Formula Drift News - Ken Gushi to drive Factory Mustang in 2005!

While Ford has announced at SEMA their plans for a full on assault on the hot and growing SCCA Formula Drift series in 2005, the real juicy bit of info is that one of drifting's brightest American stars, Ken Gushi (best known for his green One-Via) is rumored to be the factory Ford driver.

Rest assured, we're all eagerly awaiting more news from SEMA regarding this huge shake-up in the drifting world. With the Viper Competition Coupe deemed illegal for next year, it could be the Gush and Ford who take it all in '05.

http://www.drifting.com/TOYO_FORD_SEMA.jpg

Inter-esting.

Whoa that's quite teh surprise...But wait wtf why did they ban the Viper?!? Prolyl cause they couldn't even think about competing with it anymore cuase itjust destroyed everyone just my $.02

yeah...i mean a V10 supercar v. 240's and hachi's? yeah right not in america....thats totally fair hehe

Well, the actual reason was the Viper's status as a pure race car using only a few key production Viper pieces. Formula Drift rules next year are going to be in line with D1GP rules, and that means street-legal. The VCC isn't street legal, so the VCC isn't Formula Drift legal.

Dodge Vipers can still compete, and don't be surprised if you see Hubinette and Team Mopar back using the upcoming 2nd generation GTS Viper coupe.

Yeah... didn't that Viper have a tube-frame? That with a killer V-10... no-wonder why he was ripping it up! As for Gushi in a Mustang? Say it ain't so!

Well, it's an unconfirmed rumor that's floating around SEMA right now. The other unconfirmed rumor is that Alex Pfeiffer and RS*R will be getting a C6 Corvette from Chevrolet.

The factory Ford drift team, though, is a reality. No matter who's driving, there will be an '05 Mustang on the '05 Formula Drift tour.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. The thing that I don't get with these American cars, is that I doubt the ppl that buy viper want to be out drifting them nor would most vette owners so whats the point?

Well, Vette and Viper both have competition history. Chevy and Dodge view drifting as competition. Ergo, send your competition model out to compete.

how [deleted]..

Tougeman, whether or not you like the idea of a factory Ford team in Formula Drift - and you are allowed to express your dislike of the idea - please back up your opinion with reason and refrain from using distasteful and insulting language.

You know I was really biased about the Domestic crap myself... I really don't care now. To each his own! But I'm not really liking this whole factory-backed stuff! Looks like our fave Drift Stars are going to become SUPERSTAR's! No thanks... I don't like it!

Umm, you don't want our sport's top drivers to become stars of racing in general? :confused:

How does that help anyone? Besides, it's already working in reverse. Ryan Hampton, for instance, is a competitor in the Infiniti Pro Series who's shopping for an IRL ride especially since the IRL is going road racing next year. Having an IPS driver on the tour is one of the things that's attracted attention. Same with Rhys. Rhys is a big time rally and hillclimb star from one of racing's big familys. Having him in the series draws attention.

In fact, it's drivers like Hampton and Millen who are the reason people take drifting seriously now. I think it'll be damnably cool if in four or five years Ken Gushi, Alex Pfeiffer, Chris Forsberg, and Calvin Wan were as well known in racing circles as Paul Tracy or Tony Stewart. If we pulled that off, it would cement drifting as a legitimate motorsport with mainstream appeal...

...instead of continuing the public opinion that it's just another one of those import show things for teens with too much time spending their parents money to make a lot of noise, risk the safety of law abiding citizens, and disturb the peace.

I think people are worried about drifting going mainstream. Everything that gets big gets lame. Just look at nascar. I'm not a fan of it. But they dropped winston because they didn't want a cig company sponsering and now they fined jr for saying shit, which is ok, but to take points away from him is lame. Rap went mainstream and got lame. metallica, mainstream now lame.

I like the idea that some people don't get drifting and think it's bad or whatever. I prefer to be a part of a smaller culture than to just be another in a big crowd. Right now the atmostphere at drift events are nice, once it goes corporate it won't be as much fun.

Wow, how grossly misinformed.

First and foremost. NASCAR didn't drop Winston. Winston had to leave NASCAR because they could no longer afford both NASCAR sponsorship and government lobbying. New taxes, new laws, and overall whackjobs killed a sponsorship that supported NASCAR's rise from a regional phenomeonon to the massive motorsports powerhouse it is today.

As far as the fiasco that cost Earnhardt Jr. points, it's just unilateral application of rules. NASCAR has rules about driver conduct. Jr. didn't obey the rules. As such, Jr. received the punishment.

As far as rap and Metallica are concerned, their situations are hardly applicable. There's a big difference between compromising art for the sake of profit and attempting to succeed at business.

And guess what, racing is a business. From ticket sales to parts production to track preparation there's an infrastructure to motorsport that requires a ton of money and effort to keep functional. The moment that someone said "let's have prize money" the business end popped up.

You want the companies, sponsorship, sanctioning bodies, and pro drivers to go away? Take away the prize money. Take away the one chance they have to be able to make a living doing what they love, and take away the justification for traveling the country putting on incredible displays of driving talent and skill.

I know your arguement, Layla... it makes sense... I guess. I just don't like the whole mainstream thing...

we all know Layla's argument 10-fold by now...


anyways, i don't like the idea of Gush driving a Stang. while it would be cool to see a Stang in the series and i don't really mind that, Gush was raised on One-Via's. he's been drifting them as long as he's been drifting.

and Pfeiffer in a C6? give me a fucking break...dude has been drifting Hachi's since i can remember.

if i was in the series and had the choice to get alot of money to drive a Vette, or keep driving my beloved Hachi's...Chevy would get a big thumbs down from me.


but hey, i hate Formula D anyways so what does it matter to me if this all happens? that's right! absolutely nothing!

Suislide, where have you been? Pfeiffer's been running a Honda S2000 for RS*R this year. Even scored a fat paycheck and a win at the Need For Speed Underground 2 launch Invitational. An invite-only event for the top 16 drifters out of Formula Drift held at Irwindale.

Pfeiffer took down Taka Aono (Drift Association AE86), Rhys Millen (GTO), and Tyler McQuarrie (Jasper Supra) on his way to the final against Gushi (One-via) where he took the win after Gushi wrecked.

Link to Videos of the Event (http://www.rs-r.com/news/?art=35)

Just to throw more fuel on the fire. Here's pics of the car fresh from SEMA.

http://www.urbanracer.com/gallery/gallery/event_coverage/sema/2004/sema_day_1_11-2-04/0100.jpg
http://www.urbanracer.com/gallery/gallery/event_coverage/sema/2004/sema_day_1_11-2-04/0096.jpg
http://www.urbanracer.com/gallery/gallery/event_coverage/sema/2004/sema_day_1_11-2-04/0097.jpg

As you can see on the rear fender, it's no rumor anymore. Gushi Auto is onboard with team Toyo Mustang. Also, interestingly enough. Gushi-Toyo Mustang wasn't the only drift team debuting new cars for the Formula Drift season and also wasn't the only team smitten with the 05 Mustang.

http://www.urbanracer.com/gallery/gallery/event_coverage/sema/2004/sema_day_1_11-2-04/0119.jpg
Calvin Wan
http://www.urbanracer.com/gallery/gallery/event_coverage/sema/2004/sema_day_1_11-2-04/0120.jpg
Tony Angelo
http://www.urbanracer.com/gallery/gallery/event_coverage/sema/2004/sema_day_1_11-2-04/0122.jpg
Chris Forsberg
http://www.urbanracer.com/gallery/gallery/event_coverage/sema/2004/sema_day_1_11-2-04/0125.jpg
Vaughn Gittin Jr.

Looks like either Falken is putting up big bucks for the team, or both Nissan and Ford are very interested in drifting.

Gushi's Mustang should be pretty nice. I have a video of a stock one doing some serious burnouts, and it sounds great. Gushi's will probably be uncorked and sound even better. I can't help but wonder what Ford Racing catalog goodies the car will have.

I'll be on the lookout for Calvin Wan's G35 Coupe next year. I've been wondering how one would do in drifting.

Chris Forsberg's choice of an S15 over the SR-powered 350Z he had makes sense. I guess for a 4-banger FR, you might as well go with the lighter car.

Any word on whether Rhys Millen will still have the GTO? If so, maybe he can get an LS2 engine like the production '05s.

Edit: There's one point I haven't seen mentioned about guys getting factory support. The support(and new cars) helps these guys out. I was there for Formula D round 2 in Houston, where Alex Pheiffer smacked the front and rear driver's side bumper on his Hachi. Do you know how hard it is to find parts like that for a car that's at least 17 years old?

The factory support gives drivers new cars that have plenty of parts available, and guess what? Instead of searching for parts, they can do more important things...like practice driving. :iceslolan They'll get better with more practice, and that means better events for everyone.

There is no doubt that Rhys and Pontiac are continuing their association especially as Rhys brought the GTO into winner's circle last year.

I don't know if the LS2 would be the best idea for Rhys even though it's in the '05 GTO. His team is already developing the LS1 and the dimensions of the LS2 engine (along with the weight, as it is a 6.0L engine as opposed to 5.7L) would potentially throw off all of the substantial chassis development they've done through the year.

And as far as the goodies the Gushi Mustang has, well, here's the official press release.

__________________________________________________ ___________

Toyo Tires® and Ford Racing Performance Parts
Announce 2005 Ford Mustang GT Drift Car with Driver Ken Gushi

Toyo Tires® and Ford Racing Performance Parts announce their all new 2005 Ford Mustang GT drift car equipped with Toyo Proxes T1-S™ ultra-high performance radials in 255/45R18 front and 285/40R18 rear sizes. Piloting this exciting new Mustang is 18-year-old Ken Gushi, a rising young star in the sport of Drifting.

