For Immediate Release:
Formula D Round 4
Las Vegas, NV
July 11th, 2009
Las Vegas, Nevada was center ring for Round 4 of the Formula Drift 2009
Championship series. Located at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the tricky high speed entry, hot track conditions and the night lights made this an exciting event.

With Robbie Nishida standing in 6th place and Eric O’Sullivan and Ryuji Miki feeling the pressure to catch up, Team Dynamic Autosports went all in. Bringing the drivers in one week early allowed all 3 drivers to tune out any bugs and really get to work to bring a podium back for everyone. Included in the week of practice was some valuable time to videotape a viral YouTube commercial that would feature all 3 cars/drivers and sweeten the sponsorship for 2009. The backdrop for the video was the El Toro airbase. It was shot and produced by one of the industry’s finest production team.

The stage was set for a successful Round 4 finish for the team. Eric O’Sullivan was perfect this weekend piloting the Rockstar/Hankook Tire Subaru STi. He qualified 13th and had his best qualifying runs this year. His flawless qualifying runs earned him the unfortunate task of matching up with Tanner Foust, his Rockstar Energy drink teammate, who qualified 20th and was coming back from a disappointing non-qualification round in New Jersey. Matched up in the Top 32 round, Eric had a mistake free run but Tanner proved to be too much to handle and advanced on to the Top 16 round. Eric O’Sullivan is currently 3rd place in the rookie standings for the season and expects to finish 1st this year. Eric is having a great run for his first year in Formula D and we look forward to seeing more from him in the upcoming events.

Robbie Nishida qualified 1st overall, earning an extra 8 bonus points, and was set for a podium run. Robbie’s qualifying runs showed the excellence of the Hankook Tire/Dynamic Autosports 350Z by stunning the judges with one of the fastest entry speeds and most dangerous entry lines this weekend. Robbie was on fire and the team was expecting a podium finish. Robbie made quick work of Casper Canul and moved on to the Top 16 round where he would meet Tyler McQuarrie. With Robbie leading Tyler on the first run, he quickly created an advantage. On the chase run however, Robbie was pressuring Tyler and became overly aggressive and attacked him into the smoke and had to stop suddenly to prevent a crash. Subsequently, Robbie ended up spinning out, allowing Tyler to move on. Robbie is still in the point’s chase for the championship nd has his eyes’ on placing in the top 3 for the year. Fortunately, our next stop is Seattle, Washington, Robbie’s favorite track that produced a podium finish for him last year.

Right before qualifying, the dark horse Ryuji Miki and the Hankook Tire/APEX RX-7 had some mechanical issues and the team was forced to change the differential and miss the 1st qualifying run. Miki’s D1GP Championship experience proved to be vital, as he was able to settle himself and qualify 22nd. Miki’s tough road lead him through Tommy Suell and 2 OMTs) (One More Times). His rotary powered RX-7 was challenged with the might Sam Hubinette and his Dodge Viper. Miki made quick work of him which provided him with the opportunity to face off with Justin Pawlak and his 20B RX-8. His aggressive chase run crushed Justin, giving Miki the chance to run against the current points champion, Chris Forsberg. His continued persistence and aggressiveness was rewarded with a spot in the final round against his Hankook Tire teammate Tanner Foust and the V-8 powered Scion tc. Unfortunately, Miki was blinded by the billowing smoke produced by the Hankook tires, which forced a small correction and giving Miki a well deserved and long overdue 2nd place victory.

Team Dynamic Autosports with the Hankook Tire/Dynamic Autosports 350z & Rockstar Energy Drink/ Hankook Tire Subaru STi would like to thank all our sponsors:

Hankook Tires, Rockstar Energy Drink, Seibon, APR, BC, ACT, Weds, Enkei, Status, APEXi, KW, HPI, AEM, C-West, Crooks and Castles, Attic Clothing, JE Pistons, Portflow, PPG,Nissan, Subaru, Raydog Graphics Instyle Graphics and Driveshaft Shop

Team APEXi/ Hankook Tire would like to extend a special thanks to:

Exedy Clutch, RMagic, Bride, NGK Spark Plugs, SEIBON Carbon, Torco Oil