As the intense 2009 Formula Drift season comes to a close, preparations for 2010 are at full speed with Bridgeway Motorsports. They have now signed on crowd-favorite Kenji Yamanaka to represent their Drifting Program. Kenji Yamanaka is well known for his off-track charismatic antics, lovable personality and his aggressive “drift to win” attitude on the track. Kenji Yamanaka’s Formula Drift experience goes as far back as 2005 drifting for multiple teams including the famous Hankook Tires / JIC Magic team from 2005 to 2007 finishing within the top 10 drivers in 2007.

Formula DRIFT entered the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for the final event of the season. Ryan Tuerck takes the Round 7: Judgment Day victory, while Chris Forsberg takes the overall championship and the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. The Toyota Speedway at Irwindale hosted the final event of the 6th season of Formula DRIFT. The sold out crowd was not disappointed as the drivers provided non-stop action throughout the event weekend. The event also provided plenty of additional entertainment for the fans including the Jtuned Auto Gallery, Famous Stars and Straps stunt bike demo, and a performance by the “Far East Movement.”

Formula DRIFT has announced a schedule and venue change for the 2009 Pro Am National Championship. The event will now take place on November 21 at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The top amateur drivers from the United States and Canada will meet at the infamous “House of Drift,” at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. This will be the first time that a Pro Am competition of this level will take place at this location.

With one of the fastest tracks of the season under his belt, Verdier marked 100 mph plus as he slid his way to victory on Cooper Zeon 2XS ultra-high performance tires at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., August 21-22. Adding to the excitement, fans were also treated to both drifting and IndyCar Series racing during the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend.

Formula DRIFT has released the schedule of events for Round 6: Locked and Loaded at Infineon Raceway on August 21-22. Formula DRIFT will be joining the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend. “Formula DRIFT and Infineon Raceway is writing a new page in drifting history as this will be the first time a professional drifting championship round will be featured as part of a major racing weekend,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT.

Originally built as a horse-racing track, Evergreen Speedway saw plenty of horsepower over the weekend as Formula Drift arrived in town, with the venerable track challenging the drivers and their cars to the “Breaking Point,” resulting in Chris Forsberg taking the win, while Team Falken’s Tyler McQuarrie finished a respectable third. Qualifying on Friday was challenging as the judges were very critical of all efforts.

Formula DRIFT has announced a schedule change for the 2009 season. Round 6: Locked and Loaded at Infineon Raceway will be re-scheduled from September 12 to August 21-22. Formula DRIFT has been added to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma race weekend. “Formula DRIFT continues to bring drifting to the big leagues with the addition of our event to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Motorsports fans will be able to experience the 110+ mph average speeds of open wheel racing and all the sideways action of Formula DRIFT in one weekend.”

Formula DRIFT introduces the 2009 Miss Formula DRIFT, Miki Taka. Taka is an experienced model, TV host, and DJ has been chosen as the official spokesmodel for Formula DRIFT and will be at the remaining 4 events of the season. Originally from Nagoya, Japan, Taka is a Japanese-American that currently resides in Columbus, OH. She is pursuing her degree in Criminal Law, while establishing herself as an import model with Prestigious Models.

Performance and preparation paid off as Team Falken Tire’s factory drivers swept the podium at Wall Speedway in Saturday night’s round 3 of the 2009 Formula Drift season. Darren McNamara took the top rung in his Saturn Sky; Vaughn Gittin, Jr., earned second with his 2010 Ford Mustang GT; and Tyler McQuarrie finished third, driving his Nissan 350Z.

 The achievement was historical as this was the first time ever for three Team Falken cars to take the top three positions as well as the first time one team has dominated the podium.



Round 2 of the 2009 Formula Drift season saw Team Falken Tires’s Darren McNamara, running his Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky on the proving grounds of legendary Road Atlanta, advance to the finals against Chris Forsberg where he took second place overall. The finals proved challenging after the first competitive run was deemed too close and a subsequent run requested by the judges – and known among the Formula D competitors and fans as a “One More Time” – ended with paint trading and McNamara in second.

Formula DRIFT Round 2: Proving Ground at Road Atlanta had Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z claiming the victory. The win moves him into 2nd place overall in the Formula DRIFT Championship point standings and gives him the lead in the chase for the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus.

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.

Formula DRIFT announces new judge for the professional championship series, Drifting veteran, Tony Angelo will be added to the judging panel and step away from professional competition. Ken Takahashi has taken a leadership role in Pro-Am to help build the amateur series. “I am excited to take this position with the series. I have been competing with Formula DRIFT since its inception,” said Tony Angelo, veteran drifter and new Formula DRIFT judge. “This role will put my competition hat on the sideline, but being a judge is a challenge that I welcome and I look forward to helping the series grow and evolve.”

Formula DRIFT will be implementing a Top 32 tandem competition format for the 2009 season. The Top 32 tandem format will replace the Top 16 format previously used in an effort to appeal to the fans. The new competition format will be used starting at Round 1: Streets of Long Beach on April 10-11. The Top 32 tandem competition format will pit the Top 32 drivers in a round-by-round elimination with each driver advancing to the next round. Each round’s head-to-head battles will be determined by the drivers’ qualifying score.

The Formula Drift Championship presented by Circuit City entered Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California for Round 6: “Locked and Loaded”. Current Champion Tanner Foust takes the victory and regains the lead in the chase for the Castrol SYNTEC Power Cup. This event also marked the return of Bill Sherman with a 3rd Place podium finish and the 4th podium finish for 2005 Champion Rhys Millen.