Daddy, Why Do Rhys and Tanner Suck So Bad This Season?

StreetFire.net

Fortunately, at two years old my boy doesn’t care too much about the 2009 Formula Drift points standings (he’s more of a Monster Jam fan). However if he were old enough to care this would be a hard question for me to answer, much like, “Why is the sky blue?” Or, “How do you drive stick?”. Coming into the fourth event in only a seven round series Rhys Millen is languishing in 12th while Tanner Foust is in an uncharacteristic 18th in the standings. This ain’t to say that these guys can’t drift with three FD championships between them – Tanner being the two-time defending champion. In fact, since FD’s inception in 2004 there is only one other champion – two-time winner Samuel Hubinette – and for the ultimate WTF he is currently without a ride going into the fourth round at Vegas. Both Rhys and Tanner have wheel cred and their suckage comes down to one word – development. It’s why Braun is crushing McLaren and Ferrari in F1 and it’s why Rhys and Tanner can’t find their mojo this year. Hit the jump to see videos of each driver speaking on the challenges surrounding their new rides.

Tanner Foust Scion tC and Rhys Millen Hyundai Genesis

For the past three seasons Tanner Foust has been running a tried and true 350Z (will this be the New S14?) with a “mild” twin-turbo VQ with a tractable and fat torque curve. For 2009 the Supercars Exposed host switched to a Scion tC converted to RWD and powered by a NASCAR Busch series V8. No doubt the car has balls but this driveline-swap is not a bolt-on affair and Tanner’s Rockstar/AEM team owner, Stephan Papadakis has his hands full (much like Ken Gushi’s team did last season). All of this doesn’t exactly make me want to buy a tC but then I’m not a trendy hipster like you cool kids with your fixies and your Facebooks.

Rhys always seems to gravitate to the out of the ordinary chassis (but what is “ordinary” in FD these days?). He’s competed in everything from an Evo, to a GTO, a Solstice and now a Hyundai Genesis. Millen should replace that dude Steve Sutcliffe in the Will it Drift? series. His RMR is perhaps the sickest drift build on the planet in terms of pure racecraft fabrication. Even more amazing is that Rhys claims this exact car will serve triple duty as a Pike’s Peak hill climb contender and Redline attacker of time. I like the way he references the wheelbase in this video. I believe the wheelbase on this new Genesis is some 10.6-inches LONGER than a 370Z, which is re-DUNK-ulous. The big question is not whether these guys should have stuck with their old rides (the necessity of the mighty sponsorship dollar precludes that) but how do you develop a car in the off-season so as to stay on top (forgiving that RMR didn’t have much time to prepare the Genesis)? Must new drift cars be relegated to the sucky side of the grid for a season or longer while valuable in-race development takes place, or is it possible to craft an entirely new car and hit on all cylinders at Long Beach?

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Posted at 10:34 am in Drifting, Rhys Millen, StreetFirehp, Tanner Foust

Comments

doublek757
Jun 24, 2009 at 7:47 am

for your info accordwithoutanyharmony, i drive a bimmer(3 series)that ive had for 5 years ever since i was in the military that would sh4t on ur accord stock, i now sell new hyundais at a dealership so i know that car very well, im at work posting on here. my next car wont be the copue cuz i got kids and need 4 doors but it will be the genny sedan. i just bet i couldnt even get you a loan for the vehicle that your trying to sh7t on with your your shallow azz mind. your accord looks like shyt, you drive something that i get parked 50 miles from the strip if you got it valet parked. dumbazz, learn cars before you chime in with ridiculous statements.

tamaleman
Jun 23, 2009 at 7:51 pm

lol the NSX get 270HP out of a NA V6 and its underpowered? lol

Batman59
Jun 23, 2009 at 3:45 pm

ACCORD2HARMONY are you a little kid? Its a real question. I just want to know?

ACCORD2HARMONY
Jun 23, 2009 at 3:27 pm

Hahahaha all the hyundai fans stand up i c funny paseo15 psi u drive the shitiest toyota ever manufactured, so hows about u go FUCK your ownself doublek757 you dont even have a car posted?? did u forget the name of this website its ok your probabaly just retarded
and 8055m4n i love ur shitty car its sooooooo unbelievably shitty hows about u take ur car go to korea and go fuck urself and kim jong ill right up the ass u bitch!!
-honda all day every day yours truly Andrew.

8055m4n
Jun 23, 2009 at 2:27 pm

Accord2harmony. You drive an accord. Shut the F##K up. Lets see you drift that piece of Sh#t and then talk about Hyundai. The genesis is an excellent platform and a great attempt at breaking into the sports car world. Honda has two underpowered and overpriced rear wheel drives. Neither of which is good at this sport. The Nsx is a good car… If you want to have a nice yard gnome. And the S2000 is slow. How can you be a fan of a Honda and talk crap about Hyundai. And we should restate the fact that you drive a F#CKING HONDA ACCORD. Which is known only for its ability to….. Ummmmmmmm……. Nope nothing… Maybe Groceries!

doublek757
Jun 23, 2009 at 9:39 am

accord2harmony, you cant even afford a genesis coupe…maybe thats y u keep piecing together them raggedy a55 accords u got. u obviously have no clue about hyundai watsoever dummy.

Paseo15psi
Jun 23, 2009 at 5:13 am

It’s because of their need to push the envelope. Rhys is using a brand spanking new Mitsu powered RWD Koren car and Foust is using a car that was never meant to be RWD. They won’t be competitive until they figure out the cars. That may be the end of this season or the next. I do applaud them for being different and taking chances. I’m tired of seeing the same old tired platforms racing. And the Honda comment… yeah….

ACCORD2HARMONY
Jun 22, 2009 at 8:07 pm

and p.s. the reason they suck is these new computer chips in these cars that throw down their rpms when more than one wheel looses traction! hows about we leave the decision making up to the drivers?? OLD SCHOOL NOT PRE-SCHOOL

ACCORD2HARMONY
Jun 22, 2009 at 8:03 pm

Hmmm lets see… how about we loose the piece of shit korean hyundai and get a HONDA! hahaha wtf is it with hyundai its like they think there a REAL car company!?

brad_jolly
Jun 20, 2009 at 9:24 pm

okay formula drift is cool and all, but its all sponsor bull S….. now. driving brand new cars with brand new setups with brand new ideas. I enjoy watching the D1 grand prix straight out of japan much more, some use new cars but most use established drift cars such as the AE86, S15, R34, Soarer, 180sx and so on which they have spent years perfecting. Having their machines perfected to them allows for their true skill to show and make for a great show. Driving a new car every year will make for more crashes and mishaps, which is what i guess we like to see here rather than a true show

ps, i also love the scoring system much better in the D1GP

1988montecarloss
Jun 20, 2009 at 1:42 pm

probably because there cars suck:)

KharsisAV
Jun 20, 2009 at 12:07 pm

I hear you! I’m a huge Rhys Millen fan seeing as I can’t wait to purchase my own Genesis Coupe (his company RMR is doing a ton of work on parts for the car, obviously). As for Sam though, I don’t believe he is without a car. I don’t know if that is a new development (yes, I do know about Mopar pulling its sponsorship as of right after the Wall, NJ event), but I talked straight to him as he was signing my Falken tires poster (couldn’t resist! hah) and he said that he isn’t losing the car, but just the sponsorship money. They aren’t taking the car back, but I’d assume a new paintjob/sticker scheme is in order haha