Formula DRIFT Round 4: All In took place last weekend in a very hot Las Vegas. Temps reached over 100 and even warmer on-track, but despite the weather the show must go on. Here is a short re-cap from my point of view.

On the way to Vegas with Em we briefly met with the Meister watch dudes to pick up some timepieces for the event. Meister is now the official timekeeper of FD so be on the look out for more. Each podium winner for the rest of the season will not receive a watch courtesy of Meister. They also graciously donated a watch for the Formula D Charity Blackjack Tournament (more on this later.)

Thanks for the hook-up…the non-Fatlace all black Meister “Super Star”

The “Super Star” is super comfy and has tons of tiny details that separate this watch from the rest. I actually had a few people randomly ask what I was wearing.

After arriving to the Aliante, the official hotel of Formula D Round 4. This spot is dope and I’m not just saying that cause I worked out the partnership. It’s super clean, modern, and has all the amenities you could want, while avoiding the craziness of the “Strip”.

After a long night gambling with the guys…I got up really early for Vegas time (actually a time when some go to bed) at 5:30 am. Picked up Darren McNamara and met with another FD driver Chris Forsberg at Hot 97.5 radio station for an on-air morning show interview to promote the event.

Later that same day headed to the track to set-up a photoshoot with Super Street, the new Miss FD, Miki Taka, and Driver Ross Petty with with Garage Boso Nissan S15. This car is one of best cars out there and Ross is just a crazy dude. Him and his crew are like wild animals and just have fun and do what they want…pretty much how drifting and anything in general should be.

Then it was right into media ride alongs. Ride alongs can sometimes be a pain as you need to prep the riders, find drivers willing to participate, have waivers signed, make sure the helmet fits, and clear it with the track for safety. But this sunset was worth the workload.

Later that night we held the first annual Formula DRIFT Charity Blackjack tournament…more on that later (I promise.) Friday morning was time to get to real work and was spent at the track for practice, qualifying, and driver autographs. I really appreciate that the driver’s take the time to meet and greet with fans in the heat. One fan in particular stood out as he custom designed and colored a pair of Vans into the Falken color scheme. Super sick…I should of gotten his contact info so I can have some custom kicks done up.

Main event Saturday went very well. It was a very long day…got up at 10 am to be at the track by 2 for my media briefing. My main event day usually is packed with the media briefing, setting up the media center in this case 2 media centers, setting up media interviews, then live blogging on the FD blog, live round by round Tweets for the FD Twitter, setting up the podium to make sure the media and Jose get their shots, then my work day doesn’t end until I have the standings, results, and press release completed. Thankfully, I had great help all weekend with Emily and Jose as always.

I even was able to get Jarod some love. Interview with Wealth TV…stay tuned.

Matt Powers Fan Club

One thing that I was bummed out about the weekend was that it was the same weekend as UFC 100. But luckily the boys at Toyo Tires had it ordered at their booth. So once the half-time event started I quickly made my way to watch it. I came just in time to see Dan Henderson KO Bisping in dramatic fashion…perfect timing. Half-time ended just as Brock Lesnar demolished Frank Mir and had the ref call the fight. I must have some good karma points…although I wasn’t able to bet on the fights.

Left the track with Jose (trooper for sure) at 3am…let loose with some blackjack until breakfast time. Short nap til the Pool Party (only downside of setting events like this up are that you have to be there on time).

The Garage Boso dudes “Get Silly!”

Vegas RD2…next weekend

Formula DRIFT Round 4: All In Results;
Tanner Foust Takes the Victory and Chris Forsberg Moves to Top Spot

Long Beach, Calif. – July 12, 2009 – Formula DRIFT returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round 4: All In. Champion Tanner Foust takes the victory in his Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC, while Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z moves to the top position overall in the chase for the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship.

For the 2nd consecutive year, Formula DRIFT returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 2-day weekend event was filled with non-stop Formula DRIFT and Pro Am action. Fans were also treated to the Jtuned Auto Gallery car show, Wicked H.P. drag competition, and Bikini Jam.

“Las Vegas continues to be one of the top destinations for the circuit despite the triple digit weather,” said Ryan Sage, vice president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The fans continue to come out in droves and we had another sold out event. The drivers continue to step up their level of drifting and we’re seeing a real chase for the Championship.”

Chris Forsberg took over the point lead after a close battle with Ryan Tuerck, who was ranked #2 going into the event, in the Great 8 round. Forsberg then went on to defeat Tyler McQuarrie, in the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z, in the consolation round for 3rd place. The final battle was between Hankook Tire teammates Tanner Foust and Ryuji Miki, piloting the APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7. Foust proved why he is the returning champion and blinded Miki in the first run with a cloud of thick smoke that caused Miki to lose his drift, while giving chase in their first tandem run giving Foust the advantage. With a solid 2nd run, Foust was able to sit on top of the podium once again.

“The Rockstar team and I went from zero to hero after failing to qualify for the main competition last event,” said Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust, winner of Round 4: All In. “I am so proud of my team and they worked hard to fix the issues of the Rockstar Scion tC and I now feel comfortable and feel that this car has more potential than the Nissan 350Z ever had.”

Formula DRIFT returns to Evergreen Speedway on August 8-9. Tickets are on-sale now.

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings

1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 307 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1Pontiac Solstice 294 Points
3. Hubinette, Samuel NuFormz Dodge Viper 271 Points
4. Gittin, Vaughn Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT 265.50 Points
5. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Nissan 350Z 265 Points
6. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 260 Points
7. Nishida, Robbie Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z 259 Points
8. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC 246.50 Points
9. Pawlak, Justin Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8 245 Points
10. Maeng, Joon Maxxis / LS Auto Nissan S13.5 227.25 Points
11. Aono, Taka Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla 223 Points
12. Mordaunt, Patrick PM Racing Nissan S13 220 Points
13. Brakohiapa, Tony Cooper Tire Ford Mustang 219 Points
14. Verdier, Stephan Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI 214 Points
15. Petty, Ross Garage Boso / Falken Nissan S15 212.75 Points
16. Yoshihara, Daijiro Falken Tire / Discount Tire Lexus IS350 208 Points

Round 4: All In Event Results

1. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC
2. Miki, Ryuji APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z

Tires.com Triple Crown Point Standings after 1 of 3 events

1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 102 Points
2. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 94 Points
3. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice 80 Points

Full official standings available on: www.formuladrift.com

It’s been a hectic last couple of days out here in Las Vegas.  From setting up activities at the Aliante Hotel and Casino the official hotel of FD Round 4, including the charity blackjack tournament, to the competition at the track.

Thursday got off to a very early start (after gambling all evening into the AM) with an in-studio radio interview for Formula DRIFT drivers points leader Darren McNamara and 3rd place in points Chris Forsberg for Hot 97.  The drivers did their thing and the promo proved to work with extra tickets being sold.

The PR game continues and in yesterday’s and today’s Las Vegas Review Journal are two great articles.  One features Ross Petty and the other on Tyler McQuarrie.

This is the Top 32 Competition Bracket from tonight’s Round 4: All In event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Live blog updates throughout the evening and also round by round Tweets via Formula DRIFT Twitter and also on my Twitter page for some Twit Pics.

Congratulations to Robbie Nishida for Qualifying 1st.

Driver: Car #: Score:
1 R. Nishida 31 96
2 K. Ueo 15 95.4
3 J. Pawlak 13 95.1
4 M. Haraguchi 326 91.6
5 D. Yoshihara 9 89.7
6 S. Hubinette 77 88.5
7 C. Rydquist 46 87.5
8 S. Verdier 12 85
9 M. Essa 101 83.5
10 C. Forsberg 64 82
11 T. Suell 777 81.2
12 K. Mohan 99 80.7
13 E. O’Sullivan 35 79
14 K. Yamanaka 7 78.9
15 R. Tuerck 44 76.6
16 K. Gushi 5 74.1
17 T. McQuarrie 17 73.5
18 T. Aono 86 71.3
19 V. Gittin 25 71
20 T. Foust 1 70.8
21 P. Mordaunt 90 68.9
22 R. Miki 26 67
23 B. Sherman 22 64.8
24 Y. Kondo 52 62.5
25 R. Petty 808 62.2
26 M. Takatori 23 60
27 A. Pfeiffer 88 59.8
28 K. Hayashida 33 59.2
29 J. Maeng 51 57.8
30 T. Brakohiapa 18 55.7
31 M. Powers 32 52.7
32 C. Canul 30 46.5
33 J. Jones 29 38.3
34 D. McNamara 8 38
35 J. LeJeune 333 27.4
36 R. Ewerth 27 24.3
37 R. Millen 6 21
38 C. Parkhouse 562 0
39 G. Lang 68 0
40 C. Kregorian 14 0
41 C. Wan 3 0

Notable notes…point leader Darren McNamara fails to make it into Top 32 competition due to car problems in his Saturn Sky and trying to qualify in teammate Calvin Wan’s Nissan S15. Rhys Millen also fails to qualify into the Top 32.

More to come including the Formula DRIFT championship Top 32 competition results and tomorrow’s pool party.

Here’s evidence from way back in the day…probably sophmore / junior year of high school. I don’t know where my buddy dug up all this old footage to put this video together, but damn it’s classic. Makes me miss the good ‘ol days.  Not my best footage and there’s some really embarrassing stuff on here, but oh well what do you expect from a 16 year old John P…haha

Mister Cartoon, Livestrong, and Nike have teamed up to release a special Air Force 1.

Mister Cartoon designed a limited edition tee that will accompany the new shoe and will be on hand for an autograph signing for the release event.

The release is at 11:59 PM on Thursday at the Last Laugh in Los Angeles.

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson

From TMZ

We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

Jackson had 13 number one hits during his solo career.

If you want to listen to dope MJ mix download DJ Ayres mix

For Immediate Release

June 25, 2009

Formula DRIFT Announces Schedule Change for 2009 Season;
Round 6: Locked and Loaded to be Added to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 21-22, 2009

Long Beach, Calif. – June 25, 2009 – Formula DRIFT has announced a schedule change for the 2009 season. Round 6: Locked and Loaded at Infineon Raceway will be re-scheduled from September 12 to August 21-22. Formula DRIFT has been added to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma race weekend.

“Formula DRIFT continues to bring drifting to the big leagues with the addition of our event to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Motorsports fans will be able to experience the 110+ mph average speeds of open wheel racing and all the sideways action of Formula DRIFT in one weekend.”

Formula DRIFT drivers will be amongst the biggest stars in IndyCar racing, including Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, and more. Fans will be treated to both drifting and IndyCar Series racing during the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend. Tickets may be purchased on the Formula DRIFT website, 2-day Friday/Saturday pass will run $35. Special ticket discounts will be available through various Formula DRIFT media and promotional partners.

The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will be held on the weekend of Aug. 21-22 at Infineon Raceway. The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Round 6: Locked and Loaded is scheduled for August 21 and 22. The change in the schedule will open up a longer break heading into the Finals in Irwindale on October 16-17 leaving time for teams to prepare and for Formula DRIFT to organize promotional activities leading into the Finals.

The remaining 2009 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Schedule (as of June 25, 2009)

Round 4: All In – Las Vegas Motor Speedway – July 10-11
Round 5: Breaking Point – Evergreen Speedway – August 7-8
Round 6: Locked and Loaded – Infineon Raceway – August 21-22
Round 7: Judgment Day – Toyota Speedway at Irwindale – October 16-17

Here’s a teaser of the RD6 Flyer draft version…more news to come and possible FD X Fatlace collab 2!

Last night I attended the XBOX 360 Event for “Fight Night Round 4″ at the House of Blues in Hollywood.  The “Showdown at Sunset” as the event was titled had hundred of fans line up for a chance to see celebrities go one-on-one in the ring against each other on the latest edition of the Fight Night franchise from EA Sports.

The highlight of the evening was watching Snoop Dogg and Mike Tyson battle it out on “Fight Night Round 4”. After Tyson lost the game to Snoop Dogg in four-round head-to-head match, he presented Snoop Dogg’s Youth Football League with a $5,000 check. Tyson played himself (of course) and Snoop had a custom character (Malice) which looked pretty much like himself. Snoop was able to knock out Tyson in the 4th round, incidentally the perfect round to promote the Round 4 game title.

“Sugar” Shane Mosely battled it out against Sergio Mora with each boxer playing themself. Mosely took the win in both battles. A slew of celebrities, athletes, and more attended the event and if you were lucky enough to receive a all-access wristband you were treated to free drinks, food, and even back stage entrance.

I had a chance to play “Fight Night Round 4″ and must say that the graphics are unbelievable. The control as well is very detailed and even each boxer is given a signature punch. The game seems to have all the top fighters of past and present including Ali, Frazier, Tyson, and even Manny Pacquiao. Overall, the game is plain fun and great for head to head battles. I’m too busy to really put time into gaming, but this game seems easy enough to step in and fight a few bouts and then step away versus other games that you must dedicate hours upon hours on playing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a copy of the game and hopefully will receive one soon.

Tyson attended the event with his youngest daughter and new wife, and Snoop’s son was also in attendance. Onlookers for the virtual match-up also included Jerry Ferrara from “Entourage” Larenz Tate from “Rescue Me” and Wood Harris from “The Wire.” Attendees also had a chance to experience “Fight Night Round 4,” which players can enjoy at home or with friends on XBOX LIVE. The game launches June 25.

As you may have read already on Emily’s blog or Jarod’s blog Famous Stars and Straps and Rebel 8 got together to throw the “There goes the neighborhood” event at the Fast Life in Los Angeles. Crowds lined up all day (literally) for a chance to get some limited edition gear, meet Travis Barker, see Mike Giant in action, and listen to some tunes by The Alchemist. They were also treated to a line-up of classic cars and lowriders on display. To top it off some celebs showed up including Simon Rex (aka Dirt Nasty), Andre Legacy, Estevan Oriol, Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy), and wife Ashlee Simpson.

Check out the awesome photos from Mo and Karen…