DVANZ

Falken Tire drivers Doug Van Den Brink and Vaughn Gittin, Jr. were at it again “slide’n”
their Mustangs around The Barrett-Jackson Auto Sale this time in Las Vegas, NV. The
drifting demo event was held in conjunction with Ford Performance Parts marketing group
and Falken Tire. From Vegas, Doug was on his way back east to compete in the final round
of the Street Life Tour at Xenia Ohio’s Kil-Kare Speedway. These together with stops at
Irwindale Speedway in California and New Hampshire speedway have made it a real busy
month for our “Carolina traveler.”

“I think the saying, “when it rains, it pours”, would fit right about now.” Van Den Brink said.
“This road trip was a true combination of both work and play. Well at least I call it work.”

Some may argue that point as what Doug calls work, most of us would still call play as his
“work” consisted of giving folks the rides of their lives as they were chauffeured around the
tracks in race and drift cars.

“The demos out in Vegas went flawlessly
as Vaughn and I are really getting
comfortable driving with each other. The
Barrett-Jackson crowds were great and
they really got a kick out of our
performances.” Doug went on to say.

“From Vegas I flew to NH to give laps at
the speedway for a week and from there
I flew to Ohio where I met my crew for a competition in our car.”

For DVM, the drift competition in Ohio went nearly perfect. The car ran great all day thanks to the crew of Ben Bryant and Bobby Young. The weather cleared up, the track was fast and our driver did his best to learn a track that he had never driven before. If speed were the deciding factor, DVM would have won by a mile as Doug clocked in the fastest entry
speed by over 8mph sliding off the banking and into the infield section (with the rear tires ablaze) at over 75mph. He then would swing the rear of the car back up to within inches of the outside retaining wall, barreling back down into the flat sections of the course. With local track knowledge, Nate Braze proved he was also looking for a good day as he used his “home track” experience to put down solid and smooth runs all day. At nights end, these two familiar competitors would meet in the Finals with Nate coming out on top and Doug finishing a well-deserved 2nd place finish. A good time was had by all and now with the DVM crew safe and sound back in North Carolina, it’s back to work getting the car prepped for it’s next outing.
Next up for DVM will be the SEMA Show out in Las Vegas where finishing touches are being put on plans for this annual big event. Keep up with all the team’s latest news by subscribing to our free newsletter.