Its been a while since I have last posted on my blog, but its 2:30AM on a Monday morning and I got the urge to get some stuff off my chest.  I have decided that this blog will not only go into the daily life of Driven Authority, but the daily life of me, Moe Tang. I will be talking about what makes me tick and everything I love doing.  I will tell you right now the grammar won’t be the best but I will try to make it readable! haha.

Thanks again and keep checking back!

-On to the good stuff. Alot has happen over the past few months for starters we have had a few big shows including Spocom San Mateo, XDC Las Vegas, and Extreme Autofest Reno.  Ill try and update everyone on what went down at these events but it may take a few days so bare with me!

-As far as the Fitted clothing line goes that is still a major work in process I have been really busy trying to come up with different designs but I am my biggest critique, so I never feel that anything I put down is worthy to be seen worn on the street.  But Ill lay some designs down and let the readers decide

This past weekend was XDC Las Vegas and the Remix car show.  Driven Authority was in full attendance with the majority of the staff taking Friday off to drive down to the event.

Odie Bakchis came in first place and was awarded a $3000 check . Ouoc Ly placed seconded and earned a $2000 check, and George Marstonavic placed third to earn $1000. 

The event was definitely a success with Ryan Kado beating out many professional drivers such as Forest Wang and Alex Pfeiffer.  Out of a competing 30 drivers, Kado advanced to top 4, but had to forefit due to his wastegate breaking off of the manifold.  The night was not a complete lost though, Kado left the event with $500 in his pocket and more exposure for him as well as the shop.  

In the top 16 event, Kado faced off against Forest Wang.  They both executed one of the best runs of the night.  The excitement of the crowd was uplifting as the two of them slide through each corner flawlessly. They both put in their best runs of the day, but Wang’s engine blew forefitting the win to Kado. Kado would then move on to The Great 8 against Alex Pfeiffer. 

In The Great 8, Pfeiffer out powered Kado by atleast 300 + hp.  Kado’s insane early initiation into the first turn caused pfeiffer to check up and spin giving him the over all win. Unfortinatly in top four Ryan suffered a mechanical failure ending his run for the win, but he was able to secure a 4th place finish in his first ever pro am event.

On a side note, the rest of the trip went excellent. Everyone had a great time and we all got home safely!

P.S. Sorry for the late response we have been swamped here at the shop!

Over the weekend Evyn Fong, a cousin of the Kado family, was offered to show off her talents on Tomasz’s blank white canvas AE86. She gladly accepted and all of us could not be happier with how it turned out. We are sure you’ll be seeing more of her work on other DA cars in the near future.

Visit Evyn’s site at www.jellyprince.com

A little late but thanks to Chris Tang we finally have a video recap of the BBQ!

ENJOY!

Congrats to Ryan Kado and Andy Gillespie for taking 1st and 2nd respectively at yesterdays Thunderdrift Comp!

That being said, here’s the info on the next round of competition!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

Formula Drift will be providing the following awards to the following championship placeholders:

1st place = Pro License to drift in the Formula Drift Pro series in 2011

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th = Qualification to compete in Formula Drift’s Pro Am Nationals where the top drivers receive professional licenses.

ALSO there will be one wildcard pro-am nationals qualification given away at the end of the season.

4/13/10 – ThunderDrift’s Round 2 – Escape from Guantanamo Bay will take place at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA (5250 HWY162, Willows, 95988)

Drivers will face off in a top16 tandem battle for ultimate victory!

SCHEDULE *look at this closely, it’s not the same as last time*

7:00AM – Gates Open
8:30AM – MANDATORY Drivers Meeting
9:00AM – Practice begins
11:15AM – Qualifying Runs Begin
NOON – Lunch
1:00PM – Competition Begins

After the competition ends, we’ll hold a brief awards ceremony, and then if time permits we will be doing fun runs.

With this new schedule, the event should be more streamlined and have less down-time while the judges are calculating the tandem brackets etc. Also, it will give the drivers a chance to talk with judges during the lunch hour.

Here’s how the scoring system works.

Top 16 Qualifiers will be awarded points for qual spot as follows:

1st = 8pts, 2nd = 7pts, 3rd = 6pts, 4th = 5pts, 5th & 6th = 4pts, 7th & 8th = 3pts, 9th – 11th = 2pts, 12th – 16th = 1pt

Top 5 finishers will be awarded points as follows:

1st = 100pts, 2nd = 95pts, 3rd = 90pts, 4th = 85pts, 5th = 80pts

All other competitors will receive 50 points for participating.

NOS Energy drinks will be there, and we’re working out the DJ/Girls situation right now.

As members of the Mishimoto Loves Drifting program, we will be extending the MLD program to all event participants (skidpad, fulltrack, & comp). Check out the Forms/Tech page on Thunderdrift.com to download the validation form!

E-Brakes.com will be sponsoring the pizza/beer party the night before the event, and giving discounts on brake products!

Other sponsor/prize info will be added soon!

TO REGISTER: Visit http://thunderdrift.com/?page_id=11

We’ve been working extra hard getting the summer line ready.  Be prepared; we will not disappoint.  There will be a few fashion shows featuring the Fitted Apparel line as well as the Fuel edition line. Be on the look out! 

Driven Authority hosted it’s highly anticipated, annual BBQ this past weekend. It was a fun, exciting, and entertaining weekend with lots of friends, food, and cars.
For those who were unable to make it due to prior obligations, there’s next year. For those who skipped out just because, ya’ll missed out.

We want to personally thank everyone that came out! We appreciate all of the support from the community! A special thanks to the  Kado family, Team Hokori (Mike Thomas and Doc J), Tony at TNT Auto Body, Chris Tang, Joe Ninobla, Rolling Republic, and NAGTROC for all their help!

Driven Authority would also like to especially recognize the “Kado” family for all the help and influence they have provided not only this past saturday but for the last X amount of years. This past weekend, they were more than willing to help set up the BBQ and print our t-shirts at the very last minute. Driven Authority is extremely thankful for all the Kado’s Family have done.

Team Hokori Norcal chapter came through with not only one GTRs but four other GTRs from the NAGTROC forums. I would like to thank them along with Joe, Doc, and Mike Thomas for coming by and supporting the shop. This will not be the last time you will see Mike Thomas’s Integra Type R or Docs GTR. We will all be heading to SPOCOM San Mateo May 1st with full media coverage by Chris Tang and myself.

Tony at TNT Auto Body has been helping us out since the beginning and it only made sense for him to throw a BBQ at the same time to bring in more cars. And when our parking lot over filled Tony was more than generous enough to allow us to use his parking lot as an over flow! Thanks again Tony!

Chris Tang aka my brother from another! He missed a wedding just to come to the BBQ to help us out and photograph some of the cars and models. Him and Joe have been nothing but encouragement for me. They help in all sorts of aspects from tips and hints to letting me jump into the shoots first hand. Be sure to be on the look out for an up and coming Moe Tang X Chris Tang collaboration project.

Joe Ninobla this is like my photography guru. Ever since the first day I met him he has been a great teacher and friend! Joe has opened up so many opportunities that I don’t know where to begin to thank him. Again, thank you to Joe! We are working on an opportunity for me to become part of the elite Team Hokori.

Rolling Republic I have known these guys since the beginning, since we were a bunch of shoe heads turned into car fiends. Rolling Republic is one of the fastest growing car blogs around; which I am not surprised because their material is defiantly one of the most original. They constantly update their blog and show us love!

NAGTROCowners caravaned all the way from San Francisco just to come to our BBQ. And believe me when they came they were noticed. It was a great experience to have them since most people have never seen a GTR in person, and this was a great opportunity to not only see one but four! Thanks again guys.

I would like to extend our thank you to everyone else who was able to make it to the BBQ and I hope you all had a great time. It was great chatting with everyone who we have not seen in forever, and meeting new people who we hope to see soon!

Anyway enough with the thanks on to the pics!

CHRIS TANG PHOTOHGRAPHY

Your Mechanic / Model
Also if you did not get a chance to order a shirt we still have Small, Medium, and Larges. If you would like other sizes please pre-order and we will get them as soon as possible! The shirts are $15.

FITTED CLOTHING LINE DROPS SOON!! We were unable to get the Fitted shirts out for the BBQ but they will soon be out. Be sure to get yours before they sell out!

Congratulations Ryan Kado, last weekend he took 2nd place out of 40 in the first round of Top Drift out at Willow Springs.  Ryan took out the 2009 defending champion Mikki Frial. 

Upon entering the final heat, Ryan’s turbo manifold broke causing him to forfit the last run.  It was a big upset, but we will settle for second! 

Catch the whole Driven Authority staff along with Ryan and his amazing s14 at XDC Las Vegas May 22.  This time we’re gunning for first!

SITTIN SIDEWAYS!