August 10, 2009

Formula DRIFT Round 5: Breaking Point Results;
Chris Forsberg Takes the Victory and Maintains the Championship Points Lead

Long Beach, Calif. – August 10, 2009 – Formula DRIFT returned to Evergreen Speedway for Round 5: Breaking Point in Monroe, WA. Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Maxxis Tires Nissan 350Z takes the victory and maintains the lead in the Formula DRIFT Championship Points race. Forsberg also maintains the lead for the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize.

“What an unbelievable finish to a great weekend,” said Chris Forsberg, winner of Round 5: Breaking Point and Formula DRIFT Championship Points leader. “We were leading the points chase for the series and the Tires.com Triple Crown and just wanted a strong finish. We could not have asked for a better turnout this weekend.”

The 2-day weekend event treated the fans to both Formula DRIFT Championship action and a Pro Am competition. The drivers came prepared for any weather conditions at Evergreen Speedway as this venue hosted the first rain event in Formula DRIFT history last season, but the event remained dry all weekend with cool weather. With only 3 events remaining in the season the pressure was on for the drivers to make their mark and didn’t fail to disappoint the excited crowd.

Vaughn Gittin in the Falken Tires Ford Racing Mustang GT and Eric O’Sullivan in the Hankook / Rockstar Subaru WRX put on an exciting match, which had O’Sullivan moving on to the Finals, but would fail to run due to damage from the previous round giving Forsberg the victory. Tyler McQuarrie in the Falken Tires Nissan 350Z and Gittin fought for 3rd place and after an intense battle McQuarrie would come out on top of his Falken Tires teammate. Entering the event with the points lead, Chris Forsberg was a marked man and battled through the tough competition meeting McQuarrie in semi-finals and proved to be one of the most entertaining match-ups of the evening with both drivers putting it all on the line with their fast entry and great angle along the banking of the course. Forsberg got the best of McQuarrie in the battle of the 350Z and took home his second victory of the season, which also was the 2nd event of the Tires.com Triple Crown in which he also won the 1st event at Road Atlanta.

“It’s hard to describe the Seattle event in words. I can only say that with all the excitement and drama that unfolds on track its hard to imagine the story we are seeing could even come out of Hollywood,” said Ryan Sage, vice president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The championship is on and there are more than a few drivers that can still take the championship going into Round 6: Locked and Loaded at Infineon Raceway.”

Formula DRIFT returns to Infineon Raceway for Round 6: Locked and Loaded later this month on August 21-22. This is a special event with Formula DRIFT joining the IndyCar weekend. The best drifters in the world will share the track with the best drivers in the world including Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, and Scott Dixon. Ticket packages are available now.

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings

1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 410 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1Pontiac Solstice 363 Points
3. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Nissan 350Z 347 Points
4. Hubinette, Samuel NuFormz Dodge Viper 338 Points
5. Gittin, Vaughn Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT 336.50 Points
6. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 316 Points
7. Nishida, Robbie Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z 314 Points
8. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC 303.50 Points
9. Pawlak, Justin Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8 298 Points
10. Brakohiapa, Tony Cooper Tire Ford Mustang 282 Points
11. Petty, Ross Garage Boso / Falken Nissan S15 280.75 Points
12. Maeng, Joon Maxxis / LS Auto Nissan S13.5 275.75 Points
13. Aono, Taka Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla 273 Points
14. Mordaunt, Patrick PM Racing Nissan S13 268.25 Points
15. Verdier, Stephan Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI 263 Points
16. Yoshihara, Daijiro Falken Tire / Discount Tire Lexus IS350 260 Points

Round 5: Breaking Point Event Results
1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z
2. Eric O’Sullivan Hankook / Rockstar Subaru WRX
3. Tyler McQuarrie Falken Tires Nissan 350Z

Tires.com Triple Crown Point Standings after 2 of 3 events
1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 205 Points
2. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 150 Points
3. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice 149 Points

Next Stop Infineon Raceway for Round 6: Locked and Loaded in Sonoma, CA! Be sure to check back for more info on the Formula D x Fatlace Event 2.

