Alex Lichlither recaps his first trip to Atlanta for Round One of the 2023 Formula Drift ProSpec Series.  From the early test and tune process, through practice, and qualifying. 

NST - NonStopTuning
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NonStopTuning is proud to announce the latest signing to our professional drift team, Zandara Kennedy!

Zandara "Zee" Kennedy is a professional stunt performer and stunt driver from Vancouver, Canada - if you watch movies or TV, you've most likely seen her in action, maybe even on fire. She loves to drive anything with a motor, from scooters to tractor trailers, and is happiest when driving them sideways. 

Her desire to perfect her craft brought her attention to drifting, where she worked with coach and FD Veteran Taka Aono (former NST driver) to improve her skills and eventually earned her FD license in 2021 - she will be competing in the ProSpec category in the 2023 season of Formula Drift. 

When not on set or under her cars, she loves to share her passion for drifting with as many people as possible, especially through ride-alongs. She works with the Della Penna Next Gen foundation, Racing Pride and Athlete Ally to promote diversity of all kinds in motorsport. 

For 2023, Zandara will be campaigning a new chassis - an 800HP 2JZ swapped Nissan 240SX freshly kitted out with NST goodies. 

"I'm thrilled to be working with NST, a company with such an extensive investment and history in North American drifting, and a clear passion for providing their customers with the best possible products that will help them get the most out of their vehicles. I'm very excited to see what we can achieve together this season!"

We look forward to working with Zandara and her crew, providing products and support as they pursue their rookie year in Formula Drift.

​We kicked off the Formula Drift season with a bang (a couple of them actually)! Long Beach is always the toughest track of the year as it is the first stop after a long off season and one of the most intimidating. The track surface is very unpredictable and the slightest error or correction can send you into dangerous territory. But what a way to shake off the nerves and get pumped for the season! We had a very successful start to the year.

Weds - Load in
Living in Maryland, this is the furthest FD round for us this year. 31hr drive one way. NonStopTuning teammate Carlos Arrieta lives only one hour away from me in Virginia. He has a dual car trailer, so I reached out to him about teaming up this round and transporting my car to Utah. Since I work for an airline, I was able to fly out my team (7 of us) and meet up with the Arrieta’s on Wednesday for load in. We meet within 30 mins of each other, which worked out beautifully. Utah Motorsports Campus is gorgeous. It is a HUGE facility. We got our cars out of the trailer, set up our tents, and bolt checked the car to prepare for Thursday.

Ever wanted a sneak peak inside a Formula Drift car during tandem competition? Here's a back to back follow and lead run, raw footage and sound from Alex Lichliter's NST 86.

Formula Drift St. Louis, July 16, 2022.

​NST - NonStopTuning
www.NonStopTuning.com

Weds - Load in
It’s HOT! St. Louis is no joke when it comes to heat. 95-100 degree days. We left Arya (my dog) back home so she didn’t have to suffer in this heat. The race track is gigantic! The grandstands are blazing hot in the direct sun. The pit space is massive! There could be a completely different event there and you wouldn’t know because of how big this place is. Carlos Arrieta and I are combining pits together for the season as team NST. We combined our tents to provide a massive 20x30 tent in between our trailers providing adequate shade. We continued unloading and setting up. We concluded the day with a track walk and then headed out for a steak dinner.

Wednesday – Load In
Round 2 of the 2022 Formula DRIFT PROSPEC championship took place at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. This is one of my favorite tracks to drift at and happens to be the closest to home. Because we were 3 hours away from home, the drive was very smooth. We arrived at 8pm and decided to set up Thursday morning. The vehicle already passed inspection at Round 1 so it did not need to go through inspection again. 

​Formula Drift driver Carlos Arrieta shares his mid season recap, showing off his Toyota JZ powered SC300. Check out those NST parts on the car! We'll continue to develop more products for this engine and chassis combination as the season continues.

​NST - NonStopTuning
www.NonStopTuning.com