The white Mustang features a GT-R themed body kit that includes front and rear fascias, rocker cover, quarters, a rear wing and blue competition stripes. The American muscle staccato and tire smoking horsepower will come from a 4.6-liter 4-valve V8 Supercharged Cobra “Terminator” engine with an anticipated 500+ rear wheel horsepower. Pumping massive quantities of air and fuel through the engine is a Ford Racing - Whipple Supercharger Upgrade Kit, a Cobra Air Meter and Clean Air Tube and a Magna Flow Cat-back Performance Exhaust System. Additional components include a 4.10 Ring & Pinion Upgrade Kit, Custom 2-piece Driveshaft and a Cobra “Terminator” 6-speed T-56 Manual Transmission. A full suspension treatment will be applied to this car, while interior components include Cobra R Recaro Racing Seats and a full complement of Ford Racing Gauges.

The 18-inch Cobra “R” chrome wheels will be shod with Proxes T1-S™ radials from Toyo Tires®. Toyo’s Proxes T1-S™ provides the ultimate in traction for street performance machines. Its DSOC II™ computer design technology ensures a quality performance product, while its aggressive tread design enhances the appearance of your car.

The newest member of Team Toyo Drift is Ken Gushi, who will be piloting this wild 2005 Ford Mustang GT. Gushi was born in Okinawa, Japan, but has spent much of his life in the U.S. At a young age, he had already won events such as the $10,000.00 Winner-Take-All International Drifting Shoot-Out during the Road & Track U.S. Sports Car Invitational. Gushi has enjoyed great media popularity having been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and several youth market and niche automotive publications. Look for Ken Gushi and his Toyo Tires® and Ford Racing Performance Parts 2005 Ford Mustang GT at a drifting event near you.

__________________________________________________ ___________

I think, really, that all we needed to hear in that list was 4.6L 4valve supercharged V8. Yikes!

Gushi sold out? Geeezus... there is no God!


On a lighter note... those Toyo girls are hot!

The blown 4.6L should do well. It would have been interesting to see what the 5L 'Cammer' engine could do, though.

like i said, i don't give a shit about Formula D. in my mind it's a stupid campaign and the fact that all the good guys are selling out to large companies just pushes me further away from it.

i must admit that Foresberg's car is hot as hell, and i fucking love G35 Coupe's so Calvin Wan's car has my heart.

Gushi driving a Ford only makes me less likely to watch F: D.

chastize me, call me a fanboy if you want, and say anything you want to try and convince me, but nothing will change my mind and that's that.

I'm with you on that one... I just remembered precisely why I never attended a Forumula Drift show....

oh em gee....i agree with u suis

thanks to layla for single handedly reviving the drift forum

clap clap clap.

Heck, no problem. Even though I seem to be on the unpopular side of the fence, this is one of my favorite forums to frequent on AF. So when I happened across info that would definitely get an opinion out of folks, I just HAD to share it.

10 minutes before I saw this post I saw a movie of an 04 Cobra and thought it would be cool to see a Mustang drift.

Murder!!!!!!!!!

America will be the end of drift!!!!!!!

Drifting will turn lame!

I am in australia where the only drift going on is a bunch of guys in adelaide who write useless incorrect tech articles for aussie mags.

Unfortunately we are following the US more than Japan and drift is becoming the home of Idiots and Bling!!!!!

Shiny shit everywhere

Japanese D1 has evolved to the point where the cars are basically race cars, Taniguchi's car did 58secs around Tsukuba with A048 advans and a grip setup... These factory american drift cars seem to be about looks.

Perhaps thats why they get whipped when D1 comes to town...

I agree with suislide... Don't kill it because it's not american enough.

Just what are you saying about the good ol' US?

Shaddup Kangaroo-Boy! I see much more lameness in British and Austrailian mags/web-sights! You guys just discovered neon-lights!

And I wish we hadn't discovered them either...

Lately where i live the definition of a "good car" has become a slammed E30 BMW painted candy pink and fitted with rotating mirrors... i mean chrome wheels.

Oh the pain.

See if we weren't doing the Craig Lieberman 2fast 2furious thing then we MIGHT be seeing people liking NICE cars. I'm guessing you guys are getting over that in the US...

over here its still just as bad as it ever was, or maybe its just my area, but it is very hard to find a true racer out here in utah

Yeah, that's cool is he runs the 2005 Mustang. Does anyone know why the banned the viper? Was it because it wasn't street legal? :confused:

I hope Ken wins with the 2005, that would be a scene.

Not to mention it's bad out here in Chicago, there is no one that has anything but a body kit, new head-lights, rims, paint, and sound systems.

How much HP that stuff give you? (Joke) Lol.

Yeah, that's cool is he runs the 2005 Mustang. Does anyone know why the banned the viper? Was it because it wasn't street legal? :confused:

That's the gist of it. Keep in mind it's the Viper Competition Coupe. It's basically a race car. The upcoming Viper GTS will look almost the same, but be a road car, so it will be legal.