---
title: "New Book Tells the Story of RTR, an American Drift Team That Exploded Into Way More"
date: "2026-07-25"
modified: "2026-07-25"
authors:
  - name: "Stephen Edelstein"
    job_title: "Weekend Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/stephen-edelstein"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/new-book-tells-the-story-of-rtr-an-american-drift-team-that-exploded-into-way-more"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Drifting"
  - "RTR"
---

# New Book Tells the Story of RTR, an American Drift Team That Exploded Into Way More

![Vaughin Gittin Jr. drifts a Ford Mustang](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/readytorock_vaughngittinjr_canter06_0726.jpeg>)
*\<em\>Jay Canter/Carrara Media\</em\>*

If you've been following the car scene at pretty much any point since the turn of the century, you've probably heard of RTR. With a name so obvious—RTR stands for "ready to rock"—it's surprising no one else thought of it. Vaughn Gittin Jr. and company led a two-pronged assault on car culture with racing and tuning, and the story of RTR's growth from a grassroots effort into a major player in the automotive aftermarket can fill a book. Literally.

*Ready To Rock* chronicles the history of RTR from its founding in 2009 up to today in 256 pages with accompanying photos from top shooters. It's co-written by Gittin Jr. and Mike Spinelli—a familiar name around these parts—and published by [Carrara Media](<https://carrarabooks.com>), the go-to place for books on today's car culture.

![Vaughn Gittin Jr. poses with his Ford Mustang drift car](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/readytorock_vaughngittinjr_larrychen103.jpeg>)
*Larry Chen/Carrara Media*

If you're unfamiliar with the story's basic outline, Gittin Jr. started out as a pro drifter in the early 2000s, back when the sport was just launching in the United States. In 2005, he became the first American to win a D1 Grand Prix event, and he went on to become a double Formula Drift champion, winning the crown in 2010 and 2020. He still races a Mustang in Formula Drift, and makes occasional appearances in off-road events where RTR also competes.

But RTR is more than just a race team. Over the years, it began developing aftermarket parts for the Ford vehicles it raced, gradually leveling up to complete builds, including notable one-offs like [Ken Block's "Hoonicorn" Mustang](<https://www.thedrive.com/watch-this/14606/the-hoonicorn-attacks-pikes-peak-in-climbkhana>) and the seven-motor [Mustang Mach-E 1400](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/35107/of-course-ken-block-can-drift-the-seven-motor-ford-mustang-mach-e-1400>). The customer list includes [rapper T-Pain](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/41174/t-pain-is-in-full-drift-mode-with-his-new-ford-mustang-rtr-spec-2>), who also contributed a foreword for the book. The text is accompanied by photos from [Larry Chen](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/larry-chen-has-seen-it-all-and-done-it-all-with-cars-now-hes-put-20-years-of-photos-into-this-book>), Matt Marcu, and Tony Harmer, so there should be plenty of great stuff to look at as well.

![RTR drift cars](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/readytorock_vaughngittinjr_larrychen067.jpeg>)
*Larry Chen/Carrara Media*

The book arrives as RTR raises its profile in the car world and capitalizes on a bigger partnership with Ford. The automaker is now selling RTR-branded versions of the [Mustang](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/ford-just-unveiled-a-factory-built-turbocharged-drift-mustang>) and [Bronco](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/ford-bronco-rtr-adds-the-best-off-road-upgrades-this-side-of-the-raptor-for-less>) through its dealerships, [a big challenge in its own right](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/vaughn-gittin-jrs-bronco-rtr-build-has-one-hilarious-problem>).

*Ready To Rock* ships on November 2, but you can pre-order it now from Carrara in $54.99 [Standard Edition](<https://carrarabooks.com/products/ready-to-rock-standard-edition?variant=48116761198813>) and $124.99 [Limited Edition](<https://carrarabooks.com/products/ready-to-rock-limited-edition?variant=48116762378461>) forms. The latter is signed by Gittin Jr. and limited to 1,000 copies.

## Author
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he's not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/SAEdelstein>)