Vaughn Gittin Jr. is a champion pro drifter, and racing team owner. He's also an author, and he joined the official Formula Drift podcast to discuss his new book Ready To Rock.
In the interview, Gittin Jr. covers pivotal moments in his career, his professional mindset and philosophy, the growth of RTR Vehicles and more. Here are some of the highlights.
Inside the Vaughn Gittin Jr. Book
"It's been a really therapeutic process," Gittin Jr. said. "It was literally therapy."
Gittin Jr. and co-writer Mike Spinelli met frequently — for multiple hours at a time — to complete the book. In the end, they wrote eight chapters with dozens of stories covering a 25-year span.
"It's exciting to tell the story from the beginning," he said. "Such good memories and struggles, and it's crazy to think about how it got here."
Order the Standard Edition ($54.99) → Order the Limited Edition ($124.99) →
History of Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Mustangs
Gittin Jr. is heavily associated with the Ford Mustang now. But it wasn't always that way. As a kid, Gittin Jr. wasn't a Mustang fan. But the Ford Mustang GT-R concept car in 2004 changed his mind. Soon, he began working to reshape Mustang culture.
"That part of the story is so important because it's the authentic core of what RTR has become," he said. "It started out because I wanted to make Mustang cooler."
Many people aren't aware that Gittin Jr. started his drifting career in a Nissan S13. However he was quickly behind the wheel of the Falken Tire Ford Mustang. And the rest is history.
Chasing Your Passion
In the book, Gittin Jr. writes, "The universe rewards passion." He explained on the podcast that it's become his guiding principle in racing and entrepreneurship.
"The passion of driving made me passionate about the business," he said. Gittin Jr. explained that careers in industries like motorsport need to be fueled by more than money. If it's just money, you'll run out of energy.
"My business plans and approaches come from the heart," Gittin Jr. told The Outerzone Podcast. He said that negative experiences can easily spoil your journey if you let them. What matters, he said, is learning to turn difficulty into victory.
The book covers a triumphant moment in 2005, when Vaughn Gittin Jr. defeated Yasuyuki Kazama in a D1GP USA vs. Japan All-Star Exhibition. It was the first time an American topped a Japanese driver in a high-profile drifting competition.
"It was a representation that I was doing the right things," Gittin Jr. told The Outerzone Podcast. Every American driver recognized the significance of the win, and it signaled that drifting in the U.S. was ready for the next level.
"It was a bigger thing for drifting in America than it just was for me personally," he said. But collectively, it was epic."
RTR Vehicles Partnership with Ford
Coming in 2026, Ford will release the factory-built Mustang EcoBoost RTR. This drift-focused muscle car incorporates key features for the RTR-style enthusiast, such as:
- an anti-lag turbocharger;
- rear subframe from the Mustang Dark Horse;
- larger Brembo brakes;
- and a hand-operated e-brake specifically for drifting.
Gittin Jr. discuss the path toward making this partnership happen. He first approached Ford with the idea in 2010, but says he is grateful they declined him at the time. It allowed Gittin Jr. the opportunity to build and grow the RTR Vehicles brand first.
That makes the Mustang EcoBoost RTR an even more capable and intentional car than it would have been otherwise, he said.
Now, the stage has been set for Ford and RTR to collaborate on exciting projects into the future. Who knows what they'll build next?
Order the Standard Edition ($54.99) → Order the Limited Edition ($124.99) →
Ready To Rock is available for preorder now, and you can follow Vaughn Gittin Jr. on Instagram here.
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