By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

The fourth round of the 2009 Formula Drift Championship is in the books and what a scorcher it was. I think I’m supposed to write some sort of witty quip about the triple digit temps here, but truth be told my brain is still somewhat melty. And not from the heat, but rather the stunning points shakeup that went down in Vegas. Coming into Sin City Darren McNamara was leading in points but a mechanical with his Falken Tire Sears Auto Center Sky finished his weekend before it even started. Another shocking DNQ was that of 2005 champion, Rhys Millen. Just when we thought the points chase couldn’t be flipped any more Tanner Foust goes in it to win it after a rare DNQ at round three. Hit the video to see it all. And no matter what Tanner and Stephan may say, I am not a pussy, their NASCAR V-8 just happens to scare me a little bit, that’s all.

By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

Formula Drift Las Vegas is in the books. And here are a few random observations:

Las Vegas drift fans never seem to wait for the final results. Maybe because the event doesn’t end until midnight.

The fans may not care who won but there were more of them this year than last.

I’ve been a reporting on drifting in one form or another steadily since 2001 beginning in Japan and I still don’t understand the judging parameters.

It seems a V8 is the key ingredient to increasing entry speeds and tire smoke (duh!).

Chris Forsberg beat out Tyler McQuarrie for Third place and Tanner Foust beat Ryuji Miki in the finals.

We’ll have a complete video on StreetFire.net next week.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

If I ever make it over to Italy, going to Sant’Agata to see the Lamborghini factory is going to be one of the first things I do. Obviously, there are tons of gorgeous shots in this Supercars Exposed clip, but just getting to see the Murcielago’s massive V12 laid bare makes the entire clip worth watching. The only thing I was a little confused about? In the very beginning, there’s a shot of someone applying a Lamborghini racing sticker. The footage looks old, and since Lamborghini didn’t participate in motorsports until recently, I have to wonder what’s going on there. Anybody know?

By John Naderi

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.

Continue reading "Daddy, Why Do Rhys and Tanner Suck So Bad This Season?" »

By Ryan Porter

IN-N-OUT Editor

Many people were shocked to hear that Tanner Foust would kick his old Nissan 350Z to the curb and take on a unproven platform like the Scion tC, but I think this past weekend showed everyone including myself that the guy knows what he’s doing. At the Formula D season opener Tanner was able to pull a third place finish in his brand new car. As for the car, it’s got a pretty decent build, including a 358-cubic-inch V8 from a former Busch Series NASCAR. The engine is rated at 650 horses with 450 ft pounds of torque. He’s running a four-speed G-force dog-engagement gearbox and Toyota Supra rear differential and rear suspension.

So what do you think of Tanner Foust’s new Scion Racing tC? More pics after the jump!

Continue reading "Tanner Foust's Sick New Scion tC" »

On Saturday, Tanner Foust didn’t come in first—Vaughn Gittin, Jr. took that honor—but he did became the first driver to win the Formula Drift championship two years in a row. Now, he’ll really have something to brag about when he starts hosting the American version of Top Gear! Samuel "the Crazy Swede" Hubinette took second, and Rhys Millen came in third. For more details on the action and tons of photos, head over to the events section.

The weather was perfect and the action was hot during the kickoff for the 2008 Formula D Series, but Tanner Foust couldn’t have been terribly happy with the results of the race. Last year’s champion will start the season third in the points standings, behind Chris Forsberg and Samuel "the crazy Swede" Hubinette. While points really aren’t that big a deal this early in the season—there are still another six stops to go—mentally, it’s always great to start with a victory. Pro skater Rob Drydek served as the Grand Marshall for the festivities, and rode shotgun while a professional driver turned some wicked donuts in his hopped up Camaro. Make sure to check out that video, and head over to the events section and check out all our pics!