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AUGUST 11TH, 2008, Hawthorne, CA-The team was pumped heading into Round 5 at Evergreen Speedway in Seattle, WA, having two full days of practice prior to the event to get familiar with the track and set up the cars. However, all this preparation was academic, as the perfect conditions during practice turned slippery in the rain during competition.

FOXY'S RESULTS
Tanner was coming off his Silver Medal effort in Rally competition at the X Games the weekend before, with just enough time to pull his rally suit out of the bag, put the drift suit in it, and jump a plane to Seattle. "The first time I relaxed was when I got to the track, because Steph and the Rockstar/AEM team had everything ready to go! We just went about setting the car up for the track."

The efforts in practice went south once the skies opened up on Saturday, and every team was scrambling for a new strategy to deal with the wet tarmac. The track was dry during Tanner's first qualifying pass and he earned enough points to make the show, but during the second qualifying run he must have been experiencing flashbacks to his ice racing days, as Tanner cranked it up a notch and captured the #2 qualifying position behind Sam Hubinette and his Viper.

The sliding 16 round paired Tanner against Kyle Mohan and his FC RX-7. Tanner drove very well in the conditions, commenting that the slippery surface was "fun," and while Kyle drove well, a mistake caused him to spin and Tanner advanced. In the Great 8 round, Tanner faced Michihrio Takatori and his R34 Godzilla. Takatori made a mistake in transition and hit Tanner hard-which gave Tanner the round-but in the crash moved the engine a full inch on the engine mounts (which are slotted for adjustability) and set the turbo on top of the steering tie rods making it difficult to turn right.

In the Final Four round Tanner faced Rhys Millen and his Solstice. After two passes it was too close to call and the judges called for a "One More Time," during which Tanner made a small mistake in the first right and allowed Rhys to advance by one point. During the consolation round against Robbie Nishida and his 350Z, Tanner again had trouble in the first right and Robbie advanced to the podium. In all, Sam Hubinette's #1 qualifier and 2nd overall finish advanced him to first overall in the Championship race and placed Tanner second overall, just 12 points behind Sam. With a mere 54 points separating the top four drivers, expect some intense battles heading into the final two rounds.

"After the crash it was a challenge to turn the car to the right, but it was drivable and I can't make any excuses," commented Tanner. "We made a lot of changes to the car this season-the new Toyo tires, more steering angle, making the car lighter-and they will serve us well at the remaining two events. It's going to be a battle for first place all the way to the championship, and we are ready."

BIG PAPA'S RESULTS
Steph had great runs during Thursday practice and went into Friday's practice session feeling confident, but he got too close to the wall during one pass and it sucked him in. Unfortunately, the Rockstar/AEM S2000 uses many custom parts for the suspension and brakes, and the team did not have a few critical items to put everything back together, ending Steph's chances to qualify for eliminations.

"It was horrible not to compete this weekend," said Steph. "Especially when you saw the tandem competition in the rain. That was awesome. Plus, there's just something about this event that brings out incredible drifting and tandem rounds. Everyone was on their game, as you can see by the 92- to 96-point spread in the qualifiers. Maybe it's the fans! The house was full even with the rainy weather!"

FAST FACTS
FD Round 5 at Evergreen was the first FormulaD event held in the rain...both cars have qualified for eliminations in all but two events in 2008...the team has six top 5 qualifiers (two (each) seeded 1st and 2nd, one seeded 4th, one unseeded 5th) one victory and a third place finish this season...Tanner is currently second place in the series championship standings (12 points off the lead) and both Rockstar/AEM drivers are ranked in the top 30 series competitors...the next event is at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma CA on September 13th...

August 3rd, 2008. Carson, CA. The third annual Summer X Games Rally Super Special lived up to the hype with an action packed series of rounds that made for great TV, especially since it was being broadcast live on ABC Sports. But the almost figure eight stadium course with its massive center field, over-under jump wreaked havoc with drivers and their cars. Out of the wreckage, Tanner Foust, with co-driver Chrissie Beavis, limped his Rockstar Energy Drink 2007 Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car home to win the silver. Foust was denied a repeat of his 2007 X Games Rally Super Special gold medal by Travis Pastrana in his Subaru Rally Team USA 2008 Subaru STI in a rematch of their 2007 semi race.

