VIDEO> The Spirit of Formula D Las Vegas
My recent trip to Las Vegas for round 5 of Formula Drift was one of minimal luxuries. Joe Ayala and I could only afford one night in a hotel and a rental car was out of the question. Day one, we got up around noon, grabbed some “breakfast” at the Blueberry Hill next to the hotel, and began our journey to the track at around two. The trek consisted of roughly 2-3 miles, on foot, in 108 degree weather. Luckily for us, we found a shopping cart to carry our backpacks, camera cases, laptop bags, and of course my skateboard. Before long, we had covered the cart in MotorMavens cards (gotta represent) and found fun stuff to do on the way, such as drifting and dirt dropping the cart on the side of Las Vegas Blvd. Joe and I had fun overall, but boy were we glad when an old woman (with a legit mustache) stopped and asked us if we needed a ride. She drove us about a quarter of a mile to the gift shop of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, complaining the whole time about how she would be late to work. Haha!
Anyone will tell you that there’s really no way to describe a trip to FD Vegas other than “hot.” I had a great time making new acquaintances, like when my buddy Josh Herron took us by Forrest Wang‘s shop to BS and look at all his rad cars. I also had fun catching up with friends, like when the amazing Drew Fishbein and Ross Fairfield from OMGDrift let Joe and I stay in their hotel room because 18andFamous Abbitt Wilkerson was too busy napping to answer his door. Haha!
Regarding the video, I apologize for taking so long to finish it. The song I chose has a small introduction that requires specific footage to go with the audio. Hobo and I had arranged beforehand to film what I needed while in Vegas. Unfortunately, the lovely security team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was very strict about when and who could drive in or out of the gates, so we just couldn’t make it happen. That being said, I had to acquire the help of up-and-coming photographer, videographer, actor, and stunt driver Joe Ayala to finish the timeline.
Special thanks to Jason at ContourHD for hooking us up with the cameras. These things are a blast to use! Definitely one of the most fun moments of the trip was running around the grid, sticking cameras on cars. Thanks again!
Enjoy! 
:: Justin Shreeve
VIDEO> Nikolay’s RBS13 Burnout at FD Vegas
AWFILMS | RAW LAS VEGAS | Shreeve Gets Wild! from Abbitt Wilkerson on Vimeo.
The heat of Las Vegas can make people do some crazy things. It makes some people stay out all night, drinking beer with new friends that they just met until 10AM, ensuring that they won’t have enough sleep to function as a normal human being at the actual Formula D Las Vegas event… and it makes some people stick their faces behind 180SX drift cars as they do burnouts in line for drifting practice.
Here’s our vote for the best looking S13 in the entire Formula Drift series… Nikolay Konstantinov‘s RB-powered RPS13, as seen through the lens of Abbitt Wilkerson as Justin Shreeve clowns around behind the car…
(Hey Abbitt… where’s that logo bumper?)
:: Antonio Alvendia
VIDEO> Bonus Footage from FD Las Vegas
Formula Drift: Las Vegas from MotorMavens Dotcom on Vimeo.
Digging through our hard drive archives, I realized that the Motor Mavens crew often ends up shooting a lot of extra video footage or photos that don’t actually get posted on the site. Some time last week, I was looking through a folder in the hard drive that contained a bunch of video clips from the Formula D Las Vegas event.
The footage was shot with two cameras – While Antonio was busy shooting stills and video clips with his Canon 5D Mark II DSLR, Antonio’s younger brother David decided to try his hand at shooting some drifting video footage with the small, consumer level Canon HF S100 digital video camera that we had laying around here at the house.
Even though they didn’t shoot all that much video footage, and didn’t plan on releasing a video from this event, I decided that I might as well put some of David’s handheld camcorder footage together with the stuff Antonio shot with his DSLR. See if you can tell which cameras captured what.
We’d also be interested in finding out what our readers think… do you think Antonio should spend some more time trying to practice and hone his skills in shooting video? Or should he just stick to the still photos?
Hope you enjoy the video!
:: Travis Hodges
CARSPOTTING> Josh Herron's S14
Enter Josh Herron. This young and talented videographer has made some of the most creative drift videos I've ever seen, while also averaging 200,000 views on each video, and reaching the acclaimed Internet celebrity status all before the age of 21. And I thought I was a media prodigy. :D Read more...
NEWSWORTHY> Foust and Scion Win Formula D LV!
Congratulations to Tanner Foust for successfully battling the 120 degree heat and every single competitor he faced in tandem competition to win top honors at Formula D Las Vegas this weekend!
When you think about it, this is actually a historic feat – this is the very first time that a Scion has taken home a First Place trophy at Formula D! Whether it’s Tanner’s incredible skill behind the wheel or the 850 million horsepower TRD Nascar V8 engine that powers his Rockstar Scion TC, Tanner and his team have done an incredible job of building, testing and tuning a car that produces results for their sponsors. Props on the win guys!
Make sure to stay tuned to MotorMavens.com for more photos from Formula D Las Vegas!
PS: Scion, Rockstar, Hankook, AEM, and any other sponsors… you know who to contact for the best photos of the event! LOL 
:: Antonio Alvendia
More MotorMavens coverage from Formula D Las Vegas
