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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (November 8, 2013) – Rockstar Energy Drink
driver Tanner Foust scored his fourth Global Rallycross podium of the year at
an exciting season finale held under the lights of the Las Vegas strip on
Thursday evening.
It was a strong event from start to finish for the
two-time Global Rallycross champion, with Foust taking the top qualifying
spot and winning both of his heats en route to the action-packed Final.
But in the Final, where gaining the hole-shot through the
first corner is key to success, Foust took a gamble on the start lights and
leapt off the line a fraction of a second too soon.
“I was trying to time the light off the start,”
said Foust. “It always looks like a huge jump start when you’re a car
length ahead going through the first corner and I thought I had it.”
Officials disagreed, ruling after repeated tape reviews
that Foust had made a false start. He was black flagged and directed to serve
a stop-and-go penalty mid-race that cost him a chance at the win.
“I served the fastest stop-and-go penalty I could and
when I got back out on the course I landed in the middle of a war zone,”
said Foust. “I wasn’t sure what position I was in but there were a lot
of cars to fight through.”
The driver climbed back through the pack to chase down
longtime rival Travis Pastrana, overtaking him for second place. But there
weren’t enough laps left for Foust to reel in leader Ken Block. The
second-place result was enough to secure Foust the runner-up position in the
2013 championship.
“Even with the penalty I’m happy,” said
Foust. “It was a great couple of days for my team and to have Ford take
the top-three spots in the championship is a season for all of us to be proud
of. Thanks to the hard work of my team and the support of my sponsors and
fans, it has been an incredible year.”
All three drivers on the podium are familiar faces to fans
of action motorsport. Foust, along with Block and Pastrana, have been
jostling for podium positions since car racing debuted at X Games in 2006.
All three are longtime competitors who first met each other on the American
stage rally circuit nearly a decade ago.
The finale of the nine-round championship in Sin City saw
the realization of the young series’ potential. A standing-room-only crowd
roared enthusiastically for the non-stop racing action at a temporary circuit
built against the spectacular backdrop of the city’s famed Las Vegas strip.
The event, held in conjunction with the annual Specialty Equipment Market
Association (SEMA) trade show, played host to many top players in the
automotive industry.
“The series obviously has some good momentum and I’m
excited to see the sport grow,” said Foust. “The announcement of a
new series title sponsor for next season, as well as the involvement of
traditional motorsport supporters like Napa Chassis — who joined my team
this week — shows the strength and authenticity of the sport of rallycross.”
Rallycross is a blend of circuit racing, off-road racing
and rally competition. It promises intense crowd-pleasing action in a
fan-friendly track environment. As many as 10 drivers line up to start at
once, piloting high-horsepower compact cars through race traffic over a
challenging short course that features jumps, unbanked turns, hills and
transitions between pavement and gravel.
A 2014 championship calendar announcement is expected from
the series in the coming weeks.
ABOUT TANNER FOUST:
Tanner Foust is a versatile and multi-talented driver
known for his supreme car control and a proven track record of podium
placements, national championships and world records. He is a three-time U.S.
rallycross champion (2012, 2011, 2010) who has also won four X Games gold
medals for rally (2013, 2010, 2007), and two Formula Drift championships
(2008, 2007).
He has also held multiple world records including for last
summer’s astonishing Hot Wheels Double Loop Dare, when he drove a car through
a 66-foot loop-the-loop. He also scored the indoor speed record for TV’s Top
Gear USA, and set a distance jump record with Hot Wheels when he made a 332′
ramp-to-ramp leap in a truck at the Indy 500.
His varied race experience includes multiple years of open
wheel competition, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, rally racing, various types of
sports car racing and the SCORE Baja. He has represented the USA in the
annual Race of Champions three times, teaming with NASCAR star Carl Edwards
in 2008, Travis Pastrana in 2009, and Mick Doohan in 2010.
A year after making his overseas debut in the European
Rallycross Championship in 2010 with a select campaign, Foust became the
first American driver to win a round of that championship and finished both
2011 and 2012 ranked in the top three. The sport was first introduced to the
United States in 2010, and Foust has swept the domestic championship titles
since then.
When he isn’t racing, the professional driver also
performs in films and on television. He is an on-air host for the U.S.
version of the seminal BBC auto show Top Gear, produced by BBC Worldwide
Productions and airing on the HISTORY channel. The second season of his
YouTube documentary series, Life in the Foust Lane, is on now with new
episodes uploaded every other Thursday.
Foust is also one of the stars of Ford Racing’s Octane
Academy, which returns for a second season in 2013, and he handles stunt
driving in numerous popular films, TV shows and commercials. He is featured
as a stunt driver in the upcoming Need 4 Speed film, as well as other major
releases including the Bourne Legacy, Bourne Ultimatum, Fast and Furious:
Tokyo Drift, Dukes of Hazzard, Red Dawn and Iron Man 2 movies.
TANNER FOUST’S RALLYCROSS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY:
Rockstar Energy Drink (www.RockstarEnergy.com); Ford Racing
(www.ford.com); ENEOS Motor Oil (www.eneos.us); Motegi Racing
(www.motegiracing.com), ODYSSEY Battery (www.odysseybattery.com); Illest
(www.illestbrand.com); and Horizon Hobby (www.horizonhobby.com)
MORE INFORMATION:
www.tannerfoust.com
To arrange interviews, contact Fred Chang from Tanner
Foust’s management team.
E-mail: fred@beyondmg.com Office: 949.660.7972 x. 29 EFAX: 949.480.0638 Mobile: 714.623.1995 www.beyondmg.com |
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