DRIFT KINGS - FORMULA D FINALE - AUG 27 - YOU-KNOW-WHERE
FILL FLASH: MEDIA DAY FOR THIS ONE WILL BE THURSDAY AUGUST 25 FROM 11AM - 3PM NO RSVP - JUST BEEEE THERE! FORMULA D DRIFT SERIES USA SERIES FINALE SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 27 AT SPEEDWAY Irwindale, Calif. - - The answer to one of the most-asked questions of the year, “When are those WILD drifters coming back to Irwindale?” now has a good answer. Saturday night, August 27, 2005. That's when Formula Drift will slam smoking and sliding VERY SIDEWAYS under the lights into the facility that has come to be known as: “The consensus VERY best place in the World to witness professional Drifting.” “These are the drivers that had everyone on their feet at Long Beach this year, “ said track GM Bob DeFazio. “We're very pleased that this year's Formula D drift championship will be settled right here at Irwindale, this is where the sport exploded onto the scene, and we're looking for a record-breaking crowd for this one.” This year's Formula Drift championship is comprised of five stops across the country with the all-out finale at Irwindale on Saturday night August 27. The 2005 season got under way on April 16 with a spectacular show at New Jersey's famed Wall Speedway. From there it was on to super events at Road Atlanta on May 6 and 7, Reliant Park in Houston on June 11, Infineon Raceway in northern California on July 9, and at Chicago's historic Soldier Field on the shore of Lake Michigan on August 8. For additional event information, updates on the races leading up to the finale at Irwindale, ticket purchase information, vendor information, or to sign up as a competitor or an event volunteer got to www.formuladrift.com. ADD: AN IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY FIRST … NASCAR RACING TAKES A RECESS WHILE THE DRIFT KINGS TAKE OVER THE OVAL … AUGUST 27 For the first time in Irwindale Speedway's seven year history there will be something other than a NASCAR or USAC race on a Saturday night in season. That that as a telling indication that Drifting, as a motorsports attraction, has truly come of age. Irwindale Speedway has been the site of three previous total sellouts (how DO they get 10,000 people into a 6,500-seat stadium? … Very nicely thankyouverymuch!) for the slideways sport that one veteran racing observer aptly described as: “Drag racing around a corner … With style points!” However one describes this fast and furious new way to make the maximum amount of tire smoke and fan cheering in the shortest amount of time, no one can call it a “fad” anymore. Just check out the back cover of the event program for the McDonald' advert which asks: “Are You MAC Enough?” Mainstream … Slipstream … We all scream for more drifting! LIVE FROM THE FORMULADRIFT.COM WEBSITE: “Updated Championship points have been posted! The Championship chase is down to the wire! Chicago was unbelievable with the course being surrounded by scenic Lake Michigan, historic Soldier Field and the gorgeous Downtown Chicago skyline. The Championship continued to push the Formula D drivers to their limits. Round 5 was the most stressful, hectic and intense battle so far. After surviving “the Gauntlet”, the temporary course at Chicago's Soldier Field, the Need For Speed Formula D Championship heads back to Irwindale Speedway for the season finale. Rhys Millen and his Pontiac/RMR/Yokohama sponsored GTO maintains a small lead on 2004 Champion Samuel Hubinette and Ken “the Gush” Gushi. So bust out your calculators and start figuring out what Rhys needs to do to close out the Championship and what Sam, Ken and the others need to do to steal the Championship away from Rhys. Buy your discount tickets early to insure that you will be there to find out who will be the 2005 Need For Speed Formula D Champion.” PLEASE NOTE: ASSIGNED MEDIA WHO CALL EARLY (BEFORE THURSDAY) - AND BETTER STILL - FILL OUT AN APPLICATION ON THE FORMULAD WEBSITE SHOULD HAVE FEW PROBLEMS COVERING THIS EVENT … ON THE OTHER HAND: LATE (DAY OF), UNEXPECTED, AND UNPREPLANNED MEDIA REQUESTS ARE OFTEN GREETED WITH A RATHER BLANK LOOK … ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE FROM OUTSIDE OF THE REGULAR DRIFT RANKS … EVERY MOTORSPORTS JOURNO WORTH HIS OR HER SALT SHOULD SEE THIS ACTION-PACKED X-GAMES STYLE BRAND OF CAR CONTROL. BE THERE, JUST CALL EARLY PLEASE! -STOKES (NOTE THAT: CURRENT IS HARD CARDS WILL BE HONORED FOR ADMISSION … PHOTO LOCATIONS ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE ORGANIZERS AND YOUR COOPERATION IN THIS MATTER IS APPRECIATED AND EXPECTED) Position Name Points 1 Rhys Millen 404 2 Samuel Hubinette 393 3 Ken Gushi 376 4 Daijiro Yoshihara 332 5 Vaughn Gittin Jr. 321 6 Taka Aono 316 7 Calvin Wan 295 8 Chris Forsberg 236 9 Michael Peters 231 10 Alex Pfeiffer 227 11 Kenji Yamanaka 202 12 Tyler McQuarrie 193 13 Siego Yamamoto 175 14 Tanner Foust 161 15 Conrad Grunewald 145 16 Casper Canul 137 17 Hiro Sumida 123 18 Hubert Young 120 19 Andy Yen 118 20 Tony Angelo 109 21 Robbie Nishida 74 22 Stephan Papadakis 67 23 Chris Kregorian 62 24 John Yim 58 25 Ryan Hampton 56 25 Tony Schultz 56 25 Yukinobu Okubo 56 28 Ben Schwartz 55 28 Rob Fleming 55 28 James Bondurant 55 28 Matt Vassallo 55 28 Ross Petty 55 99 Brendan Walker 0 99 Ernie Fixmer 0 99 Erik Jacobs 0 -30- THANKS! -STOKES