Our good friend, and super talented, Geoff Stoneback!
Congrats on your first year under the Formula Drift series, Geoff! We’re proud to have you showcase your talents on our products, and we look forward to a great 2015 season for you!
Tag Archives: GSDrifting
Geoff Stoneback’s Report on FD Texas
Our good friend Geoff Stoneback has made a pretty great impression on his rookie year under the Formula Drift series, especially in the Pro 2 category, which he currently leads.
It has been far from easy. Geoff and crew have had to learn along the way just where they stack up against the heavily funded teams we all cheer for and are familiar with. Newcomers never have it very easy in this competitive sport. We’re glad to see Geoff sticking to it and giving it his all.
Round 6 in Texas was another tough event. Here’s Geoff’s report:
“After a tough defeat at Round 6 Formula Drift, we brought the car back to R/T Tuning to fix our drivetrain issues and make the car 100%. We had enough time to get the car working perfect while also adding a 100 shot of nitrous to keep up with the horsepower wars. We headed to Texas, hitting some scenic routes and stopping at skateparks to ride our BMX bikes. We arrived on Tuesday, hung out with our friend Nate Hamilton and did another once over on the car.
Since we did Pro-Am with Lonestar Drift last year, qualifying first and finishing on top of the podium, we felt very confident going into this round. However, this year the course was changed a little bit with the run up being cut about 100 ft. The clipping points were all moved up 20 feet for the first outer and the second outer clip. They added a second inner clip around the big sweeper, which would drastically change how tandems would be run. A third outer clip was added at the end of the sweeper as well. I didn’t think this would be a drastic change but it took a couple runs to get used to it, but it didn’t flow as well as the previous year.
We made tiny adjustments on the car during early practice and headed into pro 2 practice and into qualifying. The weather was very odd during Texas, with temperatures in the 70s, totally different from last years 110 degrees. During Pro-2 Qualifying it started to rain and we went out to make our first pass. We landed with a score of 68 landing us in 2nd place. Before our second run we were bumped out to the 6th seed and I was ready for the second run! The run started out perfect hitting every clip just how the judges wanted it. As I was entering the sweeper my serpentine belt ripped, I lost power steering and ended up off track getting a 0, ending with qualifying in 6th place. The team and I stayed late, fixed the issues from going off track and put on a new belt after inspecting each pulley.
Friday practice went around and the rain still came. We kept our rain setting on and went out for our practice runs. We felt good going into it and as we did our first Pro-1 qualifying run I ended up with a 69. The rain dried up and the track was getting gripper and people started to make some smoke. We switched to our dry setting and prepared to lay down a solid run to keep us in top 32. We qualified a lot better than some of the top guys so I knew that I had to step it up and secure a good qualifying spot. Our second run landed us in 17th place with a 76. We were set up to go against Conrad Grunewald in Pro-1 Top 32.
After hitting the Pro-1 drivers meeting, it was time for Pro 2 Top 16. Our first battle was against a long time friend and old Team mate Dennis Mertzanis. We led first and on the first turn, Dennis went off track giving us a huge advantage. During our chase we applied pressure throughout the whole course and got the win. Our second battle in the top 8, would be against Jeff Jones. He beat me last time in Seattle, so I definitely needed this win. He led first and we put great pressure on him especially in the sweeper. In our lead run, we laid down a great run, gapping him a couple car lengths and got the win. Moving up into the final 4, we face Brandon Witnick. I led first and had the advantage with him barely anywhere close. In our Follow run, I had to play catch up and went to aggressive into the sweeper, almost spun, giving him an easy win.
Saturday was another day. We wiped the slate clean and stayed positive. Practice went well and we were up against Conrad Grunewald in Top 32. On our follow run, he left us off the line but caught him through the first outer zone and was door to door the entire run. I felt amped and was ready to lead. On my lead run, I came off of the inner clip weird and shot me off line through the whole track. Entering the sweeper I threw too much angle and scrubbed too much speed and Conrad made contact with me. It was deemed my fault and Our weekend was ended.
