STRONG FINISH
Scion Racing closes out 2009 with triumphant showings in October
Records and podiums were in order for Scion Racing this October, as its competitors collected top honors across a variety of motorsports series and disciplines.
Formula DRIFT: Ken Gushi and Tanner Foust secure Top 10 Finishes in 2009
Ken Gushi and his gray-over-green RS*R Scion Racing tC had a lot of drama during the 2009 Formula D campaign, but the lessons learned will be useful in 2010. After a horrendous DNQ and 33rd spot in the standings after the season opener in Long Beach, the team had nowhere to go but up.
Gushi was top qualifier and finished in fourth place at New Jersey, and even climbed the podium with a second-place finish in Sonoma. Says Gushi, with a playful sarcastic tone, "I would have liked to keep the podium numbers even with my teammate Tanner, but man, that guy is a machine. First year out with a brand new car and he has three podiums, including a win.
"I believe that team RS*R and Scion Racing have done a great job this year. We finished in the Top 10 and have a lot to build on for next season."
At the season finale at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in California, also known as the House of Drift, Gushi advanced to the round of 16 before falling to the eventual winner of the event, Ryan Tuerck.
"When I was on my following lap, I gained too much on [Tuerck] on the bank that I had to lift for a spit second. That lift caused a big enough gap throughout the rest of the course to give him a scoring advantage.
"So what do I do at this point? I have to create an even BIGGER gap on my leading lap. We switch and I try my best to leave him in the dust - no luck. His car was way too fast.
"I hope next year, the tC will have more balls and horsepower than all the cars in the field. If some teams want to play a horsepower and displacement game, then I'll bring a horsepower war."
Rockstar Energy Drink racer and back-to-back Formula D Champion (2007, 2008), Tanner Foust, closed an uncharacteristically mixed season on a high note at the House of Drift. Debuting his all-new Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC in 2009, Tanner did very well to place sixth in the overall points.
At Irwindale, Foust power-slid the tC to a place on the podium. Foust moved through the Top 32 and Sliding 16 rounds using his Toyota NASCAR V8 power to defeat Tony Brakohiapa and Michael Essa. In the Great 8 round he faced off with Dai Yoshihara for arguably one of the most exciting rounds of the night and Foust moved on to the Final 4.
In the semifinals, Foust paired the Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC against Ryan Tuerck's Pontiac. Tuerck was on fire, battling for the best overall finish of his Formula D career.
Tanner followed Ryan first, giving great chase and sticking to him through the course. When Foust led Tuerck was able to take a steeper angle, edging out Foust to advance to the championship round, and ultimately the race win. Foust earned the third-place podium spot beating out Matt Powers in the consolation round.
"The Rockstar Energy Drink Scion tC was incredibly fast at Irwindale!" exclaimed Foust afterward. "It logged some of the highest speeds on the track and was absolutely addicting to drive... I can't get enough of that Toyota V8 screaming at 9,000 rpm!
"I want to thank Stephan, Shawn and Carlos for a great year. Even though we didn't take the championship this season, the guys stayed pumped and were eager to get our tC right. With a great result in Irwindale we've proved that our efforts throughout the year paid off and that we will have a wicked car waiting for the 2010 opener."
Team manager and car builder, Stephan Papadakis, also commented, "Tanner was on fire all week. It feels great to end the year on a high note and with the car running so well. But the bigger picture is the huge crowd at the Formula D finale at Irwindale. It was beyond standing room only. This shows how strong this series is doing, and is just one more reason we can't wait until next year's season opener in April."
Time Attack: WORLD Racing wraps up "Year Of Domination"
At the NASA Time Attack event held over the October 3 weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, the Bi-Winged Banshee was untouchable. Scion Racing's Chris Rado unleashed his mad skills, taking WORLD Racing's first overall win of the year and setting yet another new FWD track record.
