE HAMILTON****

FORMULA DRIFT WALL, NJ – PRO 1 Round 4 | June 2 and 3

Photos by: @coreydenomy

Whats going on everyone, Nate Hamilton here! Today I am writing about my experience from Wall Stadium, in New Jersey.

Coming from the Pro2 class, this track was not on our 2016 Pro2 schedule.. with that being said, I’m especially excited to get behind the wheel. This track is one of my favorites, purely for the wall riding and gnarly bank drop into the infield also the sweeping outer lines, this track is challenging but rewarding once you get it.

Thursday’s practice ended stronger than it started. Right from the start, I realized I had the “wall” section figured out, but my timing on the lower infield section was slightly behind the curve of the others.



Our team is always looking for grip. Bub Robarge is always saying “It’s easy to take grip out, but a challenge to find it.” Thursday’s practice we swapped spring rates, made a gear change, and went thru our rebound setting on the BC Racing Coilovers.

After our adjustments and a full day of practice, we are moving in the right direction and I feel ready for qualifying.

Being that this is a Konig Blog. ha, I’m going to give a quick shoutout to my dude, Scott Weiss. We signed on with Konig in 2016 and he has been right there if we needed anything. I just wanted to say it was awesome to see you at the event, thanks again Scott and I’m excited for the projects ahead.

Game Time: Friday’s qualification!

Run #1 = 87
Run #2 = 81

Friday morning I felt good vibes and I knew the goal for qualifying, My first run.. the judges gave me an 87! I found the wall and lost another bash bar and my infield section was committed. I felt that was a fair score.
The 87 put me in 13th position.

the Top32 bracket was released, I would battle Pat Goodin in the Top32.



Next, Top16 opening ceremonies. Out of 4 rounds, this would be my 3rd consecutive Top16. Making my mom proud and sh*t, haha!  

This is a personal best, I appreciate everyone’s support as you reach out and cheer me on, I can’t thank you enough. More to come, we are building and getting stronger each race.

Next, I would battle Kristaps Bluss. For the record, it’s our second time to battle and I really don’t want him to win again. lol

Kristaps Bluss Wins! haha, I ended the battle on the first turn, dang! The front end pushed as I recall getting back into the throttle just a hair late. Bummer, I took myself out. Lesson learned and moving forward!

Wrecking and losing a battle is never how you want to end the race. But we took home some positives. My personal best qualifying score with 13th. Also, my 3rd Top16 in row this season, just missing Long Beach.

We are halfway through the season and an update on my current point standings are… 

Round 1: 22nd – Top32 Finish
Round 2: 20th – Top16 Finish
Round 3: 17th – Top16 Finish
Round 4: 16th – Top16 Finish
Round 5:
Round 6:
Round 7:
Round 8:

Alright, thanks for reading. I’m headed back to the shop, time to fix the car and start getting ready for Canada!
Thanks again to everyone making this happen: Enjuku Racing/ Hankook Tires/ BC Racing/ Competition Clutch/ Vibrant Performance/ Konig Wheels/ Formula Drift/ Molly Water Co./ HJC motorsports/ Alpinestars and the entire crew and crews family!

Nate Hamilton & Enjuku team ready FDNJ!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Everytime we go out to any motorsport event its always impressive to see the behind the scenes. How much work it actually takes to run a program and to get a vehicle dialed in for competition is beyond impressive. More then that it is something that as an enthusiast you loose thought of because you’re only able to see the final show.

Watching the Enjuku Racing team is certainly no exception. So first lets give you a glimpse into what that actually looks like. On first sight you can literally feel the energy and intensity as everyone is working hard on the car in the final moments before the practice session starts. Right before the start of practice, walking into the Enjuku tent, the cars are clean, already race ready, setup with fresh tires and all fueled up. Hamilton is suited and moments away from jumping into the car to start the long process off tweaking the cars.

Over the next 5 hours all of the FD drivers would get maybe 10-12 runs give or take. At first, after runs the cars would end up back in the pits having changes made. Changing out gear sets, swapping tires, adjusting suspension, adjusting tire pressures and occasionally taking a quick break to hydrate up and have a quick conversation with team members and spotters about the strategy of how to attack that given track.

To be honest, its incredible to watch how dialed Nate and the Enjuku Racing crew are able to become in just a short amount of time. But by the end of the day on Thursday, the car looked ready, Nate had great lines and was looking aggressive and confident.

Friday’s qualifying proved to be no different. Nate’s First qualifying run was an 87, which would be his highest run. That score was solid enough to place him 13th and positioned to square off against Pat Goodin today in the top 32! We wish Nate and all of the Enjuku Racing team the best of luck. Make sure to tune in today on Youtube (NETWORK A account) or Formula Drift Live Page to watch Hamilton take on Goodin at 1:30pm EST!