Although we had a tough weekend physically and mentally, I had a great time hanging out with fans signing autographs and taking pictures. We finished Pro-2 in 4th place, still keeping 1st place in the standings. in Pro-1 we only lost one position and are currently in 24th place. We have a great chance in winning the first Pro-2 championship as well as Rookie of the year!
Thank you for support!”
We now go into the final round at Irwindale Speedway on October 10-11. We hope to see some great results from Geoff. Most importantly, we hope to get to hang out with this swell guy!
Here’s a great in-car from Geoff at Texas!
Geoff Stoneback Heads to Formula Drift Rd. 5
Here are a few words from our good friend, Geoff Stoneback, and his adventures at Evergreen Speedway for Formula Drift’s Rd. 5 race!
“On Thursday July 18th, my crew and I arrived at Evergreen Speedway for Round 5 of the 2014 Formula Drift season. We had double duties with Pro 1 & Pro 2 and were very eager to attack this aggressive course. Coming off of Round 4 and not qualifying, we had to mentally focus and prepare to go out for qualifying.
Thursday practice went well for us! The first time that we drove the course we realized how long and hard the bank was. Our alignment wanted us to push down further from the wall, but with the amazing crew that I have they stiffened the driver side to allow us to stay up in the outer zone and filling the touch and go area. We had a solid four hours of practice, until we needed to be at our Pro 2 meeting.
We had an hour of Pro 2 practice until it was time for qualifying. Our first run was the better of the two landing us in 4th place with a 74. Friday we had a long day of driving and meeting the fans. It started with a Pro 1 practice and into Pro 1 qualifying, but before qualifying we smashed up our third and fourth gear slider on our transmission taking us out of practice on Friday. Luckily, we borrowed some parts from Chris Forsberg and the guys at R/T Tuning got the transmission out and fixed in no time. We did a couple more practice laps and headed into qualifying.
On our first run we landed a 69 putting us in 27th place. Our second run we put down a 74 putting us in 17th place, our best qualifying spot yet. I was really excited to qualify so well until we heard that we were up against Daijiro Yoshihara. Although he was in a new vehicle, he is a former champion and in no way considered an easy win. Taking our momentum from Pro 1 into Pro 2 is always a great experience. Having that extra seat time on the track was our biggest advantage. After the top 16 ceremonies, we first faced Will Parsons in his Corolla AE86. I thought this could be an easy win as long as I do not take myself out. In our lead run I made the mistake of tapping the wall off the bank, sending me off course and giving him the advantage. On my follow run, Will tapped the second out zone wall in the power alley sending him off line. Knowing that I was at a huge deficit, I passed Will going into the inner clips giving us a OMT (One More Time). On our OMT run, I applied the pressure on him where it mattered and kept it consistent. We got the win and our next battle was against Jeff Jones.
Jeff was looking pretty solid, but his runs were inconsistent. On my lead run going into the power alley, I hit a bump and it caused me to correct my steering giving us a OMT. On my lead run in the OMT, I got too caught up in Jeff’s weird line off of the bank, almost hitting him so I backed off and ended up in his line of smoke and transferred into the outer clip 20 ft too early giving him an easy win. We ended up finishing Pro 2 in 4th place and tied in first with Dan Savage.
Heading into top 32 on Saturday, the team and I went over how we could make the car even better for Pro 1. We dialed in some more grip, knowing the competition was going to be fierce. We put down solid runs in practice, however at the end of practice we noticed our clutch slipping. We were literally the last run in top 32 practice and we were also the second battle so we had no time to get it swapped out. We adjusted the pedal so it would hold and hopefully last until we had time to fix it during the top 16 break. The first battle was against Dmac and Tony Angelo. On the first run, Tony followed and put his car into the bank giving them a 5 minute call. We were called to the line and hoped the clutch held throughout this battle. On my lead run, Dai did a little flick up to the bank to surprise me out, however I applied the pressure and put up a great follow. On our lead run, my clutch was slipping when I floored it down the straight away. I backed off the throttle and it hooked, but when I went to initiate, our car had so much grip it would slip in 4th gear. I bobbled twice and downshifted into 3rd where it held a bit but we didn’t have 100% in it. We finished the lap but since we drove straight for half of the bank we gave an easy win to Dai. Although we got knocked out in top 32, Dai came up shook my hand and said “you are really good and I’m glad your clutch slipped because you had me.” We laughed a bit and honestly it felt amazing hearing that from a former champion. We hung out and watched the rest of the field battle it out.
