Hey guys and thanks for dropping by!

Enjoy the short video featuring me talk about all kinds of nonsense at the beginning before explaining how Formula Drift Rd2 unfolded behind the wheel of the V-LEDS / SHR Dodge Viper. FD Rd3 is only next week now in a new event added to the calendar at Palm Beach, FL and I really cannot wait to get back behind the wheel and start shredding off some Federal 595 RS-R’s – ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO FOR SHR!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks to Grady Nguyen for a quality video – looking forward to the next instalment already. Hope to see all you in Florida and maybe some of those crazy ATL fans may take the trip down further south?

DK #43

Welcome back guys to the second instalment of my 2011 Formula Drift blog, If I was asked to summarize how this weekend went in one word it would certainly be – Progress! Straight off the back of Rd1 in LBC the two SHR prepared cars were stripped alive and both motors were freshened up and tested in preparation for the long haul out East where they will remain until Round 4 in New Jersey concludes which is mid June – The last thing you need is any kind of terminal failures when 2,500 miles away from your HQ so Crew chief Brad Manka worked furiously and around the clock to get the cars looking and working 100% before embarking on his 48hour drive to Road Atlanta in the “Sunny South-East” – Sounds like back home in Waterford!

I arrived into Atlanta the Tuesday before the event and hooked up with Brad, we had a day with a local Dodge dealership who were kind enough to supply us with a sweet Dodge Charger SRT for the entire week – big thanks to all the guys at Hayes Automotive Group. Straight into free practice on Thursday where I was really looking forward to driving the car, we ironed out the motor issues, made some nice suspension and geometry changes to suit my driving style, the Federal RS-R tires were proving really good with great all round traction and also worth noting at Road Atlanta i had the added comfort of not needing to worrying about hitting a wall should i try be over adventurous – however that thought changed rapidly when i saw JTP destroying his car on the only wall on the track!!

Right away the SHR / V-LEDS Dodge Viper felt great! We were still using the steering rack from Rd1 which we all knew for whatever reason had more lock to one side than the other – so with the new rack arriving for Friday morning I was excited with how I and the car were performing, I was also blown away and amazed at how my team mate Samuel Hubinette was driving the Dodge Motorsports Challenger – he was CLEARLY a man on a mission after his Rd1 upset!!

As i suspected the new steering rack arrived Friday morning and Brad and his crew got to work on both cars – nothing major went down on Thursday practice other than a cracked header on the Dodge Challenger which was fixed when practice concluded. I started to focus on my qualifying line and my plan was to put down a conservative first run followed up by a more flamboyant second run – My first run was scored in the mid 60′s – my second run which was that bit faster, that bit more aggressive and that bit more stylish went great until the very last corner where i spun out – GUTTED! However, i still made Top 32 and qualified in 27th place pairing me up against Falken driver Tyler McQuarrie who qualified 5th. The biggest news however was that about my team mate Sam, he suffered a misfire the minute of his two qualifying runs and for a second round in succession failed to make the show – all eyes on me again to fly the Dodge flag.

Straight after the Top 32 pairings were announced we get to hit the track again for a 2 hour practice session in preperation for “Game-day” on Saturday. As the sun set in Atlanta i made some changes to the cars setup and it felt better than ever. I got to put in some really good runs and i felt like i could stick with anybody and get as close as i wanted….a bit too close in some cases as i found out while following fellow Irishman Eric O’Sullivan who was debuting in the Gardella Racing Pontiac Solstice which Ryan Tuerck drove for the past few seasons in FD.

As i mentioned, while following Eric in this picture above i was really tight to him, he went to shift for 4th gear but missed it and i collided with him mangling my front wheel and also damaging my brand new steering rack! I was able to continue for the remainder of the session with a new wheel but track officials told us that the rack was leaking fluid on to the track so it needed to be repaired or replaced – in goes the old rack again! Misery.

Evidence of the damaged wheel above after the Top 32 practice which went pretty well but the old rack had to be refitted so it meant my final practice session on Saturday morning was going to be to all about re-adjusting to the way it handled – not exactly how i wanted to prepare for the big battle against #5 seed Tyler McQuarrie.

Ok, before i go on about how Saturday unfolded in Top 32 I have to mention the FANS! I think everyone can agree when i say there is a certain atmosphere that ATL brings to the Formula Drift season, its unlike anything else – its not like your typical “drift” or “motorsport” event, its more like a festival atmosphere where all year long these hardcore fans just wait for FD to roll into town so they can all go CRAZY! From 10:00am fans were arriving to find their viewing spot for the day, cracking open some beers and getting into festival / party / drift mode for the entire day – RESPECT TO YOU ALL!!

Back to business and with the car ready for practice we hit the track – i had 2hrs to get my groove and was confident after how the Top32 practice went Friday night. I had a lot of guys in the paddock compliment how well i was steering so i was quietly confident hitting the track – Long story cut very short my 2hr practice was a disaster! I spun out on every pass of the course and i was really worried as i couldnt understand what was going on – the guys checked the car over and no visible signs of damage where apparent so we had no choice but to re-align the rack that it was giving me more angle for the horseshoe as it felt like i had no angle before it would spin out – the second we got all finished practice was more or less concluded and suddenly Brad spotted something out of place! The steering knuckles are modified from stock with a hole drilled for MODIFIED lock – one tie rod end was on STANDARD lock and the other was on the MODIFIED setting – If i didnt have bad luck i would have no luck/lock at all! Haha I cant blame anyone but myself for following EOS so closely in practice which is when i broke my last rack – Harsh lesson learned.

So i went straight into my Top 32 battle against Tyler – no time to re-align the rack back to normal but we did have time to get the tie road issue addressed. I knew the guys at Falken probably told Tyler of how my practice session went and that he may hold back a little – I tried to push on against him and put on as much pressure as possible. I felt i did a good job even though i was holding my breath entering the horseshoe hoping it wouldn’t hit the lock stops and spin out on me!! First clean run of the day and a massive sigh of relief let alone doing a good job chasing down TMcQ.

Lead run against Tyler and i just went for it, i had a word from Brad who was spotting for me saying its 50/50 after run 1 – that was encouraging since Tyler was killing it but as i suspected he most likely felt i was having ongoing issues so held back somewhat – I went as hard as i could keeping it on the track without doing something silly like spinning, I was hoping for a OMT at least – it wasnt to be this time as Tyler closed up on me at the end of the run which i still think was a very tight call but hey, il get him back in Florida all going good!

Watch live video from driftstream on Justin.tv

So another Top 32 result – great improvements made to the car and more seat time heading to a brand new track and event to the FD calendar in Palm Beach, Florida. Thanks to V-LEDS, SHR, Federal Tire, Hayes Auto dealer, FD for another memorable ATL gig and a big shout out to the fans again – See you all again in ATL 2012 and i hope you all make the trip down to Palm Beach to make that a kick ass event too.

Full Gallery of pictures here:

http://v-leds.smugmug.com/V-LEDS-Vehicles/Viper/Formula-D-Round-2-Atlanta-Part/17010798_9Ztg4K#1287281319_SBHCPV8

http://v-leds.smugmug.com/V-LEDS-Vehicles/Viper/FD-Atlanta-Part-2/17021644_wRC2Vd

See you in at Formula Drift Rd3 in Florida in 3 weeks time.

DK #43

Heres a compilation of footage from Formula Drift Rd2 in Road Atlanta – Safe to say the car and team are making huge strides in on track performance, also worth noting that im beginning to find my groove in the SHR / V-LEDS Dodge Viper. Super excited for Rd3 in Palm Beach, FL already!

Enjoy:

Watch live video from driftstream on Justin.tv

Qualifying Run #1

Watch live video from driftstream on Justin.tv

Qualifying Run #2

Watch live video from driftstream on Justin.tv

Top 32 Battle – Dean Kearney vs Tyle McQuarrie

I was gutted i didnt get at least a OMT against Tyler but we have nobody to blame and will bounce back fighting at Rd3 where both SHR cars will be running 100% and ready for battle.

DK #43

Hi Guys and welcome to my first driver blog from Rd1 Streets of Long Beach, Formula Drift 2011 season. As you all may know by now i have taken the huge step this year changing Team (Samuel Hubinette Racing), car (SHR Dodge Viper), engine and chassis platform (8.3 Litre V10 Supercharged!), tires (Federal 595 RSR) and finally seating position from RHD -> LHD. Not that im complaining as we have a super strong program for 2011 and a great team of people and supportive sponsors such as V-LEDS and Federal Tires around us to make the most of this years package. However going to LBC as the #2 driver was nice as i could gradually get into the swing of all these new surroundings while Sam in the Dodge Motorsports Challenger could fly the flag from day 1 – BUT as things have a way of presenting themselves in motorsport i was welcomed to the limelight in SHR prematurely!

Starting to get to grips of the car after encounter with the wall:

How did i wind up in SHR many have asked me, well lets take a step back a few months for a moment and il try fill in the gaps of how a busy off season presented itself quite rapidly. Right from the last round of 2010 at Irwindale where my manager for the past few years Ian Bergin and friend for much longer asked me was I happy with how 2010 went i was a bit bemused, i really wanted that Rookie of year title and knew i had it in me to go for it – but like most things in a team setup i was not in control of 99% of the off track activity and preperation so the potential on track was always hindered, something i took pretty much in the face all year but was optomistic for a better 2011 with the same team.

Jake York (V-LEDS), Brad Manka, Me, Matt Hodge, Ian Bergin:

Ian Bergin set about looking for better teams where Motorsport was bread and butter and where much greater potential and opportunities will present themselves, to be honest this was a task that really should have been undertaken mid season but before i even knew it i got the call on the Bat Phone to head for Dublin…STAT!! After a 2hr conversation with Ian and followed up with a further 2hr conference call to Sam from SHR regards the program we provisionally shook hands over the interweb and Ian had me ready for 2011 in the V-LEDS / Federal Tire / SHR Dodge Viper. I was absolutely stoked!!!

Entering Clip zone 1 – i really struggled to get to grips at this point early on:

Fast forward to Press Release day and my phone went off like crazy from friends and family with lots of kind words of encouragement from other drivers and FD staff and media congratulating me on the new drive and wishing me all the best for the year – I dont think at this stage anything had really sank in as i was still on a major high and was getting ready to head for LA pretty much immediately.

Event winner JTP in the Falken Mustang and I practicing – well done JTP:

Upon arrival in LA, Ross Fairfield from Deadpirateproductions collected me and set about doing a quick pre-LBC video of me meeting the team, testing the car as we were schdueled to drive at the Chrysler / Dodge Spring festival in El Toro – where i became Sam’s SON for the weekend according to certain videos posted on youtube! haha – I cant wait til daddy lets me drive his car! Hint hint….

Fellow Irishman D-MAC and I laying it down on a Sat morning practice:

Upon meeting my crew chief Brad Manka at SHR, he gave me the low down on the entire operation, showed me about the two cars comprehensively and we discussed the forthcoming year as a competitive 2 car team – i dont think he was keen having a 22yr old Irish punk nicknamed Karnage climb behind the wheel of his baby Viper so he showed me some very large power bars, wreches and crazy power tools to keep me in check….little does he know!!

Last corner of the circuit, the hairpin being shared with Charles Ng – good friend of mine:

The cars were basically in pieces upon my arrival with the Challenger having no motor or even resembling a car near ready for the upcoming Festival in 2 days time, i went home to Newport Beach where i was staying, freshened up and came back later that day and the Challenger was fully put back together and FULLY WRAPPED with the Viper being wrapped, it was the first eye opener to me that these guys let their actions do the talking, unlike a lot of others who are vice versa.

The look of concentration – worry – concern – anticipation – im not sure when it was shot!

Once the cars were fully wrapped, new aero attached and dyno’d we headed out to the Dodge Festival weekend at El Toro which was great for Sam but kind of cut short for me as we encountered a power steering issue which put the Viper out of action – easily fixed and then we had a private Eibach day which was cancelled as all other Eibach competitors were not ready to test that day so made the most of it and headed for Adams Motorsports track to shakedown the Viper – Being LHD wasnt such a shock to the system at all, especially when trying to feed nearly 800bhp around a karting track you be very surprised what initial concerns become blank to you – i guess i was realising how brutally powerful and how fast the Viper was when you hit the loud pedal, i had not experienced anything so aggressive, or brutal, that word alone describes how the Viper is on full power – BRUTALLY FAST!!

