Professional motorsport is a cold, hard place. If you want to run with the big dogs, you can’t just build a car in your mom’s garage and show up, right? Wrong. One guy did just that. Here’s his amazing story.
This is the multifaceted tale of Bill Caswell, a man who bought a crapcan off Craigslist to run against the $400,000-plus rally cars in a World Rally Championship race. It is a tale of a guy who had a welder, a bunch of credit cards, and a lot of free time but no real backing or funds. It is a story of a dude who taught himself how to build an FIA-legal roll cage because he wanted to spend the fabrication fee on race tires instead. It’s the story of a gearhead who drove a rustbucket to a third-place finish in an FIA-sanctioned race.
Most of all, it is a story of hoonage.
Bill Caswell, an unemployed Chicago racing freak, entered the Mexico round of the World Rally Championship in a 1991 BMW 318i that he found on Craigslist. The car cost $500. One year ago, Caswell decided that he wanted to go rallying with Rally America. Two months later, he crashed a car and blew up an engine five minutes into his first event. Four events later, he found a loophole in the FIA rules that let him enter a twenty-year-old car in the same event as guys like Ken Block and former F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen.
The story of Caswell’s WRC entry is a story of weirdness: He entered the biggest motorsport event of his life with no crew; an untested, week-old E30 M3 engine swap and a junkyard transmission (don’t ask); a car that was still covered in dirt from the previous season’s rallies (“I’d wash it, but I gotta fix stuff instead”); and a rented panel van. His co-driver, a Rally America genius named Ben Slocum, had not spent more than five minutes in a car with him prior to the event. He did this not out of stupidity, but out of a lack of resources — he wanted to go rallying, and this was the only way he could make it happen.
TireBuyer.com offers state-of-the-art vehicle, wheel and tire modeling capability. Using our unique 3D visualizer, you can see exactly what your vehicle will look like with different wheels and tires installed. Rather than trying to choose from hundreds of wheel styles based on a static image, you can actually see what the wheels and tires will look like on your vehicle at different angles & views, different backgrounds & lighting conditions. Our 3D visualizer takes the guesswork out of the wheel and tire selection process, allowing you to have the ultimate confidence in your purchase.
The heart of my 2010 Drift Car arrived earlier this week. My Fully Built Ka24de comes from the friendly folks over at www.HandCraftedRacing.com aka HRT Performance. I am happy to have them on board for 2010 and plan to put this KA24DE to work!
HRT PERFORMANCE
1010 W. Chapel Hill St.
Durham, NC 27701
Phone: (919) 956-7223
8 to 5:30 Eastern Time
Email: hrt@handcraftedracing.com
.
.
.
.
All the wires in the chassis have been completely removed.
.
.
.
cutting away at the chassis for some modification that are required for the new setup….
The DangDrifters crazy angle kit was what I used in my 2009 drifting events . I must say that I very much enjoyed this kit because all the problems that you normally would have with angle kits are solved with this one. Drifting with this kit is smooth and there was no binding that I could feel. I have gone off track a couple times and this kit took the abuse very well. I look forward to 2010 to use this kit more and see how far I can push it.
If your looking for some awesome crazy angle get in contact with Russell at www.dangdrifters.com he’ll get you on your way.
Jason Jiovani is a rising star from Florida working his way up the ranks of professional drifting. Jason has been building himself a name over the last 4 years as a professional on and off the track. Spending more time behind the wheel than money under the hood means Jiovani has been able to stay competitive with his 230hp SR powered 240sx. Previously a NOPI competitor, this year Jason has stepped up earning 2 invites to the FormulaD ProAm Finals, a Top16 in D1GP Miami, and 1st place at round 2 of the Florida Pro Drift Series. Jiovani has also been involved with many shows and demos this year including involvement with the Indy Racing League, Stunt Wars, Daytona Extreme Spring Break, Drift Aruba, NSCRA, Hot Import Nights, and more!
One of his favorite parts about drifting is taking fans for ride-a-longs whenever possible:
“The opportunity to the everyday person to feel the rush of sliding sideways at high speed is very small. I get a huge boost in my own fun when I see how much enjoyment they are getting out of the off-the-wall experience.”
Jason is currently sponsored by Nexen Tires, Exedy Racing Clutches, LICO Safety Gear, K Sport Suspension, Extreme Dimensions, R&B Autobody, and All-American StreetCar Performance.
Look for Jason Jiovani to drive in many more exciting and competitive events in the 2010 season. Fans can get in touch with Jason through his MySpace.com/BoxMod where he has many videos and pictures for you to check out!
The New ER series
Features-
*External reservoir Mono-Tube shock design
*30 levels of damping force adjustment, adjusts both compression and rebound separately
*Twin Piston Design
*Pillowball mounts and adjustable camber plates included (where applicable)
*Adjustable rear camber plates available
*Separate full length height adjustable
*One year warranty
*rebuildable
This is the coilover system BC Racing used to win many races this past season in the redline time attack. if you are serious about handling, don’t pass these up.
“The sheer strength that these coilovers have is mind blowing. I’ve had BC Coilovers on my s13 for 3 years and not once have I had any type of problem with them. They are durable and can stand up to all the abuse that any drifter throws at them.”
