|
Vaughn "J.R." Gittin Jr.
1. Big ol' J.R., congrats man, finally strapped the blower on and it ran good enough for you to be placed on the podium and even qualifying 1st going into tandem battles. Congrats, who do you want to thank first and foremost?
JR: First and foremost, I would like to of course thank Falken Tire Corporation for building me an amazing car and supplying me with the best tires on the market and just overall being an amazing supporter of drifting in general. Eric Cheney Extreme Mustang Performance for his tireless work getting the monster ready, Kevin at LS Automotive and all of my Drift Alliance brothers for there awesome support as well. I would also like to thank Rockford Fosgate, Exedy, K&N, Von Zipper, Tein and all the fans that have rooted me and this car since day one. Last, but not least I need to thank my DAD for throwing me in a Go Kart at age 4, because I am confident that is where my aggressive fearless style stems from. Without all of the above, there is no way I could be where I am and I am sincerely grateful!
2. You were having some serious problems with that blower belt, they were shredding, ripping and disintegrating what do you think finally got your car to the point that got you on the podium?
JR: After Atlanta, when I lost the belt on entry at about 85-90 Mph and had no steering, which was insane. I requested we setup a 2 belt system so that the primaries would be by themselves and the blower would be separate. So, at least, if we blew the blower belt, I could still run and not SMASH into a wall when I lost steering. At Houston, we had the 2 belt system, but the blower would not stay on. So, I ran it NA, which I kind of liked, but it was a ton of work because we had the wrong gearing for NA. Challenging, but it was cool. Finally, we decided on a last resort effort to try a cog setup. The top fuel dragsters run them, so in theory, there is no way I'll break it. Our deal was that if we blow it, we would run NA with a gear change for the rest of the season, then later we would..... well, that's a secret. So, the Cog lasted with no issues. Not even a string hanging off the belt and the car ran amazing. Aside from barely having any seat time with the blower working, the car and me worked very well together and I am very excited for what is to come for the next 2 events now that I feel pretty dialed. I wouldn't say the blower got me on the podium, but I would say that I finally had confidence in the car and myself, which is much more important than a little boost.
3. You're a Drift Alliance member the Rock and Roll rebel yell of drift, who's your favorite band? (I know this one but let everybody know)
JR: Hands down, AFI is my favorite band, although I love Motley Crue, and AC/DC. Tony A. just turned me onto the Hellacopters, they rock too. I usually will give anything a chance, even Country sometimes.
4. Where you from and what got you into drifting?
JR: I am from Maryland, land of watermen, Blue Crabs, awesome backroads and ridiculous humid summers and cold winters. I bought my first 240 for 1k from a friend of mine that wrecked it the 3rd day after he bought it for $6500 back in 1998. I fixed the car up and used it as my daily driver. The big thing at the time was Civics and Integras (listen to me acting like its sooo far back in the day) and I was into cars, of course, but just wasn't into the FWD thing, it didn't seem fun. I loved smoking the tires, powersliding and doing donuts which I taught myself in my stepfathers BMW when I was 17 (which he still doesn't know till this day). As time went on, I did the bolt on mods. You know, the usual, upgraded clutch, intake, exhaust, shocks and springs, wheels and a terrible backyard paint job. So, after a short while and getting bored of just going straight and running lightning fast 15 second quarter miles I found myself back in the same industrial parks and parking lots I used to ride my go-kart when I was 4 years old. I would just go there and play it like it was my own personal playground for my car and me. That fun then progressed to my local country back roads and that progressed into the need/want for more power. In late 2000, I purchased a SR20DET, which sat in my motocross sponsor's shop until October 2001. That is when I bought my house with a garage, where I finally had a place to do the swap. I needed my current daily driver 240, so I purchased a completely gutted custom Pearl white with a green stripe painted 1991 240 coupe. I spent the next 6-8 months busting ass getting that thing built through the cold winter and ridiculous hot summer dear mother Maryland puts on us every year (It was my first build up and this car didn't even have a interior harness or a dash. Yes, it took a little longer then it should have.)
OK, I know I'm starting to sound like Ryan Hampton story time. I'm going to speed this up, but hey, you asked... So I finally got the car back together mid 2002 and I did a bit of ass spanking at the local area meet spots because I was the first in the area to have that motor and of course I continued to destroy tires in the industrial parks and back roads. It was around this time while making up some money from my buildup (I was selling some junkyard 300ZX brake caliper's on eBay), that a kid named "Mark", I think, contacted me and I remember him telling me he did something called drifting. I was like well, wait a minute, that's a sport? I recalled being shocked. The things I was doing in the industrial parks and backroads were considered a sport. Immediately, I started researching this thing called drifting and found out it was a huge thing in Japan. I downloaded a few videos and was amazed by what I saw! Me and a friend of mine went out to the industrial parks and started mimicking or trying to mimic what they were doing on the videos and it turned out I had taught myself pretty good car control after all these years of just messing around. It was early 2003 when I went to my first organized drift event in Englishtown, New Jersey. After a few runs, the other top drivers there were taking an interest in my style and driving (this is where I met and became friends with Chris Forsberg and Tony Angelo) and it was there that I realized I had something. I didn't miss another drift event and I competed in the 2 small competitions we had on the east coast placing Second and 1st. Later in 2003, I was invited by US drift along with Tony Angelo and Chris Forsberg to do a demo at California Speedway during the NOPI World Finals. Knowing that I needed support to keep up the addiction that I had got myself into and to meet my urge to get to the top remotely possible, I needed some support and I knew it would be hard to get it on the east coast. Everyone here knew of the size of the scene in Cali and I would be an idiot not to accept the offer. One catch though... I had to do it on my own dime. So, here I am, 21, just bought a house and built a car, and no cash, so what did I do? I maxed out my brand new $5000 credit card to pay for transport, hotels, flights, food, one accidental day layover in Vegas, and of course, tires (which I am happy to say I just finally paid that card off 1 month ago). Armed with proposals and a smile, I set off for the land of dreams or something..yea California. The demo went great. I was one of 3 drivers chosen to tandem with Team Orange which was a HUGE deal at the time and we were absolutely having a blast and it was one of the best trips of my life. I handed out some proposals/bio's, introduced myself to a few people and things seemed positive. Well, a few months after I returned, I got a call from Nick Fousekis, the MAN from Falken Tire Corporation, we chatted for a while on the phone. He said he liked my personality and what he saw at Cali Speedway. That is when he offered me a full sponsorship for the 2004 inaugural Formula Drift series. I was so excited. I still remember that feeling of accomplishment. All that money I spent on the trip worked, because I believed in myself. After that phone call, I began marketing myself to sponsors day in and out and that is when the little white 240 with the green stripe began to transform into the car that is now known as "Vaughn Gittin Jr's Falken S13" which I competed in Formula D and D1 from then on until the Mustangs's completion. WOW!! Did I really have all that to say?
5. Your S13 has been torn up and back in action doing Champ Car demo's what would be your dream drift car??
JR: I really don't have a dream drift car. I have loved and owned 240s' for the past 7 years of my life. You can bet I will always have one in my garage ready for action or getting ready for action dependent on the last time it was smashed up. To be honest, I really don't have a "DREAM" drift car. I do, however, have some dream characteristics for a drift car. Let's see, umm, a motor that will never blow. Body panels and frames that regenerate to normal shape after impact. A tranny and axles that will never break. Maybe a few machine guns and hand grenades for those emergency times. Short answer, anything that is challenging and fun to drive is awesome to me.
6. Any recommendations for the beginners on what car to purchase and build, where to drift or anything in general?
JR: I'm biased to 240's. I think they are awesome cars and probably the easiest to learn on and pretty cheap to replace. As far as buildup, I recommend a diff, suspension, good seat, and, of course, Falken Tires, in that order. If you start off with near stock power you have to work a lot harder, but if you learn to drive like that, it will be much easier when you do add power. Know in your head that you are going to wreck at some point. So, when it does happens, you are prepared and don't get all fired up and discouraged about it. I'm not going to sit here and say do this and don't do this, because I am against hypocrisy. However, I will recommend to learn and practice in organized drift days, abandoned lots, industrial parks, and parking lots. That way, you won't endanger others and, just as important, yourself. Use your brain. If you don't have one, sell your car. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!
I know you didn't ask this, but I want to throw this one serious panic-caused mistake in for everyone to keep in mind, which should be instinctive, but after a few incidents, I have learned it obviously is not. If you are ever in a serious understeer, do not lock the brakes up or continue to stay on the gas and try to drive out of it. Simply, let off the gas, push the clutch and pull the e-brake while counter steering. You will 99% of the time regain control of the car. This is a huge mistake beginners make and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people smash their cars.
7. What do you do for a living for them to allow you to take off and come back at each event and lay it on everybody?
JR: On top of all the other things that I am into with DA, I am an IT manager in Arlington, Virginia for an amazingly supportive economic consulting/law firm. They are aware I race cars and I use my leave to do so. They are just really learning the extent of my involvement, but I discussed this with my boss at the beginning of the year and they are fine with it because I always make sure everything is handled and I am irreplaceably efficient. By the way, contrary to belief, anyone in IT is never off. I have a cell phone and a Sidekick that never stop. I have even been on the grid walking someone through a problem. I have a lot on my plate, going from driving at awesome tracks on Saturday to being back behind a desk Monday morning after a redeye. Regardless, I'm dedicated, I love it and I am not going to give it up for anything.
8. So you were almost on top of that podium as ANOTHER American car on the top, are you happy Calvin was on top to break the string of American cars?
JR: American or Import, whatever, I don't care what kind of car. I care that the driver that is up there fought hard and deserves the win. I have been teammates with Calvin for 2 years. He is my boy and I'm very happy and proud of him!
9. What's your take on American cars in Formula D, obviously you driving one? How do the fans react to you, Gushi, Sam, Rhys as you're Good ol' "No replacement for displacement"? Personally, I think it adds character and style to drifting. I LOVE IT! What's your opinion?
JR: Well, this is America and it is only right to have American cars and I think they have proven to be competitive I am a fan of both, as you know. I also think if they were readily available in Japan, we would have already seen them drifting. I do like the diversity and I also like the ruckus it stirs from both the criticism and the compliments. No matter what, when you hear them open up, you can't, but admire the roar.
10. Last, but not least, who's taking it all the way this year in 2005 and who are you most afraid of battling or I should say who are you looking forward to beating?
JR: I'm not going to guess on who is going to take it overall for the year, but I will say that it will be a TEAM FALKEN driver. I will also say that I'm not afraid to battle anyone. I am excited to battle Chris Forsberg (love you buddy), Gushi and most of all excited to beat Rhys like probably everyone else at this moment. YOU HEAR THAT RHYS, WE ALL WANT YOU!!!!!!!!
Rock out!
Vaughn "JR" Gittin Jr.
|
Printable
Email to a Friend
