Kenda Tires Announces 2024 Formula Drift Driver Roster

Motortopia Staff . April 04, 2024 . Press Release

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Reynoldsburg, OH (April 2, 2024) — Kenda Tires announces their expanded 2024 driver roster for the 2024 Formula Drift (FD) Pro season. Kenda made their team debut in the 2023 season with the launch of their new tire – the Vezda UHP MAX. The Kenda Team consisted of four drivers across the eight-round season of competition. For 2024, Kenda is raising the bar on their Podium2Pavement™ tour and expanding their team to eight drivers with a wide range of experience and depth of talent.

• Derek Madison- In his rookie season in FD Pro, having moved up from ProSpec.
• Ryan Litteral- An experienced FD Pro known for campaigning the RB engine.
• Jhonnattan Castro- Factory Toyota driver and 5X Dominican Republic Drift Champion.
• Alec Robbins- Campaigning his Nissan and returning to Team Kenda for 2nd year.
• Taylor Hull- Returning to Team Kenda for Year 2 with his Corvette and signature hat.
• Jonathan Hurst- A hungry fan favorite who is campaigning a new build in 2024 with a
Cadillac XLR chassis, albeit heavily modified.
• Nick Noback- The defending winner of the 2023 season finale at Irwindale with an all-new
livery on his BMW E46 (soon to be revealed).
• Ken Gushi- A legendary “OG” of Formula Drift from its inception in 2004, Ken is also a
Factory Toyota driver and is returning with JDM tuning legend GReddy for the 2024 season.

“2023 was our debut year with the new tire,” said Edward Koczan, Motorsports Program Manager for Kenda Tires USA. “We were determined to use that season as a learning year though, while we supported our drivers and introduced the Vezda UHP MAX tire. In 2024, we’re ready to race with our largest lineup ever in Formula Drift.”
“For Kenda Tires, the Podium2Pavement™ message is the Kenda Motorsports mantra behind our racing involvement” said Brandon Stotsenburg, VP of Automotive for Kenda Tires USA. “We only compete in series that use D.O.T. tires in competition. We race and win, on the same tires our dealers are selling, and consumers are buying. Last year, we captured three world championships in the Championship Off-Road series with our Klever light truck tires. This year, we have our focus on bringing home our first Formula Drift podium on the Vezda UHP MAX.”

For this 2024 season, Kenda Tires will focus on enhanced fan engagement and activation, while also forging B2B partnerships at each round for selected Kenda Tire retail customers and distributor partners. Kenda will be announcing additional fan-facing activities and contests centered around Team Kenda at each event, and Team Kenda drivers will be also engaging with fans on the official Kenda Motorsports Instagram page with driver takeovers and other content planned.
For more information about the Kenda Motorsports program and to follow along in 2024, please follow the official Kenda Motorsports social media accounts on Instagram and TikTok @kendamotorsports, @KendaTiresUSA on YouTube, and www.KendaTire.com.
For more information on Formula Drift visit formuladrift.com and @formulad on Instagram.

ABOUT KENDA TIRE
Founded in 1962, Kenda Tire is a global leader in tire and wheel manufacturing with market presence in multiple industries, including automotive and light truck, bicycle, motorcycles, ATV, RV, industrial, golf, and more. With more than 12000 employees globally, Kenda Tire prides itself as an organization where quality, honesty, innovation, and customer service are core values.