Some time to joke around with my crew chief’s son Austin Manka – already my #1 fan!

The guys from Eibach suspension were on hand at Adams to help out Brad with some suspension changes as the car was bottoming out on compression and the rebound was overkill making the car bunny hop effectively, few tweaks and changes and to me it felt a hell of a lot better but we still had the media day on track in LBC to make further tweaks as Adams was a very slow track so the cars handling characteristics would really be shown at Formula Drift media day.

Awesome picture by Tram Tran – fish eyes lense really makes the Viper look like a snake!

Monday arrived, the day before media day and my manager Ian Bergin was flying in for the week along with his best friend and my brother – both of which are Formula Drift newbies so there was no extra added pressure to do well! However, i got a call from Brad Manka my crew chief who said he was doing some routine maintenace on the Viper and it turned out it had blown the motor – 2 cylinders had melted and compression was gone entirely, NOT GOOD! Sam was good to go for Tuesday but the Viper was rendered undriveable as the guys set about ripping apart the motor and ordering the parts needed so we could have a chance at competing the coming weekend – not exactly the best news but like i said above, these guys dont mess around and before i knew it we were going to media day with the Viper fully stripped and awaiting parts to arrive after track time Tuesday, clockwork springs to mind!

Young Austin looks as the SHR crew work like machines to get the car ready in time:

So for me Tuesday came a day to soak up the atmosphere and watch the other drivers put down some runs and liaise with Sam and Brad to see what changes they were making to improve the Challenger run after run. Everything was going great until the Challenger decided to become “lazy” on full power which were Sams words, not exactly encouraging when your own V-LEDS Dodge Viper is mid surgery and then to be taking back the Dodge Motorsports Challenger in ill health also?? And things didnt get any better, from the data logger it turns out there was an oil supply issue and the Challenger effectively ran its final run with zero oil pressure, the motor also needed to be ripped apart and parts sourced all while the Vipers motor was being assembled – Stressful times for Brad and his crew at SHR!

Sam Hubinette and I signing some autographs for the teams fans – I signed more!

Sorry if this is taking a long time, im sure you are finding all this drama straight from a soap opera set but even writing all this stuff is bringing back terrible memories of panic and anxiety, not what you wish for on the week of your biggest event ever.

One word – BADASS!

Anyway, the Viper was pieced back together firing on all TEN again and loaded up and sent to LBC on Thursday evening while the rest of the guys had an all night shift assembling the Challenger to get it ready and to track for Friday morning. Upon arriving on Friday morning we were greeted by some very tired looking SHR tech’s and we had a full crew of supporters from Ireland and Jake and Nicole from V-LEDS. Stina Hubinette and her family were on site too to offer us all hospitality while myself and Sam tried to get in the zone at the drivers meeting as he crossed his fingers that the Challenger could still run as they were all working frantically on it.

Myself and JTP practicing for our Top 32 battles ahead:

I headed out on track to practice and it was immediately apparant that the V-LEDS Dodge Viper was a pure handful, for those of you who drift will know when a car has far too much grip and upon lifting the throttle it dangerously wanted to straighten out, transitions required the reflexes of a cat and I was growing genuinely concerned! Luckily Brad and Adam Matthews from Eibach were not too far away and between them they knew what was wrong and more importantly what buttons to push on the -V-LEDS Dodge Viper to get it to handle more like a drift car and less like a touring car / death trap!

Beautiful day for some drifting in the LBC – Sorry bout the damage guys!

Spring rates, tires pressures and some alignment changes and i was back on track, car was much better but i found it hard to really NAIL the throttle through clip 1 -> 2 as it had fierce speed and i really wasnt sure how it would react by throwing on a S body flick off the first clip as required by the judges, the Viper doesnt have as much steering angle so you find yourself driving the car slightly differently with steering / throttle inputs as opposed to big lock and foot to the floor S body style im more common too. Out of nowhere i lined up behind Conrad Grunewald who was ripping it up all morning, as we went past clip 1 i noticed some rain had fallen and suddenly noticed his car hitting what only looked like a patch of ice….before i knew it i was on it too only i was trying to adjust early with the handbrake which proved a bad ideas as the Viper swapped ends and nestled nicely up against the wall breaking the rear spoiler and tail light lens cover – Lucky escape! But was a harsh reminder to me that changes still needed to be made.

This picture alone describes how the whole weekend unfolded:

Practice concluded and from my feedback to Brad and Adam on how the cars handling characteristics were, how they improved and how i would like them to be they set about changing more rear settings while i had a word with Sam who told me nicely that he wont be running at all as the motor is screwed so basically I am now #1 driver for the Dodge / SHR team – NO PRESSURE!! Thanks dad, just what i needed at Rd 1 in the new car, team etc….as if i didnt have enough on my plate as it was??

First time in Top 32 battle in the Viper – welcome to the party vs Rhys Millen:

Qualifying arrived and so did the nerves, the guys made some more changes and explained to me what way the car should react in comparison to the mornings practice, its times like this when you wished you had that extra day at media day to iron out these issues, but hey, thats racing! I put down what i considered a conservative run, which in fact was my best run to date on the car as i actually felt comfortable driving the car and it felt predictable both on and off the power which was encouraging for my second run. While still trying to familiarize myself with the cars dimensions i put down a much more solid second run and while Ian Bergin watched the rest of the session he wasn’t 100% sure of my qualifying standing overall – I MADE IT! At drivers announcement i had qualified 28th, pretty poor from what i had gone to LBC aiming for but after the week the team had gone through anything to make the show was a relief!

Trying to close in on Millen proved difficult with low visibility…and power!

This now meant i had a further practice session that afternoon and also another one on game day – Saturday. I was paired up against past Formula Drift Champion and good friend Rhys Millen in the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, a driver who looked to be awesome on track with smoke, but much slower than me from the sheets. a true testament of how fast the Viper actually is, i was the 2nd fastest driver through the speed checks so if my line was on point i was destined for a much higher qualifying place, encouraging!

