Rhys Millen made it to the podium for the second time in as many races last weekend at Englishtown, NJ.

Rhys Millen on Podium Again at Formula Drift Englishtown

For the second time in as many races, Rhys Millen won a spot on the Formula Drift podium. After a fierce drift battle with teammate Dai Yoshihara in the Pontiac GTO Drift, Rhys Millen and his Solstice GXP Drift grabbed third place at the Formula Drift event in Englishtown, New Jersey on June 14th. Dai Yoshihara, in repeat performance from the last event, finished fourth. Dai came into the Englishtown event qualified in the number one spot. Gardella Racing’s Ryan Tuerck in the Mobil1/Maxxis Tire Solstice GXP Drift qualified 10th and was defeated in round 1. read more...

Ryan Tuerk drove his Solstice GXP to the podium in only his second event in the new car.

GM Nearly Sweeps Formula Drift Atlanta

Formula Drift Atlanta was a huge event for Pontiac drifting: two Solstices on the podium and the GTO in fourth. It was a long haul for event winner Rhys Millen, who persevered through two qualifying rounds and four elimination rounds. Rhys had an unwaivering focus. This will probably make me sound old and dorky, but remember Ice Man from ‘Top Gun’? That was Rhys this weekend: no mistakes. None. Then there’s modest Dai Yoshihara, claiming that he was still getting used to being behind the wheel of the GTO. . . Dai, I don’t think you can say that any more, because it’s clear you have pretty good handle on it! And Ryan Tuerck. Only his second Formula Drift event in his new Solstice with a new team, and he lands himself on the podium.

Absolutely amazing. Congratulations to all. read more...

Gary Gardella and Ryan Tuerck celebrate a big NOPI Drift victory in front of the Gardella Racing Pontiac Solstice GXP.

NOPI Englishtown: Pontiac Solstice GXP Get Its First Drift Win!

A cold and rainy morning turned into a beautiful afternoon for the Chevy Cobalt drag cars and Pontiac Solstice drift cars at NOPI’s Englishtown event.

The pro drag racing teams got only one shot at qualifying, but it was enough for Gary Gardella to put his Chevy Cobalt at the top of the Pro FWD class with a 7.12 second run. Chevy racer Marty Ladwig was in the second spot in Pro FWD, and Bryan Jimenez grabbed the same spot in the Hot Rod class. The Turbo Street class was able to squeeze in two qualifying rounds. Brian Ballard landed in the top spot, piloting his Cobalt to a run of 9.518 seconds at 152.90mph.

During eliminations, Brian Ballard progressed consistently through four rounds to bring home a win for Chevy and his CSI racing team. Turbo Street is a highly competitive class with little room for error. Congratulations to Brian, Rob, Jason, Charlie, and the whole CSI team! read more...

Ryan Tuerck made an amazing debut for Gardella Racing at Formula Drift Long Beach.

Recap: Formula Drift Long Beach

The first Formula Drift event was in beautiful Long Beach, California. A clear blue sky, 85-degree weather, and intense drifting competition drew a huge crowd to the Streets of Long Beach. Pontiac Motorsports was proud to be represented at this event by Rhys Millen Racing and, new this year, Gardella Racing.

Rhys Millen’s Solstice GXP Drift was not able to compete at the Long Beach event due to some late-developing technical issues. But, RMR was well represented by the return of the Pontiac GTO Drift. The GTO launched Pontiac into the drifting circuit, and we like to think of it as a bit of a legend. After an unfortunate incident involving a NASCAR driver and a wall, the GTO needed some work to make its comeback in 2008. And, with Rhys behind the wheel of the Solstice GXP, the GTO also needed a driver. With the help of Bridgestone, the GTO Drift was revived and put into the hands of accomplished drifter Dai Yoshihara. read more...

Drifting into 2008

For 2008, Solstice Drift fans will have a couple more cars to watch. GM Racing is putting Solstice GXPs with production 2.0L turbo ECOtec (LNF) engines on the Drift circuit.

Rhys Millen’s Solstice GXP Drift has an amazing 2.4L turbo ECOtec race engine. It’s a robust torque-monster, putting out 520 ft-lbs of torque and 500 horsepower, and we love it! But. . . what about the production Solstice GXP engine, the 2.0L turbo ECOtec LNF? It’s an advanced engine design with direct injection and continuously variable valve timing, making 260 horsepower and 260ft-lbs of torque. Can it power the Solstice to achieve drifting prowess?

We say, ‘yes!’ And we’re out to prove it.

Since we’re running our Solstice Drift cars on closed courses only, not driving on public roads, we can make a few tweaks to bump up the power. We made a couple changes in the engine calibration, removed the catalytic converter, and installed a free-flowing 3-inch exhaust. While we may not pass government emissions testing, or meet the longevity requirements for the GM Powertrain warranty, we were able to get 330 horsepower and 425 ft-lbs of torque (those ECOtecs are torque-monsters!) from the production engine. After employing some basic vehicle weight-reduction techniques, you have yourself a darn good power-to-weight ratio. read more...

