Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Justin Pawlak, or JTP, is a drifting master. His weapon of choice is a 2018 Roush Performance Ford Mustang that he lashes around in the Formula Drift series. VMP and JTP have had a longstanding partnership. We were thrilled when he stopped by the VMP Ranch on his way to compete in Orlando. We tossed him the keys to our VMP Gen3-powered 2012 Shelby GT500, letting him loose around the Ranch. The rain threatened to dampen our fun, but we decided to take advantage of it. JTP splashed around our burnout box. This spot earned its name after he left his mark on it in his drift car last year. After thrashing our Shelby around, he literally roasted the tires off into huge piles of smoldering rubber.
A loyal customer of VMP, JTP has been running our 8-rib kit on his drift car for three years. “I knew the factory 6-rib setup was going to be an issue with how much throttle modulation we do in drifting. I contacted Justin at VMP and he set me up with the 8-rib kit. It’s been working flawlessly for the past three years,” Justin explains.
Justin has had to innovate suspension componentry. Since you can’t buy drift-friendly suspension for a brand-new Mustang, JTP prototyped his own front suspension with Hometown Fabricating. His design allows for nearly 75 degrees of steering angle. The suspension can be found on his website, HotlineGarage.com.
“I started drifting a Mustang in 2010. I wasn’t a huge fan until I had an opportunity to drive that chassis and immediately I fell in love. The power delivery is crazy from the Coyote, especially a supercharged Coyote. The chassis is actually very good for drifting – the amount of angle it can carry, the amount of grip it has. Ford did an amazing job with the redesign and I am very fortunate to be able to drive that car.”
Justin Pawlak placed in the top 10 in Orlando. He then went on to hold down top 10 at Road Atlanta. We can’t wait to see what Justin Pawlak does for the rest of the Formula Drift season.
