Same Story, Different Year
Much has changed since the Formula DRIFT Series first hung up its shingle in 2004. The number of events, drivers, teams and series sponsors have grown exponentially, and the young circuit has seen huge exposure to mass audiences through broadcast on national cable networks such as G4 and ESPN2.
Click photos to enlarge.
Words: Darren Jacobs, Photos: Ron Bermudez and Alison Merion
But one detail has remained immutable year in and year out—Samuel Hübinette, a.k.a. the “Crazy Swede,” and his Team Mopar® drift car have consistently maintained a spot among the top dogs in the drift kennel.
The sport of drifting crossed over to the U.S. from Japan a few years after the turn of the new millennium. The emergent sport, which is judged on execution and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time, attracts a demographic comparable to other freestyle sports such as skateboarding and motocross.
According to statistics supplied by Formula DRIFT, enthusiasts in the 19–24 and 25–35 age ranges constitute 87 percent of the series’ fan base. Media coverage of the sport is geared to this new young crop of motorsports fans. The Internet, including podcasts and blogs, are the most effective forms of connection and communication for the Formula Drift audience (see sidebar for links to sites offering drifting coverage).
Success has made Hübinette, the two-time Formula DRIFT champ (2004 and 2006), a shining star in the drifting firmament. True to form, he and his NuFormz Racing Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10® team were in a familiar position in the 2008 Formula DRIFT standings following the Round Two Road Atlanta event in May—first-place. Hübinette captured the pole and scored a runner-up finish in the season-opening Streets of Long Beach event, and a Great 8 run at Atlanta propelled him into a tie with Chris Forsberg for the top spot.
“I’m just so happy that NuFormz put this program together. [Team owner and manager] Shaun Carlson and his boys did a tremendous job, and we’re moving on to Round Three,” said Hübinette, who has nine career Formula DRIFT wins, a series high. “It’s going to be an interesting battle at a brand-new track for us all. So it’s very exciting to head up to New Jersey.”
In addition to his dominant performances on the drift course, Hübinette has been instrumental in helping to grow the sport of drifting away from the track. The Newport Coast, Calif., resident, a stunt car driver in his spare time, worked on the 2006 film “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift,” which helped take the sport of drifting mainstream. Hübinette was also featured in director Smadar Hanson’s documentary “The Sideways Craze,” which has seen numerous airings on the Discovery HD Theater channel since its 2007 debut.
Mopar has also played a key role in the sport’s expanding profile. The brand was title sponsor of the “Mopar D1 All-Star Duel,” which paired drifters (including Hübinette) with NASCAR stars such as Kasey Kahne and Bill Elliott. The drift demo, held at the “House of Drift,” Southern California’s Irwindale Speedway, was the first-ever crossover between NASCAR and drifting. Mopar’s podcast site, www.mo-pod.com, has also featured behind-the-scenes footage of Hübinette in Formula DRIFT action available for viewing on the Web site or as a podcast for download to media players. In 2008 Mopar, along with BFGoodrich and NuFormz Racing, is bringing an expanded drift rig and display area with many fan-pleasing features to Formula DRIFT venues.
“Mopar has been involved in Formula Drift since the start, when the series was first formed back in 2004,” said Sunil Lahoti, Mopar’s Senior Manager - Marketing & Stragety. “Our involvement in the sport has enabled us to reach out to an emerging new market — the next generation of motorsports enthusiasts. Mopar power has claimed nine wins and two championships in just four years of Formula Drift competition. That’s a great validation of the engineering and performance of Mopar parts under extreme conditions. We’re very proud of Samuel and the representation that he gives to Mopar.
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2008 Formula Schedule |
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Round 1 |
Streets at |
Long Beach, Calif. |
April 12 |
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Round 2 |
Road Atlanta |
Braselton, Ga. |
May 9–10 |
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Round 3 |
Englishtown |
Englishtown, N.J, |
June 14 |
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Round 4 |
Las Vegas |
Las Vegas, Nev. |
July 12 |
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Round 5 |
Evergreen |
Monroe, Wash. |
August 9 |
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Round 6 |
Infineon |
Sonoma, Calif. |
September 13 |
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Round 7 |
Irwindale |
Irwindale, Calif. |
October 11 |
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World Championships |
TBA |
TBA |
Learn More About Drifting
Below is a list of just a few of the many sites offering Formula DRIFT coverage:
For behind the scenes footage of Mopar drift star Samuel Hübinette, visit Mopar’s podcast site, www.mo-pod.com
DRIFT on SPEED
Formula DRIFT announced at press time a comprehensive and exclusive race programming schedule with SPEED TV. The 2008 Formula DRIFT Championship Series will air on SPEED beginning on Sunday, October 26 and continue through December 21, 2008. The eight-stop Formula DRIFT Championship Series and World Championship programs will air over nine Sundays during the 4 p.m. (EST)/1 p.m. (PST) time slot. Sunday, November 30 will be a “bye” on the air schedule. Each episode will showcase one round of the championship series beginning October 26 with Round 1 – “The Streets of Long Beach” and continue all the way through the National Championships and into the final episode showcasing the inaugural Formula DRIFT World Championships. Each episode will re-air during the week immediately following the initial broadcast.
