DirecTV and the new home for Formula D Versus are in a huge argument about it’s airing rights currently. The bad news is the current contract ends at 12:00am meaning that as of September 1st, 2009 if no agreement has been made that Versus will no longer be on the DirecTV network. I have spoken to some friends in the television industry and they have told me that likely this issue will be worked out at the last minute this evening. DirecTV’s official statement makes them seem like whining little girls.

You may have seen a message on your TV screen saying that you may no longer receive Versus after August 31, 2009. Here’s the situation.

Comcast, the largest cable company in the U.S., owns Versus. They regularly try to charge us amounts well in excess of what is fair and reasonable to carry the programming they own. Their reason is obvious: they want to stifle competition from DIRECTV. Comcast’s unfair terms undermines DIRECTV’s ability to offer our customers the best possible value. If we simply accept these terms, we would have to absorb the unreasonable costs Comcast wants to charge us, and in turn we will be forced to increase the rates our customers pay. We do not want this to happen.

We are currently in contract negotiations and will continue to work with Comcast until the matter is resolved. We hope to keep Versus on the air. Rest assured that we are making every effort to ensure that you continue to be satisfied with your service.

Hopefully this will get resolved since tons of DirecTV users clearly care about the Versus network and it’s sports programming. We will keep you posted on this information once we see any breaks in the story or updates. If you are a DirecTV user then you see a note on your guide which should keep you posted with an update.If you are a subscriber to DirecTV please contact those idiots and let them now how upset you are about their choices and would love to head over to cable or Dish Network. Lucky for me I have no southern view of the Earth from my apartment so I have been on local cable since moving to Los Angeles.

Fast Facts:
-DirecTV has 18,000,0000 subscribers
-The average price cable systems pay is reportedly 18 cents per subscriber.
-No public data is available to know what Versrus is asking DirecTV per subscriber.
-The Better Business Bureau gives DirecTV a B rating.

Posted in Formula D, Lifestyle, Major Announcements, Rumors/Gossip | 7 Comments »

Way north of Atlanta, Georgia in Dawsonville (Home of NASCAR driver Bill Elliott) a company is putting together Atlanta Motorsports Park on a 162 acre lot. Today on Monday, August 31st, 2009, Atlanta Motorsports Park announced the “drifters” program and driving school as its newest class of membership.

Atlanta Motorsports Park incorporated a drifting circuit as part of the course design from the famed Formula One engineers at Tilke Architects.  Jeremy Porter, AMP Founder and CEO, said, “we see this market as one that is emerging and one we need to focus on.”

Jeremy Porter said, “I have been working with Dan Willie and Tracy Shayhorn of Batlground Engineering to create both a membership program and drifting school that is affordable and makes sense for this market.  We understand the limited budgets and we feel that we can create a membership price point that will work with this market.”

According to the press release we received the AMP website will have more details coming in the next 30 days. From what we are told the track has all been properly zoned and construction is underway currently. You can view this map/track layout PDF we got our hands on. The website doesn’t have a date for completion which doesn’t seem very reassuring but hopefully you can be at drift school in Atlanta soon.

View the Track Layout PDF: www.wreckedmagazine.com/images/2009/Atlantamotorsportspark.tracklayouts.pdf

Posted in Major Announcements, Misc | 6 Comments »

Korean TV13 Interviews Joon Maeng

Check out Joon Maeng on Korean TV13 (the video is in Korean) where they followed Joon Maeng to his work, CFR Racing, and the track to see what Joon Maeng is all about. We don’t really understand what they are talking about since it’s in Korean but we are sure Joon is talking about how much he loves drifting and is dedicated to it. A cool perspective of some unique attention the sport is getting here in the US.

Watch the video: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/korean-tv13-interviews-joon-maeng

Posted in Formula D, Joon Maeng, Video | No Comments »

Chris Cook who is best known in drifting for his NOPI Los Angeles Dodge Viper Flip started in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend at Montreal. It’s a road course track which forced drivers to qualify in the rain. Chris Cook actually drove at the NASCAR Nationwide series Watkins Glen race on a road course earlier this year. The Montreal race is currently airing on ESPN2.