At the end of the weekend we are tied for 1st for Pro 2 and we are in 23rd place in Pro 1. We are still leading in the Rookie of the year race. After the abuse the car took in Seattle, we brought the rig home to make sure the car is 100% for Round 6. We had a great time meeting new fans and signing autographs and look forward to making better progress in Texas!”
Sounded like a pretty fun weekend overall! Car problems will always happen. At least we know Geoff and the GS Drifting crew will do whatever it takes to get the car back on the track and put on a good show for the crowd, as always! Best of luck in Texas, Geoff!
Formula Drift New Jersey (The Wall) Video
A great video review of Geoff’s race at Formula Drift New Jersey (The Wall)!
Wish we were there to give you some pit side support, Geoff!
Best of luck at the next event!
Formula Drift Brings The Heat to Miami!
A huge congrats to two of the hardest working guys in the Formula Drift series- Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Geoff Stoneback! Both took first place wins in their respective class!
Vaughn Gittin Jr. just came back from a win at Road Atlanta a little over two weeks ago. It’s great to see his Monster Energy/Nitto Tire Ford Mustang in top form and getting podiums once again! He certainly knows how to please the crowd!
Our good friend Geoff Stoneback took part in the Pro 2 battle, which is a new addition to the Pro Championship series. Since this is Geoff’s rookie year running with some of these seasoned FD vets, this new Pro 2 series is a great way in showcasing his talents while working towards racing against the Pro Championship guys. And he didn’t disappoint!
Pics sourced from the following links:
Geoff Stoneback. A True Competitor
Once again, we’re glad to have Geoff Stoneback on-board with TEIN as his suspension supplier! Never one to let his sponsors down, Geoff made sure to put in a great effort at the Long Beach event this past April 4-5th.
He’s not with easy company, mind you. This year, Geoff takes his talents against seasoned veterans in the Pro Championship drivers many of us are already familiar with. So, in some ways, the odds are against him since many of these pros are backed heavily with sponsors, and that money goes into their race cars (some builds well into the 6 figures!!). Geoff is doing all his campaigning on a relatively paltry budget. But, he’s doing it well!
We had a chance to run into him in the pits and he gave us a rundown of the event. Unfortunately, he was plagued with clutch slave cylinder issues from the beginning. Even after repairing the damaged seal with a spare seal, the problem persisted, making qualifying difficult for Geoff. Unfortunate to say, but Geoff was knocked out of competition early due to this constant problem with the slave cylinder seal.
He stopped by our booth during his downtime. Since we’ve yet to meet him in person (can you believe that?!?!), it was a great pleasure to hear from him. Seems like car problems during qualifying weren’t the only issues. Geoff told us transportation of his race car was delayed due to the truck breaking down en route, stopping in Sweetwater, TX. Fortunately, Geoff’s TX connection from Dirty Diesels gave the trailer a tow to the nearest Ford dealership, while the truck was being worked on over there. It definitely pays to have connections like that!
However, the headache grew, as the Ford dealer could not repair the truck in time. Geoff had no choice but to hire a contractor to deliver the trailer the rest of the way to sunny California. Talk about being stressed out.
When the car finally arrived to California, there was still plenty of prep work to do to get the car to pass tech inspection. The crew went right to work. This cut well into any practice time for Geoff in a completely new car. So many unknowns were to be revealed to him. Nevertheless, Geoff went right to work. And the rest of the story you read about above.
So, while sad as it all sounded, it was great to see Geoff continue with his pursuit to become a champion. The season is far from over, and the same goes for Geoff’s career as a race car driver! We look forward to Geoff’s updates on the next event!
Get the race recap from the Formula Drift Site
Here are some pics of Geoff’s qualifying and practice runs:
More info found at Geoff Stoneback
and on Facebook
Geoff Stoneback Takes Home the 2013 US Drift Championship!
Geoff had a pretty busy August, to say the least. He had to prepare for two events this month, both on one weekend, giving him very little room for any error. Fortunately, Geoff was prepared.
