A little behind the scenes from our fun Hot Rod magazine shoot at Steve Strope’s shop – Pure Vision.

Enjoy!

This was my first shoot with the Lucas Production team, and was the very first event of the Lucas Oil Off Road Series, held at the Motorsports Complex track (at the state line, behind Buffalo Bills) in Primm, Nev. – so I didn’t know exactly what to expect!

What no one expected was the wind that came on Friday. It was strong enough to shut down our production for the day, and meant no practice for the racers. But there were still people there in the grandstands, bundled up with jackets, hoods and blankets. If they were there on that windy Friday, you just knew there would be lots of people there the rest of the weekend.

One other thing that jumped out at me was that everyone – racers, teams, crew members – were really thankful to be racing and grateful that Lucas Oil got the series moving. That was the theme of the day, on and off the camera.

I spent the first half of Saturday meeting racers and doing some features, and had a great time talking with former motocross and Indycar star Jeff Ward, Rodrigo Ampudia (whose father is one of the nicest people in the series), and Carl Renezeder. I am working stricting for Versus, and it was great to be able to introduce the viewers to some of the veterans, and some of the new faces.

I was close to the track again, and spent most of Saturday getting covered by rocks and dirt. I have to laugh when people who don’t know about television production tell me it must be fun to work in such a glamorous job – because it really isn’t glamorous when it is hot and windy and it feels like someone has just jumped a bucket of dirt on your hair and clothes. It’s still really fun, though!

Another thing that I noticed was that the crowd was different than I expected. There were a lot of pretty girls there, tons of families, and lots of kids. LOORS has attracted quite a family crowd. The crowd on Sunday was up a bit from Saturday, but both days had great sized crowds. A neat thing about Sunday was following up with Jeff Ward. He didn’t have a great race on Saturday, so he and his crew had some serious game faces on Sunday. I saw them studying portions of the course, and it obviously paid off as he had a very good race on Sunday.

This was my first production with the Lucas Oil Production staff, and it was very impressive to see how the whole team works together. Everyone clearly wants to see the series succeed and I’m thrilled that I am along for the ride!

View fun pics from the two day event

The next LOORS event is May 2-3 at the Speedworld Off Road Park in Surprise, Arizona.
I hope to see all of you there!

For the second year, I was called to cover the Historical Race – The Mint 400. This year, it was held just south of Las Vegas, Nev. instead of in Primm. I would be doing pit reporting for both Speed TV and the Outdoor Channel – which was great, other than the fact that I was changing shirts all day long!

I stayed at the Golden Nugget, and apparently, so did everyone else with the Mint as it seems to have been taken over by the racers, teams, and sponsors. I was worried that the race might be down, given the economy, but the attendance and entries were up. The hotel was definitely buzzing with a lot of excitement and anticipation.

The excitement definitely carried over to Saturday race day. I was covering the Class 1, Class 8, and Baja Pro Truck classes and it was a lot of work! The highlight of the day was interviewing KJ Howe. KJ was the organizer of the original Mint 400, and he always has the most amazing stories from past Mint races. It is always fun to have a chance to speak with him. KJ is a super sharp dresser and on this day he was wearing super clean, crisp, white clothes during our interview, which was right next to one of the turns on the Mint 400 course. So, of course, we were getting sprayed with rocks and dirt, and he just smiled and said “Isn’t this great!”

It was a long day, but thankfully it wasn’t too windy and wasn’t scorching hot like last year’s event. Look for it on Speed Channel and Outdoor Channel!

To view some fun images from the event click here

Long Beach, Calif. – April 20, 2009 – Formula DRIFT held the annual Team Drift competition during the Toyota of Long Beach Grand Prix this past weekend. The Drift Alliance team won the event for their second consecutive victory. The team consisted of Chris Forsberg, Justin Pawlak, and John Russakoff.

For the 4th consecutive year Team Drift has been apart of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Team Drift entertained thousands of fans during the 3-day event weekend that was highlighted with the IndyCar racing event. With an estimated attendance of about 175,000 for the three days, the Team Drift competition introduced drifting to many new fans.

