MONROE, WA (July 10 2010, PAPADAKIS RACING) – Tanner Foust drove his Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC to his first overall victory of the 2010 Formula DRIFT season this weekend during an action-packed Round 4 in Monroe, WA. The victory boosts Foust into second-place in the series standings, with three rounds remaining in the season.
Unusually hot weather in Washington brought out thousands of enthusiastic fans for two days of close competition. The action was so intense that Foust faced four one-more-time calls on his way to the win.
“I haven’t seen that level of commitment – and carnage – in a competition in a long time,” said Foust. “That was some of the hardest driving I’ve ever done.”
The die-hard Northwestern fans flock to this course for its banked, high-speed first corner before an infield section that includes a series of tight turns, a close trackside wall and no margin for error.
“The course is incredible, and to run it just inches from another driver’s door is just an insane feeling,” said Foust.
The Rockstar Energy Drink SCION tC, prepared by Papadakis Racing, proved reliable throughout the grueling event, where Foust faced two one-more-time calls from the judges in the Top 32 match-up against Forrest Wang and again in the Final Four against Darren McNamara.
“The Rockstar Energy Scion tC and our Hankook Tires took a beating out there and were excellent performers through a very long weekend of competition,” said team owner Stephan Papadakis. “We put more miles on the car here than usual and the car is still perfect at the end of the day.”
Foust is campaigning the series for a second year in the V8-powered Rockstar Energy Drink SCION tC. He is looking to become the first driver to earn three championship titles in the series.
“Winning one of these events is a huge accomplishment and we’re ecstatic to be that team this weekend,” said Papadakis. “But we’re not going to lose our focus: our goal is the championship.”
The Rockstar Energy team put in a strong performance at the opening three rounds of the series, with Foust securing third-place points in front of a sell-out crowd at the season opener in Long Beach. Round 2 saw Foust knocked out during the Top 16 in a surprising upset, while he climbed into the top three in the standings after another podium at Round 3.
Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motorsport with an emphasis on car control skill. Drivers compete in knock-out heats on a closed course, sliding sideways at high speed in trials judged on speed and style. With origins in Japan, it is the fastest growing form of motorsport in the world.
Foust and the Rockstar Energy Drink SCION tC return to Formula DRIFT competition August 20-21 when Formula DRIFT Slides into Sin City’s Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
ABOUT TANNER FOUST —
Versatile Tanner Foust is a two-time Formula Drift Formula DRIFT champion (2007, 2008). He has been invited to every X Games Rally competition, with the Rockstar Energy Drink driver scoring gold in 2007, silver in 2008 and bronze in 2009. He has twice represented Team USA in the annual Race of Champions, teaming with NASCAR star Carl Edwards in 2008 and Travis Pastrana in 2009.
His race experience also includes multiple seasons of open wheel competition, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, five Ice Racing championships, a Production Rally Championship title and the SCORE Baja. He also holds class lap records at numerous US road courses in Time Attack.
Also a stunt driver, Foust was a lead driver in the Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Bourne Ultimatum, Dukes of Hazzard, Red Dawn and Iron Man 2 movies, and can also be seen driving in numerous popular TV shows and commercials.
He is currently an on-air host for Supercars Exposed, and was also picked as co-presenter for the US version of the seminal BBC auto show, Top Gear.
ABOUT PAPADAKIS RACING —
Team owner Stephan Papadakis is a legend of sport-compact racing who began building his reputation in the 1990s with the first front-wheel-drive, tube-chassis drag car in the U.S.
The team earned multiple records and championships in the discipline, turning in elapsed times and trap speeds previously thought unattainable in front-drive drag cars. Papadakis’ successes in front-wheel drive were matched by his efforts in rear-wheel drive when he campaigned a Civic that became only the fifth car to join the NHRA’s Sport Compact 200 MPH club.
The team began drifting in 2005, and invited Tanner Foust to join them a year later. Papadakis Racing has shown impressive results in five years of Formula DRIFT competition, earning two championship titles (2007, 2008). The Rockstar Energy Drink SCION tC is the team’s latest competition build.
PAPADAKIS RACING IS PARTNERED WITH:
Rockstar Energy Drink, Scion, Hankook Tire, AEM, Tokico Performance Shocks, Memphis Car Audio, ACT Clutch, Eneos Oil, Motegi Wheels, SPC Performance, Magnaflow Exhaust
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