NonStopTuning 2012 XDC Team: Joshua Steele, Will Parsons, Chelsea DeNofa

The Xtreme Drift Circuit, known for a hot mix of cars and exciting tandem competitions, returned to Central Florida Racing Complex for round 3 of its U.S.A tour, on May 20, 2012. Minutes from Disney World and Sea World, CFRC has become Orlando Florida’s main venue for grassroots and pro-am drift events in recent years and this year’s XDC event was one of the most exciting to date.

Chelsea DeNofa Giving Chase To Joshua Steele

NonStopTuning’s 2012 Drift Team, consisting of Will Parsons‘ Toyota AE86, Chelsea DeNofa’s BMW E36,  and Joshua Steele’s Nissan S13 were out in full force for this event. XDC’s other well known drivers Dan Savage, Nate Hamilton, Jeremy Lowe, Mike Pollard, Stewart Leask, and several others were also in attendance.

Joshua Steele Laying Down The Line For Will Parsons

Saturday’s test & tune/practice sessions allowed drivers a chance to get acclimated to the new course layout (opposite direction vs the 2011 layout) and practice their entries.  Up and coming grassroots drivers Kelsey Rowlings, Andrew Mensah, and others used this time to show off their talents and measure their skills against the more seasoned veterans.

Stewart “The Silver Bullet” Leask

Nate “Little Tex” Hamilton

Dan “Rapper” Savage

Mother Nature did not disappoint on Sunday, gracing the Sunshine State with blue skies and lots of sun for qualifying and tandem competition. NST’s three drivers all qualified for the tandem rounds with Joshua Steele, Chelsea DeNofa, and Will Parsons qualifying 12th, 6th, and 4th respectively.

Joshua Steele In The LS1 S13

Chelsea DeNofa Smoking Up The Sunshine Skies

Will IN FOR THE KILL Parsons & The Classic AE86

The full list of qualifiers:
1. Nate Hamilton
2. Jeremy Lowe
3. Mike Pollard
4. Will Parsons
5. Stewart Leask
6. Chelsea DeNofa
7. Dan Savage
8. James Evans
9. Jason Jiovani
10. Patrick Goodin
11. Eric Conkling
12. Josh Steele
13. Lee Alexander
14. Andrew Mensah
15. Alan Brentzel
16. Kelsey Rowlings

The Florida fans really came alive during the Top 16 battles, and the drivers used that energy to turn up the heat on some exciting tandem battles.  The biggest battle of the round would pit two Texas V8s against one another; Stewart Leask and Joshua Steele both had great runs, with Steele sneaking into the Great 8.  Next up for NST was Will Parsons vs. Lee Alexander in the ASD S13; Parsons took the win with clean lines and a big follow run.  Chelsea DeNofa vs. Eric Conkling would round out the Top 16 battles for NST, with DeNofa getting the win after solid tandem runs.

The Battle Of The Big V8s.  Joshua Steele vs. Stewart Leask

Will Parsons & Lee Alexander At The Clip

The biggest battle in the Great 8 would pit NST teammates Joshua Steele and Will Parsons against each other.  This battle of turbo 4 cylinder vs. big V8 would go to Parsons after a spin by Steele during his follow run, and would send Parsons to the Final 4 for the fourth time in the last four XDC events.  Chelsea DeNofa would get the win vs. good friend Mike Pollard, in a battle of Euro (BMW E36) vs. Japanese (Nissan S13) drift icons, to move onto the Final 4.

The Final 4 rounds would result in some really tight battles between Will Parsons, Nate Hamilton, Chelsea DeNofa, and Jeremy Lowe.  As the smoke cleared and the sun began to set, Parsons would have to settle for fourth overall after awesome battles against Hamilton’s Nissan and Lowe’s Mazda RX7.  DeNofa would take out fellow Florida native Lowe and Little Tex Hamilton to finish the weekend as the overall event winner.  With the win, DeNofa continues his dominance in the XDC as the man with the most podium finishes in the history of the series.

Parsons vs. Lowe In The Final Four

DeNofa Taking Out Hamilton For The Win!

Overall finishing order:
1. Chelsea Denofa
2. Nate Hamilton
3. Jeremy Lowe
4. Will Parsons
5. Mike Pollard
6. Dan Savage
7. Jason Jiovani
8. Josh Steele
9. Stewart Leask
10. James Evans
11. Pat Goodin
12. Eric Conkling
13. Lee Alexander
14. Andrew Mensah
15. Alan Brentzel
16. Kelsey Rowlings

NST FUN FACTS:

• NonStopTuning has more podium finishes than any other team in the history of the XDC
•  Will Parsons is the only driver in the XDC to have competed at every round of the US tour since its inception
• Chelsea DeNofa has more podium finishes than any driver in the history of the XDC
• Will Parsons is the only driver to finish fourth or higher at four consecutive XDC events
• NonStopTuning’s drivers have traveled apx 30,000 miles a year over the past three years in route to back to back XDC championships

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the great fans who came out to cheer on their favorite drivers and our 2012 sponsors who help to make all of this possible: BC Racing Suspensions, SPEC Clutches & Flywheels, South Side Performance Inc, Nevrslo Motors, Technica Motorsports, WEIR Performance, and Garret Turbochargers.

Check out the great video recap of Joshua Steele’s weekend, shot and edited by Cody Slack of Apex US Blog:

NST – NonStopTuning
http://www.NonStopTuning.com