“Drifting has become a fixture on the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach schedule. The Formula DRIFT teams and drivers definitely add an extra flare to the race weekend and the fans look forward to it,” said Jim Liaw president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “The organizers of the Grand Prix were the first to put Formula DRIFT’s drifting cars on a full course demonstration 4 years ago. It speaks volumes about their innovative vision and about the drifting’s mass audience appeal.”

For the 2nd year in a row the Drift Alliance team came out on top with a score of 29.5 points. Team Drift Alliance consisted of Chris Forsberg, Long Beach local Justin Pawlak, and John Russakoff as a late addition to the team. Team TBA with Samuel Hubinette, Kyle Mohan, and Conrad Grunewald came in a close 2nd with 26.75 points. In 3rd place, Team Underdogs consisting of Dan Pina, Michael Essa, and Cody Parkhouse finished with 16.75 points. Parkhouse was a late addition after a crash during practice took out both his teammates, Matt Powers and Patrick Mordaunt, on Team “The Heat”.

“The Drift Alliance team was the most consistent throughout the weekend,” said Formula DRIFT judge Andy Yen. “They stayed the tightest through the hairpin turn with all 3 cars coming out together in unison, which the fans really enjoyed.”

Judging for Team Drift was based on the teams ability to drift in unison, closeness between cars with the closer the distance the better, and overall excitement including fan reaction. Both Formula DRIFT judges Ernie Fixmer and Andy Yen judged the event on a 15 point scale awarding each team a maximum of 15 points based on their performance on Turns 9, 10, and 11 of the Long Beach Grand Prix street course. The 2009 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship series continues on May 8-9 in Braselton, GA at Road Atlanta for Round 2: Proving Ground.

Formula DRIFT Team Drift Results
1. Team Drift AllianceChris Forsberg, Ryan Tuerck, and John Russakoff29.5 Points
2. Team TBASamuel Hubinette, Conrad Grunewald, and Kyle Mohan26.75 Points
3. Team UnderdogsMichael Essa, Dan Pina, and Cody Parkhouse16.75 Points

Full official standings available on: www.formuladrift.com

Long Beach, Calif. – April 14, 2009 – Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach kicks off their 6th championship season to a sell-out crowd. Ryan Tuerck and the Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice took home the victory and leads the 2009 Professional Championship Point Standings.

The Long Beach Grand Prix Street Course hosted the season opening event to a standing room only crowd. The infamous track is the only course that is held on actual city streets making it one of the more unique drifting courses in the world. The 2009 season included the addition of the veteran driver, Tony Angelo, as a new judge to the series. It also marked the first 2-day event structure of the season and the change of competition formats. This season will be the first time a 32 car head-to-head format will be utilized in the Pro Championship series creating more head-to-head competition rounds and more action for the fans.

“I think this weekend in Long Beach proved that regardless of the current economic state Formula DRIFT is something that is truly embraced by fans and it showed with a huge attendance on Friday and standing room only on Saturday,” said Ryan Sage, vice president of marketing and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Without the support of the fans, teams, and sponsors Formula DRIFT would not have been able to pull off this amazing event and I personally cannot wait to get on a plane to Atlanta and get back to where Formula DRIFT held its first event.”

The event showcased some of the most exciting drifting to date and the introduction of the Top 32 competition format brought a new element to the event and more action. The season opening event unveiled a few highly anticipated vehicles including Rhys Millen and the Red Bull / RMR Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the 2010 Falken Tire Ford Mustang GT, and returning champion Tanner Foust in the Rockstar Scion Racing tC, who finished in third place after a very intense and close battle with Robbie Nishida in the Hankook Tire / Dynamic Autosport Nissan 350Z in the consolation round. The finals pitted 2-time Formula DRIFT champion, Samuel Hubinette in the NuFormz Racing / Mopar Dodge Viper against Ryan Tuerck and the Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice. Tuerck edged out Hubinette with very consistent driving throughout the event taking the first victory of the season.

“It’s an amazing feeling starting the season off on top,” stated Ryan Tuerck, Round 1: Streets of Long Beach winner and driver of the Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice. “This isn’t a one man show and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of the Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice team. It’s very satisfying to stand at the top of such a talented field of competitors.”

