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Tanner Foust took second place at the Susquehannock Trail Performance Rally (STPR)--the fifth round of the 2008 Rally America Series. STPR takes place in the woods of northern Pennsylvania. It's a fast and technical course, known to be brutal on cars and drivers-the heat of this weekend only making things worse. But Tanner Foust with co-driver Chrissie Beavis drove his Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team Subaru WRX STI to a second place finish and after one hundred and twenty miles there were just twelve seconds separating him from the first place finisher, Antoine L'Estage. Turbo and intercooler issues on Stage Eight unfortunately exacerbated by the extreme heat caused enough lost time to relegate Foust to second. Foust and Beavis won seven of the rally's twelve stages.

Despite not topping the podium, the Rockstar Energy Drink Rally Team dominated STPR winning ten of the twelve stages. Foust's teammate, Andrew Pinker with co-driver Robbie Durant won three stages and finished the rally in fourth overall place. Pinker was at the top of the leaderboard for most of the rally along with Foust, but he was unable to make up enough time lost on Stage Four to similar though more serious turbo issues. Pinker's fourth place puts him back in contention for a place at the Summer X Games Rally in August. STPR was a return to form for the Rockstar Energy Team after a frustrating first few rounds of the series.

With only one Rally America round to go, the Rockstar Team are now focusing all of their efforts on the Summer X Games where Foust won last year.

The next Rally America Event is the New England Forest Rally in Bethel, Maine, July 11th.

This weekend, June 7th, NASA will host the 6-Hours of Buttonwillow Presented by AEM. The inaugural six-hour endurance race will take place on Saturday at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in preparation of NASA's 25 Hours of Thunderhill event, which will be held on December 5th and 6th. The event will kick off at noon, complete with a live band, award presentation, and BBQ. Please join the festivities for a great day of racing and fun.

Josh Richards, a rising 20-year-old star from Shinnston, W.Va., followed veteran Chub Frank for most of the race, waiting for "Chubzilla" to make a mistake. The opportunity came on lap 44 of the 50-lap feature when Frank went to the bottom of the track to try and block Richards' advance. Richards drove around the outside exiting turn 4 to grab the lead and the win.

"That was one of the most fun I've had racing in awhile. My hat is off to the crew...they worked hard in the shop this week. They put a new rearend, new transmission and new engine in this car and it paid off," said Richards beside his Mark Richards Racing Enterprises/Seubert Calf Ranches Rocket No. 1.

"This was an awesome race track...it suits the way I like to drive," added Richards of the World of Outlaws first ever appearance at "Ohio's Finest Racing" speedplant.

Richards earned $10,150 for his eighth career triumph on the WoO LMS. He became the second repeat winner in 10 tour events this season, joining four-time victor Billy Moyer of Batesville, Ark. The driver also completed a clean sweep of the night's action. Earlier in the program he set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 14.587 seconds and won his heat race.

"It was just a great night," said Richards, whose previous WoO LMS win this season came in the tour's opener on Feb. 14 at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. "We worked hard all week - until midnight a couple nights - trying to get this car dialed in and ready to go. We've been experimenting the last couple weeks, and we decided to get back to just bone-stock, old stuff, and it worked out for us all night."

The FormulaD Round Two event at Road Atlanta marked the fifth time the series has competed on this track, and was the home of the first FormulaD event ever held. True to form, the action was intense and the results indicate that this will likely be the most exciting season in FD history. The Rockstar/AEM team fought hard, with Tanner notching the #1 Qualifier position and Steph qualifying for eliminations at the #10 spot in the unseeded field.

FOXY'S RESULTS

Tanner was third in points going into Atlanta after his finish in Long Beach, and with the level of competition seen at Round One it was evident to the team that every round will be critical to repeat a championship in 2008. The team changed gearing in the Z several times during practice rounds to ensure the car had the best combination of drivability and wheel speed. The work paid off with Tanner securing the #1 Qualifier position with a 94 MPH entry speed.

Tanner advanced past the 32-car round and faced Kenji Yamanaka and his Signal/Maziora S14 Silvia. Kenji put forth a good battle considering the power his car was making, but he was unable to hang with the Rockstar/AEM Z's 500+ ponies when following, giving Tanner the advantage in the first tandem round.

Tanner faced Ryan Tuerck and his Gardella/Mobil 1 Solstice In the Great 8 Round. After leading the first run Tanner had a 9-7 point advantage on Ryan, meaning he didn't need to push too hard when following to advance to the Final 4 Round. Commented Tanner, "I gave him space on the straight knowing that the sticky Toyo tires would allow me to catch up, but I actually underestimated the grip of the Z and ended up door-to-door with Ryan by the end of the first corner." Tanner backed off to avoid hitting him during the transition, but he put the back wheels of the Z onto the un-swept marbles at Road Atlanta and the car continued to float until the rear tires touched the grass. It was only for a moment and Tanner was able to reel Ryan back in, but according to FormulaD rules, if two tires go off the track it equates to a zero-point run. Although Tanner did not advance to the Final Four round, his efforts at Road Atlanta kept him in the third overall position in the series a mere 10 points off the lead.

"It was disappointing that we were unable to advance but we have to honor the rules. We are happy to maintain our position in the overall standings though, and we know we are going to have to work very hard to repeat," noted Tanner.

BIG PAPA'S RESULTS

Steph came out of the gates strong in un-seeded qualifying, notching a #10 qualifier with an 85-point run to advance to eliminations. Although he did not advance to tandem rounds, he finished 22nd overall in the event and his position in the series continues to improve.

"It was a smooth weekend overall," stated Steph. "It's always fun to compete on a racecourse, and we got a break when Chris (Forsberg) and Sam (Hubinette) went out early, which helped keep us atop the standings. It was also really good to see Rhys back out and we congratulate him on the win! We head to Englishtown, New Jersey for the next event and I have raced well there in the past, although it was on the drag strip. Hopefully some of that old E-Town magic will appear for me again this year."

FAST FACTS

Road Atlanta was where the first FormulaD event was held and this is the fifth time the series has competed there...both cars have qualified for eliminations in 2008...the team has three top 5 qualifiers (one seeded 1st & 4th, one unseeded 5th) and a third place finish this season...Tanner is 10 points off the current series leader and both Rockstar/AEM drivers are ranked in the top 30 series competitors...the next event is at the World-famous Englishtown Raceway on June 13-14 and is the first time FD has held an event there...

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

With a stellar start to the 2008 Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) season, Carl Renezeder heads to Las Vegas International Off Road Raceway in Primm, Nevada this weekend with a positive outlook. Wins in both Pro-4 rounds in Pomona just three weeks ago put him twenty points ahead of the class, and a runner-up and third place finish in Pro-2 has him just 18 points behind leader, Rob MacCachren, in second place.


"It's a 15-race series, so we know we have to make each one count," commented Renezeder after the opening weekend. "I take my competition very seriously. If we make even a small mistake, there are several guys right there that will capitalize on it."


Renezeder relies on a top-rate crew, led by crew chief, Mike Seat, to build and prep trucks that are not only fast, but durable. Seat has proven his worth over and over, helping lead the team to three championships in the past three years, 15 CORR wins in 2007 alone and, just as importantly, very few DNFs.


"My crew is amazing," continued Renezeder. "I love being able to get into my race trucks knowing that all I have to do is focus on my job of driving. They take all of the other factors out of the equation, and that's comforting."