It doesnt look bad from here – but visibility behind that car was zero! Thx Rhys:

Practice was great, the car ran great and each run i gained more and more confidence as the car and I became one. It was this kind of seat time i was craving since i landed as i knew the potential of the car was just looking to be found. We wrapped up Friday much happier that we started.

Exiting turn 1 approaching clip point 1 with Rhys on my leaf springs!

Saturday morning arrived quicker than i could have imagined, slept like a baby and was really keen to get out on track for practice for my Top 32 against Rhys, we laughed and joked after we realized we were against one another but once the lid goes on, everyones an enemy! Brad was doing some last minute checks on the car as the rest of the team nestled into their roles for the day and the pit area filled up with vendors and fans….suddenly more bad news arose, the Viper had melted the same two pistons again and was destined to be on a 1 way ticket to death! Brad said to drive it on but wasnt holding his breath….we got out for some practice where genuinely i didnt even notice any shortage of power from the industrial sized V10 supercharged lump! coming from a 2litre 4 cylinder turbo background i told Brad until its down to two cylinders im sure its more powerful than anything ive ever drove….famous last words!

Rhys doing a great job following super close through Clip 1:

We lined up against Rhys and i followed as best i could, his car put out a smoke screen and coming off clip 1 i literally just guessed when to transition as i could see nothing, wasnt so bad as it gave me a shallow yet close line and then Rhys made a mistake at the final hairpin which was encouraging….until the motor chugged and became very lazy at low RPM and required work to even make it back to the start line. On my lead run the car was way down on power, i actually had to clutch kick going past clip 1 to make it past 2 and on to the hairpin where i inevitably spun out and handed the Top 16 place to Rhys – The car was dead and rolled back to the pits on a lot less cylinders than it arrived with.

Lead run in my Top 32 vs Rhys – shortly after this shot i spin entering the hairpin:

Click here to view the embedded video.

My Top 32 battle against Rhys “Mad Skillz” Millen:

Not a great start to my season, but taking the good from the bad i really couldnt have wished a better team to share all this misery with! The work eithic was awe inspiring and the level of professionalism and dedication is truly amazing, no sooner was the event over we had a quick de-briefing with Sam, V-LEDS, Brad and Ian on how to improve going to ATL Rd2 in a few weeks and i am truly delighted to have such a bunch of dedicated guys around me – SHR and V-LEDS will bounce back at Rd2, if things happen in 3′s, then we have had our quota already.

Full Gallery of pictures here:

http://v-leds.smugmug.com/V-LEDS-Vehicles/V-LEDS-Viper/16604402_Rmo6r#1251203167_oEiBW

See you all at Formula Drift Rd2 in Atlanta on the 6/7 May.

DK #43

Thanks to Ross Fairfield from Deadpirateproductions for putting together this video of me testing the V-LEDS / SHR Dodge Viper – Keep an eye on the Dodge Motorsports page and the Dodge Viper fan pages for future instalments of this throughout the year:

Click here to view the embedded video.

DK #43

Two-Time Formula DRIFT Champ Hübinette to Field

Two-Car Team in 2011

Newport Coast, Calif. (SAMUEL HÜBINETTE RACING) — Two-time champion Samuel Hübinette is set to unleash a one-two punch on the 2011 Formula DRIFT Series. The man from Jokkmokk, Sweden, known as the “Crazy Swede,” will field his Samuel Hübinette Racing (SHR) Dodge Motorsports Challenger, with 2009 European Pro Drift champ Dean “Karnage” Kearney tapped as driver of the SHR V-LEDS / Federal Dodge Viper SRT10.

Hübinette returns for the second year as driver and team owner with his SHR organization. Dodge will again serve as primary sponsor for Hübinette’s Challenger, with associate sponsors including BFGoodrich and Discount Tire. V-LEDS will take the primary sponsorship role with new sponsor for 2011 Federal Tyres joining forces who will be providing their 595 RS-R on Kearney’s Dodge Viper SRT10. Brad Manka will return as crew chief for both SHR machines.

“We’re very excited about the coming season,” said Hübinette, who earned two FD championships in his first three seasons, including the series’ 2004 inaugural year. “The SHR Dodge Motorsports Dodge Challenger should be even more formidable with a year of competition under our belt, and Dean Kearney is a talented young driver that will be competitive right out of the gate in the SHR Dodge Viper SRT10.

“I’m also very grateful to continue important relationships with sponsors such Dodge, BFGoodrich , and welcome in new sponsors including Discount Tire and V-LEDS. We intend to repay their support by putting on the best drift show we can and by bringing home some victories—and a championship.”

Kearney, the newest member of the SHR team, is more than ready to join Hübinette in the spotlight. The 22-year-old native of Waterford, Ireland, nicknamed “Karnage” is an accomplished drift driver, capturing the 2009 European Pro Drift Championship.

Kearney commented on his new 2011 adventure with SHR – “I cannot wait to get out to LA and meet up with my new team SHR and get to grips with the SHR Dodge Viper. Im thrilled that i can continue for a second year running with my title sponsor V-LEDS who i am truly blessed to have supporting this program, with new sponsors such as Federal Tyres coming onboard too it really is shaping up to be a great year for all involved. I have a busy 2 weeks in the run up to Rd1 in Long Beach where i plan on gathering as much data and information from both Sam and Brad about the Viper and its characteristics. Come race weekend we are aiming to hit the ground running and make an instant impact for SHR, V-LEDS and Federal Tyres.”

“Dean will fit right into the SHR family,” said Hübinette, who along with his wife Stina recently welcomed baby daughter Stella into the Hübinette household. “With drivers nicknamed “Crazy Swede” and “Karnage,” you can bet we’re going to be one of the most exciting teams on the FD Series. It’s going to be must-see drifting.”

“We can’t wait to see our logo on the Team SHR Viper driven by Dean “Karnage” Kearney let loose on the Streets of Long Beach says Jake York President | CEO of V-LEDS. We are excited to be represented by a premier Nationwide Series team like SHR and driver Dean Kearney. We look forward to developing a long-term relationship with SHR and our continued role in the motorsport of drifting.”