UFC president Dana White held a press conference today and made a few announcements including the return of “Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz, who many though the bad blood between White and Ortiz could not be settled, but I guess it is all good now. This raises some interesting matches that could be in the future as Tito came close to beating Rashad Evans and “almost” submitted Machida giving him a great fight. According to the press release we probably won’t see him in the ring until November or December and maybe against UFC veteran Mark Coleman.

More news comes with the change in the headlining fight of UFC 103 with Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort. The match orginally had Franklin vs. Dan Henderson, but with Henderson’s domination over Michael Bisping another title shot with Anderson Silva could be in his future. Belfort is a great fighter and has wins over Wanderlei Silva and Randy Couture.

But the biggest news is that with the cancellation of Affliction’s league after Josh Barnett tested positive (again) for steroids and the main event of Barnett vs. Fedor Emelianenko being cancelled, which pretty closed down shop for the organization. Rumors had Fedor coming to the UFC to fight Brock Lesnar, which would be the largest UFC match ever and probably the highest rated pay-per-view of all time for them. Things get tricky as Fedor’s management want to co-promote and ride what the UFC has built over the last 10 years. I would love to see this fight happen and I’m sure most would as this could catapult MMA into the limelight even further.

Next weekend is the boy lightweight champion BJ “the Prodigy” Penn vs. Kenny Florian at UFC 101 and with BJ’s new training program at the RVCA gym he is looking to be in great shape. I hope that BJ wins in a big way and puts all doubts aside after his loss to GSP. The other main event fight is with middleweight champion Anderson Silva stepping up a weight class to fight former light weight champion Forest Griffin. I really think this will be a good match, but Anderson will get the win in the end.

On the way to Vegas with Em we briefly met with the Meister watch dudes to pick up some timepieces for the event. Meister is now the official timekeeper of FD so be on the look out for more. Each podium winner for the rest of the season will not receive a watch courtesy of Meister. They also graciously donated a watch for the Formula D Charity Blackjack Tournament (more on this later.)

Thanks for the hook-up…the non-Fatlace all black Meister “Super Star”

The “Super Star” is super comfy and has tons of tiny details that separate this watch from the rest. I actually had a few people randomly ask what I was wearing.

After arriving to the Aliante, the official hotel of Formula D Round 4. This spot is dope and I’m not just saying that cause I worked out the partnership. It’s super clean, modern, and has all the amenities you could want, while avoiding the craziness of the “Strip”.

After a long night gambling with the guys…I got up really early for Vegas time (actually a time when some go to bed) at 5:30 am. Picked up Darren McNamara and met with another FD driver Chris Forsberg at Hot 97.5 radio station for an on-air morning show interview to promote the event.

Later that same day headed to the track to set-up a photoshoot with Super Street, the new Miss FD, Miki Taka, and Driver Ross Petty with with Garage Boso Nissan S15. This car is one of best cars out there and Ross is just a crazy dude. Him and his crew are like wild animals and just have fun and do what they want…pretty much how drifting and anything in general should be.

Then it was right into media ride alongs. Ride alongs can sometimes be a pain as you need to prep the riders, find drivers willing to participate, have waivers signed, make sure the helmet fits, and clear it with the track for safety. But this sunset was worth the workload.

Later that night we held the first annual Formula DRIFT Charity Blackjack tournament…more on that later (I promise.) Friday morning was time to get to real work and was spent at the track for practice, qualifying, and driver autographs. I really appreciate that the driver’s take the time to meet and greet with fans in the heat. One fan in particular stood out as he custom designed and colored a pair of Vans into the Falken color scheme. Super sick…I should of gotten his contact info so I can have some custom kicks done up.

Main event Saturday went very well. It was a very long day…got up at 10 am to be at the track by 2 for my media briefing. My main event day usually is packed with the media briefing, setting up the media center in this case 2 media centers, setting up media interviews, then live blogging on the FD blog, live round by round Tweets for the FD Twitter, setting up the podium to make sure the media and Jose get their shots, then my work day doesn’t end until I have the standings, results, and press release completed. Thankfully, I had great help all weekend with Emily and Jose as always.