The team was ready to rumble and the track held some stiff competition with top-dollar Vipers, Porsches and Corvettes looking to get the best of the high-strung Scion. Chris dropped a blazing 1:03.623 in the second session which none of the big-dollar, big-displacement cars could match.
Road Racing: JD Motorsports win SPEED World Challenge Touring Car 2
Jackson-Dawson and Scion impressed as they came away with the win in the newly-established Speed World Challenge Touring Car 2 (TC2) class in what amounts to only their third pro event the team has entered after dabbling in Grand-Am's KONI Challenge series.
Veteran racer Scott Webb, one of two drivers for the JD team, took the win during the 50-minute Touring Car race held at famed Laguna Seca Raceway. His TRD supercharged and intercooled Scion tC put on a great show for tens of thousands of fans, as he not only won the class, but actually mixed it up with the TC cars.
Said Webb, "This was a tremendous experience, and it's super cool to come away with the win. The crew did a great job taking care of the car and perfecting the chassis setup for me on the practice day. As they say, 'Scion For The Win!'"
It wasn't smooth sailing, as the team put in a lot of hard work just to get the tC to the grid. On Thursday, during promoter test day, Webb got settled in, coming into the pits several times, as the team made setup changes to try to get the car to work even better. Team principal Dan Gardner and crewmen Sean Morris and Jeff Lew made even more drastic changes that evening.
During Friday's morning practice Webb was caught a bit off guard in Turn 6, dropping the inside wheel off the tarmac and hooking it on a deep sharp curb. The tire instantly blew out. A mis-matched replacement wheel was added but came loose during Webb's next stint.
While swapping back to their Enkei RPF1 wheel, the team noticed fluid on the left front control arm. Based on the location, they began to believe that it was coming from the shock. Luckily, Lex Carson and Kent McCray from sponsor Moton were on site to lend a hand. After removing the shock a small leak was seen on the bottom of the shock by one of the welds. The team was able to get a small tack weld in the leaking area.
Back on track, the team thought they had their troubles licked for the afternoon practice session. And things started off great, with Webb saying that the car felt good. His 1:41.8 lap time showed improvement as well.
About two-thirds of the way into the session, Webb came on the radio to say that something in the front end of the car had let go. Upon arriving back in the team's pit, the crew saw that all but one of the front left studs had completely sheared off. Fortunately one lug nut remained, holding the wheel in place...barely.
There was significant damage to the area, and the team didn't want to take any chances. They started the hustle to replace the wheel and tire, knuckle, hub, bearing, studs, brake caliper, and front rotor and hat. It was a late-night grind.
On Saturday, the team had only one task, get through a 20-minute qualifying session. Webb's second lap was a 1:41.3, a full half-second faster than the day before. The time was enough to secure Scion their first-ever professional pole position.
For the first time this season, the team would be performing a standing start, a longtime tradition in World Challenge. Webb had done a couple practice starts during the days prior, so he had an idea about the launch.
As the lights went out the Scion clawed forward with its supercharger screaming, but cars were everywhere going into Turn One, and Webb didn't want to get in the middle of a battle for the season Championship between the faster TC class cars. He was running his qualifying pace and was keeping it consistent, turning times only three seconds off the TC cars. The second place TC2 car was quite a ways back and Webb just concentrated on hitting his marks and mixing it up with the TC class cars.
On Lap 15, Webb was trying to give Touring Car driver Eric Curran some room and so he moved over to the right in Turn 10. As Curran went by, the No.23 Ford Focus didn't give the Scion any room, forcing him off-track. The Scion spun to the inside, came across the track, and settled in the dirt. Webb quickly got back on track, but not before losing two positions. Back under green Webb kept banging off consistent laps after getting back on track. No one else would catch him, including the TC2 RX-8. On Lap 26, the white flag came out, as Webb concentrated on turning one last clean lap. He crossed the checker at the 50-minute mark, bringing Scion home their first professional road race victory.