Sometimes Champions Struggle

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Kevin Lawrence is a real champion. Not because of his win at Formula Drift Orlando in Pro II. Certainly not because of the struggles he encountered at FD Atlanta. Kevin Lawrence is a champion because no matter what happens, he pushes past it with class, dignity and the attitude that real champions have. Lawrence struggled at Road Atlanta and missed qualifying. The car had some significant setup changes that happened after Orlando, he had limited practice seat time and flat out had a few technical difficulties. Thats racing folks! Sometimes you win, other times you get kicked in the teeth and are forced to drink massive amounts of alcohol. But that doesn’t stop his love for the sport or the fact that when pro 2 returns to the west coast, Lawrence will be there showing them what champions look like and exactly what they do!

Kevin Lawrence now takes over our blog to recap his experience at FD Atlanta….

**** GUEST BLOG – BY KEVIN LAWRENCE****

FORMULA DRIFT ATLANTA – PRO 2 Round 3

Photos by: Corey Denomy / Video by: Corey Denomy / Enjuku Racing

FD Atlanta was a tough one for sure, We showed up with a few changes to the car since our win in Orlando which were great changes for the better but with out proper testing of the new setup I had trouble figuring the car out. Biggest change was we were on the New Hankook RS4 tire for Atlanta after being on their Ventus V12 tire in Orlando. The V12 is a great street tire but was quite slick in Orlando for competition so jumping to the new RS4 tire in Atlanta was a huge change.


First practice I had enough time for 3 laps on track, immediately on the first lap I could tell the car was going to drive completely different. On the entry when I went to pull the hand brake for Turn 1 I was surpised to find out how grippy the new tires were as I was not even able to lock the rear wheels with the hand brake. We made some adjustments to tire pressure, shocks, and final drive gear change and got the hand brake to cooperate but the amount of grip the car had I was still struggling with getting the tires to spin in 4th gear for the exit of the course.


Second practice we went in with another gear change in the rear end and this seemed to be our ideal gear selection / wheel speed combo. However I was still struggling with getting the first turn figured out and getting the car to float enough off throttle and have the car settled just right to power through the first clip. After our mere 3 runs in the second practice it was time to be thrown to the wolves and make an attempt to qualify.


Qualifying order had me going dead last as after my first place win in Orlando put me in the points lead going into Atlanta. This is a blessing and a curse as its really awesome to be able to watch how the field does before my runs but at the same time the gap from my last practice run to my first qualifying attempt is quite some time when there is around 30 drivers taking their turn to qualify. First run out I didn’t expect the track to cool down as much as it did so I attempted to enter how I had been doing in my second practice session. With the drastic temp change to the track the grip levels had spiked up again and me not being ready for it after the hand brake initiation trying to get the car setup for the first turn was met with a huge amount of grip that swung the front end of the car back forward and caused me to understeer off the edge of the track. Frustrated with my self and the outcome I shut down my lap attempt and returned to the top of the hill to clear my head and get ready for the second attempt. After the field had all taken their second qualifying runs I was last up to bat at my qualifying attempt. Now knowing the grip levels of the track I chucked the car into the first turn way more aggressive than I had been doing all day. Finally the car got settled properly and was heading in the proper direction for the first clip. However just as I got to the front clip and go to drop the hammer and get back on throttle I’m met with the sound of my car hitting the limiter but the wheels were not spinning. Yet again my car has decided to knock itself out of gear but this time at the worst time imaginable. I hammered the shifter now as hard as i could to get it now into 3rd and complete the pass for a score but the time the car wasn’t making any movement from being in neutral was long enough to net me with my second 0 score and ending my weekend in Atlanta.

I want to give a huge shout out to the team at this round they jumped under the car multiple times to make the changes needed to help me get the car and myself figured out. Unfortunately our transmission issue is still haunting us but we have now removed the transmission to have it throughly tested on a transmission dyno to see if we can figure out if the issue is possibly a bent internal main shaft or possibly something else internally out that we just cant see with the naked eye. We will get a bunch of practice in the break between the next round and will have the car dialed and ready for Seattle!

Travis Reeder wins 1st place at FD Atlanta!

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY TRAVIS REEDER****

This is a special recap for us. Not just because, as you will read, Travis Reeder took home a victory at Formula Drift Atlanta in the Pro 2 series. It’s special because that win comes at the start of a great relationship between Konig and Travis Reeder.

