Mopar® Mourns Loss of Former Team Member Shaun Carlson

At press time, Mopar Magazine was informed of the tragic news that former Team Mopar driver and team owner Shaun Carlson passed away suddenly on Oct. 4. Carlson was 35. Carlson, a favorite of the Mopar Nation with his trademark Mohawk haircut and energetic style, had been featured in Mopar Magazine on numerous occasions throughout the years, including the June 2003 MM cover.

The longtime member of Team Mopar had recently been diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome, a genetic disease characterized by an abnormality in the heart’s electrical system that can cause a potentially fatal arrhythmia. It is unknown whether the disease contributed to his death.

Carlson began racing in 1999 and soon made his mark on the sport compact scene. As owner of NuFormz Racing in Ontario, Calif., Carlson was acknowledged as an elite engine builder, fabricator and FWD performance guru, and created the first sport compact drag car with a tube chassis. Carlson was the first FWD builder to run in the 9-second and 8-second range.

A resident of California, Carlson enjoyed a long and illustrious career competing under the Team Mopar banner. He took the wheel of the Mopar/NuFormz Dodge SRT4® in the 2003 NHRA Sport Compact Series and captured his first career NHRA victory in May 2003 at Gainesville. He also set Pro FWD records for elapsed time and speed at the event. He finished third in the Pro FWD standings in 2003, was fourth in 2004, and in 2005 he seized a second career victory at the Palm Beach NHRA Sport Compact Nationals.

Carlson also competed for Team Mopar in the NHRA Pro Stock series. In his very first race, subbing for an injured Darrell Alderman at the 2004 NHRA Winternationals, Carlson demonstrated his skill behind the wheel, grabbing an early round win and nearly advancing to the semifinals. Carlson also piloted the Team Mopar/SRT® Dodge Stratus R/T Pro Stock car for Don Schumacher Racing in 2006, and used his mechanical skills to assist Allen Johnson’s J&J Racing squad in tuning friend Richie Steven Jr.’s Mopar Dodge to two late-season 2006 wins.

Carlson also enjoyed great success as owner of a Mopar-sponsored team in the growing motorsport of drifting. NuFormz Racing maintained the Mopar Dodge Viper Competition Coupe Samuel Hübinette steered to the inaugural Formula DRIFT (FD) championship in 2004, and Carlson owned and tuned the Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10® Hübinette drove to the 2006 FD championship.

Carlson and Hübinette also teamed for FD series runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2008 and nine FD event wins during their partnership—a series high. Carlson also spearheaded the build of the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT8® Hübinette campaigned to a historic win in 2007 at the West Virginia FD event. The victory was the first in a professional racing series by a race car based directly on a Chrysler LX platform vehicle.

Carlson’s far-reaching influence as a fabricator and builder was recognized in 2006 by Super Street magazine. Carlson was named one of the Top Ten Innovators of All Time in the sport compact and drifting scene by the publication.

“The Formula DRIFT family is saddened to learn of the loss of Shaun Carlson,” said Jim Liaw, President and Co-Founder of Formula DRIFT. “Shaun was an innovator, a record breaker and a great friend. His support of Formula DRIFT since day one is only a small sign of his loyalty and the type of person he was. Though we will miss Shaun, we are thankful of the moments we shared with him and we will celebrate the life he led.”

“On behalf of Mopar and Chrysler Group LLC, I would like to express our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Shaun Carlson,” said Jim Sassorossi, Director, Global Parts Sales & Marketing — Mopar Parts. “We are shocked and saddened at Shaun’s sudden passing. Shaun possessed a great passion for life and for racing. He was a dear friend of Team Mopar and will be greatly missed.”

Donations can be sent to: The Shaun Carlson Memorial Fund, 1943 N. Campus Ave B-148, Upland, Calif., 91784.