Author: CHRISTINA JONES

Event Recap FD “The Gauntlet” Rd 4:

Jeff Jones Qualified in P20 out of 35 drivers with a score of 80.66

Top 32 Battle with Jhonnattan Castro: Great run from both drivers. Judges voted OMT (one more time)
OMT Top 32 Battle with Jhonnattan Castro: Great Run from both drivers as well, 1 Judge voted for another OMT and 2 Judges voted for Castro

“New Jersey was a double competition weekend with ProSpec and Pro on the same track but it really seemed to flyby. New Jersey feels like one of our shortest tracks next to Long Beach & Orlando. This year the weather held out for us and luckily we all got to put on a great show. My 2 battles with Jhonatthan Castro didn’t go the way we liked, but we were so evenly matched that we could have gone a one more time all day long. After our second battle, the judges were able to split hairs and make a decision for Castro to move on. Our engine still running strong compared to last year when we broke a crankshaft in half here….so I can go home smiling about that. We were just as busy off the track with fans, we did the K&N Fiilters Podium Meet and Greet, GT Radial Meet and Greet plus Swag Giveaway off the side of their rig. Then we had our own Halftime Pit Party with our fans. This time we had a Sing Off and Dad Jokes competition for free swag. Jersey’s in the books this year and we’re definitely gonna have to charge much harder at this track next year from the first lap to get the results we want”
– Jeff Jones

Jeff Jones Racing finished Round 4 tied for 17th Place and is now in 24th Place going into
Rd 5 St. Louis this month.

Jeff Jones Racing 2023: CA Auto Parts & DNA Motoring YouTube Series:
Check it out here

FD SERIES NEWS
NEXT ROUND
World Wide Technology Raceway will host the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 5 and Link ECU PROSPEC Championship Round 3 on July 13-15. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream.

Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2023:
July 8th Flavor Express x HOTPIT Autofest Practice Day (Driving) San Bernardino, CA
June 22nd – 24th Formula Drift Rd 5 “CrossRoads” St. Louis, MO

Event Recap FD “Scorched” Rd 3 and Fuel Fest:

Jeff Jones Qualified in P22 out of 35 drivers with a score of 83 

Top 32 Battle with Daniel Stuke: Run 1- Stuke’s E-brake wasn’t working during run 1 making him use lots of momentum and Jeff put 2 tires off coming off the bank. Judges deemed Jones had an incomplete because of this. Run 2- Great Run but with Jones sitting on an incomplete on the 1st run, judges awarded win to Stuke.

Event Highlights:
Jeff Jones Racing FD Halftime Pit Party Giveaways had another record attendance
RD 3 was another sold out event 
Fuel Fest Demo with an Ultra 4 Truck and HOTPIT Drift Experience Smoke Show and Ride Alongs featuring fellow FD driver and GT Radial teammate Matt Field and HOTPIT Autofest drivers.
Debuted our long awaited Jeff Jones Racing Demo Car (our previous 2018-2021 FD comp car)
Fuel Fest event sold out event, their biggest domestic show to date with over 17k in attendance. 

“Our small team has been extremely busy with these back to back weekends. Formula Drift saw another sold out event in Orlando Speed World. It’s amazing to have such a big fan base now with so much love and support from everyone. We didn’t get the results we wanted for Rd 3 but the team is taking our data and moving on to Rd 4. After Orlando we jumped right into Fuel Fest, what is possibly the biggest event next to Formula Drift. We  brought out our HOTPIT Drift Experience and managed over 350 ride alongs. I got to do something personally that’s super rad and only very few in the world ever done, I had a 5000 pound Ultra 4 truck jump over me in my old pro drift car!! And yes it was slightly sketchy.”
– Jeff Jones

Jeff Jones Racing finished Round 3 tied for 17th Place and is now in 21st Place going into Rd 4 Englishtown this month.