Travis is brand new to the Konig team! Reeder, hails from Vancouver, WA where he was the 2016 Evergreen Drift Pro-am Champion. That victory was what earned Travis his Formula Drift Pro 2 license. We came across Travis through a good friend of ours; Caleb Quanbeck. Caleb is also a friend of Travis and at Formula Drift Orlando Travis was having an issue with his other brand wheels breaking. Caleb stepped in and let Travis barrow his Konig Hypergrams to finish out the event. That finish resulted in a second place, podium finish. Having a podium finish at any point in the season or your career is amazing. Doing it in your first event EVER as a professional is unimaginable!

That night we received an email from Caleb and a message from Travis on Instagram. He was in need of some wheels and after only a few minutes we knew Travis was that hardcore, drift-loving enthusiast that was putting everything he had into his program. That’s the exact type of person we love to support, and we did. We reached out to Travis and with little time before the next Formula Drift event, we shipped some Konig Ultraforms in Gold right to Road Atlanta awaiting his arrival!

Keep in mind that Formula Drift Atlanta would be Travis’s second event as a professional Formula Drift Driver (the first event he placed 2nd in). Just like something written for a movie, Travis took first place in Atlanta and is currently the Formula Drift Pro 2 series points leader!

Check out what travis had to say about his experience…

***************************** TRAVIS REEDER RECAP *********************************

Our weekend started off like any other event weekend. The team unloaded the car, tools and spare parts into the pit and got everything organized. I went through my normal routine of checking over fluids and nuts and bolts on the car. After orlando i knew the car was going to need an alignment due to the aggressive nature of the track, so we threw the strings on the car and got all our alignment setting dialed in. We were feeling good as well as optimistic going into Thursday’s practice and later qualifying sessions.

Coming into practice the car was feeling super solid so all i had to do was learn the track and find my line for qualifying. With this being my first time driving Road Atlanta i quickly realized that the track was extremely fast and super difficult to put the car into the zones needed for a solid scoring run. After a few sets of tires and a whole lot of fun jamming with the other guys in the field, i felt like i had a pretty good handle on the car and track layout.

The qualifying session snuck up pretty quick after practice but i was anxious to really stretch the car’s legs and throw down some solid runs. On my first qualifying run i had a solid entry and kept the car pretty far into the first outer zone on the rumble strips. Once in started making my way through the key hole i noticed i came off the first outer zone too quickly and struggled to get super deep into the second outer zone, which is a large chunk of points for the run. I was then able to dive into the inner clip with angle and power through the rest of the course. On my second qualifying run i came up the hill into the key hole with too much speed and ended up making a large mistake and almost spinning the car so i decided to shut the run down after that. Luckily my first run landed me in the 11th spot with a 71 so we were in the big show.

Fridays practice started late in the evening. I made a few conservative runs while noticing a vibration and what seemed to be a loss of power in the car. With only a short 45 minute session my team had to act fast to diagnose our issue. After a quick look over we noticed we had a burnt plug wire and had been running on 7 cylinders the past couple days. It didn’t take long however to source a new wire and get the car back to 100%, thanks Gale Hohnadell! We moved into top 16 intros and were feeling awesome and ready for some good battles.

My first battle in the top 16 was against Andy Hately. He qualified higher in the 6th position so he would lead first. I chased him down the hill after jumping the tree, knowing his car was pretty quick. I initiated right with him but ended up going a little wide around the first clip. Once transitioned i was able to make up ground up the hill and close the door entering the key hole, then proceeded to keep decent proximity throughout the rest of the course with minimal mistakes. On my lead run i was able to pull a gap of a couple car lengths while keeping the car on a good qualifying line with good angle. We were given the win and advanced into the top 8.

Entering the top 8, i was paired up against Hooman Rahimi. I qualified higher so i was set to lead first. I put down a pretty solid lead run with minimal mistakes and was able to pull a few car lengths in the process. On my chase run i initiated as close as i could to Hooman and was able to keep and maintain pretty tight proximity through the key hole and most of the course. It was enough to get the job done and i was awarded the win and advanced into the final 4.

The final 4 battle was set to put me up against Randall Waters. Randall’s car was extremely fast all night so i knew i really had to be aggressive and apply as much pressure as i could as i was going to be in the chase position for run 1. Unfortunately in my chase run i made a large amount of mistakes and in one judges eyes scored an incomplete due to mis-shifting and straightening the car out while exiting the key hole. During my lead run, Waters got a little too aggressive and made contact with my door on entry, which forced him to straighten and drive off track. This made a very difficult decision for the judges and by a stroke of luck i ended up advancing into the final battle.