The 2009 Formula DRIFT season continues on May 8-9 in Braselton, GA at Road Atlanta for Round 2: Proving Ground. Tickets are on-sale now.

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings

1. Tuerck, RyanGardella Racing / Mobil 1102 Points
2. Hubinete, SamuelNuFormz Racing / Mopar Dodge Viper 90 Points
3. Foust, TannerRockstar / Scion Racing tC 84 Points
4. Nishida, RobbieHankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z 72 Points
5. Aono, TakaTechnosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla 65 Points
6. Brakohiapa, TonyCooper Tire Ford Mustang 62 Points
6. Forsberg, ChrisNOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Tire Nissan 350Z 62 Points
6. Gittin, VaughnFalken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT 62 Points
6. Verdier, StephanCooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI 62 Points
10. McNamara, DarrenFalken Tire / Sears Saturn Sky 61 Points
11. Pawlak, JustinMazda USA / Cooper 58 Points
12. Grunewald, ConradTanaka Racing Chevy Corvette 57 Points
13. Ly, Quoc Driftspeed Nissan S14 56 Points
14. Ueo, KatsuhiroDriftspeed Nissan S15 55 Points
15. Jeff JonesComp. Turbo / K&N Filters Nissan S13 54.50 Points
16. Kondo, YasuKAAZ USA Toyota AE86 Corolla 54.25 Points

Formula DRIFT Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results
1. Tuerck, RyanGardella Racing / Mobil 1102 Points
2. Hubinete, SamuelNuFormz Racing / Mopar Dodge Viper 90 Points
3. Foust, TannerRockstar / Scion Racing tC 84 Points

Full official standings available on: www.formuladrift.com

Throttle pinned, stay on top of the whoops set up for the big wide open corner and then hit the massive table top. Fly through the air 150 feet and then with barely enough time to set up for the next turn you’re looking at the next set of doubles. This is the view from the inside of an 850HP Unlimited 2 Wheel Drive high octane beast as seen from the driver’s seat of the newest crossover moto athlete to try his hand with four wheels in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Hart&Huntington Racing’s Carey Hart.

Hart is one of a handful of superstar athletes including Supercross Champ Jeff Ward and the Metal Mulisha’s Brian Deegan who will be taking the green flag in their respective classes at the inaugural weekend of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) April 4th and 5th in Primm Nevada. Following the trail blazed by Supercross legends Ricky Johnson and Jeremy McGrath, Hart represents a new generation of crossover moto stars taking on the challenge in a very competitive Unlimited 2 Class. Catching up with him at a recent test session, Hart was asked what drove him to the class and the Lucas Off Road Racing Series. “The cage,” was his first reply with a bit of a snicker. Understandable, considering Hart has broken something like 68 bones during his career on a bike. “There is something that happens when you put on the suit and the helmet, climb into the truck, pull your belts tight and step on that throttle. The horsepower, the adrenaline, the jumps, the whoops; this (stuff) is amazing. I have immense respect for guys like RJ (Johnson) and MC (McGrath) who have gotten into these trucks and have really competed with guys that have been doing this for years. Seeing those guys come in here, put in their laps and figure out how to win has really driven me. I’m not just doing this for fun. We will get on the box! ”

Hart, who’s had several hundred laps testing in the truck under his belt is looking to be a contender as a rookie in what is arguably the most competitive class in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Joining him will be multi-time Supercross and Supermoto Champion Jeff Ward. Ward, also an IRL open wheel racing veteran who’s taken a second and a third at the Indy 500, is expected to be a quick study in his Speed Technogies Unlimited 2. In the Unlimited Lite (Lite Truck) Class, Brian Deegan will be shedding his rookie yellow tape and with the experience gained last year we can be sure he’s increased his expectations.

Carey Hart, Jeff Ward and Brian Deegan will be in Primm Nevada for the Lucas Off Road Racing Series Season opener at the Primm Valley Motorsports Complex, April 4th &5th. For Tickets, Schedule and information please visit lucasoiloffroad.com.