Tanner Foust, driving his Rockstar/AEM/Toyo Tires Nissan 350Z from Papadakis Racing, won his second consecutive Formula Drift championship Oct. 11 at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, Calif. while competing on Toyo Proxes R1R extreme performance tires.
Foust is the first-ever back-to-back champion in the history of Formula Drift, and the honor also represents the first back-to-back championship for Toyo’s tires.
As reigning champion, Foust continued his dominance right from the start with a third place finish during the season-opener earlier this year in Long Beach, Calif. He then won Round 3 in Englishtown, N.J., followed by a win in Round 6 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. In the final race at the “House of Drift” at Irwindale, Foust clinched the championship during the Great 8 round, and then put an exclamation point on his championship by finishing second for the event.
“We found the right combination again this year to defend the FD Championship,” says Foust. “This year we had all the right components on the Z to keep it competitive; our Toyo tires were the best skins on the track, our AEM engine was the most reliable on the track and with Rockstar Energy Drink pumping through our veins we relentlessly chased down our goals. The whole team is stoked to make FD history and go back to back on top!”
“This is an incredible back-to-back championship for Team Toyo and the Proxes R1R extreme performance tire,” notes Stan Chen, Toyo’s manager of events and motorsports. “We congratulate Tanner Foust and Papadakis Racing on winning this historic second consecutive Formula Drift championship.”
For more information, visit www.toyo.com.