On the 15th, Geoff and his crew loaded up their S14 at their tuner, R/T Tuning in Lansdale, PA, which they had recently installed a new G-Force GSR 4-speed transmission to replace their T56 gearbox which had been experiencing a few issues in past events.
Leaving later than expected, they stopped over in Columbus, OH to the Kenda Tire warehouse to get stocked up for the events, then made their way to Detroit, MI for Midwest Drift Union on the streets of Detroit.
Upon their arrival, Geoff’s good friend, and fellow drift competitor, Mike Skudlarek, offered his house as accommodation for the crew, taking the team around the greater Detroit area along many of the scenic routes of the Motor City, giving Geoff and the team time to relax before a hectic race weekend.
With Geoff’s recently repainted S14, they had no vinyl for this event. So at midnight, at a parking lot of a grocery store (which provided them with enough lighting), they went right to work putting their sponsor decals on. Afterwards, it was a short night’s rest before the event.
As mentioned earlier, the event took place on public roads around Detroit, and some portions were recently repaved and transitioned into older surfaces, giving the drivers a mix of grip and slip to deal with. The next morning, Geoff took the car out and gave it a 50% run around the course. After getting a feel for the layout during practice, Geoff was informed that his driving line would make it difficult for slower cars to follow him. So Geoff had to discuss and redo his driving line.
During qualifying, Geoff had a spin on the older section of pavement, where there wasn’t much available grip. After another qualifying run, Geoff was placed at a disappointing 15th grid spot. So it was on to battle.
The first run was against the LS2 powered Pontiac GTO Shane Whalley. During Shane’s lead run, the judges deducted points for braking through the sweeper, giving Geoff the win.
Through the Top 8, Geoff faced Dan Summers, which eventually went into OMT (One More Time), but on Dan’s lead run he crashed, destroying a wheel and some suspension components. Repairs were made in the allotted time for Dan to make another run with Geoff. However, Geoff was quick to strike, making a deep, smooth line giving him the nod once again.
Top 4 was about to get a bit tougher. Geoff faced the lighter, more powerful S13 of Andrew Lewis. Not deterred from the this fact, Geoff kept right up to Andrew’s door. Fortunately for Geoff, Andrew’s car suffered from a broken axle. Unable to repair the car in time, Geoff once again got the win.
For the final battle, Geoff was up against Mike Skudlarek. Both runs weren’t exactly working in either driver’s favor. However, a few mistakes by Mike ( hard braking in the sweeper; not initiating drift on the follow run) went unnoticed by the judges, giving Mike the win.
So, a tough and somewhat disappointing 2nd place finish for Geoff.
Next was a trip to West Virginia for the US Drift Rd. 4 event.
Already late in the day in Detroit, Geoff and crew hit the road just after 11pm, making as few stops as possible to make it to the driver’s meeting at 8:30am the next day.
Knowing that their 2nd place standing in the US Drift championship was a really close one (14 points behind James Evans), Geoff had to really step it up for this event. Making it to the drivers meeting with just a few minutes to spare, Geoff soon made his way out to practice.
The course was super fast, with entry speeds anywhere between 75-90 mph. Also, it was raining. To make practice difficult, Geoff had to bring the car in, make some suspension setup and tire pressure changes, giving him little time during practice to get a feel for the revised setup.
Qualifying went relatively smooth for Geoff, and he placed a 3rd grid spot for himself. US Drift points leader James Evans qualified 7th, so Geoff’s earned points in qualifying were starting to get him towards the top.
With only 12 qualified drivers for this event, things were starting to look up towards Geoff’s championship. The first battle against the 2jz powered S14 of Charlie Tyson was actually easy enough for Geoff to get the nod, even with Charlie running extremely consistent and fast the whole day.
Good news came Geoff’s way when James Evan was knocked out during Top 16, while 3rd place points holder Troy Manners, was put away in the Top 8. This mean an automatic 2013 US Drift championship for Geoff!
Not one to call it a day, Geoff went into the Top 4 against Dave Bellemo in his 1JZ powered S14. Slightly preoccupied with the thought of the US Drift championship on his mind, Geoff had a a somewhat difficult time getting focused. Fortunately the run went into OMT, and Geoff was able to get the nod once again.
