Formula DRIFT 2009 Champion Crowned and Round 7: Judgment Day Results
Ryan Tuerck takes
the event victory and Chris Forsberg wins the championship title. Formula DRIFT entered the
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for the final event of the season. Ryan Tuerck
takes the Round 7: Judgment Day victory, while Chris Forsberg takes 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
Chris Forsberg is the best !