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Formula DRIFT Round 2: Feel the Heat Results;
Rhys Millen Takes Top Honors after Being Non-Seeded
Long Beach, Calif. – May 13, 2008 – Formula DRIFT hosted their fifth year anniversary at Road Atlanta this past weekend for Round 2: Feel the Heat. This event also marked the first Tires.com Triple Crown bonus event of the season with Rhys Millen and his Red Bull Pontiac Solstice fought his way to take home top honors.
Round 2: Feel the Heat; marked the fifth year anniversary for Formula DRIFT. Road Atlanta is the home of the inaugural Formula DRIFT event five years ago and has consistently grown each year with ticket sales up 10% from last year.
The highlight of the event was Rhys Millen coming back to true form as he has overcome both physical and mechanical issues to earn the top spot on the podium and take the lead in the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. In the off-season, Millen underwent treatment for a broken back after an accident put him out of commission for awhile. He recovered in time to compete in the first round of the season. Bu mechanical issues took Millen out of the competition in Long Beach leaving him as a non-seeded driver and having to pre-qualify for this second round event. From qualifying to taking home the victory, Millen proved to everyone that he is back to being a contender for the title.
“This was a very competitive competition with top ranking drivers from Round 1 being knocked-out early in the event,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The field of competition is as tough as it’s ever been and this should make for a very exciting season.”
With top ranking drivers not making it far in the competition this left a small gap for the other drivers to earn very crucial points. Formula DRIFT rookie, Michihiro Takatori and his Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34 slid past the competition with fast entry speeds and smooth drifting lines to gain his first Formula DRIFT podium. Ryan Tuerck piloting the Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice faced some stiff competition and earned a third place finish moving him in a close 5th place position in the Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup Point Standings. The chase for the Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup is as close as ever with Chris Forsberg and his NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z and Samuel Hubinette in the NuFormz Racing Mopar / BF Goodrich Dodge Viper SRT10 tied for 1st place and defending Formula DRIFT champion, Tanner Foust right behind them in 3rd place.
This event was also the first Tires.com Triple Crown bonus event of the season. The Tires.com Triple Crown follows the Formula DRIFT circuit to three rounds of the Formula DRIFT Championship and awards the driver that earns the most points in the 3 selected rounds. This season, Round 2 at Road Atlanta, Round 4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Round 7 at Irwindale Speedway were chosen to be the official Tires.com Triple Crown venues. Last season Chris Forsberg took home the bonus prize and now 2006 Tires.com Triple Crown bonus winner Rhys Millen is leading the way to secure the bonus title.
Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup 2008 Point Standings
1. Forsberg
1. Hubinette
3. Foust
4. Takatori
5. Tuerck
6. Yoshihara
7. Gittin, Jr.
8. McNamara
9. Grunewald
9. Yamanaka
11. Millen
12. Mohan
12. Haruguchi
14. Sherman
15. Hayashida
16. Verdier
NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z
Nuformz Racing Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10
Rockstar / AEM Nissan 350Z
Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34
Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice
Bridgestone / RMR Pontiac GTO
Falken / Ford Racing Mustang
Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky
Nitto / Tanaka Racing Chevrolet Corvette
Signal / Maziora Nissan S14
Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP
Kyle Mohan Racing / Cooper / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-7
Drift Speed / Behrman 3326 Power Nissan S15
Braille Batteries Nissan 350Z
Signal / Maziora Nissan Skyline R34
Cooper / Crawford Performance Subaru STi
162 Points
162 Points
152 Points
148 Points
143 Points
140 Points
126 Points
117 Points
110 Points
110 Points
103 Points
70.25 Points
64 Points
63.25 Points
63 Points
58.25 Points
Tires.com Triple Crown 2008 Point Standings
1. Millen
2. Takatori
3. Tuerck
Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP
Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34
Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice
103 Points
92 Points
80 Points
Formula DRIFT Round 2: Feel the Heat Event Results
1. Millen
2. Takatori
3. Tuerck
Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP
Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34
Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice
103 Points
92 Points
80 Points
Rhys Millen Takes Top Honors after Being Non-Seeded
Long Beach, Calif. – May 13, 2008 – Formula DRIFT hosted their fifth year anniversary at Road Atlanta this past weekend for Round 2: Feel the Heat. This event also marked the first Tires.com Triple Crown bonus event of the season with Rhys Millen and his Red Bull Pontiac Solstice fought his way to take home top honors.
