Formula DRIFT 2009 Awards

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Now that the 2009 season is complete here is the list of award winner’s from this year’s season finale banquet:

Driver or the Year = Chris Forsberg – NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z

Mechanic of the Year = Koji Haraguchi – RS*R / Scion Racing for Ken Gushi

Team Owner/Manager of the Year = Eddie Kim- Hankook / Dynamic Autosports

Rookie of the Year = Eric O’Sullivan – Rockstar / Hankook / Dynamic Autosports Subaru STi

Most Improved Driver of the Year = Stephan Verdier – Cooper Tire Subaru STi

Best Comeback of the Year = Ken Gushi – RS*R Scion Racing TC

Best Tandem Battle of the Year = Gushi/Ueo @ Round 6: Locked and Loaded in Sonoma – Infineon Raceway

Best Style = Ross Petty – Garage Boso / Falken Tire Nissan S15

Best Looking Car = Ross Petty – Garage Boso / Falken Tire Nissan S15

Congrats to all the winners and everyone for a great season.

Formula DRIFT x SPOCOM SEMA Party @ Bellagio

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Two of the Largest names in the industry team up for one night of insane partying. Status and prestige await guests that cross the velvet rope.

DOUBLE DOWN presented by SpoCom & Formula D is dropping on:

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

9:30pm-2:00am.

The Bank Night Club

Inside The Bellagio Resort & Casino

Las Vegas, Nevada

+21 and over event

As a huge year end thank you from both Formula D and SpoCom this event is entirely FREE!  That is right no strings attached. No gimmicks. No wondering if you are really on the list.  All you need to do is email [email protected] and you are in.  It is that simple.  Just shoot over the email and you will get a confirmation reply.

Thank you again for supporting both SpoCom and FD.  We both look forward to seeing you in 2010!

Interested in Ultra Exclusive Bottle Service?  Email [email protected] or call (626) 333-1400.

Brought to you by:

AEM Electronics, Fujita, JTuned, Mizu Cooling Products, ModBall USA, Genius Tools, NOS Energy Drink, YoParts.com, and StreetFire.net

– ceso

More Local Coverage from the Finals

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The Sun
San Bernardino and the Inland Empire

and the Pasadena Sun News ran this story over the week

DRIFTING AT IRWINDALE: Tuerck wins season finale, but Forsberg takes home series title
By Keith Lair, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/17/2009 09:24:02 PM PDT

IRWINDALE – Ryan Tuerck went all-out to win the Formula Drift championship.

He did his part on Saturday night at the House of Drift, aka Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.

But it was not enough. The Derry, N.H., resident won the season finale in front of a track-record crowd of 12,000. But Chris Forsberg did just enough to claim the series title.

“Me and Chris are such good friends,” Tuerck said. “I expected him to win and if he didn’t, I’d actually be really disappointed in him.”

Forsberg, from Huntington Beach, only needed to win one round of the tandem competition to take the title. He defeated Doug Van Den Brink in a one-more-time run. On the second run, his Nissan 350Z seemed to sputter.

Forsberg took the full five minutes that he is allotted to make sure everything was OK.

“It was a little stall down the straight,” he said. “I don’t know what it was. Coming off the track, I was hoping for the one more time because I didn’t think I was going to get the win. I knew the judges were going to make me work for it.”

The crew checked the gas and the connections to the ignition. He then got enough of a gap on Van Den Brink to notch the victory and advance to the Round of 16, thus clinching the series title. He lost to Robbie Nishida in the Round of 16 when he clipped the exit wall while chasing on the second run.

“It was just clean,” he said of the first round. “A little gremlin almost got us. After that, I was real nervous. I thought it would be an issue.”

After he had taken off the safety harness in his convertible, he was pulled out of the car by the amateur drivers and his crew and then tossed several times in the air.

“They just ripped me out of the car,” he said. “I’ve never had that before. It still feels crazy. It will take a little while for (the title) to settle in.”

Tuerck, meanwhile, had to hope that Forsberg would lose in the Round of 32 and he would win the event to take the title. He defeated Tanner Foust, the 2007-08 series champion, in a tight semifinal race and Tyler McQuarrie in the finals. It was his second win of the season. He also won in the season opener at Long Beach.

McQuarrie beat surprising semifinalist Mat Powers. Foust downed Powers for third place.

In a first-round surprise, Diamond Bar’s Alex Pfeiffer, in his fifth race back in the series, knocked out 2008 Irwindale champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. in the first round.

Long Beach Press Telegram Coverage of the Finals

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Pawlak gets powered up

MOTORSPORTS: Long Beach local grabs top qualifier spot for Formula Drift finale at Irwindale.

By Tim Haddock, Correspondent

Posted: 10/16/2009 11:32:42 PM PDT

IRWINDALE – One driver from Long Beach took his first step to ending his Formula Drift season on a high note. For three other drivers from Long Beach, it’s been a bit of a rough year.

Justin Pawlak, a 30-year-old from Long Beach, was the top qualifier for the Formula Drift season finale at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Friday night. Pawlak is in 10th place in the Formula Drift standings.

“It was definitely not easy,” Pawlak said. “I just really focused I what I wanted to do. I did a lot of mental preparation. I want to win tomorrow and this was the first step in doing that.”

Long Beach’s Kyle Mohan, Cody Parkhouse and Michael Essa enter tonight’s finale without a chance for a championship. With nearly 40 cars attempting to qualify for 32 starting spots, making the field would be an accomplishment for the three drivers.

More after the jump

Continue reading Long Beach Press Telegram Coverage of the Finals

LA Times Coverage of the Formula DRIFT Finals

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Photobucket


Chris Forsberg wins Formula Drift championship

October 17, 2009 | 10:32 pm

Chris Forsberg, a driver from Huntington Beach, won his first Formula Drift championship in the season finale at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night.

Forsberg, driving a Nissan 350 ZX Roadster, won the championship when he knocked out Doug VanDenBrink in the first round. But Forsrberg lost his second round race to Robbie Nishida.

Ryan Tuerck, a driver from Derry, N.H., won the Formula Drift event, beating Tyler McQuarrie of Walnut Creek in the final round. McQuarrie, driving a Nissan 350Z, finished second in the event. Tanner Foust of Laguna Beach, driving a Scion tC, finished third.

Go to Haddock in the Paddock for video interviews of the drivers and more results from the Formula Drift season finale at Irwindale.

— Tim Haddock