Known well in the DL as a master painter, o JDM Only is taking on a new platform and entering in FDA’s Pro-Am series, Streetwise. I got the chance to fit in an interview with his busy schedule. As he competes to become a Pro, we chatted about his new car, his sponsors for the season, and what he would like to achieve while running along side his teammates.
First may I ask what competition history, if any, do you have so far?
Not that much if I have to say, I did SRC once, but that didn’t turn out that great in the past, but everyone got their moments. I’ve been long around the community though and have been more drifting ”Underground” if you have to say it like that.
Now tell us about your car and why your chose an S14?
I chose the S14 because I’m a big S-Chassis fan, Always been drifting the PS13 in the S-Chassis family and i just wanted to try a younger brother of the PS13 basically haha. Well i run my S14 with a 2.4 L SR20 (SR24DET Redtop) its pushing at this moment 460HP / 339 LB-FT and it doing the job pretty well. I hope I don’t get any major engine problems what so ever in SWD this season and just have a lot of fun and maybe make new friends around the Pro-AM.
Now onto that paint. A lot of us have seen you in that wrap for awhile and may I be the first to ask, what inspired you to run that Japanese Style Paint?
If I have to say, always been and still am a big fan of the Japanese culture and the overall drifting style there. My S14 has been built by MCR Factory, a shop that builds drift cars owned by Masashi Yokoi (Team Mind Control) that’s also why it looks so much like their cars on some point. Just representing my own team though, Team Free Spirit, but also the MCR shop.
Now out of all Pro-Am championships, why are you choosing Streetwise and what are you hoping to achieve in Pro-Am?
I chose SWD because of my teammates, who also signed up for it and also because of the time zone, which really suited my schedule. As for what I’m expecting to achieve, of course I’d like to end up in the Top 5 overall by the last round. Round 1 is set in Road Atlanta and I’m not a big fan of it but, I hope my car and I perform to the best that we can and just make it to the Top 16 or Great 8. The most important thing though, as always, is to have fun! Also, I love this quote by Maverick from MCON: ”Anyone has a chance at knocking the big players out of contention. I’m just going to give it my all, and charge hard towards my goal of becoming pro”. So yeah guys just look out for everyone!
Okay, last one. Tell us about your team and sponsors that you have for Pro-Am.
Well I run with the team, Team Free Spirit. A Japanese based drifting team. We are around since 2012 (former Team Orange). I personally been sponsored by these brands for a little while now: MCR Factory, DMAX, SuperMade, Nankang Tire, Fuzzy-Tune, Koyorad, MightColor and Hustler. It looks much for just a Pro-Am, but in Japan I’ve been running the car for a while now, like I said. I get the car shipped this weekend to the US of A for Round 1 of SWD soon.
Thank you for your time JDM. Steetwise is going to be tough for JDM as, out of all the Pro-Am series, it has the most competitors signed up. We at AlienLab wish JDM the best of luck as he takes on the StreetWise Drift series this season.
Interview by HKS Slider
The Alien Lab 