It was a very long and busy week from pre-event to event to post-event the work never seems to end. The Hundreds came out to check out what drifting is all about (showcasing the cross-over appeal of streetwear and motorsports.) We also brought out the Famous Stars and Straps stunt bike team and they did a demo for all the fans.

All of the FD drivers autographed a custom Sparco suit for the family of the late Shaun Carlson.

Some jumbo branding on-site

Ernie from NOS Energy looked nervous as Chris battled to make it into the Top 16, which would clinch his title. Even though Ryan Tuerck who was sitting in 2nd place would take the victory, Chris had enough points (just 6) to win the championship (there was a scenario that with some magic turnout they could of both potentially tied – glad that didn’t happen as it would of stirred up some controversy.) So from the judging tower I decided to text Ernie with, “Nervous?!” as he anxiously waited for the results of the battle. I don’t blame him for his anxiety as he has backed Chris Forsberg for years and it finally all paid of. Congrats to the NOS team.

Tears of joy…(sorry bro I had to post this shot…way too good)

Now that the season has officially wrapped up it’s time to head into SEMA, which should be very interesting.

NOS Energy Drink brings you behind the scenes with Chris Forsberg for a one on one experience. Chris walks us through the history of the sport and the trials and tribulations that he, Kevin, and Sergio endured to become the first private team in the Formula DRIFT series.

Chris is now leading the points in both the Formula DRIFT championship and the Tires.com Triple Crown. If he wins he will be the first driver to do both on his way to his first Formula DRIFT title. This will also be the first time that a “pure” drifter with no other motorsports background will become the champion. We will find out if Chris will make history this weekend Oct. 15-16 at Round 7: Judgment Day of the Formula DRIFT Professional Championship at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.

packed crowd in Sonoma

NOS Energy Drink drivers from IndyCar Dan Wheldon and Formula DRIFT Chris Forsberg

Miss FD and MYX host

Opening Ceremonies

More photos after the jump

Here is my behind the scenes tour of Turn 10.

Rhys, Dai, and Chris at the Studio

The creative space complete with Foosball and Kegerator.

Where the magic happens.

For the rest of the Tour…

Rhys checks out the game storyboard

Each track was carefully created to the smallest detail

Test exhaust from the various vehicles for the most realistic sounds (one guy literally sits all day in a sound proof room listening to all the sounds to make sure they are just right to the very last turbo blow-off noise)

Dai attempts to drift in the game testing out the game control, check out his left foot braking

Chris does the same and said it was very realistic, but he does much better in real life

A drifting demo video was shown that took a year to produce. It’s pretty crazy and I can’t wait to see what people can do with Forza 3 as it’s even more detailed and the game play is more advanced. Cars / Players were positioned as clipping points and even as camera cars to capture all this footage…since there is battle damage if one run was done incorrectly they had to reset and start over each time…thus the year to produce. Maybe a Formula D version soon?

The game makers are also huge car nuts and memorabilia was everywhere

A signature worth a billion…

During the Formula DRIFT Round 4: All In event in Las Vegas the ID Agency helped coordinate the first annual Formula DRIFT Charity Blackjack Tournament. The tournament was held at the Aliante Hotel and Casino, the official hotel of Formula DRIFT Round 4, and called for drivers, sponsors, friends, and media members to make donations for entry that would go towards a good cause. 36 players joined the tournament including Formula DRIFT drivers champion Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gittin Jr., Chris Forsberg, and Ross Petty, Miss FD Miki Taka, judge Tony Angelo, the voice of Formula D, Jarod DeAnda, and of course a couple staff members and friends.

Generous sponsors donated prizes that would were awarded to the winners including XBOX 360, copies of Forza 2 video game, Puma gift cards, a Meister watch, Oakley sunglasses, Rogue Status Apparel, Attic apparel, and a 2-night stay at the Aliante.

After 3 rounds of competition the final table consisted of 6 players. Steve Choi, staff member of Formula DRIFT, walked away with the 1st place spot and his choice from the prize pool and elected to take the XBOX 360 and Forza 2 video game. 2nd place went to Formula DRIFT driver of the NOS Energy / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z and current points leader, Chris Forsberg who chose the PUMA giftcards and also received a Rogue Status apparel package. 3rd place went to ID Agency’s John Pangilinan, who received a Meister watch and Forza 2 game. Overall it was a very successful event for everyone including Formula DRIFT, Aliante, and of course the charity.

More Pics after the jump

Vegas pt. 2 starting tomorrow…stay tuned.

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

For this event I changed things up a bit and wanted to try my hand as a semi-sports journalist so I not only maintained LIVE FD Results, but also did Live FD Blogs complete with images, and killed it on the Tweets…be sure to sign-up for the FD Twitter page for live updates during each event. Not to mention the Super Street article for event coverage that I just completed writing as well.

Congrats to Chris Forsberg for the win, Ryan Tuerck for his 2nd consecutive podium, Ken Gushi for his Top 8 finish in the Scion and beating out champion Tanner Foust, Pat Mordaunt for his consistent driving throughout the weekend and professionalism, and of course Joon Maeng for his highest finish ever with 4th place. Props to Jarod too for what I feel was his best announcing of any FD event that I have been able to listen to…awesome fan interaction. Also to Taka Aono for making his way out East and to everyone that helped support this pioneer of American drifting.

FOX 5 morning news cast…call-time 6am = 3am (PST)


Jose’s pics are just getting better and better each round and he is possibly the best drifting photog out there.

more photos…

The Chateau Elan

The Top 16 Driver Introduction…JR’s Mustang was on fire literally

Scion battle

the crowd

Formula DRIFT driver Chris Forsberg is joined with his fellow NOS teammates including Rally America leader Andrew Comrie-Picard and NASCAR driver and winner of Sunday’s race Kyle Busch.

Here are some of the behind the scenes photos.

Check out the first look at Chris’ new paint and graphic scheme for his Nissan 350Z. The graphics are completely painted on excluding the main NOS logo on the doors. The dry carbon panels can also be seen and have been strategically used in the graphics. Great job Chris.

Group shot

Stocked

Chip, I’m all jacked up on NOS

Green screen

AMS drag car poses for a pic

Chris is ready for his close-up

Shake and Bake w/ Kyle Busch (he’s only 23 years old!)