Chris Cook while remembered for this insane wreck also had some great moments in Formula Drift. My best memory of him is from Formula D Wall 2007 when he defeated Sam Hubinette (MOPAR partner) in the top 16 after a great One More Time battle. Chris Cook and this Dodge Viper flip was also our cover on the first issue of Wrecked Magazine.

Check out Chris Cook’s Dodge Viper Flip: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/dodge-viper-flipping-crash-chris-cook

Posted in Formula D, NOPI, Wrecks | 3 Comments »

Versus Television off the bat exceeded my expectations with a great 2008 season summary. While Jarod DeAnada and Ryan Sage were notably missing from the broadcast the whole issue had a great documentary feel for it. Some great current interviews from Tyler McQuarrie, Rhys Millen, Ryan Tuerck, Sam Hubinette, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. brought some new footage into the mix.

They gave a good 101 of drifting from the sports orgins to the diversity in the field of drivers. The camera angles seem to be better from the little 2009 footage we saw. The Fusion production team really showed some of it’s experience with drifting now and we are pretty sure the next 13 episodes are going to be exciting. What did everyone think? Make sure you tune in next Sunday at 2:00pm EST/11:00am PST.

Posted in Formula D, Ryan Tuerck, Sam Hubinette, Tanner Foust, Tyler McQuarrie, Vaughn Gittin Jr. | 5 Comments »

Tune your television to the Versus Network already and get ready for the start of Formula Drift 2009 on the air! We will be doing a post episode recap on the website and our twitter.com/wreckedmagazine account will have some live updates on our thoughts from the show. Make sure you @reply us on twitter if you have any thoughts you have on the episodes by addressing your tweet with @wreckedmagazine . If your not on twitter you can leave any comments here you have on the show!

Posted in Formula D, Lifestyle, Major Announcements | 2 Comments »

We have received official confirmation that Matt Petty will be a judge for D1GP USA in Englishtown. He will be replacing Keiichi Tsuchiya for Englishtown Raceway. We confirmed this with Matt Petty via SMS earlier this week. We are sure Matty Petty will be blogging about his adventures from D1GP so stay tuned to his drivers blog.

Check out Matt Petty’s Blog: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/mattpetty/

Posted in D1GP USA, Major Announcements, Rumors/Gossip | 11 Comments »

Long Story Short – Drifting – MYX Documentaries

This video dwells into drifting last season at Long Beach and a few other events for a 20+ minute documentary on Formula D. The video talks to drivers like Ken Gushi and Sam Hubinette to sum up quite a bit of thoughts on drifting.The short film also features Jim Liaw (Formula D founder) and RJ DeVera talking about behind the scenes in drifting and the judging aspects.

Watch the video: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/long-story-short—drifting—myx-documentari

Posted in Chris Forsberg, Formula D, Ken Gushi, Sam Hubinette, Video | 2 Comments »

Dead Pirate Productions at Formula D Round 6

Dead Pirate Productions produced one of the first Formula Drift Sonoma videos that just came out. The three and a half minute video highlights activity on the track and in the pits for the overall drifting weekend. some great tandem battles that highlight the great battles of the weekend all the way up until the podium with Stephan Verdier taking first place.

Watch the video: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/dead-pirate-productions-at-formula-d-round-6-

Posted in Formula D, Ken Gushi, Stephan Verdier, Video | No Comments »

Formula D Versus TV Introduction

Formula D on Versus TV has almost arrived for 2009. Our post yesterday Formula Drift Is Sliding Into Your TV on the Weekends! covers when the television show will be on and how many Sundays it will air. This video is the introduction to the television show as it launches at the end of the weekend. We will have 14 straight weeks of cable television entertainment for drifting fans to enjoy so don’t miss it.

Watch the video: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/watchvideo/formula-d-versus-tv-introduction

Posted in Darren McNamara, Formula D, Video | 2 Comments »