Scion recently did it again with notable showings in the world of professional motorsports. From drag racing to drifting to time attack, Scion’s triple threat impressed with fast times and podium finishes. Scion’s 2008 season is ending on a very strong note indeed.
Scion’s blitz on sport compact drag racing closed 2008 with highly respectable finishes by a host of Scion drivers. On October 18 and 19, Battle of the Imports (BOTI) delivered its final round of the year at the Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, Calif. This was the last chance in 2008 for drivers to collect points toward the series championship.
In BOTI’s Pro-Import class, Scion had another strong performance from Kenny Tran behind the wheel of the Jotech Motorsports Scion tC. Qualifying first, Tran bested Chris Einer in the first round of eliminations and moved onto round two to face off against Jason Ames, where he also emerged triumphant.
In the final, Tran gave it his all with an impressive 0.058 second reaction time and a 174.71 mph run – strong, but not enough to clinch first. That went to his opponent Bryan Jimenez. Still, Tran landed a respectable second place overall for the event to finish off his season, and scored enough points all year to secure the inaugural BOTI Pro-Import Class season championship.
Pro-stock brought out Scion’s drag diva, Leslie Armendariz, who managed to qualify third in a relatively large field with her Horizon Motorsports tC. In the first round of eliminations, Armendariz turned it on and defeated Roger Crawford, placing her into the second round of eliminations where she faced points leader Norris Prayoonto. Putting pedal to the metal, Armendariz managed a great time of 9.736, which put her just over Prayoonto’s 9.733 by a slim 0.003 second. Even with her semifinal exit, however, Armendariz closes out 2008 with second in the drivers’ table.
In Pro-FWD, Chris Rado and the Scion WORLD Racing drag tC claimed a second-place finish in his class for the event. Qualifying first in the field, Rado had a free pass in the semifinals and paired up against Marty Ludwig and his Chevy in the final. Pushing his car hard, Rado unfortunately came up short by a mere 0.131 seconds. He finishes 2008 with second in the point standings.
Earlier in the month on October 4 and 5, the sport of time attack saw Scion’s multi-disciplined hot shoe Rado lay down some major fast lap times at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) in Arizona at NASA’s Time Trials. It was the first time out on the PIR track with the WORLD Racing Scion tC, and Rado commented that “this isn’t the type of track that our Scion tC is designed for.” However, he went on to make a strong effort that paid off.
Saturday’s session found Rado and his tC easing into the new track, but engine problems had Rado pitting early. An inspection revealed major cooling system issues, so the entire motorset was replaced with a second long block that had been used in over five races prior.
Sunday was exciting for the team, as they were ready to get some work done on track. Rado delivered, bringing in a time of 1:05.94, which gave him the new track record for a FWD car. Finishing off the rest of the session, Rado maintained solid runs in the 1:06 range and followed it up in the next session with low 1:06’s. Pleased with the outcome, Rado and the WORLD Racing team celebrated top honors in the FWD category with a second-place finish overall in the Unlimited Time Trials Category.
The month of October closed out with fantastic news for Rado and the WORLD squad, as they learned of their Unlimited FWD Class Championship in the 2008 Redline: Time Attack! series. Rado collected class victories in the WORLD Racing Scion tC at Round 4 California Speedway, Round 5 Nashville Superspeedway, and Round 6 Summit Point Raceway, earning 90 points for his efforts, enough to take home the prestigious season title.
In the world of drifting, Scion fans witnessed Ken “The Future” Gushi pilot the unique RS*R Scion tC drift car in the final round of the Formula Drift 2008 championship at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on October 11. It was a less-than-ideal day for the strong competitor, as major engine issues kept him from advancing from the pool of 32 qualifiers into the Top 16. On two separate qualifying passes over the weekend, the car encountered a severe loss of power, forcing the team to at one point take the tC back to the shop and swap in a new mill.
“We had problems with the motor all weekend,” Gushi explains. “The car kept [misfiring] and wasn't producing sufficient power. Missing on the bank of Irwindale is scary. Staying on the high line and missing, [I’d] risk straightening out and hitting the wall.”
Finishing 18th at the season-ending affair, Gushi and RS*R now set their sights on the Red Bull Drifting World Championships in November. Gushi earned his spot to the invitational by securing 14th in the final 2008 Formula D drivers’ table, collecting four Top-16 appearances in the tC’s inaugural season. Fans looking to show their support for the RS*R Scion drift team can obtain official RS*R Scion Rogue Status merchandise at www.scionracingstore.com.
For more information about Scion Racing, please visit www.scion.com/scionracing.