Unfortunately the final battle against Matt Vankirk was un eventful after Matt broke off the start line. I was really looking forward to competing against Matt considering we had quite a bit of seat time together last year during pro am up at Evergreen Drift. Under the circumstances all i had to do was complete my by run and was crowned winner at rd 2 Road Atlanta!


I’d like to thank Konig Wheels for their massive support of my program this year as well as all my crew, family and other sponsors. See everyone in Seattle!

**********************

We WELCOME TRAVIS REEDER TO THE TEAM! If you don’t follow him, now is the time to go check him out! This is one talented guy and we have a feeling there is a lot more in Travis’s future!

Travis Reeder is a Konig Sponsored driver that runs 17×9 front/18×9 rear et23mm Konig Ultraform wheels in Gold. The Ultraform are flow formed and perfect for the harsh environment that drifting provides. Make sure to follow Travis Reeder and Instagram and Facebook:

TRAVIS REEDER – FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/travisreederracing/
TRAVIS REEDER – INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/travisreeder/

Nate Hamilton’s road to Atlanta…

Posted on by Konig Gfx

Once again our boy Nate makes top 16. The thing about Nate Hamilton is you can honestly watch his driving and see how much he loves this. He driving is getting better and better in Formula Drift Pro, but thats not what is so special. The special part is you can watch Nate Drift and just feel how much passion he has for the sport. As his seat time increases so does his comfort level. Has his comfort level is increasing his driving keeps notching up. Watching Nate in his match against Castro you could just see Nate driving the hell out of the car…control, comfort and confidence, its great to watch. Make sure to check out his recap below and then check them out for Round 4 in Wall NJ coming up First weekend in June!

**** GUEST BLOG – BY NATE HAMILTON****

FORMULA DRIFT ATLANTA – PRO 1 Round 3 | MAY 12 & 13

Photos by: @CoreyDenomy

Round 3 of Formula Drift continues with one of the fastest tracks of my season, ROAD ATLANTA.



This track is gnarly, I knew coming into this event I would need to be focused. Once we arrived and loaded in, the first thing on the schedule was Thursday’s practice. My goal was to be consistent and build momentum run after run.



After having a good session on Thursday, Fridays Qualifying was the only thing on my mind.

My first run scored a 79, the second run came in at 81. This resulted in a 17th position overall for the Pro1 qualifications. I was set to battle Jhonnathan Castro in the TOP32!

With a healthy motor and a clear mind, I was able to Win the battle against J. Castro! This would be my second TOP16 performance in a row.

After everything was said and done, we ended our event in the Top16. I have steadily been moving forwards in the overall points standings. We are headed to Round 4 in 17th position overall.
I can’t thank my entire team and sponsors for all the love this season.

Nate Hamilton is a Konig Sponsored Professional Drift driver that competes in Formula Drift Pro Series. Nate runs as part of the Enjuku Racing team and drifts on Konig Hypergrams in 17×9 et 25mm front and 18×9.5 et 25 rear. The Konig Hypergram is Flow Formed.

Make sure to follow Nate on INSTAGRAM!

Adam Knapik races against clock in Atlanta

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY ADAM KNAPIK****

After a rough start of the season Adam Knapik and his team prepared to make noise in Atlanta as Round 2 of Formula Drift Pro 2 season was upon them. Adam again has some issues but jump inside his head for a few minutes and see what he had to say!

***************************** ADAM KNAPIK’s WORDS *********************************
Coming into Round 2 with our back up LS2 stock motor we knew that we would be at a massive power disadvantage over the rest of the field, but we were ready to swing for the fences. We where hoping for a straight forward swap from our ITB/Stroked/Built LS6, but unfortunately we where met with issues and timing delays the whole way. The team pushed through though with multiple 48 hour shifts, and finishing up just in time to load “The Mistress” S14 and make the trek from Southern California to Road Atlanta.

Because of the unforeseen delays we where not able to give the car a shake down after completion so Atlanta would be the first time she would turn her wheels in anger. After unloading and making it late to the venue because of an over pass that had collapsed in the city, we where met with a car that, when loaded was running perfectly, and now would not idle for the life of us. With the car still needing to pass tech, the pressure was on. During tech we where told that our relocated oil filter was not in the proper place, and that the filter, and lines all would need to be rerouted. Although this was our only real tech issue, it would not be an easy one to fix, along with still finding why the car would seize to run properly.

We rushed back to the pits to get our tech in order and scramble about the car to see what gremlin had made its way in during the long haul. Turned out that during the transportation, the car had bounced around, and magically a wire in the back of our bussmann had somehow loosened up. Again proving, that in racing, ANYTHING can happen. High fives all around after finding the issue, fixing the oil cooler lines, and passing tech. But this had cost us sometime, and we missed the first practice session. Now strapping in and getting ready for the second practice of the day we where all excited to see what the car had in it, but during the second pass, the clutch pedal would fall to the floor entering the second clipping zone and putting the car into the dirt.