Hübinette and Kearney will kickoff their season in the 2011 FD Round One event on the Streets of Long Beach, Calif., April 8–9. For more information on the Formula DRIFT Series, visit www.formulad.com.

ABOUT SAMUEL HÜBINETTE:

A native Swede, Hübinette has been living and competing in the United States since 2004. He became a US citizen in 2006.

With his 2 championships in drifting, X games bronze medalist in Rally Cross and Baja1000 driver makes Samuel to a very diverse driver.

When he isn’t competing, Hübinette is also a serious motorcycle rider and a working stunt driver in car commercials and in Hollywood productions including Fast and the Furious franchise, Crank2, and Knight and Day.

Hübinette developed a taste for speed in his native Sweden, where he earned a reputation for pushing snowmobiles, Motorcycles and cars to their limits. He competed as a driver in Touring Car racing on a team for Volvo from 1997 through 2000 and worked for Volvo Cars for nine years as a test driver in product development for the company.

He has also worked as a performance driving instructor, including a three-year stint at the Skip Barber Racing School, where he was a member of the elite Special Product Group.

DODGE MOTORSPORTS BFGOODRICH DODGE CHALLENGER

Engine: 410 c.i. Mopar aluminum V8- Mopar A8 block, Mopar raised port W9 heads, JE pistons, Crower Cam. Built by ITI Performance Motorsports. 865HP/685TQ

Transmission: G-Force GSR 4spd dog box

Clutch: Tilton 7.25” triple disc metallic clutch & magnesium bellhousing

Rear-end: Speedway Engineering IRS quick-change with OS Giken Superlock LSD

Brakes: Wilwood 6 piston Superlite calipers front, rear, & e-brake. Wilwood dynamic-mount rotors front & rear. Wilwood pedals, master cylinders, and bias adjuster

Suspension: Eibach MultiPro R2 coilovers, Eibach Springs

Safety: Sparco seats, Sparco seatbelts, Sparco steering wheel

Carbon Fiber Products by AIT Racing

Aerodynamics by APR

Wheels: Weld Racing RT-S 18×13 rear, 18×10 front

Tires: BFGoodrich G-Force KDW 335/35/zr18 rear, 275/35/zr18 front

V-LEDS / FEDERAL TYRE DODGE VIPER SRT10

V-LEDS automotive LED technology.

Suspension: Eibach coilovers, Eibach Springs

Safety: Sparco seats, Sparco seatbelts, Sparco steering wheel

Carbon Fiber Products by Vipair and Seibon.

Aerodynamics by APR / Vipair.

Wheels: SRT ACR-X

Tires: Federal Tires 595 RS-R Drift 285-30-18

SPONSORS

Dodge Challenger: Dodge, BFGoodrich, , Discount tire, Magnaflow, Sparco, Royal Purple, AIT, AEM, K&N, Weld, APR, Meguiars, Ignite, Amp Research, Stack Performance, Braille battery, V-Leds, Mopar, Tilton

Dodge Viper: V-LEDS, Federal, Dodge, Paxton, APR, Eibach, Royal Purple, AEM, K&N, Meguires, Ignite, Braille Battery, Magnaflow, Sparco, Vipair, driver.ie, Tilton

Web Sites: www.samuelhubinette.com, www.facebook.com/samuelhubinette , www.twitter.com/samuelhubinette, www.dodgemotorsports.com, www.v-leds.com www.bfgoodrich.com, www.hubinetteracing.com, www.deankearney.com, www.federaltire.com, www.twitter.com/deankarnage, www.facebook.com/deankarnage

Howdy folks,

Its been a long time since i have updated my blog so while its pre-season and not much drifting going down i thought id at least get a few words out to you all here. 2010 was a great year and its only now upon reflecting back on the whirlwind year that 2010 was that im only realising how awesome and how grateful i am for all involved….it just makes 2011 and the prospects that are ahead of me much more exciting!

Theres a lot of talk about sponsors, tire deals and who will be driving for who in the new season as always in the “silly season” over the few months we have to gather our thoughts before decending on Round 1 in Long Beach again. At the moment a top topic seems to be the second driver for Gardella Racing which of course includes close friend and fellow Prodrift/Formula Drift driver Eric O Sullivan. The full report is all here over at Wrecked Magazine –  Obviously the very best to Eric on securing this drive! Much deserved and should see him to the sharp end of the Formula Drift grid as he is regularily seen on this side of the Atlantic.

My own plans aren’nt quite as “hyped-up” as Erics and in some respect have gone without mention to date which has kept me happy – Chinese whispers etc from small talk is generally the norm this time of the year and i know it was the case for me this time last year while i was working on securing my dream drive with V-LEDS in the INTEC RACING S14.

For now im happy to be just preparing for another awesome year with V-LEDS and Formula Drift and would like you all who are on Facebook to come join my NEW Athlete Fanpage which i have just set up over the last week – Official Dean Karnage.

Watch this space for further developments on my 2011 plans and if YOU want to be involved with me or my team drop my management an email at: ibergin@benchmark.ie / ian@deankearney.com

Dean Karnage.

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Yo drift fans just gonna give ye a little insight into my latest travels to Seattle WA for Formula D the worlds biggest and most competive drifting series.

Driver and Beast in this picture maybe showing some of my pre-event confidence…….But sometimes it just not ment to be…

Anyways on with my adventures flights booked to leave Dublin for Seattle on the Friday before the event. When I got to the airport friday morning from my trip 130miles south in Waterford I relised once i had gotten to the check in desk that the unthinkable had just happened………..I had brought the wrong passport to the airport with me OH NO…With countless cell phone calls to my Team boss Lawrence stateside we got another flight booked and sorted out for Sunday morning so all was not lost and I would make it there even if it was two days late haha….The only thing that was now bothering me is that we had had a days Test/Tune at the very track we where competeing on the following weekend booked for monday.Which with this later flight almost granteeded that we where now gonna miss this..Not a great start to the home town event for the team but I was still confident about it.Ive tested on this track before and is the only track on the FD calendar that i have driven before the regular thursday media day.So myself and my techs had spoken about the track set up we where gonna run here and had a pretty good idea of what we wanted the car to do here.I wont bore you with all the late night garage antics that seam to go on before every FD event…..