FD SERIES NEWS
NEXT ROUND
Englishtown Raceway will host Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 4: TYPE S The Gauntlet presented by AutoZone and FD PROSPEC Round 2 on June 22-24.
Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream

Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2023:
June 11th Z Day California (Demo) Irwindale, CA
June 22nd – 24th Formula Drift Rd 4 “The Gauntlet” Englishtown, NJ

 

Event Recap Road to the Championship Rd 2 on May 11th – 13th:

Jeff Jones Qualified in P11 out of 35 drivers with a score of 82.66

Top 32 Battle with Simen Olsen: Jones Wins
Top 16 Battle with Dylan Hughes: Both had 2 Great Runs but Hughes Awarded the Win

Event Highlights:
Formula Drift 20th Anniversary of their 1st Event
JJR Featured on the Highway and Venue Billboard for Event
K&N Filters & GT Radial Halftime Show Appearances 
Jeff Jones Racing Halftime Pit Party Giveaways had record attendance 
Great Fan interaction during Half-Time with a some exciting sponsored prize packs raffled

“ATL, I say it every year, is my favorite stop of the year! It’s one of the most challenging tracks to drive, which is why it’s my favorite. The fans are really awesome and some of them have been coming since day one. The amount of fans at the event this year was insane and it was so great to be a part of the 20th anniversary. It was a really proud moment to see our Evol Auto Works Prisma Labs Nissan 370z featured on 2 event billboards. I’m proud of our teams progress at this round and so pumped for our next stop in Orlando.”
– Jeff Jones

Jeff Jones Racing finished Round 2 in 11th Place and is now in 18th Place going into Rd 3 Orlando this week.

Check Out All of Our Behind the Scenes Action!
CA Auto Parts & DNA Motoring 2023 YouTube Series:
New Release – Rd 1 Long Beach 

FD SERIES NEWS
NEXT ROUND
Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 3: TYPE S Scorched presented by AutoZone on May 26-27. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream.

Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2023:
May 26th-27th Formula Drift Rd 3  “Scorched” Orlando, FL
June 3rd FuelFest Irwindale, CA
June 11th Z Day California Irwindale, CA
June 22nd – 24th Formula Drift Rd 4 “The Gauntlet” Englishtown, NJ

Event Recap Streets of Long Beach Rd 1 on April 7th – 8th:

Jeff Jones Qualified in P14 out of 32 drivers with a score of 80.33

Top 32 Battle with Simen Olsen: Jones lead first based on his higher P14 qualifying rank. Jones and Olsen had 2 great runs with equal mistakes. Ultimately 2 Judges voted for Olsen and 1 Judge voted for OMT (One More Time), awarding the win to Olsen.

Event Highlights:
Formula Drift kicked off its landmark 20th Anniversary season
Formula Drift saw fans attend in larger numbers than they expected with a sold out event
Our Big Drift Energy merch line debuted with record high sales
GT Radial Pit Party during Half-Time with GT Radial giveaways
Great Fan interaction during Half-Time with over 5 JJR sponsored prize packs raffled

“Round 1 Long Beach was overall such a blast. We got to participate in Media Day, Pike Bar Car Show and for the first time the FD Pike Parade. The amount of fans and sold out attendance for Rd 1 was so amazing and an indicator of a very fun season ahead. This my 15th season in Formula Drift and after ending the 2022 season with our 1st podium finish, we are hungry to fight for more podiums. Although this event result didn’t go as our team wanted, we are determined and taking what we learned to the next round. Big thanks to my team and partners for keeping us on track. One of goals this season is to get as much driving time possible, so we can take that and dominate the podium. So as we speak we are wrapping up the finishing touches on our previous 2018-2021 FD Comp Nissan 370z, which will now be our official Demo Car.”
– Jeff Jones

Jeff Jones Racing finished Round 1 tied for 17th Place going into Rd 2 Atlanta next month

FD SERIES NEWS
NEXT ROUND
Drift Atlanta presented by Bud Light at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta will host the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 2: TYPE S Road to the Championship presented by AutoZone on May 11-13. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream

Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2023:
May 6th HOTPIT Autofest Rd 2 (Judging) San Bernardino, CA
May 11th-13th Formula Drift Rd 2  “Road to Championship” Atlanta, GA

