The new Formula DRIFT Driven Experience got off to a flying start with the commencement of the 2024 competition season. Designed to inspire school-age kids by introducing them to motorsports and hopefully help them find potential career paths, the program has been a tremendous success already, welcoming 300 students to the opening round in Long Beach and 120 to the recent Formula DRIFT Atlanta round.
The Formula DRIFT Driven Experience combines a number of specialist partners, which includes Acceler8 Education. As the Official Community Outreach Program of the series, it has already helped more than 1000 at-risk youth to discover fulfilling career opportunities. Acceler8 is part of the driving force behind the program, helping to coordinate with local schools and groups at each of the eight round of the 2024 FD season.
No less than the United States Air Force, already a major series sponsor, has got behind the Driven Experience, along with the University of Northwestern Ohio (Official Education Partner of Formula DRIFT), which is highlighting its higher education opportunities, including the popular High Performance Motorsports program.
And moving forward, Chick-fil-A will be part of the program. It provided meals for all the students in Atlanta, who were drawn from the local region as well as South Carolina.
Chick-fil-A has a history of supporting worthy causes and runs its own community programs. In addition to providing each student with an individual box meal, the group was invited to tour the Chick-fil-A Support Center, which is located at the company’s national corporate headquarters. In addition to staff training, the centre is involved in everything from restaurant design to food innovation and more.
Back at the track, students received a VIP experience at Round 2 of the 2024 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship, meeting teams and drivers to get an insight into what it takes to compete at the highest level. They also enjoyed a track walk to get a better understanding of the challenges faced by the drivers, before enjoying the spectacular action of 1200hp professional drift cars tackling the high-speed Road Atlanta course.
“We’re delighted at the early success of the Formula DRIFT Driven Experience and welcome the support of Chick- fil-A. Providing lunches for the students is a tremendous help to the Driven Experience and we are delighted to partner with CFA to deliver warm meals to each participant,” said Ryan Sage, President of Formula DRIFT.
FREE PARTICIPATION
Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, the 2024 Driven Experience is free for both students and schools. Acceler8 and Formula DRIFT will continue to manage the operations of the Driven program during the remaining six rounds of the 2024 Formula DRIFT season. Acceler8 team members will be present at each round, assisted by Air Force and FD staff. Not only do they supervise activities at each location, but they also manage program sign-ups and event logistics to ensure students are able to attend. Each participant will be gifted a swag bag with promotional items.
The Formula DRIFT Driven Experience is open to schools and organizations in the regions surrounding each event. Interested parties can contact driven@acceler8education.org to sign up or receive more information.
The remaining rounds of the 2024 Formula DRIFT series will visit the following areas:
- Orlando, FL
- Englishtown, NJ
- St Louis/Madison, IL
- Seattle/Monroe, WA
- Salt Lake City/Grantsville, UT
- Greater Los Angeles
The 2024 Formula DRIFT schedule can be found here: formulad.com/schedule
NEXT ROUND
Formula DRIFT PRO Round 3 will take place at Orlando Speed World on May 31- June 1. Please visit formulad.com for the competition schedule, ticket information, driver profiles, special content, and the event livestream