Thursday pratice is always kinda a relaxed atmosphere with drivers and crew just finding there feet with the track/air temp/track temp recording weather all the usual and geting the car pretty dialed for fridays Qualifying session to follow.

I did however get a chance to put in a couple of lead and follow runs to gauge the speed/grip of my car and I was surprized to learn that my car was good here like the best its been in terms of speed and grip.Now most drivers sandbag for thursday but I was geting the general idea that my car was gonna be competive with the best here.

We where happy with how the car was performing but did realise it was down on power quit abit from previous rounds.But we just desided to leave it alone as it worked pretty good here.With a smile on my face and fulla confidence myself and fellow irish drifter Eric O Sullivan left for the Karting that Intecracing where holding for teams and drivers at Skykart followed by the Lexus launch party for Apexi’s new sc430

Surprizing how Karting takes it outa ya haha big red on me lol.

With the fun out of the way it was down to business Friday pre-pratice and Qualifying.So we got our game together running the high line on the wall was what we wanted to do as this is what they had told us in the drivers meeting was gonna score high points more so then another part of the track..If you look  behind the car you can see the spoiler been ripped off by rudding the wall..Good??

Lawrence was on the radio pushing me more out to the wall on ever pass of the course.This is a track I can now say I love and am really looking forward to coming back here next year. Its full trottle off the line using all the gears up the back striaght and finally into 5th pointing the car at the Concrete outter wall..And then quick weight shift and kick the clutch to start your drift its one of those track that makes your stomach sink everytime you hit that first bend..

Right lining up for run one of Qualifying there was some big hitters in the championship after passing before me and not scoring amazing scores so I was determaned to put in a good run..Maybe a little to determand i miss shifted coming down the power ally…

This set me up wrong for the rest of the course and knocking the first inner clip with at the expence of my front bumper.. Score BAD

Now once again finding myself in this situation of having it all to do on my final run of qualifying this is not cool.

I got my game face on on focused and this next pass a pasition I didnt need to be in but also one I had put myself in.Plan was consistant safe run and just make the cut.. It paid off safe but in for the main show 25th

Some pictures from friday evening pratice where i was workinf on my chase line.

Geting right up inside charles in this picture.This dude is also really cool guy and a guy i hang out with quit abit at all these FD events he also drives in the Asain touring car series.

Friday is also a great chance to interact with the fans and supporters of FD the two little dudes in the picture are wearing Dean Kearney 43 jerseys gives you a great feeling to see this around the pits..

Also friday evening gives you sometime to repair any damage that might of happened to the car..I like give the team some work to do late on friday evening haha sorry dudes..But they had the wall tap fixed and another wing sorted for the car and She was Brand New again…

Love this picture..Saturday morning is final pratice session..And i was on the pace big angel on the bank one of the top speed drivers and scraping the wall on nearly every pass i felt good..

Saturday before the T32 started gave us a chance to meet somemore of the loyal supporters and cook in our suits

My battle in T32 was not gonna be a easy one but i was confident. i had 3rd place finisher in the championship last year Tyler Mc Quarrie but i knew the pressure was more so on him to bet me as i was the rookie..but gauging Tyler over the past two days I knew I could bet him and I was goin for it. Into turn 1 following him first I noticed he was slower then me but I still attacked as always he made a slight correction infront of me forcing me to make maybe a more noticable one behind him but i got right back on it..

I got right back on his door for the rest of the bank and all over his rear bumper in the power ally.Transitioned lovely right alongside him for the S bends…I knew at very very worst it was all equal goin into my lead run..Right??

On my lead run the lights went out I waited a moment as I remember him askin me for the pace cone.I waited about two-three seconds at crawing speed at this point I desided I couldnt wait any longer as I needed every inch of the striaght away into turn 1 for my 5th gear entry.And to be honest I didnt think Tylers car would have a problem keeping up having twice the power and torque and half the weight.

I then tagged the wall on the bank and also the inner wall before exiting the final bend with a look in my mirrior to see he wasnt nearly as close as I was to him.. Returning to the line i was think i had it by maybe a narrow margin or perhaps a OMT I was in shock to learn tyer had advanced…Not the first time in my drifting career ive gotten the bad end of the stick.But it was my first time in Fd it had happen to me.

^^^^Depressed head on me after the T32 battle^^^^^

Speaking with TMcQ afterwards he said he thinks a OMT would of been a better call “thanks” but he also told me his 350z has problems getting the power down with makes its striaght line speed poor..This is probley the reason for the big gap I pulled on my lead run.But I still dont agree with penalising me for it..

So it was to the spotters tower to watch the rest of the weekend unfold and enjoy the atmosphere of the crowd with some of the other drives knocked out Robbie Nashida and EOS.

I leave you with this wall scrape mark from the weekend Hope you enjoyed the read and thank you very much for taking the time out to read it.

Big thanks to all my sponsors and supporters.Also big shout out to all the crew at V-LEDS and at IntecRacing.

well done to the intec pro am team in rd4 kyle winning nik second and peter 4th.

Hi guys and gals.Just a short blog report from Prodrift series rd3  in the new Irish venue City west custom street course.This was a first time for Prodrift to  be run in the the Irish capital Dublin…

I wasnt planning on running this event in the week leading up to it because of not geting my sr22 Blister 13  finished..But me and my team where going up to support the local drivers and just enjoy the atmosphere.