For the final run, Geoff faced ex-teammate Dan Savage. Dan, a good friend of Geoff, taught him tandem drifting, so Geoff knew that this run would be good fun. On the first run, with Geoff in tow, Dan spun on the last inner clip, just inches away from Geoff potentially crashing. On the second run with Geoff leading, Dan kept it close up until the second inner clip where Geoff put out a lot of angle, losing Dan who eventually spun off! Geoff took home first place for the event!
So there you have it, a second place finish in Detroit, a first place finish in West Virginia and a 2013 US Drift championship all in one weekend!
We’re certainly proud of Geoff and team and their accomplishment for this season. But it is far from over- the final round of Midwest Drift Union, Clubloose Freedom Moves, Holley LS Fest in KY, and Formula D Pro-Am in TX are a few of the upcoming events that Geoff has lined up for him. We look forward to his updates!
Congratulations, Geoff, on your 2013 US Drift championship!
Geoff Stoneback at the U.S. Drift Round 3 Event
Our friend Geoff Stoneback and his team took off to New Jersey Motorsports Park at the end of July and gave us a full report. Here’s what he had to say:
” On Friday July 26th we loaded up the Kenda tire / TEIN s14 and headed to Clubloose’s friday night drift party to hang out with all of our buddies and see some awesome local drifting. We wanted to drive really bad but didn’t want to put any damage to the car, so we borrowed a couple of our friends missile cars. After doing a couple runs and changing some tires we parted ways and headed to New jersey motor sports park for US Drift round 3.
I have never drifted this course and we heard that it is a fun, fast track. We were lucky enough to get a suite on track so we could be up early for practice.
On Friday at 7am we headed to the pit area and went to the drivers meeting. There were 16 solid drivers ready to tear the track up. After our meeting, we headed out on course. We got used to the track instantly and had fun laying down some solid lines. With the course set up, our gearing was a little weird. 3rd gear was too short and 4th gear was a bit long. We made some changes to tire pressures and sway bar settings to try and compensate for the gearing issue.
We were sharing the course with ARCA, which is a road race series so we had a huge time gap in between practice and qualifying. On our first qualifying run we headed down the track, with a hard flick and clutch kick we entered into 3rd and up shifted into fourth. We laid down a decent run and put points on the board. On our second qualifying run, we pushed it even harder and entered in 4th gear. We flicked really hard and had an aggressive entry and we were really tight on all of the clips. With that run it secured us into qualifying 2nd.
On Sunday we geared up and had an hour practice session and track went cold for us until a couple hours later. Around 3:30 we headed into competition. Our first battle was against Ben Sarli in his BMW 540. We put down a solid lead run which gave us the advantage. In our follow run we kept it conservative and at the last clipping point, Ben spun. We got the win!
In our top 8 battle we went up against a very good friend, Reese Marin. Reese and I have been friends for years and go back to the street drifting days in Philadelphia. Our battles are always neck-and-neck and very intense. On our lead run we laid down a good fast line with Reese not far behind. On our follow run we left the line hard, but missed second gear and Reese took off and we had to play catch up. We closed the gap a bit, but during that period we dropped one tire into the dirt and he got the win.
We were bummed that we didn’t make it to the podium, however we finished the day in 6th place and are still second in the series trailing James Evans by 18 points.
So after Round 3, we brought the car to a buddy’s shop to get a little restoration, looks-wise. After the paint booth, we took the car to R/T tuning going over some alignment specs and doing some upgrades so we no longer will have any shifting or gearing issues.
Our next rounds are a double header and a tough weekend! We have a 10 hour drive to Midwest Drift Union Round 3 in the streets of Detroit! We are really excited and eager to get back on the podium. Right after Midwest drift union round 3 is over, we immediately have to pack up and drive another 10 hours to round 4 of US drift, the final round in the 2013 series. Thank you to TEIN suspension for helping getting the car dialed in as amazing as it is and their outstanding support this season! Thank you to all my other sponsors, as well! “
We’re always glad to hear of Geoff’s enthusiasm as he heads off against some stiff competition at each event. With the few hiccups he’s had along the way, he has seemed to take them in stride, and we know that he’ll do a great job for the remainder of the season! Thanks, Geoff!