The day didn't start well for Foust when during practice he misjudged the braking point on one of the downhills re-entering the stadium and overshot. The impact tore the sump guard off the bottom of the car and required replacing front suspension, radiator and an exhaust manifold. Fortunately the Rockstar Energy rally mechanics had Foust ready for action in the quarter-final round with Travis Hanson. Foust defeated Hanson to move onto the semi where he would be facing either Rally America front-runner Andrew Comrie Picard, or X Games BMX legend and rookie rally driver, Dave Mirra. Comrie Picard's race came to a spectacular end when he front flipped his Mitsubishi EVO IX on the landing side of the centre jump. Mirra looked like he was out after hitting a wall on the tarmac section, but on hearing of Comrie Picard's flip nursed his Subaru home to face Foust in the semi-final.

Off the line Mirra showed the same speed he'd used during the qualifying round when, in an upset he'd defeated Foust's Rockstar Energy Drink rally team mate, Canadian national champion, Antoine L'Estage. Returning to the stadium floor, it was a surprisingly close race but the jump claimed another victim when Mirra overcooked it and, out of control on landing, slammed into the crash barriers. Foust was through to the final. But who was he to face? The other semi pitted both Subaru Rally Team USA drivers, Pastrana and Ken Block against each other. The flag dropped and Block didn't move-his Subaru STI had succumbed to damage from a nose-in landing in the previous round against Matt Johnson.

The final was a rematch from last year's controversial semi when Pastrana ran hot and wide on the final turn ramming Foust at the line-Foust getting the win. Pastrana's factory 2008 STI got the jump on Foust's 2007, but they were even going out of the stadium. Unfortunately Foust tagged the wall exiting to the tarmac, as part of an apparent control issue-later both front shock absorbers were found to be blown. Despite this, Foust put the pressure back on and made up some of the lost time on the second half of the race when Pastrana started making mistakes and tagging a couple of barriers. Victory almost looked in reach for Foust but it wasn't enough and he finally limped home in second with his motor partially damaged from overheating due to the earlier radiator damage. The gold wasn't to be for Foust. Pastrana took the victory dedicating the gold medal to the memory of former X Games competitor and World Rally Champion, Colin McRae. The stadium course was brutal on the competitors but provided outstanding extreme action and close competition, cementing rally's reputation as the most extreme of motorsports on primetime live national broadcast television.

Foust commented, "After watching ACP's spectacular flip on the jump I overcompensated a bit in the semi-finals and jumped much too long. The Tein suspension did an amazing job to save the rest of the car on the landing but was damaged enough to make the following laps extremely difficult. Combine that with the fact that Travis laid down a flat out great run and the gold slipped just out of reach--this time."

Thursday the 10th marked the beginning of practice. While most people were sleeping, the drivers of Formula D were just beginning to start their engines. Round 4, dubbed "High Stakes" went exactly as stated. The high entry speeds surrounded by concrete k rails were a constant gamble. Henry Schelley and crew arrived earlier that day to set up the vehicle. The vehicle was now churning with more power and the footwork was improved upon. Henry Schelley with the help of AEM EMS, Brian Crower, and AEM methanol injection kit revamped the 2.4-liter dual cam motor, allowing the car to enter the course in 4th gear. The Federal Team knew that the increased speed would be a bad idea without improving on the suspension settings. Swift Springs were called into action to support the KW suspension and by the end of Thursday night practice the car needed only minor adjustments for the rest of the weekend.

Although Friday began late afternoon the air temperature was still in the triple digits. The car remained cool with the help of the Griffin radiator and AEM methanol injection kit. The team was surprised on how well the car cooled. While everyone else was externally spraying water on their intercoolers and radiators the AEM methanol injection kit automatically kept intake temperatures down on the Federal Tires' drift S13. Qualifying was held at the end of the day, just before the thunderstorm rolled in. Henry Schelley laid down consistent runs leading him to qualify for the main event on Saturday.

Saturday's practice for the main event began early. Henry was laying down strong runs. The car was consistently laying down a lot of smoke. He was able to get a score of 82 with an 84 mile per hour entry speed, which was a hair short of the 85-mile per hour speed that the judges were looking for. He ended the day in 22nd place out of 54 contestants, but most importantly, Henry has received enough qualifying points to keep his Formula D competition license for next season.

For most, summer means vacations and frivolity, but defending champion Team Honda Research – West (THR-W) is using the summer break from the National Auto Sport Association's Western Endurance Racing Championship (WERC) series to test and develop their twin Acura RSX's in preparation for the upcoming races at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma and Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California. Despite a trying season in which the team has suffered from a series of unusual reliability problems, THR-W has persevered and is in second place in the season standings - close enough to challenge for the lead in the upcoming races. Building on the momentum from a strong finish at the Six Hours of Buttonwillow Presented by AEM, the team plans to implement several development programs designed to increase overall speed, consistency and efficiency. The team is looking forward to upcoming testing at Honda Proving Center California, the challenge ahead in the upcoming WERC series races and the 25 Hours of Thunderhill in December.

In addition to on track activities, THR-W is pleased to inform supporters of a unique pictorial history of the team being developed and available for viewing on Flickr.com. The site is available for public viewing (individual photographs can be made available by special arrangement) and contains both archival and current photographs of the team.

THR-W is the officially sanctioned employee road racing team of Honda R&D Los Angeles - comprised entirely of Honda associates who strive to exhibit in themselves and their vehicles the challenging spirit first demonstrated by company founder Soichiro Honda. The team is an expression of the challenging spirit that exists within Honda – a racing spirit that is a fundamental part of the company's DNA. Operating under the mantra, "We develop what we race, and race what we develop," the team strives to translate lessons learned on the track into new vehicle development as part of the "fun-to-drive" character found in Honda products. The fact that Honda associates are themselves enthusiasts and racers is an indication that they have the interests of enthusiasts in mind when they bring new vehicles to market. THR-W was co-founded in 1996 by Honda R&D engineer Matt Staal and has competed in regional and national events for more than twelve years.

Team Honda Research-West is proud to represent, test and use products from the following companies: Honda Research & Development Americas, Inc., American Honda, Toyo Tires, The Westside Group, H&R Springs, Brembo Sport, Baja Designs, Inc., AEM, Traqmate data acquisition systems, Hondata, APR, Exedy, Recaro, Red Line Oil, Tyga-Box Inc., HMS Motorsport, Schroth Racing safety harnesses, Goodridge, ASR, Porterfield, King Motorsports, and Aquapel Glass Treatment by PPG Industries.

Team ATK took the class win at the M.O.R.E Freedom 250 night race this past weekend in Barstow, California. Driver Jon Krellwitz along with Co-driver Patrick Smith started side by side with fellow Currie Cup competitor Nick Beal for an exciting drag race start through the Barstow start finish area. Krellwitz in the ATK Wrangler bested Beal to the first turn and never looked back. The first lap was dusty and difficult with Krellwitz picking his way through the slower 7s and 1450 class cars that started ahead of him. While passing a 7s truck in blinding dust Krellwitz hit a large hidden bolder which caused a puncture of his left rear tire. Thankfully pit "B" was just a few hundred yards away and the tire was replaced by desert veterans Ollie Penchansky and Kevin Davis to get the ATK Wrangler quickly back underway.

With the ATK Wrangler back on course, and the sun setting halfway through the second lap, it was time for the new KC HID lights on the ATK Wrangler to light up the night. It was also during this lap that the Barstow roughness started to take its toll on some of the bushings in the suspension. With word from the crew that the ATK Wrangler had a sizable lead, and with the bushings beginning to come apart, the decision was made to back off the pace and keep the truck alive for the remaining few laps. Matt McCallum got in the codriver spot at the start of lap three while expert mechanics Skyler Gambrell and Matt Vogler looked over the truck and crew members Kris Hernandez and Russ Ficker dumped fuel.

Laps three and four proved uneventful with Krellwitz keeping a conservative pace to get the truck home in one piece. At the start of the fifth lap Adam Butterfield, of ATK engines, got into the codrivers seat to see first hand what his 4.7 stroker engine was capable of. The fifth lap went smoothly with Krellwitz and Butterfield crossing the line in the ATK Wrangler for the win. Krellwitz noted after the race "It was a great course out there today – dusty, rough, and rocky – just the way a desert race should be; this ATK Wrangler is great and it still has a lot more potential!"

Krellwitz also mentioned, "More than a substantial thank you is owed to my team this weekend. A prior engagement kept me away from the race until 10 minutes before the start, but the team had the truck and race logistics completely handled. All the credit for the success we had this weekend goes to them."