Upon arrival i was met by good friend and fellow waterford driver and world ‘traveler’ Buttsy. Buttsy is the owner and founder of T3B a European drift demo team sponsored by Monster energy.Ive drifted at demos before with Buttsy and Ronan (my brother) who is also part of this team. But anyways lets just say when i met the guys on arrival to the venue. They where on abit more of a “social” weekend. Therefore seen i had no car with me and asked me did i want to driver there T3B soarer!!! So of course i said yeah no problem dude. So i rounded up the troops to get this thing semi competetive was our plan….Right??? When i returned to the Monster pit where my crew were awaiting my arrival with the car I pulled in with a grin on my face..Followed by questions from my crew what the grin about??? I replyed theres noting to adjust…Shes bone stock with a blown manifold ha ha…

As you can see from this picture i was kinda excited about it because this was gonna be a proper challenge. With the drivers in Prodrift been some of the best drifters in the world.So i was waying up my options and how i was gonna approach this i had NO lock so i couldnt apply the big angle.I couldnt power my way out of the corners because i had less then stock power.And as for grip ha that was a no go either..So the approach was just go out there and have fun and see what way it was gonna go this was the best option right ha

Pratice we just went out and had some fun.. and spun quit abit “i mean a lot” LOL but then i started to get the hang of this car and was really enjoying it.Big 3rd gear clutch kick enrty of witch we where the only car with this kinda commitment in turn 1..But to be far we where the only car that needed to do it because of our complete lack of power…But defo made for some “HAIRY” entrys out to the wall and under the judeing stand…haha

Now pratice over time for Qualifying this was gonna be interesting to say the least…First run I just took my Formula D tactics safe first run and just put a score on the board…. It worked out pretty well clean run 70.4 which left us in 7th place after all the cars pasted through once…HaHa i couldnt believe it

Maximum attack for run 2 and a entry speed of 96kms 7kms faster then any other car. Perfect line through turn 1 and just keep it together nice and clean for the rest the run whilest running the wall scoring a 92.6……

After the Qualifying session finished it was back to drivers briefing to learn who was after making the cut..I was trilled to learn i was after taking second place and very surprized too..So now it was time to drive the cars down in to the pits for some photos and off to the autograph session with all the rest the drivers….  

Back for super lap.. In Prodrift this is where you do one more lap from cold and score a score to find out who you are batteling…So i left it all hang out for this as the championship points didnt mathar to me.Coming in a fraction to hot like 10mph to hot…i was forced to spin to avoid contact wit the wall… leaving me in 13th Unlucky for some including me…. I could feel my weekend of “keep drifting fun” coming to a end pretty quickly as i was paired with Danny Eyles who is a top European driver with a good car and good tyres and good team support..I followed Danny on the first run to aggresively and closed up to much on the first tight section causing a striaghten by me..And on my lead run i just didnt have the legs or the grip to pull on the Japspeed monster Danny advanced wel done dude great run…

At the end of my run the PD crew took sometime out to interview me infront of the home support about my Formula D rookie year and about the team im driving for IntecRacing/V-LEDS . It was great to be driving back home again i can say i really enjoyed it and me and my team are looking forward to Hopefully runnnig the full season in PD for 2011

Big thanks to all my sponsors Stateside and in Europe it wouldnt be possible without ye and also thanks to Buttsy and Ronan from T3B and Monster energy for the car thanks guys looking forward to demoing with ye again soon thats it for now guy and gals just landed in Seattle for rd4 of the Fromula Drift season and its my Teams home event in Monroe fingers crossed for good result and stay tuned to the live drift stream www.formulad.com

Hi Guys and Gals i’ve been meaning to get this blog  posted with the last few days but something came up everytime…

Anyway i’ll get started, coming to New Jersey I really didnt know what to expect, people had told me so much about this track and what the 36degree banked first corner was like and then its comes into the flat infield with an almighty bang and followed by a figure eight

So setting the car up for a banked circuit with a heavy transition into a full throttle right hander and a bumpy section that would be more suitable for a tractor LOL….. I got to Garage Jtune Tuesday morning off my flight to meet my crew chief Lawrence and my tech Jun, we threw around a few ideas about set up for this track and made a decision to run a pretty simple one but make the changes on thursday practice at the track, when I was about to feel it out for real.

Making a few changes I quickly got to grips with this track and was loving it, changing from a 4:3 to a 4:1 final drive made it just perfect meaning for the first time I could run a whole track in FD in the one gear, perfect now I just had to focus on my line on the bank.  Every run I was getting higher and higher and feeling more at home in this V-LEDS 240sx then ever

Running practice with some of the front runners in the championship I was figuring out more and more about what this car needed to work well here and was still tweaking things even into Friday morning practice.

As you can see from this picture my little Nissan was able to stick with Conrads Camero monster on 305 rear rubber, so being really happy now it was time to enjoy the weekend behind the wheel and enjoy the Jersey fans.

Some shots from the practice here, hope you enjoy this, was trying to follow Dmac by the sound of his car because I sure as hell couldnt see him.

Running with Miki is great I remember watching video option dvds of this guy and saying i’d love a spin with this dude and feel very honoured now to be able to run door to door with him

Running with Gushi in pratice was giving me lot of confidence knowing he is one of the faster drivers in FD and been able to stick close enough to be a threat was good.

On my qualifying line here, now time to put this down when it matters.

Right…….. down to business (qualifying) the only part of the weekend I can really say I hate. Now its time when all your setting up and tricking about comes together and you’ll know if they are really working. As I launched at the bank I was on the high line and was happy down to the transition I tried to cut it a little tight for the speed factor maybe to tight knocking off an intercooler pipe when I tipped the clipping point……….

Never a good idea…… i’ve put a lot of pressure on myself for the next and final run. Knowing if i dont get this right we are packing up early and going home, not good I dont like these situations haha, so  I backed off, I didnt want to tempt faith so I just ran a 90% run and waited for the result off my spotter over the radio

Confirming back to me over the radio “12th he says well done” I was a little shocked I didnt think I was gone in the top half of the grid. Finishing up a respectable 16th over all I was happy knowing that the run I had put in was a pretty safe run

First part of the job done now some more twin battles to toy around with before the main competition starts.

Drawing Matt Powers in my first of the top32 battles I was pretty confident, we had been monitoring everyones speed all weekend and we knew we were quite faster than Matt and i was running a slightly higher line but saying that Matt is always a driver to watch out for and I was on my guard

Been the higher qualifyer I was to lead the first battle and running  pretty much my qualifying line and fast. At the end of the run I looked in my mirror and I had seen I had pulled quite a big gap on him

Knowing I had the advantage going into the second run I just knew a clean run was gonna put me through.

I followed well as good as I needed to do….putting on the pressure where i thought was needed

Coming out of the last turn I knew I had it in the bag as I applied the pressure going over the line….

