Sweet 16 VIP Trip to Formula D

Submitted by Drew Hahn on Mon, 2009-10-19 16:53

This past weekend the Need for Speed Sweet 16 contest winners and I went down to Irwindale, CA to attend the final Formula D competition appropriately named "Judgment Day". I can't speak for all the winners but I certainly had a great time The winners of the Need for Speed Sweet 16 contest each won VIP package to the Formula Drift Championship in Irwindale, California and a Need for Speed swag package including an Xbox360 console, an LG EnV cell phone, a NOS cooler filled with NOS Energy Drink and some great NOS Energy Drink swag. Big thanks to NOS Energy drink, Falken Tire, LG and Xbox 360 for helping give away these great prizes.

First off, it was way too hot for me down in California. I know that sounds weird but here in Vancouver, it hasn't been that warm. On Friday, the day of the qualifying round, it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) and that was a bit too hot for my blood. The winners seem to really enjoy it though. Especially the guys from Edmonton, where it's already snowing.

We arrived in Irwindale on Thursday, October 15th and met up with all the winners that evening. We were supposed to have eight winners come down for the trip but one guy couldn't make it out so we ended up with seven lucky winners. It took a day or two for me to memorize all their names but I eventually did. The lucky winners were Marcus, Jag, Jesse, Robin, Keith, Chris and Ben. All good guys and we had tons of fun.

As I was saying before, we meet up in the evening on the first day and went out for dinner. It was kind of funny watching all the guys interact that first night because no one knew each other so the first night was spent getting to know all the guys. We talked about their Sweet 16 submissions, where they were from, what cars everyone drove and pretty much stuff like that. By the end of the dinner, we all knew each other a bit better. After dinner, the EA hosts (myself included) called it a night and let the guy go out and do whatever they wanted. The winners did go out for a bit but with Formula D the next day, everyone decided to pack it in early.

Next morning we all met up and went for breakfast.

It was good food and after breakfast we were ready to hit the track. When we got to the track everyone just wondered around for a while just checking out the scene. All of the winners except for one had never been to a Formula D event before so all they wanted to do was wonder around and check things out. After a bit we all met up at the Falken tent. We (the EA hosts) had arranged for the guys to spend some time and chat with Vaughn Gitin Jr. (known as "JR") who is the driver of the Falken Tire 2010 For Racing Mustang. I know I've said it before but JR is a good guy and fun to talk to. Totally down to earth so I think the winners were a bit surprised to find that JR was excited to talk with the winners. At one point, while JR was in mid-sentence talking about something else he stopped and said to one of the winners, "Where did you get your shoes?". Apparently one of the winners had some really cool DC shoes on and JR is a fan of DC's. That sparked a conversation about shoes that lasted a while. I got the impression that the winners really enjoyed chatting with JR. JR even showed us his new Mustang!

After chatting with JR we hit the VIP stands and watched the Pro Am championship and the practice / qualifying rounds for the Formula D competition. Like I said before, it was the first time these guys had been to Formula D so they were blown away when they realized just how fast these cars go when they drift by the stands. They also came to realize just how much smoke and rubber there is in the air at a Formula D event.

Unfortunately, the day got too hot for me and I ended up having to leave the track because I got sun stroke and got sick. So I don't know how the rest of the day went for the winners but when I met up with them later they were all smiles.

That evening we all went for dinner at the Yard House. Great restaurant and a great dinner. I really enjoyed it because by that point I'd gotten to know all the winners and it was like a bunch of friends just hanging out at dinner. After dinner the EA hosts had to head back to the hotel to do some work but most of the winners ended up heading out to the clubs. I didn't see most of the guys until the next morning. They all appeared to have a very good time.

Next morning we all met up for breakfast again then went straight to the track. We had a couple of things for the winners to do including some photos and interviews. The interview will be posted on NeedforSpeed.com soon.

After we got all the tasks out of the way the winners got to go off and do whatever they wanted to do. I didn't see them until the Top 16 races. I think the winners all had a great time on Saturday. Check out some of these pictures: