Forsberg wins Formula Drift championship

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Formula DRIFT entered the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for the final event of the season on Saturday, with Ryan Tuerck winning the Round 7: Judgment Day victory and Chris Forsberg taking both the overall championship and the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize.

The Toyota Speedway at Irwindale hosted the final event of the 6th season of Formula DRIFT. 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.”

“Given the state of the current economy, Formula DRIFT and the sport of drifting have continued to make strides forward,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “This has been made evident tonight and a great way to cap the season to a sold out venue.”

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.

“It feels amazing,” said Ryan Tuerck, winner of Round 7: Judgment Day. “To be able to relish in this win for the next 6th months is truly awesome.”

Heading into the final event, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z maintained a healthy lead in the championship standings, but not a guaranteed title. Forsberg clinched the 2009 Formula DRIFT championship by beating Doug Van Den Brink in the Top 32 portion of the event giving him enough points overall to be crowned for the first time as champion. Forsberg also won for his second time in his career the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize and was awarded a check for $10,000 and a custom wheel trophy and also became the first driver to win both in the same season. This marks the first time that the champion has come from a purely drifting background whereas previous champions had other motorsport experience.

“We’ve been chasing the championship for the past 6 years since Formula DRIFT first started and everyone is out here to do the same thing. We just run as hard as everyone else and did the best we could,” said Chris Forsberg, 2009 Formula DRIFT champion and Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize winner. “Coming into this last round I saw that Tuerck was just crushing it in practice and I knew that if we didn’t get enough points we would lose the championship and Tuerck would take the event and the title, so I’m proud of him doing that and I’m totally psyched for what my team was able to accomplish to win the championship.”

For more information and details visit the Formula DRIFT website at: www.formuladrift.com.

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