Photos by Jeff Naeyaert & Martin Gonzales
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Foust Takes the Victory and Forsberg Moves to Top Spot (Source: FormulaD.com)
Long Beach, Calif. – July 12, 2009 – Formula DRIFT returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round 4: All In. Champion Tanner Foust takes the victory in his Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC, while Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z moves to the top position overall in the chase for the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship.
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| Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z |
For the 2nd consecutive year, Formula DRIFT returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 2-day weekend event was filled with non-stop Formula DRIFT and Pro Am action. Fans were also treated to the Jtuned Auto Gallery car show, Wicked H.P. drag competition, and Bikini Jam.
“Las Vegas continues to be one of the top destinations for the circuit despite the triple digit weather,” said Ryan Sage, vice president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The fans continue to come out in droves and we had another sold out event. The drivers continue to step up their level of drifting and we're seeing a real chase for the Championship.”
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| Tanner Foust moves up in the finals as Kazu Hayashida spins out in turn 1 |
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| Chris Forsberg in the NOS 350Z up against Ryan Tuerck in his Pontiac Soltice |
Chris Forsberg took over the point lead after a close battle with Ryan Tuerck, who was ranked #2 going into the event, in the Great 8 round. Forsberg then went on to defeat Tyler McQuarrie, in the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z, in the consolation round for 3rd place.
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| 350Zs of Tyler McQuarrie (foreground) and Chris Forsberg (background) battle for 3rd place with the nod going to Forsberg |
The final battle was between Hankook Tire teammates Tanner Foust and Ryuji Miki, piloting the APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7. Foust proved why he is the returning champion and blinded Miki in the first run with a cloud of thick smoke that caused Miki to lose his drift, while giving chase in their first tandem run giving Foust the advantage. With a solid 2nd run, Foust was able to sit on top of the podium once again.
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| Ryuji Miki in the APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7 |
“The Rockstar team and I went from zero to hero after failing to qualify for the main competition last event,” said Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust, winner of Round 4: All In. “I am so proud of my team and they worked hard to fix the issues of the Rockstar Scion tC and I now feel comfortable and feel that this car has more potential than the Nissan 350Z ever had.”
Formula DRIFT returns to Evergreen Speedway on August 8-9. Tickets are on-sale now.
Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings
1. Forsberg, Chris | NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z | 307 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan | Gardella Racing / Mobil 1Pontiac Solstice | 294 Points
3. Hubinette, Samuel | NuFormz Dodge Viper | 271 Points
4. Gittin, Vaughn | Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT | 265.50 Points
5. McQuarrie, Tyler | Falken Nissan 350Z | 265 Points
6. McNamara, Darren | Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky | 260 Points
7. Nishida, Robbie | Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z | 259 Points
8. Foust, Tanner | Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC | 246.50 Points
9. Pawlak, Justin | Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8 | 245 Points
10. Maeng, Joon | Maxxis / LS Auto Nissan S13.5 | 227.25 Points
11. Aono, Taka | Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla | 223 Points
12. Mordaunt, Patrick | PM Racing Nissan S13 | 220 Points
13. Brakohiapa, Tony | Cooper Tire Ford Mustang | 219 Points
14. Verdier, Stephan | Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI | 214 Points
15. Petty, Ross | Garage Boso / Falken Nissan S15 | 212.75 Points
16. Yoshihara, Daijiro | Falken Tire / Discount Tire Lexus IS350 | 208 Points
Round 4: All In Event Results
1. Foust, Tanner | Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC
2. Miki, Ryuji | APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7
3. Forsberg, Chris | NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z
Tires.com Triple Crown Point Standings after 1 of 3 events
1. Forsberg, Chris | NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z | 102 Points
2. McNamara, Darren | Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky | 94 Points
3. Tuerck, Ryan | Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice | 80 Points
For more in depth coverage of Formula D Vegas, check out what our friends wrote over on MotorMavens.com:
