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Team Need for Speed hits the Streets of Long Beach at Formula Drift Round One
LONG BEACH, Calif. – April 13, 2010 – Hitting the track over the weekend for the first time officially as Team Need for Speed, Mad Mike Whiddett and Matt Powers were viewed by the sold-out crowd as they blasted their way through The Streets of Long Beach.
The Need for Speed Lounge proved to be the hot spot, with a never-ending crowd of people hanging out. Whether they were checking out the cars, the games, the tunes, or the girls – there was a little bit of everything for absolutely everyone.
Hosting the party at NFS Lounge was the official Need for Speed DJ Miki Taka: “It was like a giant living room at the track,” says Miki. “It was fun to hang out with everyone who stopped in. Drinking copious amounts of energy drinks, smack talkin' people while they played Need for Speed, playing air guitar with the Mattley Crew, and spinning my fave electro tracks is definitely my idea of a good time.”
Matt Powers and his Need for Speed/Nitto Tires S14 that can be seen a mile away – although you might think it’s some sort of wild animal, the problem is figuring out just which kind – had a good showing at Round One. Matt qualified in the 25th position and was paired to go up against two-time Formula Drift Champion, Sam Hubinette, in the top thirty-two.
“Going into the top thirty-two I was feeling good,” says Matt. “He [Sam] is famous and in a new car, so I knew that if I beat him that it would be incredible for me. I don’t know what was going on, but he was really slow through the second part of the course. I ended up hitting him in the hairpin, after backing off a considerable amount during the main sweeper, and spun out.”
Matt continues, “For Atlanta, I’ll be turning up the boost a bit and decreasing the tire pressure, and will try to drive as hard as I can every run. I had a fun time in Long Beach, although I am a little disappointed about the overall result. I’d like to thank Need for Speed, Nitto tires, and all my buddies who helped out.”
Entering into his first season of Formula Drift, Mad Mike Whiddett and his 2004 Need for Speed/Red Bull Mazda RX-8 looked great tearing up the Long Beach streets and burning Falken Tire rubber during practice on Friday. Unfortunately, after two solid qualifying runs, he fell one spot shy of making it into the main event on Saturday.
“What a weekend! The opportunity to compete at The Streets of Long Beach was an experience I'll never forget, especially the blind entry which claimed a few cars,” says Mad Mike. “Formula Drift put on the sun, sold every seat in the house, and the Need for Speed/Mad-Powers tent was pumping all weekend.”
Mike continues: “With very limited testing on the new tires, I was unable to get comfortable on the super tacky Falken rubber. Then with not having time to make any adjustments to my settings to suit the tire, things were a little hairy. No excuses though, this week I am hoping to test at Willow Springs to get BADBUL set up before heading to Atlanta where I hope to improve my results and do battles with the front runners in the series.”
Team Need for Speed slides in Atlanta May 7-8 for Round Two of Formula Drift. For more information on Team Need for Speed visit NeedForSpeed.com, become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/NeedForSpeed, or follow us on Twitter @NeedforSpeed. Press can download assets at http://info.ea.com.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – April 13, 2010 – Hitting the track over the weekend for the first time officially as Team Need for Speed, Mad Mike Whiddett and Matt Powers were viewed by the sold-out crowd as they blasted their way through The Streets of Long Beach.
The Need for Speed Lounge proved to be the hot spot, with a never-ending crowd of people hanging out. Whether they were checking out the cars, the games, the tunes, or the girls – there was a little bit of everything for absolutely everyone.
Hosting the party at NFS Lounge was the official Need for Speed DJ Miki Taka: “It was like a giant living room at the track,” says Miki. “It was fun to hang out with everyone who stopped in. Drinking copious amounts of energy drinks, smack talkin' people while they played Need for Speed, playing air guitar with the Mattley Crew, and spinning my fave electro tracks is definitely my idea of a good time.”
Matt Powers and his Need for Speed/Nitto Tires S14 that can be seen a mile away – although you might think it’s some sort of wild animal, the problem is figuring out just which kind – had a good showing at Round One. Matt qualified in the 25th position and was paired to go up against two-time Formula Drift Champion, Sam Hubinette, in the top thirty-two.
“Going into the top thirty-two I was feeling good,” says Matt. “He [Sam] is famous and in a new car, so I knew that if I beat him that it would be incredible for me. I don’t know what was going on, but he was really slow through the second part of the course. I ended up hitting him in the hairpin, after backing off a considerable amount during the main sweeper, and spun out.”
Matt continues, “For Atlanta, I’ll be turning up the boost a bit and decreasing the tire pressure, and will try to drive as hard as I can every run. I had a fun time in Long Beach, although I am a little disappointed about the overall result. I’d like to thank Need for Speed, Nitto tires, and all my buddies who helped out.”
Entering into his first season of Formula Drift, Mad Mike Whiddett and his 2004 Need for Speed/Red Bull Mazda RX-8 looked great tearing up the Long Beach streets and burning Falken Tire rubber during practice on Friday. Unfortunately, after two solid qualifying runs, he fell one spot shy of making it into the main event on Saturday.
“What a weekend! The opportunity to compete at The Streets of Long Beach was an experience I'll never forget, especially the blind entry which claimed a few cars,” says Mad Mike. “Formula Drift put on the sun, sold every seat in the house, and the Need for Speed/Mad-Powers tent was pumping all weekend.”
Mike continues: “With very limited testing on the new tires, I was unable to get comfortable on the super tacky Falken rubber. Then with not having time to make any adjustments to my settings to suit the tire, things were a little hairy. No excuses though, this week I am hoping to test at Willow Springs to get BADBUL set up before heading to Atlanta where I hope to improve my results and do battles with the front runners in the series.”
Team Need for Speed slides in Atlanta May 7-8 for Round Two of Formula Drift. For more information on Team Need for Speed visit NeedForSpeed.com, become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/NeedForSpeed, or follow us on Twitter @NeedforSpeed. Press can download assets at http://info.ea.com.