You all know motorsports ain’t easy. I mean, if you’re doing it for fun, no big deal. Enjoy yourself. But, when there’s big money on the line, it can be pretty stressful. Our guy Geoff Stoneback knows what it’s like to face tons of pressure, but at least he knows how to handle it in stride.
Here’s his recap of Round 4 for Formula Drift in New Jersey:
“Formula Drift Round 4, “The Gauntlet” was a real tough one! We had great vibes and momentum coming off of Miami, where we were in 17th place, a great standings for a rookie! Before the 2014 Formula Drift season started, I sat down with Wrecked magazine owner, Joey Redmond and two other rookies Eric Hill and Dan Savage. We talked about what our expectations and fears were and Round 4 was one of my fears. I’ve never driven wall before, even though it is an hour from my house, but it is also one of the craziest courses in FD. All my family and friends came out to their first ever live Formula Drift event to see me drive in the big show. The pressure was there, but it didn’t bother me!”
“On Thursday paid practice, I walked the course with my spotter Dan Popowich and saw where we had to put the car on each clipping zone. As we finished walking the course, it unfortunately started to rain. We suited up and heading to one of the most mentally and physically challenging courses that I’ve ever had to face. We went in practice and stayed high in the bank but giving us space between the rail just incase anything weird would happen.. Our main focus was coming off of the bank into the infield. We got some great advice from past champions such as Chris Forsberg and Vaughn Gittin Jr., so our biggest fears were an easy accomplishment. Our troubles came in the infield. The pouring rain running off the bank and sitting in the rear clipping zones made it tough for anyone to complete the course. In the last hour of practice, it dried off and we linked the course and felt confident about our runs.”
“Friday was our big day. It was make it or break it for us. We had our practice session and got a couple laps in. We felt good about our runs, but still needed to nail the transition into inner clip 1 and outer zone 2, however our practice was over and it was time for qualifying.
Our first qualifying lap we stayed high up on the bank, hit every clip, but coming off the last outer clipping zone, we came out of it too early giving us a score of 65, sitting in 44th place, not where we want to be. About 20 drivers had a score between 65-70. All we needed was a 70 to guarantee us in the top 32! I sat at the line and mentally focused. I realized that this is the first time I have never been in the top 32 on my first qualifying run and it needed to change. I launched hard off the line and through the car hard into the bank came into the infield, hit the clips and finished my run. From the cheering and clapping from the fans, drivers and other teams it seemed like I was in!”
“Unfortunately I missed top 32 by 1 point! I was really bummed, but my family and friends came to cheer me up. This was officially the first time I failed to qualify in my Formula Drift career. No other rookies qualified for this event, a first in 2014! I went to the drivers meeting and after stayed to talk with the judges. We went over their notes and talked about why I missed qualifying for top 32. It was the transition between inner clip 1 and outer clip 2 that hurt my score and didn’t let me advance. They were very happy to see me come and ask questions, no other rookie or driver did.
Although we didn’t progress on track like we wanted to, my team and I progressed off track very well! We interacted with the fans, signed autographs and took pictures at our pit area. As long as we progress on and/off track I can be proud of that. We also watched some of the best drivers in the world attack one of the hardest courses in the series.”
“On Sunday, My spotter Dan and crew Mechanic Matt Waln, Headed up to a local event to have some fun and blow some steam off! We had a great time and ended our weekend on an amazing note!
We aren’t letting this event get us down! We are gearing up for Seattle, where we will be competing in Pro 2, which we are currently in first and Pro 1, which we are in 25th. ”
We feel bad that Geoff wasn’t able to put in a great result in front of what was essentially a home crowd. Great to know that he had some family and friend support there for him!
And, some of the most important fans he’ll ever need- Geoff’s parents!
We look forward to a better outcome for the next event! Keep on truckin’, Geoff!
