A little while ago, I got the chance to talk with a local Florida driver, Jason Jiovani. Currently driving a 240sx, he has worked his way up from the grassroots drift level and aims at competing in FormulaD in the near future.
Well Jason, to get this started off, I would like to say thank you for letting us get the opportunity to talk to you and letting us feature you on the site.
No problem, I am 100% behind the SavingTheRoots concept. I still attend many entry level events to help as an instructor or other event needs.
What car do you currently compete in?
1991 Nissan 240sx. It is a proven chassis, and I actually had my first one back in 2000, when they were still “grandma’s car” around the street racing crowd. This one boasts about 400rwhp and 390rwtrq running the LS1. We aren’t stock LS1 of course. I use the Trick Flow top end kit with heads, cam, and a few other goodies. Power transfers via my Exedy Hypertwin
(uhh-mazing) to my Nexens <3 (haters gonna hate). The majority of my setup are listed at http://j1nracing.com/?page_id=19
What got you into drifting? Did you find it on youtube/vimeo? Or did you just watch a certain driver and you knew that’s what you wanted to do?
High school. Somone brought in an import magazine with an article on the “Slide Squad”. This was a pair of American’s in Japan who were driving a Civic, and a Silvia (both blue if I recall) and were giving instructions on how to slide each. This was back in 1999/2000 and what made me want a 240sx.
What are some of your goals for the 2012 season? Plan on doing any FormulaD events?
I really want to run FormulaD this year. The best way to improve is to drive with better drivers, and if I’m going to travel, I might as well go big right? The only thing I need is a little financial backing to make it happen.
How long have you been drifting?
Technically I first time I drifted a car was back in 1999. Matt Vassallo (Enjuku Racing’s first FD driver) was a classmate and was teaching me to drive stick in his Z31. After 5 minutes, I slid a corner with it. By the time we had an event near me (2004), I was pretty good with my single slammer with its glorious open diff.
www.myspace.com/video/boxhole/drifting-in-04/3044887
I drove 1-2 more events with that thing, and decided to save up for a real setup. 2006 I rolled out my sr20det car and after 4 years running it as a stock t25 at 15psi boost, I made the swap to V8. I can’t express the importance of learning with less power, and getting technique before heading for power.
Do you still get the same thrill and rush from drifting as you did when you first started?
No, the rush has actually increased. I don’t ever feel like its routine. I always try to put on a good show and that means pushing myself every time out. My favorite thing has always been giving rides to spectators. It’s fantastic to give them that new experience and re-affirms that what I can do in that car, is pretty badass.
Do you plan to drive the hatch in 2012? Or are there new plans for a new ride?
Same car, same setup mostly. I am possibly adding some power, my goal is 500 n/a at the wheels. There will definitely be some visual enhancements which I am working on now. The car should be ready for show in a few weeks.
How was LS Fest? I heard you had a pretty good showing?
LS Fest was actually really fun overall. The course design was not my favorite, and the weather was all over the place, but the drivers and staff made it work. The event was pretty intense with not only drifting, but autocross, drags, and show cars all over- all with the LS family powering them. I psyched myself out of my top-4 battle, and in the round for 3rd I narrowly was beaten by James Evans in his amazing 350z.
Well Jason, I hope to see you have an awesome 2012 drift season! And thank you again for letting us feature you on SaveTheRoots!
Thanks for having me and if anyone wants to know more about the car, check out some media, see where I’ll be driving, or any questions about drifting, they can check out my website at www.J1Nracing.com and hit me up on Facebook.
Jason Jiovani – (727) 742-9156
Nexen Tire (CA) TrickFlow Performance (OH)
ASD Motorsports (NC) Exedy Racing Clutch (MI)
ISIS Performance (FL) Sparco (CA)
ExtremeDimensions.com (CA) XXR Wheels (CA)
Flex-a-Lite (WA) SSP Vinyl (FL)
U Nation NissanAutoSports
EagleRod (MS) Enjuku Racing (FL)
K&N Filters (CA) E3 Spark Plugs (FL)
Improved Racing (FL)
All-American Street Car Performance (FL)
Picture rights to:
Floridaracing.org
Christopher Brut
Manuel Cintron
Cool stuff! Good luck to Jason in FD