This past weekend marked the end of the sixth season of the Formula DRIFT Professional Championship. The event was held at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale to a sold out crowd of over 10,000 guests. The ID Agency has been the agency of record for Formula DRIFT and managed over 250 media guests that included outlets such as The LA Times, Long Beach Press Telegram, Super Street, and Motor Trend magazine.

Ryan Tuerck took home the event victory, but the championship was won by Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z. Forsberg also was the winner of the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. This marked the first time that a driver has won both awards in the same season. The ID Agency also performs the PR for NOS Energy Drink and will be issuing a special gift to media members that will commemorate this historical win.

Along with all the drifting action there was additional entertainment for all the fans that included the Famous Stars and Straps stunt bike demo, Jtuned Auto Gallery, and a performance by the Far East Movement, performers of the hit song, “Girls on the dance floor.” ID brought Famous Stars and Straps to Formula DRIFT and helped co-market the event to Famous’ unique fan base of music, action sports, and art culture.

Famous Stars and Straps presented their latest collections at the 2009 MAGIC convention. The brands included Famous Stars and Straps, Expensive Taste, Wild Ones, and Rogue Status. Each brand showcased to preview the upcoming line of apparel. The Rogue Status section featured their Scion drift car that they took on the Gumball rally earlier this year, the Wild Ones featured comic book inspired graphics, and Expensive Taste was highlighted with rapper Paul Wall at the booth each day. Famous Stars and Straps made the debut of their summer line of board shorts, sandals, and even beach towels, while introducing both a juniors and female collection completing the lines of apparel for the brand. A live DJ set at the booth was held each day by some of the hottest DJ’s in the scene including DJ Spider and Marshall Barnes. A live graffiti / art piece was created as well within the booth that showcased the various brands under the Famous Stars and Strap umbrella.

Adding to the excitement Famous Stars and Straps hosted a party at the booth during the tradeshow that had the infamous Alchemist spinning and drinks provided by Heineken. This special event succeeded in creating a buzz at MAGIC among key sales associates, sales accounts, and the media. Special guest appearances ran throughout the day including the Famous Stars and Straps skate team, stunt bike team, and MMA fighter “Razor” Rob McCullough.

To make sure the excitement continued through to the evening, Famous Stars and Straps hosted a party at the Palms hotel within club Rain. The special event was the talk of the evening with an all-star DJ line-up consisting of Mixmaster Mike (Beastie Boys), DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DJ Premier. The entire Famous Stars and Straps team was in attendance among the hundreds of other attendees.

The ID Agency brought in key media outlets including Complex, Antenna, and Skinnie magazine and introduced them to the Famous Stars and Straps brand, apparel, and athletes.

During the Formula DRIFT Round 4: All In event in Las Vegas the ID Agency helped coordinate the first annual Formula DRIFT Charity Blackjack Tournament. The tournament was held at the Aliante Hotel and Casino, the official hotel of Formula DRIFT Round 4, and called for drivers, sponsors, friends, and media members to make donations for entry that would go towards a good cause. 36 players joined the tournament including Formula DRIFT drivers champion Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gittin Jr., Chris Forsberg, and Ross Petty.

Generous sponsors donated prizes that would were awarded to the winners including XBOX 360, copies of Forza 2 video game, Puma gift cards, a Meister watch, Oakley sunglasses, Rogue Status Apparel, Attic apparel, and a 2-night stay at the Aliante.

After 3 rounds of competition the final table consisted of 6 players. Steve Choi, staff member of Formula DRIFT, walked away with the 1st place spot and his choice from the prize pool and elected to take the XBOX 360 and Forza 2 video game. 2nd place went to Formula DRIFT driver of the NOS Energy / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z and current points leader, Chris Forsberg who chose the PUMA giftcards and also received a Rogue Status apparel package. 3rd place went to ID Agency’s John Pangilinan, who received a Meister watch and Forza 2 game. Overall it was a very successful event for everyone including Formula DRIFT, Aliante, and of course the charity.

After seven days of traveling across the United States with 135 different automobiles, the Gumball 3000 rally finished in South Beach Miami on Friday the 8th. The kick-off event at the Viceroy hotel in Santa Monica, California was a star studded event as rally participants like David Hasselhoff, Tony Hawk, Dennis Rodman, DJ Muggs and others partied the night away. The next morning in Santa Monica, the stars and cars left for Vegas, and then the route took them to Hoover Dam, Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Orlando, the Palm Beach driving club race track, and Miami. The ID Agency team traveled with the rally and handled media and celebrity relations for the 2009 rally. Media coverage can be seen on many leading automotive websites like www.luxuryvice.com, www.speedhunters.com, and keep an eye out for special TV episodes of FUEL TV’s “Danny & The Dingo” , SPEED TV’s “Supercars Exposed” and Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County” as well as the official Gumball 3000 television special and feature length movie. For more information on Gumball 3000 and next year’s route log on to www.gumball3000.com

PUMA releases the GUMBALL 3000 Edition Speed Cat 2.9 Mid shoe

PUMA has unveiled its much anticipated footwear collaboration with the Gumball 3000 rally. The limited edition version of the iconic Speed Cat shoe will be given to all 2009 Gumball 3000 rally entrants and 200 pairs will be sold online at www.journeys.com. To kick off the 2009 Gumball 3000 and the release of the shoe, PUMA is hosting a VIP media reception at the Santa Monica PUMA store located on the 3^rd street Promenade this Wednesday the 29^th. The ID Agency is handling all media and celebrity inquires so please contact our office if you plan on attending. Come preview some of the Gumball rally cars, meet Team PUMA and enjoy an evening of stars and cars in Santa Monica.

NOS Energy Drink Enters the Indycar Series

The ID Agency has been involved with open wheel racing for many years and is now helping to bring NOS Energy Drink into the fastest motorsport in America. NOS Energy Drink has added Indy 500 Champion and IndyCar Series Champion Dan Wheldon to the Team NOS lineup. The announcement was made on Friday the 17th at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach of which NOS is the official Energy Drink. To kickoff the new partnership NOS Energy Drink and the ID Agency invited Dan to be an honorary guest at the 1st annual NOS Energy Drink Grand Prix party. NOS Energy Drink and The ID Agency wish Dan continued success in the IndyCar series and for the 2009 Indy 500.

PUMA North America has selected the ID Agency to handle strategic public relations for PUMA’s involvement in the 2009 Gumball Rally. ID will be assisting PUMA as they enter 3 teams in this years Gumball rally across America. ID will also produce a VIP event to be held in Santa Monica days before the rally kickoff on May 1st. Media and VIP guests will be invited and the official PUMA team cars will be unveiled. Please contact the ID Agency if you are interested in attending the PUMA Gumball event or have any questions regarding PUMA’s partnership with Gumball 3000.

For more information please visit: www.pumagumball.com

Rockstar Games, XBOX 360, and SA Studios Global hosted a special VIP preview event for Grand Theft Auto IV “The Lost and the Damned”.  The ID Agency was brought on to handle Automotive Media Relations for this launch event.

XBOX GTA IV Event