2009 Formula DRIFT Champion Crowned

Formula DRIFT 2009 Champion Crowned

Ryan Tuerck takes the event victory and Chris Forsberg wins the championship title

Long Beach, Calif. – October 17, 2009 – Formula DRIFT entered the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for the final event of the season.

The sold out crowd was not disappointed as the drivers provided non-stop action throughout the event weekend. The event also provided plenty of additional entertainment for the fans including the Jtuned Auto Gallery, Famous Stars and Straps stunt bike demo, and a performance by the “Far East Movement.”

The final event of the season lived up to all the high expectations with the drivers putting it all on the line to win the coveted championship. 2-time Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust met rookie and privateer Matt Powers with his Nissan 240 in the consolation round for third place. Foust outmatched the rookie and secured his third place finish. The finals came down to and Ryan Tuerck in the Gardella Racing / Mobil 1Pontiac Solstice and Tyler McQuarrie in the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z. McQuarrie tapped the wall and spun on the 2nd run giving Tuerck the victory and 2nd place overall in the final championship standings. McQuarrie finished the season overall in 3rd place for the highest finish of his career.

Top Ten Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings
1. Forsberg, Chris	NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z	527 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan	Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice	521 Points
3. McQuarrie, Tyler	Falken Nissan 350Z	485 Points
4. Hubinette, Samuel	NuFormz Dodge Viper	462.25 Points
5. Gittin, Vaughn	Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT	451.50 Points
6. Foust, Tanner	Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC	447.50 Points
7. McNamara, Darren	Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky	426.50 Points
8. Nishida, Robbie	Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z	425.25 Points
9. Pawlak, Justin	Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8	416 Points
10. Gushi, Ken	RS*R Scion Racing TC	388.50 Points

***VIDEO*** OC Lamborghini Cruise & Chat

Video from Streetfire.net


OC+Lamborghini+Cruise+%26+Chat

by Matt Degen - full story

Lamborghini owners from around the country descended on Orange County this weekend for a ride and Q&A session with executives of the Italian super-car company. Event was hosted by Tom Nault and Joy Loo, SnapBuzz Media.

Owners came from as far as Chicago — many of them trailering their cars vs. driving them. Rapper Sir-Mix-a-Lot was among the attendees, and Lamborghini showed off some exceptional vehicles, including a bright yellow, 2010 Murcielago LP 670-4 SV, which packs V12 engine that makes 670 horsepower.

Another company car that got just as much attention was a Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo racer.

Most owners brought new models — primarily Murcs and Gallardos — but there was at least one Countach in the crowd, along with a Ferrari and an Aston Martin.

The half-day event began for several dozen Lamborghini owners with a drive from Crystal Cove Promenade, up through Silverado Canyon and finishing at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach, where the Q&A session took place. The drive was led by professional drifter and Newport Coast resident Samuel Hubinette.

Tom Nault said he first thought up the event while visiting Lamborghini’s headquarters in Italy.

“I thought it’d be neat, and that it would be cool if this discussion could happen,” said Nault, who lives in Seattle but bought his bright-green Murc at Lamborghini OC.

One of the biggest questions on the minds of owners and enthusiasts was, “When will Orange County get another Lamborghini dealership?”(Lamborghini OC closed abruptly last year and its owner, Vik Keuylian pleaded guilty to a wire-fraud scheme.

Just Another Saturday @ Cars and Coffee

It's been so long since my last visit to Cars and Coffee. Well, I must say, it was bitter sweet. It was great seeing all the old faces and beautiful cars but a little heart breaking to not be promoting Velocity there.

On May 16th, Laura and I went to Cars and Coffee to rekindle ourselves with the passionate OC car world. It's so funny how we both had different agendas... Laura was going to promote Hagerty, bringing awareness to the OC car enthusiasts. Since Velocity, she has landed a sweet gig. She attends all the car shows, meets and greets all that attend, and lets them know about Hagerty. And I went to Cars and Coffee to promote the Concours d'Elegance held at the St. Regis.

It turned out to be a great Saturday. We ran into so many old faces and was quickly reminded on how much we were loved!!!! One of the early morning patrons was Samuel Hubinette, aka "The Crazy Swede", a professional race car driver and Hollywood stunt driver. We stopped and chatted about how well his new Performance Driving Academy was doing. I think I might take him up on his offer to get behind the wheel and feel the hunk of metal pushed to the limits. Next classes are set for June 13th and 14th...

Every week there is a theme... as you can see it was Porsche weekend.

Red Bull Drifting World Championship

In Long Beach on November 11, 2008, Laura Jacobsen, Genevieve Chappell & filming crew, and I attended for the inaugural Red Bull Drifting World Championship. The city of Long Beach hosted the parade of cars through the downtown area and a draw party at the local establishment, “Smooth’s Sports Grill”.

The special drifting track was at the Port of Long Beach and featured six (6) turns, a high speed right-hand entry that pushed the drivers into the 100+ mph range. Awesome to watch by the way... The course definitely pushed the drivers to their limits for the ultimate drifting competition.


32 of the world’s best drifters gathered on Saturday and Sunday at the Port of Long Beach to compete for the largest prize purse in drifting history. We caught up with Samuel Hubinette for a VelocityTV interview and to wish him good luck on the competition.

Unfortunately, Samuel, (2 time world champion) didn't take home the gold this time... first place went to Rhys Millen, $25,000; Teammate Daijiro Yoshihara and his Bridgestone / RMR Pontiac GTO took home the 2nd place prize of $15,000 and the 2007 and 2008 Formula DRIFT champion, Tanner Foust and the Rockstar / AEM Nissan 350Z took home 3rd place overall and $10,000.

A fun time was had by all!!! Until next time... drift on baby!