Enjoy this video while you’re at it.
Geoff Stoneback Updates from Midwest Drift Union Rd. 2
Always staying busy, Geoff Stoneback and team set route for the Midwest Drift Union Round 2 at Gateway Motorsports Park in St. Louis, MO.
Prior to this, Geoff picked up his S14 drift machine from R/T Tuning after they completed a new wheel alignment and check-up on the car, taking a midnight drive into Missouri. Knowing what to expect as the course layout, Geoff was already mentally prepared. He knew this would be a good event.
A full 25 hours later, he and the team unloaded car and equipment at the track, then back out for a short sleep stint before going through tech inspection and driver’s meeting the same morning. Happy with the S14’s settings, Geoff went out for practice.
With 3 sets of tires already spent getting comfortable with the course, Geoff knew he had to conserve tires. At least he was able to dial in his settings for the best angle and tire smoke. Judging by the other drivers out on track (with crazy entry speeds and tons of smoke), he knew it wouldn’t be an easy set of battles to come.
On his qualifying run, Geoff went in really hot, getting the car into a backwards entry and scrubbing off way too much speed. Eventually, the front tire would knock the clipping point. Disappointed with that run, Geoff was glad to get points for it, which was most important to him.
For his second run, Geoff went in with even more speed and a backwards entry, netting him a 5th place qualifier. Qualifying was tight, with the top 6 drivers being within 1/2 points of each other sequentially.
Knocking out an LS3 powered Nissan 350z in his first round, Geoff advanced to the top 8.
The next heat would be tough- His friend, Andrew Lewis, with an LS powered S13 making 450whp makes more power than Geoff’s S14. So Geoff had to step it up if he wanted a tight tandem run. Nevertheless, Geoff’s consistency got him the nod, advancing him to the Top 4.
As you can guess, it was about to get even tougher for the team. Up next was a battle with another close friend, Mike Skudlarek in his 500whp s13. The first run with Geoff in chase kept him up to the door of Skudlarek, and a quick adjustment with a tug on the e-brake sacrificed a little of his angle. This gave Skudlarek the nod.
Second run with Geoff up front, he was able to gain some distance as Skudlarek had a slight bobble. It looked like it was going into “One More Time.” However, judges ruled Skudlarek the victor.
Disappointed, but not deflated, Geoff had a chance to claim a 3rd place finish, but his competitor wasn’t able to complete repairs in time, giving Geoff a bye-run. Even with 3rd place secured, Geoff decided to give the crowd a smokey run.
Although this event ended on a strange judging call, Geoff holds second in the points standing, leaving him a lot of time to rebuild and get focused. We’re still glad to see Geoff on the podium! Great job!
*BONUS*
Here’s a video link recap of the Midwest Drift Union Rd. 2 on Vimeo
Geoff Stoneback Attends East Coast Bash
Our sponsored driver, Geoff Stoneback decided to take his talent to Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey for the Clubloose East Coast Bash event. With this event bringing a swarm of spectators and drivers alike, it was a great opportunity for Geoff and the crew to put on an amazing show.
According to Geoff, about 180 drivers were at the Saturday festivities, most all of them being in the tandem class. Unfortunately, a saturation of drivers means very little track time. A few on-track accidents by a some of the drivers hampered driving time some more.
Unfortunately for Geoff, a minor incident while following a train of other drivers sent him into the tire wall crushing his door, and also losing a headlight, radiator and front bumper. The cause of this incident being another driver with a locked up e-brake. With nowhere to go, this sent Geoff off course.
Geoff turned to his friends at R/T Tuning in Lansdale, PA to get the S14 back up and running. Geoff used the remainder of the day practicing some new techniques and also some tight tandem runs.
By Sunday, only a quarter of the drivers stuck around, and Geoff was able to get it some more runs. That is, until the weather went damp. After about an hour of waiting pit side, Geoff and many of the drivers decided to do some rain drifting for the spectators that decided to tough out the wet weather.
All in all, it sounded like Geoff and his crew had a great time, and they were able to put on a great show for the spectators, regardless of the weather conditions.