“We Took the TEAM to the Podium!” with our “Evol Auto Works / Prisma Lab Nissan 370Z on GT Radial Tires” Event Recap from Rd 8 Irwindale, CA: Jeff Jones Qualified in P10 out of 35 drivers with a score of 84 Top 32 Battle vs. Mike Power:  Jones Wins Top 16 Battle vs. Rome Charpentier: Jones Wins Top 8 Battle vs. Mike Essa: Jones Wins Final 4 vs. Ryan Tuerck: Another torrential downpour saw the grandstands and camera positions cleared to avoid lightning strikes. It meant the Top 4 semi-final heats would be decided by the weather. Then Jones (USA) broke the front subframe on his Evol Auto Works / PRISMA Lab Nissan 370Z during his wet sight lap. Unable to repair the car in the 5 minutes allotted for Competition Time out, Jones conceded to Tuerck but placed 3rd and reached his 1st Formula Drift PRO Podium Career Finish! We also won the “2022 Performance of the Night Award” as well! Quote from Jeff Jones: “My mindset for Irwindale was to have FUN and whatever happens just have some FUN. After a tough new build season and it payed off. Our 1st FD PRO podium and at my home track surrounded by family & friends!!!!! We started this journey in 2009 when I got my FD PRO license, and this was a long time of hard work, late nights, and setbacks that make you want to pack it up…but I knew in my heart we could get it. I’ve got the best team of friends and all my partners on here that support our team from the core. Thank you for believing in my team and ensuring we stay on track to fight for this. I’m super proud to share this moment with you all and I can’t be more grateful to each one of you. It’s not the top but we burst the bubble. We built this new Z to have no excuses and now I really feel I’ve unlocked a new level. We’re coming back hard next year 2023 boys.” The Jeff Jones Racing team finished Round 8, after 14 seasons in FD: On the Podium Box in 3rd Place! After Rd 8, we finished the 2022 FD PRO season strong in 13th place, a respectable Top 16 finish for a new chassis build year. We also helped the team secure 2nd Place in Tire Cup Championship for GT Radial beating Falken Tires. 1st Place: Rockstar Energy Toyota driver Fredric Aasbo (Nitto) 2nd Place: Rockstar Energy Toyota driver Ryan Tuerck (Nitto) 3rd Place: Evol Auto Works Prisma Lab doc driver Jeff Jones (GT Radial) 2022 DNA Motoring x Jeff Jones Racing YouTube FD Event Vlog Series: Our YouTube Series features all the behind the scenes, in-car footage, and more! 2022 Season CA Auto Parts & DNA Motoring Vlog Playlist Link Coming Soon – Rd 8 Irwindale Vlog Video Link Just Released – Rd 7 Utah Vlog Video Link Rd 6 Seattle Vlog Video Link Rd 5 St. Louis Vlog Video Link Rd 4 New Jersey Vlog Video Link Rd 3 Orlando Vlog Video Link Rd 2 Atlanta Vlog Video Link Rd 1 Long Beach Vlog Video Link FD SERIES NEWS “While rain threatened qualifying, it assaulted Saturday’s competition heats, wreaking havoc throughout the field as drivers attempted to leave their mark on the Final Round. Arriving at the end of the Top 32 competition heats, the precipitation initially had minimal impact, leaving the top contenders in play. Following an intermission, the surviving teams returned to an evolving track for the Top 16 heats. The nature of the banked oval course meant there were dry and damp patches, creating challenging conditions for the drivers who struggled to transmit 1000hp to the ground.” Formula DRIFT President, Ryan Sage: “This was one of the most insanely challenging events we’ve ever done, which also proved to be one of the most dramatic because of the weather and how the Championship points changed across the board. Congratulations to Fredric for a perfect weekend. It’s great to see him standing on the podium alongside Ryan and first-time trophy winner Jeff Jones, who’s been waiting his entire life for this moment. I’m especially excited for him.“   Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2022: November 1-4 SEMA Show (Appearances/Signings) Las Vegas, NV November 25-26 LA Auto Show (Drifting Demo’s) Los Angeles, CA December 2022 Rd 4 HOTPIT Autofest (Judging) CA

Event Recap from Rd 7 Grantsville, UT:
Jeff Jones Qualified in P14 out of 36 drivers with a high score of 90.
Jeff was one of 14 drivers to score 90 points or more at this new venue during qualifying.

Top 32 Battle with Simen Olsen: Jones lead first based on his higher qualifying rank. Jones had a phenomenal lead run but on his chase run he unfortunately made mistake on initiation due to speed. 2 Judges voted for Olsen and 1 Judge voted for OMT (One More Time), awarding the win to Olsen.

Event Highlights:
UMC (Utah Motorsports Campus) was a new venue for Formula Drift
Formula Drift saw fans attend in larger numbers than they expected
Throdle Booth Autograph Signing during Half-Time
GT Radial Pit Party during Half-Time with GT Radial swag giveaways
Great Fan interaction during Half-Time with over 5 JJR sponsored prize packs raffled
Instagram Insights – 2.5 Million accounts reached in the last 90 days

The Jeff Jones Racing team finished Round 7 in 22nd Place.
After Rd 7, we are sitting in 20th place going into Rd 8 Irwindale next month, just 18 points away from 15th Place.