After getting towed back in and hoping that it was possibly a large air bubble in the system, our hearts sake when we tried to bleed it and saw fluid come out of the bell housing. This signified that our hydraulic slave cylinder (located inside the transmissions for LS based motors) had gone bad on us. We quickly got to work on pulling the transmission as qualifying was immediately followed by the practice session, and we where one of the first to go up.

The transmission was out in no time, but finding a replacement O-ring for the cylinder would be a whole new challenge. Driving up and down the pits frantically asking anyone if they had an extra, we found our hero, Mr. Michael Essa. He had an O-ring that would fit and with no hesitation let us have it to try and make the show. We raced back to our pit and thrashed on the car. We had missed our first qualifying run, and now where hoping that the field would take a little to get through the order. Unfortunately they where quite fast about it. We called our 5 minute competition time out, but in the end it was not enough time. If we had about 10 more minutes we would have had it all together, but the clock had beaten us this time. We where all bummed obviously, but in the end we made the best of it. We were able to see all our friends that we rarely get to because we are all too busy working on our cars, and it was great to see that lots of people liked the all around look of the car.

Round 3 has about a 10 week hiatus, so this give us some time to get the car out to test and enjoy!
We will be back to do battle August 4th in Monroe, Washington!

Adam Knapik is a Konig Sponsored driver that runs 18×9 et23mm Konig Rennform wheels. The Rennforms are flow formed and perfect for the harsh environment that drifting provides. Make sure to follow Adam and his team on Instagram and Facebook:

KNAPIK RACING – FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/KnapikRacing/
KNAPIK RACING – INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/knapikracing/

Donovan Brockway Formula Drift Orlando Recap

Posted on by Konig Gfx

**** GUEST BLOG – BY Donovan Brockway****

As racers we spend so much time in the off season prepping, strategizing and planning for the upcoming season. I have never felt more prepared than coming into this season. There was definitely a learning curve with the car over the last two seasons, but this time when I showed up in Orlando, I was more excited than ever and ready to prove what our team can do.
During practice on Thursday, I did a few follow laps to get a feel for the course. Even though we have been to Orlando Speed World before and have data from the venue, we have a new beast this year. The new control arms felt great and after a minor change to the fuel map, the new engine was ripping better than ever. The 2nd practice session we got my suspension and tire PSI dialed in and we were all set for qualifying! My first lap started off strong, putting the back end of the car close to outer zone 1, I came off the bank planning an on throttle transition. The tire debeaded when the car hit the flat causing an epic spin out and a zero for that run. The Orlando track has a nasty lip transition from the outer bank to the inner course which is notorious for debeading tires. Now the pressure is on. The 2nd run was a little more cautious than I intended but qualified us 15th and we were in the competition for Friday!
Friday practice was on and I decided to get a little more tandem work in before the competition. Doing mostly follow runs, l worked on my initiation proximity, got a feel for everyone’s speeds and saw when they pulled off outer zone 1. The transition from bank to flat is brutal and caused many issues for everyone that weekend. During a follow run with Travis Reeder, my car decided to sheer all of the lug studs off mid run and it sucked my driver side wheel under the rear of the car throwing the back end into the air. It was by far one of the weirdest experiences I’ve ever had driving! Not fully realizing what had just happened, my car skidded to a stop and all I could hear was metal on concrete. I thought the tire had just come off, I didn’t know I was on sliding on my brake rotor. After a flatbed tow back to the pit, we scrambled to find another rotor. With no such luck, the team managed to pull it off and straighten it as best we could before the top 16 competition. The car was heavily compromised and the e-brake basically didn’t work till the 2rd or 3rd pull but we went out and gave it our all anyway! We were faced up against Randal Waters for top 16. We had data numbers on him and we knew his car was fast. Following him, I initiated a little too far back, not really knowing when my car was going to slow down and I basically held that position the rest of the lap. On my lead run I laid down the best line I could but he was right there in proximity which put an end to our day.
We learned a lot in Orlando about the car and team. Once again, the car threw a curve ball at us but that’s how the program evolves. I can’t thank everyone enough: the team, my family, all my friends and all the amazing companies we are fortunate enough to be working with. See you guys in Atlanta!”
– Donovan Brockway

Donovan Brockway is the owner of Red Baron Racing and professional Formula Drift Pro 2 Driver. Brockway is a Konig sponsored driver and runs the flow formed Konig Rennform on his BMW E30.