Me looking like a dummy at the top 16 opening ceremony, my first FD top 16 to be exacted. I had then found out I had top qualifyer Ryan Trueck and it wasnt going to be easy but I was looking forward to it.

Ryan leading, I followed hard and fast probably  to my own downfall as i got too close to him at the transition and made quiet a big mistake. Losing the chase run i had it all to do…..

Ryan followed cleverly and gave himself enough room not to get caught out anywhere…..

On the infield section i tried to blind him with FALKEN 615K smoke in the hope of him making a mistake behind me but i wasnt so lucky..

If you look at my helmet in this picture you can see im looking back at him in my side mirror..

Knocked out in top16……..

Its a step in the right direction with the car and signs that we are making good progress…

Me after i was knocked out along with Sam in top16 just speaking about what happened in our battles and probably wishing Dai luck………

Anyway guys and gals thanks for taking the time to read my blog, really hope ye enjoyed it and look forward to meeting ye all soon at some event near you…….

I’m outta here

Karnage…..

Here is our Team V-LEDS/IntecRacing video from our successful weekend in new jersey 10days ago. Where i feel im really starting to make the car my own and geting it dialed in and competive.

Hope you enjoy the video. Blog report to follow shortly

Click here to view the embedded video.

The guys back at Intec in conjunction with ContourHD have been working double time outside of the events – they’ve re-edited the Round 2 Atlanta Video

Check it out after the Jump !

Click here to view the embedded video.

Formula D rd2 ATL (hotlant)

Where do i start… Hotlanla that’s right for sure but the event started long before the Thursday in Georgia for me and team boss Lawrence. Myself and Lawrence set off from the IntecRacing workshop in the Northwest Seattle to be exact on the Sunday before the event giving us 4 full days to get there before set up on the Wednesday. I was thinking handy drive right (been from Ireland and all that) sure ive driven around Europe competing in the prodrift European series….ha ha oh boy did I eat my words when we got about halfway threw the journey I was thinking to myself (moaning) that I would be at almost any track in Europe now from my workshop back home and we still had 2600kms to go.

Anyways after 36 hours driving without stopping only for gas we spent a night in Kansas city to recharge our batteries and get a good rest  before we battled on the rest of the journey to the Famous Road Atlanta Circuit. Losing a wheel off the trailer 1000kms before our final destination was putting doughts in my head was this gonna be another weekend like Long Beach..(drama filled) but we limped on to the track at 50mph for the last 1000kms finally making it there i was never so relieved to see a race track in all my life ha ha.. Anyways with set up over with, it was time for Thursday practice which i was looking forward to after watching this event for the last 5 years and always long to drive this Circuit i was gonna try figure out a set up for the 240 that would work and just enjoy this practice session

I was enjoying this first session and was making a mental list in my head of changes i was looking to make to the car before the next session but was surprised at how difficult this track was to drive with camber elevation and grip changes with the 85+ heat

The second session i was still finding it a little tricky but my trusty spotter in the tower Kyle was pointing me in all the right directions on what way to put together a respectable qualifying line and my crew chief and tech Lawrence and Jun where making all the right adjustments to the car after every lap to get me comfortable in it bearing in mind i know its a s body but this car is relatively new to me only been my second Competitive outing in it

As you can see i was starting to get the line right and getting the power down earlier after watching some of the front runners like Dmac,Gittin and Tanner so i could generate some good smoke

Friday morning before our last Practice session Jun did some more small changes and tweeks and we are all pretty confident and in high spirits.

Plan is go out in this session and nail the Qualifying line because Thursday was good but still a little scrappy so run 1 all is going well great entry 86mph good angle good transition and just coming outta the horse shoe where i up shift 4th BIG BANG…… i radio back to the pits ”bosco axel just broke” not nervous up until this point but now i was watching my last chance at practicing nailing this line counting down on the timer and I still didn’t have my full plan of attack mapped out in my brain….

with moments to spare my amazing team got this recurring problem sorted in time for me to do just one more pass of the course in which i strung together a pretty descent lap now back to the pits for final check over a bit to eat and my 4th change of Tshirt of the day from sweating like a………………well you know what lol

As we went to the Autograph session at the nos energy stand i sat beside good friend Eric O Sullivan who was giving me some tips about this track from his experience last year here..when your new all info is well soaked up that’s for sure

Practicing with Taka

The came before the storm..its got that impressive stance this car VIP but some how aggressive.

Qualifying; after a pretty good but safe first run entering at 86mph again good angle but a little early on the upshift 3rd the and little late with the 4th it was good enough to put me in 14th place after a full pass of the grid.. I was now happy knowing this wasn’t my best lap and the fact knowing we where defo in the main Top32 show I could push hard for my second run right??

Sitting on the line pretty pumped this time i was gonna go for it full steam ahead my spotter Kyle comes over the radio all he says is “110% commitment” so i launched off the line and left my entry about 0.5 of a second later for that touch more speed which i had at a 88mph and as you can see slightly over shout turn 1 but nailed the rest the run the the dirt drop was heavily penalised 50.8 my score and what do you know most the field put in great second laps pushing me back to 23rd.Far from ideal placing but we where in nun the less and Joon Mange was our pairing

Missing night time practice due to some issues we had to address i was still pretty confident in our ability to progress to Top16 at least

Joon was to lead the first pass and i stuck pretty close to his rear quarter and new i could move pretty close to him on the horse shoe if i transitioned a second earlier then him which i did….

I made my move and im thinking to myself nice I timed that perfect im right on his drivers door…balancing the throttle and sayin in my mind 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd NOW just on the clip Upshift 4th for the downhill…………………BANG…………shaft broken i couldn’t believe it this was to end my weekend here a sad way to go out of any event but i couldnt of lost of to a nicer guy…

All in All a good weekend with its ups and downs but I reallly feel that me and the team are really making massive progress as a team since I first tested with them in Irwindale last year.. Looking forward to Jersey in a few weeks

Thanks to all my sponsors and to all the people that are making this possible I leave you with this last picture i really like it gives you some idea of how big Road Atlanta really is

Back soon guys and gals Karnage…..