“This season has been a nail biter in points with so many ties all season. With debuting our new chassis along with our increased power platform this season, we are confident that our mark in points will dominate in due time.” – Jeff Jones

2022 DNA Motoring x Jeff Jones Racing YouTube FD Event Vlog Series:
Our YouTube Series features all the behind the scenes, in-car footage, and more!

2022 Season CA Auto Parts & DNA Motoring Vlog Playlist Link
Just Released – Rd 6 Seattle Vlog Video Link
Rd 5 St. Louis Vlog Video Link
Rd 4 New Jersey Vlog Video Link
Rd 3 Orlando Vlog Video Link
Rd 2 Atlanta Vlog Video Link
Rd 1 Long Beach Vlog Video Link

Evol Auto Works Billboard Debut in Redlands, CA

FD SERIES NEWS
NEXT ROUND

Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, CA is the destination for the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 8: Title Fight on October 14-15. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream.

Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2022:
September 24th Hot Pit Autofest Rd 3 (Judging) – San Bernardino, CA
October 9th Nissfest SoCal – Irwindale, CA
October 14-15 Formula Drift Rd 8 – Irwindale, CA
November 1-4 SEMA Show (Appearances/Signings) Las Vegas, NV

Event Recap from Rd 6 Seattle, WA:
Jeff Jones Qualified in P14 out of 36 drivers
Top 32 Battle with Sorensen: Jones WON & Advanced into the Top 16
Top 16 Battle with Forsberg: 1 Judge voted for Jones, 2 Judges voted OMT (One More Time)
Top 16 OMT Battle with Forsberg: Judges gave Jones an Incomplete giving Forsberg the Win

Event Highlights:
We successfully debuted our new NRG X JJR collab wheel to the public
Jeff Jones Racing Signature Steering Wheel
Formula Drift Rd 6 was a SOLD OUT event
Rd 6 was one of our biggest merch sale events
We got great seat time in the new chassis and have the car dialed
Huge fan interaction during Half Time with over 10 prize packs raffled

OMT Top 16 Battle with Forsberg:
“Probably one of the most disappointing and controversial calls I’ve experienced in the series.
I have no doubt we would have won this battle but here’s the back story and incomplete rule”

“OMT Run 1: I had a great chase run, I did not expect Forsberg to be as slow as he was this time. I had great line and proximity. I hit the wall in Out Zone 4 (OZ 4) doing unknowing damage to my rear bumper and rear hatch. After a brief inspection from FD staff, I was cleared for competition for Run 2 with the damage not being caught, which would have triggered our team to put hands on the car by using our “Competition Time Out” to fix the bumper and rear hatch.”

“OMT Run 2 was my turn to Lead. I had an amazing initiation and then at maximum angle and a high rate of speed my rear bumper flew off from the damage in Run 1 and a second later it rips open my rear hatch. I finished the run strong, with Forsberg putting 2 tires off in OZ 2 but the judges ruled that my hatch opening during the run….on it’s own without contact from another vehicle or object, was an official “Incomplete” as it distracted the chase driver and the rule exists for safety reasons. This handed Forsberg the automatic win.

“This was a big loss for our team but we have a strong game plan going forward to avoid this major miss. A lot to learn from this incident and our team is currently working with FD to gain clarification around this incident and rules.”

The Jeff Jones Racing team finished Round 6 in 13th Place.
After Rd 6, we are continuing to move back up in overall points. We are now sitting in 18th place going into Rd 7 Utah next month.

“Thank you to our partners for your continued support! Thank you to my team for working so hard at each event. We had a huge turnout during the “Half Time Break” and we look forward to doing more giveaways for all of our drift fans.”

2022 DNA Motoring x Jeff Jones Racing YouTube FD Event Vlog Series:
Our YouTube Series features all the behind the scenes, in-car footage, and more!

Just Released – Rd 5 St. Louis Vlog Video Link
Rd 4 New Jersey Vlog Video Link
Rd 3 Orlando Vlog Video Link
Rd 2 Atlanta Vlog Video Link
Rd 1 Long Beach Vlog Video Link

FD SERIES NEWS
NEXT ROUND Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantsville, UT will host the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 7: Type S Elevated presented by Autozone and the Final Round of the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship on September 15-17. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream.

Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2022:
September 15-17 Formula Drift Rd 7 – Grantsville, UT
September 24th Hot Pit Autofest Rd 3 (Judging) – San Bernardino, CA
October 9th Nissfest SoCal – Irwindale, CA
October 14-15 Formula Drift Rd 8 – Irwindale, CA

Event Recap from Rd 5 St. Louis, MO:
Jeff Jones Qualified in P13 out of 36 drivers
Top 32 Battle with Hull: Jones WON & Advanced into the Top 16
Top 16 Battle with Field: Jones made mistake, over-rotated in the chase giving Field the win

The Jeff Jones Racing team finished Round 5 in 11th Place.
After Rd 5, we are now moving back up in points after our struggles in New Jersey dropped us down quite a bit in overall in championship points. We are now sitting in 23rd, just 18 points away from 16th, heading into Rd 6 and focused on continuing to make our way back up in points.

Quote from Jeff Jones:
Thank you to all of our partners for your continued support. This season has been one of highs and lows. We are BACK in the fight finishing this round in 11th place. This new build is a fast beast and has been quite a learning curve. Each event we are learning more and getting more dialed. I have no doubt of the success this team is going to have because we won’t stop until we reach the top of that box. Seeing all of the recent success of my good buddies and GT Radial teammates has added fuel to our podium fire. We will get there! Excited to get back to Seattle.

2022 DNA Motoring x Jeff Jones Racing YouTube FD Event Vlog Series:
Our YouTube Series features all the behind the scenes, in-car footage, and more!

Just Released – Rd 4 New Jersey Vlog Video Link
Rd 3 Orlando Vlog Video Link
Rd 2 Atlanta Vlog Video Link
Rd 1 Long Beach Vlog Video Link

FD SERIES NEWS
NEXT ROUND 
Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA will host the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 6: Throwdown on August 5-6. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream.

Next up for Jeff Jones Racing 2022:
August 5-6 Formula Drift Rd 6 – Monroe, WA
September 15-17 Formula Drift Rd 7 – Grantsville, UT
September 24th Hot Pit Autofest Rd 3 (Judging) – San Bernardino, CA
October 9th Nissfest SoCal – Irwindale, CA
October 14-15 Formula Drift Rd 8 – Irwindale, CA

 

Welcome to Hot Pit AutoFest!

Rd 1 & 2 at National Orange Show Speedway

Founded by veteran PRO Formula Drift driver Jeff Jones, Pro-Am Driver RJ Contreas, Flavor Express local Drift Series owner Rob McInerney, and Car Show host Adrian Ramirez

Collectively we had been looking into doing our competition for a few years now. SoCal has always had awesome talent and drivers, but in the last few years we felt that we were missing our own arena. Our hope was to put some of the BEST drivers in front of a large crowd and showcase the talent that SoCal has all while mixing Pro’s and Pro-Am drivers.

Our goal was to create an environment where drivers can thrive and we can help mold drivers/teams to become the best they can be. Our vision has been to create a platform that accommodates multiple lifestyles and gives them floor to show what they are all about. We wanted to see Cars, Music, Vendors, Dance Battles and more all in one space.

We are SUPER EXCITED to share our progress on what we think is turning out to be SoCal’s Best Drift Competition Series Festival hosted at NOS Speedway in San Bernardino, CA.

This is the first time drifting has been back at this venue since the early 2000’s, since the Drift Buffet days. It is a track that a few current FD Pro drivers got their start at, Jeff Jones included.

Rd 1 Stats (29 Drivers Total – Top 16 Competition)
May 1st, 2022
1st: Nick Gross
2nd: Forrest Wang
3rd: George Kiriakopoulos

Highlights: 1st So-Cal Series to see Pro’s compete against Pro-Am’s

Rd 2 Stats (36 Drivers Total – Top 32 Competition)
June 18th, 2022
1st: Rudy Hansen
2nd: TJ Hunt
3rd: Sam Maghmoumi

Highlights: 1st So-Cal Series to have a full Top 32 competition next to Formula Drift

HOT PIT AUTOFEST RD 3
NEXT ROUND
NOS Speedway in San Bernardino, CA will host Hot Pit AutoFest Rd 3 on September 24th. Please visit www.hotpitautofest.com for ticket information and event schedule.