Danny Korecki

Writer/Content Creator for TREAD Magazine, GearJunkie,  RightFootDown, and my personal YouTube channel.

TREAD Magazine •

'87 4Runner Finds Racing Inspiration

‘87 Toyota 4Runner Goes from Stock to Serious Overlander The Toyota 4Runner definitely has a soft spot in off-road enthusiasts’ hearts; it all started with the first generation back in the mid-80s up to the current fifth generation, which has been on sale for over the last two decades. For Wayne Weidow, the inspiration for his ’87 Toyota 4Runner started with another Toyota pickup of off-road royalty and grew into this pretty capable overland rig. Weidow grew up drooling over the Toyota pickups
GearJunkie •

Toyota GR86 Drift School With the Pros & How to Get in on the Action

Our resident drift enthusiast Danny Korecki spent a day throwing around a brand-new Toyota GR86 at a pro-level drift course. The best part, Formula Drift pros taught him some skills, and you can experience it for yourself as well. Due to my love of drifting and prior coverage of professional drifting, Toyota invited me to visit Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., for some fun with the pros after the Formula Drift event weekend being held there was over. The main goal was to get behind the wheel
CNBC •

This is what it's like riding shotgun in a tire shredding, 1,000 horsepower Formula Drift race car

There are traditional motorsports and then there's Formula Drift. Founded in 2003, it's the top-tier drifting series in the U.S. If you haven't heard of it, drifting is not quite like anything else you can see at the speedway. In fact, it's perhaps the last form of hot-rodding left in motorsports. Drivers modify their cars, creating 800 to 1,000-horsepower monsters that slide sideways across the track at high speed, screeching out a cacophony of engine noise and tire smoke. Coming in hot aft
MotorTrend •

2014 Porsche 911 - If You Can't Take the Heat, Get Out the Kitchen!

You've never heard of Coalinga, California, before, and that's because it's 200 miles north of Los Angeles and 200 miles south of San Francisco. There's not too much there aside from a small town, acres of farmland, and a tiny airport where, for one weekend in April, some of the highest-horsepower sports cars on the West Coast meet for what's become one of the nation's most anticipated half-mile racing events: Never Lift. Presented by Motovicity and Shift S3ctor. The event is a great start to th
TREAD Magazine •

TOYOTA SEQUOIA MAKES NOTABLE FIRST AT KOH

There is something special about being the first. Sure coming in first in a race or competition is great, but to be the first to achieve something no one before you had put a path down to follow—that is truly special. For Derek Miller that unique thing to achieve was being the first to take on the toughest off-road race—King of the Hammers—with a 2001 Toyota Sequoia SR5. Miller’s rig is a 2001 Toyota Sequoia SR5. You might be thinking why a Sequoia? “I found a great deal on it. Needed somethin
TREAD Magazine •

HQ1 Ground Pounder Jeep Wrangler

This 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon will get you your coffee—no matter where it needs to go. The quest for perfection in the off-road world can be a long journey. Many off-road builds seem to have humble beginnings that spiral into rigs that give up daily driving duty and take on weekend trail duty. For Jim Hart of Ground Pounder Coffee, that’s exactly what happened to his 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Outside of maybe the first vehicle or two after getting his license, all of Hart’s vehicles have a
GearJunkie •

Almost Perfect: 2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro Review

One of the best off-road SUVs on the market has some pretty solid strengths but is not without its faults. The Toyota 4Runner — specifically the TRD Pro — was always at the top of our potential “next vehicle” list. My wife and I had outgrown our 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek with the arrival of our son. And when the pandemic postponed our need to immediately replace it, we took our time to sort out exactly what vehicle we wanted next. Sure, there were some other SUVs in contention, but ever since t
Autowise •

Formula Drift Is Last Hot Rodding In Motorsports | AutoWise

Is Formula Drift The Last True Hot Rodding Option In Motorsports? In Formula Drift You Can Run Whatever Engine You Want In Whatever Car You Want Every current race series has homologation rules limiting engine displacement, engine types, even engine brand – but not Formula Drift. NASCAR requires every stock car to have a big 5.8-liter V8 engine from either Chevrolet, Ford, or Toyota under the hood. IndyCar drives around with open cockpit near identical race cars with 2.2-liter twin-turbocharge
MotorTrend •

1973 De Tomaso Pantera - Muscles From Brussels

The De Tomaso Pantera is an Italian-American supercar produced from 1971 until the early '90s. The important thing to know is the Pantera is an Italian body and chassis with an American Ford V-8 stuffed in the back with a manual transmission at your fingertips. Being produced more than 20 years, the Pantera naturally found its way into motorsports, participating in multiple touring car race classes, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Pantera you see before you embodies that race car heritage
MotorTrend •

2016 Lexus GS F - Nebula

In a world with luxury sedans like the Audi RS7, Cadillac CTS-V, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, and BMW M5, it's easy for the Lexus GS F to be undeservingly overlooked. The GS F is a rear-wheel-drive thrust-performance sedan, which is one of the few offerings Lexus deemed worthy of stand-alone "F" branding. (Fun fact: "F" stands for Fuji, as in the legendary Fuji Speedway). Powered by a 5.0L V-8 engine pushing out 467 hp in stock form, the GS F is more than capable of holding its own. This '16 GS F own
MotorTrend •

2000 Nissan Stagea 260RS Autech - True Love

The Nissan Skyline GT-R is one of the most sought out sports cars in the entire world. Pick your poison: R32, R33, or R34—they all scratch that itch. As they hit the 25-year import rule, more and more R32s are starting to appear stateside (some secretively before that milestone), but what if you wanted something even more unique from the GT-R family? For Ryan Love, the Stagea is one way to scratch that itch. The Washington native was shopping for an R32 or R33 when this particular '00 Stagea 260
MotorTrend •

Deserves to Be Here - No Contest

Car enthusiast and Mitsubishi connoisseur Brett Adams was chosen by our staff to have his car featured in Super Street, and to sweeten the deal, his photoshoot was to take place with the one and only Larry Chen - a legend in the world of automotive photography. This all came about after the contest, which called for current and even new members of the popular online automotive community, to submit their builds via Instagram for a chance to be immortalized in the pages of SS. Wheelwell users get
The Drive •

Take a Behind the Scenes Look at Hoonigan's HQ: The Donut Garage

Hoonigan has been on the auto world's radar for some time and, in the last 18 months, the brand's video presence has escalated its popularity on a global scale. Last week, The Drive was able to visit the team's Donut Garage which is where the magic happens for most of Hoonigan's YouTube content for a one-of-a-kind behind the scenes tour. If you are a fan of Hoonigan, you can actually visit the HQ yourself. Located in Long Beach, California, onsite at the Donut Garage is a Hoonigan merchandise s
The Drive •

Take a Behind the Scenes Look at RAD Industries' Formula Drift Team HQ

We have covered RAD Industries and Formula Drift Pro 1 driver Dan Burkett in the past. This weekend, The Drive was able to visit the crew in person to get a behind the scenes look inside the slide-happy, name-worthy shop. RAD Industries has been in business since 2014. The name of the shop is a play on the duo of owners, the husband and wife team of Renee and Dan Burkett—basically, R(enee) And D(an) Industries. Along with a steady influx of customer cars, the shop has played temporary home to m