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November 17th, 2008, Hawthorne, CA-Tanner Foust and the Rockstar/AEM Nissan 350Z finished 3rd overall at the Formula DRIFT Red Bull Drifting World Championships on November 15-16. This event featured 32 drivers including 17 past and present drifting champions from top drifting organizations across the globe, with drivers from Canada, Netherlands, UK, France, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand lining up against the best U.S. drivers from Formula DRIFT.

FOXY'S RESULTS
"Without the weight of a looming series championship, the World Championships did not carry the same pressure as a Formula DRIFT Round, but I had a strong desire to represent the U.S. well on this worldwide stage," commented Tanner. "I faced both Red Bull cars this weekend. I was able to take the first one out, but unfortunately could not get past Rhys in the Solstice. Still, the highlight for me this weekend was sticking the 3-year-old Z to Rhys's bumper in what was the best chase run I have ever had. Toward the end of the run, I was still amazed at how competitive the Z is. I'll miss it, but I cannot wait to drive the behemoth Scion tC that Steph is building for next season!"

BIG PAPA'S COMMENTS
"Wow, what an incredible event!" exclaimed Steph. "The competition was unbelievable."

Steph continued, "As Tanner mentioned, this is the last event for the Rockstar/AEM 350Z with Papadakis Racing, as we have sold the car and are developing a Scion tC for Formula DRIFT competition in 2009. The new Rockstar/Scion Drift tC will compete in a full schedule next season with Tanner behind the wheel. AEM, as always, will be our major technical partner for this vehicle. We will continue to campaign the Honda S2000 and I will drive it at select events next season, but given the development we have to do on the tC next season, my primary focus will be on making sure that car is competitive for Tanner. We will provide updates throughout the off season on the vehicle's development and who our other technical partners will be next season."

FAST FACTS
The Formula DRIFT Red Bull World Championships inaugural event was held at Terminal Island on a custom designed course with a fast entry and multiple technical transitions...both cars qualified for eliminations in all but two FD series events in 2008...the team has seven top 5 qualifiers (two seeded 1st, three seeded 2nd, one seeded 4th, one unseeded 5th) two victories and a second- and two third-place finishes this season...Tanner is the first driver in FD history to capture back-to-back series championships, and both Rockstar/AEM drivers are ranked in the top 35 series competitors...the Rockstar/AEM 350Z will be on display in the Formula DRIFT booth at the LA Auto Show from November 21-30.

The Rockstar/AEM drift team is sponsored by Toyo Tires, Motegi Racing Wheels, Tokico Gas Shocks, Memphis Car Audio, Advanced Clutch Technology (ACT), Specialty Products Company (SPC), ChargeSpeed and C-West.

It had the simplicity and ease of a Saturday night race, but the Ricky Johnson Off-Road Grand Prix at Perris Auto Speedway on Saturday, November 8, added 800+ hp trucks, a few right turns and plenty of jumps and managed to transform a ½-mile dirt oval into a off-roader's dream.

"We had so much fun out here today," commented GP4 winner, Carl Renezeder. "The track kept coming in rather than going away as the evening and the racing went on, and I had a great time battling with Adrian Cenni for 20 laps. I hope the fans had as much as we racers did."

With an extended break in the CORR schedule, the Grand Prix was a great opportunity to test some changes the team made to the truck, and knock a few cobwebs out of the driver's helmet.

"We've wanted to test some set-up changes on this truck, and what better way to do it than out here chasing a trophy," smiled Renezeder. "Plus, I forgot how much I need that injection of adrenaline that only flying through the air gives me. This was a positive event for our team all the way around. And I'm glad Ricky [Johnson] and [Jerry] Daugherty are ok after that wreck in practice. I hated to see that happen."

The folks from the Lucas Oil Motorsports Hour on Versus were on hand to capture all the action as well. The fans that couldn't make it out to the event and the ones that want to see some of those passes again will be able to watch it on the Versus network in January. Check your local listings for specific dates and times.

Formula D's Round 7 "Final Fight" at Irwindale Speedway was a pressure-cooker event for the Rockstar Energy Drink AEM Racing Drift Team. Heading into the season finale coming off of his win at the previous Formula Drift round in Sonoma with a 26-point lead heading, the championship still wasn't completely in the bag. Prior championship winners, Sam Hubinette and Rhys Millen could still overtake Foust's points lead. But with the heat on high, Foust took his Rockstar Energy Drink AEM Racing Nissan 350Z to a second place podium finish, which was more than enough to make history as the first Formula Drift racer to clinch two back-to-back championships.