I even was able to get Jarod some love. Interview with Wealth TV…stay tuned.

Matt Powers Fan Club

One thing that I was bummed out about the weekend was that it was the same weekend as UFC 100. But luckily the boys at Toyo Tires had it ordered at their booth. So once the half-time event started I quickly made my way to watch it. I came just in time to see Dan Henderson KO Bisping in dramatic fashion…perfect timing. Half-time ended just as Brock Lesnar demolished Frank Mir and had the ref call the fight. I must have some good karma points…although I wasn’t able to bet on the fights.

Left the track with Jose (trooper for sure) at 3am…let loose with some blackjack until breakfast time. Short nap til the Pool Party (only downside of setting events like this up are that you have to be there on time).

The Garage Boso dudes “Get Silly!”

Vegas RD2…next weekend

Formula DRIFT Round 4: All In Results;
Tanner Foust Takes the Victory and Chris Forsberg Moves to Top Spot

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.

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.”

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. 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.

“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

Full official standings available on: www.formuladrift.com

Thursday got off to a very early start (after gambling all evening into the AM) with an in-studio radio interview for Formula DRIFT drivers points leader Darren McNamara and 3rd place in points Chris Forsberg for Hot 97.  The drivers did their thing and the promo proved to work with extra tickets being sold.

The PR game continues and in yesterday’s and today’s Las Vegas Review Journal are two great articles.  One features Ross Petty and the other on Tyler McQuarrie.

This is the Top 32 Competition Bracket from tonight’s Round 4: All In event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Live blog updates throughout the evening and also round by round Tweets via Formula DRIFT Twitter and also on my Twitter page for some Twit Pics.

Congratulations to Robbie Nishida for Qualifying 1st.

Driver: Car #: Score:
1 R. Nishida 31 96
2 K. Ueo 15 95.4
3 J. Pawlak 13 95.1
4 M. Haraguchi 326 91.6
5 D. Yoshihara 9 89.7
6 S. Hubinette 77 88.5
7 C. Rydquist 46 87.5
8 S. Verdier 12 85
9 M. Essa 101 83.5
10 C. Forsberg 64 82
11 T. Suell 777 81.2
12 K. Mohan 99 80.7
13 E. O’Sullivan 35 79
14 K. Yamanaka 7 78.9
15 R. Tuerck 44 76.6
16 K. Gushi 5 74.1
17 T. McQuarrie 17 73.5
18 T. Aono 86 71.3
19 V. Gittin 25 71
20 T. Foust 1 70.8
21 P. Mordaunt 90 68.9
22 R. Miki 26 67
23 B. Sherman 22 64.8
24 Y. Kondo 52 62.5
25 R. Petty 808 62.2
26 M. Takatori 23 60
27 A. Pfeiffer 88 59.8
28 K. Hayashida 33 59.2
29 J. Maeng 51 57.8
30 T. Brakohiapa 18 55.7
31 M. Powers 32 52.7
32 C. Canul 30 46.5
33 J. Jones 29 38.3
34 D. McNamara 8 38
35 J. LeJeune 333 27.4
36 R. Ewerth 27 24.3
37 R. Millen 6 21
38 C. Parkhouse 562 0
39 G. Lang 68 0
40 C. Kregorian 14 0
41 C. Wan 3 0

Notable notes…point leader Darren McNamara fails to make it into Top 32 competition due to car problems in his Saturn Sky and trying to qualify in teammate Calvin Wan’s Nissan S15. Rhys Millen also fails to qualify into the Top 32.

More to come including the Formula DRIFT championship Top 32 competition results and tomorrow’s pool party.

Mister Cartoon, Livestrong, and Nike have teamed up to release a special Air Force 1.

Mister Cartoon designed a limited edition tee that will accompany the new shoe and will be on hand for an autograph signing for the release event.

The release is at 11:59 PM on Thursday at the Last Laugh in Los Angeles.

From TMZ

We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50.

Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

Jackson had 13 number one hits during his solo career.

If you want to listen to dope MJ mix download DJ Ayres mix