Rhys Millen is in fourth place overall entering this weekend's Formula D season finale.

Formula Drift Final This Weekend

This weekend’s Formula D final at the House of Drift in Irwindale, Calif. promises to be great, as the whole drifting world is focused on what is going on here in the U.S. The points race is so tight that any of three different drivers could emerge as champion, depending on who wins the final event.

Pontiac has had great success in drifting with its world-class driver Rhys Millen. Rhys already has a Formula D championship and also has finished second in the last couple of years. This year, Rhys and his new Pontiac Solstice are in fourth place in the points chase, with a very good chance to move high up this weekend. read more...

Rhys Millen's strong finish in New Jersey puts him in fourth place heading into Irwindale for the Formula D finals in October.

Millen Second in New Jersey, Eyes Finals

Formula D rolled into Wall, NJ this past weekend, thrilling the East Coast fans, who have been waiting for the FD series to hit town.

And fans showed their excitement in attendance and enthusiasm on Saturday. They came to see full-throttle, tire-smoking, head-to-head drifting.

That’s exactly what they got!

In the heavy crowd of talented drivers and beautiful cars, stood the Pontiac Solstice GXP running top notch and piloted by Rhys Millen. Rhys had the Solstice performing incredibly well all weekend. His lines were nice and tight, and the GXP can straight lay down incredible clumes of smoke! The crowd stood and cheered as Rhys ran the GXP hard and strong through each and every run! read more...

Rhys Millen said he hopes to return to Pikes Peak next year to reclaim the overall time record his father set in 1994.

Rhys Millen Conquers Pikes Peak, Eyes a Return

A couple of days ago, we told you that Pontiac’s main man behind its Pontiac Solstice Drift Car was getting ready to attack Pikes Peak like it had never been attacked before.

This was no easy feat, as Rhys Millen and his team were just up in Seattle at a Formula D drift event. As soon as that event was over, they went straight to thrashing and getting the car ready to rock for Pikes Peak!

At times, I’m sure the team wondered what they were thinking about in accepting this challenge. The hours spent preparing the car for battle were long, and I’m sure the pressure was on big time for the Millen Team.

In the end, there wasn’t one effort wasted. read more...

Rhys Millen and his team are scrambling to get their Pontiac Solstice GXP drift car ready for this weekend's Pike's Peak International Hill Climb.

Rhys Millen and His Pontiac Solstice Attack Pikes Peak

Most of you know that Pontiac has a world class Drift Team with Rhys Millen sliding around the nation in his Pontiac Solstice GXP.

What you may not know is that Rhys and team are working around the clock to get the Solstice ready for the 85th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The hill climb will take the green flag this Saturday, July 21.

The Formula Drift driver and 15-year veteran of The Race to the Clouds has done all of his homework to transition the Solstice GXP from a drift car to hill climb racer.

This transition was accomplished in only 24 hours as Millen competed in round four of the Formula Drift championship just two days ago in Evergreen, WA. He managed to finish ninth after experiencing some electrical problems. read more...

Rhys Millen and his team overcame an electrical glitch to snag third place at Summit Point.

Rhys Millen Takes Third at Summit Point

Last weekend’s Formula Drift event in Summit Point, WV was both stressful and rewarding for Rhys Millen Racing.

The Solstice GXP Drift car was plagued by an electrical gremlin resulting in an intermittent misfire. The ECOtec engine was mechanically perfect, so the wiring and electronics investigation began. Sport compact racers know how hours evaporate when you’re trying to find the one bad wire, bad connection, bad coil, or bad controller. You can end up with a rat’s nest of spliced-in wiring that only adds to the frustration level.

The worst thing is, you know it’s something simple, but you just can’t find it. read more...

Rhys Millen Racing Roars Into First Place in Formula D Team Drift Challenge in Long Beach

Long Beach, CA played host this past weekend to Round One of the Formula Drift Champ Car Team Drift Championship as the top teams and drivers hit the streets sideways.

Team Pontiac Red Bull RMR, fresh off a successful previous weekend in Long Beach, made the most of the additional track time to fine tune the chassis set up of the new Solstice GXP drift machine. read more...

Rhys Millen feels very comfortable with the new Red Bull Solstice GXP Drift car.

Rhys Millen Starts Strong in Formula D Season

Long Beach, California played host this past weekend to round one of the Formula Drift championship season. The top teams and drivers hit the streets sideways, smoking tires and bringing twice the number of fans as last year.

After spending the off-season tuning and tweaking the Solstice GXP Drift, Rhys Millen Racing was ready to battle. read more...