It was an eventful day of racing for both Foust and his closest competitors for the championship. Foust started the day of qualifying for the Final 16 in second place behind Rhys Millen. Foust defeated Mitsuru Haruguchi in the first round, a welcome victory as Haruguchi had beaten Foust out of first place at the Formula Drift season opener in Long Beach. Rhys Millen was defeated in his first round so now out of contention for the championship.

Foust drew Ryan Tuerk for the second round of head to head battle. It was a close race but Foust moved up. It was at this point of the night that Foust became the 2008 Formula Drift Champion, when Sam Hubinette spun his Viper during his own second heat. With the championship locked, Foust was pumped to go for the event win. The semi-final with Sean Pawlak was a nail biter with a "one more time" being called and Tanner ripping his rear bumper clean off after tapping the wall at high speed. But Foust prevailed to move on to the final.

Foust's match up for the final was Vaughn Gittin Jr. in his monstrous Falken Tire Mustang. Foust's crew showed their championship form putting his car back together for the final. Unfortunately, the rest of the night didn't go Tanner's way. Gittin was on top form and he clinched his first ever Formula Drift victory on the high speed banks of Irwindale with a blistering run. Second place on the podium for the final event and a back-to-back championship was a great way to finish the season though for Foust.

On his championship victory, Foust said, "I want to thank Rockstar for putting the drive in our veins all season, and AEM for having such reliable products and incredible support. I think the cat is out of the bag that our secret weapons are our AEM products on the cars and the power and reliability they provide...Toyo for making sure we had the best rubber on the corners all season and for the amazing track support, Motegi for making sure we had high-strength, lightweight wheels to wrap the Toyos around, Tokico and SPC for delivering premium suspension parts for our racecars that anyone can buy, and made the adjustments we needed to make so easy and vehicle response so predictable...Garrett for helping us make big power with the most reliable turbochargers in the World, ACT for making clutch systems that hold the power-we never, ever, worried about our clutch...basically, I want to say THANK YOU to our partners! You guys provide the products and support that allows us to go compete at the highest level and stay on top, and these championships are testament to that."

TORRANCE, Calif. - It wasn't really supposed to happen. A Scion taking a national championship in road racing. But that's exactly what happened at NASA's third annual national championship at Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course this past weekend. Driver Dan Gardner and the Jackson-Dawson team brought home the title in Performance Touring C. And they also won overall in Race Group J, being the first car to cross the finish line out of almost 60. It's a world first for Scion, a brand launched just five short years ago.

"It still hasn't quite sunk in," said Gardner. "I knew we had the juice to have a respectable finish, but to win it...to win the national championship, that's something special. It was no cakewalk; that's for sure. We battled until the end. For me personally, coming off a broken right foot, it was a huge challenge. This is just so sweet. The team is so excited to bring this home for Scion and for all of our committed sponsors who were always there to support us. And to all the owners out there, thanks for cheering us on. This win is for you."

Team ATK captured another win in the Jeepspeed Unlimited Currie Cup Class this past weekend at the MORE Chilli Cookoff 250 in Lucerne Valley, California, making it three in a row for the new team and vehicle. There were four competitors off the line, with Jon Krellwitz in the ATK Wrangler starting third, behind Nick Beal in a Jeep Comanche and Gregg Jackson in a V8 powered Jeep Cherokee. The first lap was filled with challenges, as Krellwitz and ace co-driver Skyler Gambrell fought their way through the dust and traffic. Slowly but surely they picked their way through the field; in one turn, passing three 1400 (unlimited prerunner) trucks. Mid-way through the first lap, Krellwitz approached a bottleneck which appeared to be the result of the Class 8 Hummer. Gambrell, having a keen sense of the Lucerne terrain, recommended doing a little rock crawling in the all wheel drive equipped ATK Wrangler to pass the gridlock. With ease, the Wrangler articulated over boulders on an alternate route. Just as the ATK Wrangler approached the main course the Class 8 Hummer was back in motion; Jeep power made short work of the Hummer, with Gambrell shouting out a 'yeehaw!, it's a Jeep thing', while Krellwitz made the pass. The remainder of lap one was plagued with dust, but the Krellwitz/Gambrell team made short work of it. Laps two and three went smoothly, with Krellwitz setting the class fast lap on the second lap.

At the end of lap three, the ATK Wrangler stopped for its scheduled pit to take on 20 gallons of Sunoco race fuel and to pick up co-driver Matt McCallum. The final two laps were exciting but without incident. Krellwitz and McCallum cruised into the finish for the Win! Krellwitz noted ¨What a great race! The truck ran perfect and we didn't have one issue all day. This is the first time a Jeepspeed Unlimited truck has beaten all of the competitive Jeepspeed 1 cars."