Round 2: Feel the Heat; marked the fifth year anniversary for Formula DRIFT. Road Atlanta is the home of the inaugural Formula DRIFT event five years ago and has consistently grown each year with ticket sales up 10% from last year.
The highlight of the event was Rhys Millen coming back to true form as he has overcome both physical and mechanical issues to earn the top spot on the podium and take the lead in the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. In the off-season, Millen underwent treatment for a broken back after an accident put him out of commission for awhile. He recovered in time to compete in the first round of the season. Bu mechanical issues took Millen out of the competition in Long Beach leaving him as a non-seeded driver and having to pre-qualify for this second round event. From qualifying to taking home the victory, Millen proved to everyone that he is back to being a contender for the title.
“This was a very competitive competition with top ranking drivers from Round 1 being knocked-out early in the event,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The field of competition is as tough as it’s ever been and this should make for a very exciting season.”
With top ranking drivers not making it far in the competition this left a small gap for the other drivers to earn very crucial points. Formula DRIFT rookie, Michihiro Takatori and his Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34 slid past the competition with fast entry speeds and smooth drifting lines to gain his first Formula DRIFT podium. Ryan Tuerck piloting the Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice faced some stiff competition and earned a third place finish moving him in a close 5th place position in the Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup Point Standings. The chase for the Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup is as close as ever with Chris Forsberg and his NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z and Samuel Hubinette in the NuFormz Racing Mopar / BF Goodrich Dodge Viper SRT10 tied for 1st place and defending Formula DRIFT champion, Tanner Foust right behind them in 3rd place.
This event was also the first Tires.com Triple Crown bonus event of the season. The Tires.com Triple Crown follows the Formula DRIFT circuit to three rounds of the Formula DRIFT Championship and awards the driver that earns the most points in the 3 selected rounds. This season, Round 2 at Road Atlanta, Round 4 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Round 7 at Irwindale Speedway were chosen to be the official Tires.com Triple Crown venues. Last season Chris Forsberg took home the bonus prize and now 2006 Tires.com Triple Crown bonus winner Rhys Millen is leading the way to secure the bonus title.
Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup 2008 Point Standings
1. Forsberg
1. Hubinette
3. Foust
4. Takatori
5. Tuerck
6. Yoshihara
7. Gittin, Jr.
8. McNamara
9. Grunewald
9. Yamanaka
11. Millen
12. Mohan
12. Haruguchi
14. Sherman
15. Hayashida
16. Verdier
NOS Energy Drink Nissan 350Z
Nuformz Racing Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10
Rockstar / AEM Nissan 350Z
Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34
Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice
Bridgestone / RMR Pontiac GTO
Falken / Ford Racing Mustang
Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky
Nitto / Tanaka Racing Chevrolet Corvette
Signal / Maziora Nissan S14
Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP
Kyle Mohan Racing / Cooper / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-7
Drift Speed / Behrman 3326 Power Nissan S15
Braille Batteries Nissan 350Z
Signal / Maziora Nissan Skyline R34
Cooper / Crawford Performance Subaru STi
162 Points
162 Points
152 Points
148 Points
143 Points
140 Points
126 Points
117 Points
110 Points
110 Points
103 Points
70.25 Points
64 Points
63.25 Points
63 Points
58.25 Points
Tires.com Triple Crown 2008 Point Standings
1. Millen
2. Takatori
3. Tuerck
Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP
Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34
Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice
103 Points
92 Points
80 Points
Formula DRIFT Round 2: Feel the Heat Event Results
1. Millen
2. Takatori
3. Tuerck
Red Bull Pontiac Solstice GXP
Super Autobacs Nissan Skyline R34
Gardella Racing / Mobil1 Pontiac Solstice
103 Points
92 Points
80 Points
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