Sam Hubinette

SHR finally sent out a press release today that looked more like a personal e-mail written up by Sam Hubinette. What is interesting to me is that he doesn’t mention he will be missing Evergreen Speedway next month in his pursuit for the championship just yet… we highlighted his exit with more information in the rumor mill post we made over the weekend.  Here is what Sam had to say,

“Kenneth will be driving at NJ so that I may participate in the TORC off-road race in Crandon, Wisconson. My back to back wins in the Ram/Mopar/BF Goodrich truck during the last race weekend mean that I am leading the PRO Light division, so I wish to make every effort to win the Championship.”

Posted in Formula D, Major Announcements, Sam Hubinette | 2 Comments »

Next weekend the Dodge Challenger won’t be fielded by two time Formula Drift champion Samuel Hubinette. After having his worst season in series history he is going to step out for next weeks Round 4 and pursue the Traxxas TORC Off-Road series. Formula Drift rookie Kenneth Moen will be stepping into the Dodge Challenger for at least Wall Speedway next week. They will be doing some testing at Englishtown before the event.

If you look at the Traxxas TORC schedule it also conflicts directly with Round 5 in Seattle. Fans looking to see Sam Hubinette will be disappointed for the next two rounds as he spends time trying to win a TORC championship in a Dodge Ram. This could be a huge opportunity for rookie Kenneth Moen to extend his Formula Drift career. My real question is will Sam Hubinette return for 2012 and I file that under highly unlikely.

Posted in Formula D, Rumors/Gossip, Sam Hubinette | 10 Comments »

Justin Pawlak now has a demanding lead in the championship race as we pack up and head north to New Jersey in 14 days. He has a 36 point lead on his ASD teammate Darren McNamara. Daijiro Yoshihara took a huge hit in the standings and is now barely holding on to 3rd place. Here is how the Top 20 stand.

1. Justin Pawlak – 272 points
2. Darren McNamara – 236 points
3. Dai Yoshihara – 220 points
4. Chris Forsberg – 215 points
5. Matt Powers – 212.25 points
6. Ryan Tuerck – 182 points
7. Tyler McQuarrie – 179 points
8. Conrad Grunewald – 166 points
9. Toshiki Yoshioka – 159.25 points
10. Vaughn Gittin Jr. – 157 points
11. Kyle Mohan – 149.50 points
12. Fredric Aasbo – 144.50 points
13. Walker Wilkerson – 135.75 points
14. Matt Waldin – 130 points
15. Rhys Millen – 130 points
16. John Russakoff – 119.50 points
17. Ken Gushi – 108.50 points
18. Ross Petty – 104 points
19. Taka Aono – 103.50 points
20. Charles Ng – 103.25 points

Posted in Charles Ng, Chris Forsberg, Conrad Grunewald, Daijiro Yoshihara, Darren McNamara, Formula D, Fredric Aasbo, Ken Gushi, Kyle Mohan, Matt Powers, Matt Waldin, Patrick Mordaunt, Rhys Millen, Ryan Tuerck, Sam Hubinette, Tyler McQuarrie, Vaughn Gittin Jr. | No Comments »

The event is right around the corner so we put together the Top 32 pairings for you from the weekend. Some snoozers mixed with some really get pairings of tandem to fight our way into the Top 16 today at PBIR. The fast entry is going to be a focus point of tandem we feel like and the high speed ending by that wall could result in some serious damage by the end of the day.

1 Chris Forsberg vs 32 Michael Essa
16 Samuel Hubinette vs 17 Ross Petty
8 Tyler Mcquarrie vs 25 Jeff Jones
9 Joon Maeng vs 24 Charles Ng
4 Vaughn Gittin JR vs 29 John Ruskakoff
13 Otto Graven vs 20 Matt Waldin
5 Rhys Millen vs 28 Odi Bakchis
12 Dai Yoshihara vs 21 Kyle Mohan
2 Darren McNamara vs 31 Mike Feiock
15 Taka Aono vs 18 Alex Pfeiffer
7 Conrad Grunewald vs 26 Eric O’Sullivan
10 Toshiki Yoshioka vs 23 Pat Cyr
3 Justin Pawlak vs 30 Luke Lonberger
14 Ryan Tuerck vs 19 Walker Wilkerson
6 Fredric Aasbo vs 27 Matt Powers
11 Ken Gushi vs 22 Ryan Kado

Posted in Alex Pfeiffer, Charles Ng, Chris Forsberg, Conrad Grunewald, Eric O'Sullivan, Formula D, Fredric Aasbo, Jeff Jones, Ken Gushi, Kyle Mohan, Matt Powers, Matt Waldin, Michael Essa, Rhys Millen, Ryan Tuerck, Sam Hubinette, Tyler McQuarrie, Vaughn Gittin Jr. | No Comments »

Sam Hubinette hopped in this Pro Light Dodge Ram over the Memorial Day weekend in Michigan to race in his first ever TORC (The Off-Road Championship) and the #77 Dodge took home a victory in his first ever outing for the series. The photo above shows Sam Hubinette getting some ridiculous air time in the Dodge as he came off the start line and instantly fought his way to the front of the pack and then never looked back. Here is what Sam had to say about the weekend:

“This weekend couldn’t have gone any better,” said Hübinette, a superstar in the world of drifting, who has now scored wins in his first two career TORC starts. “The Traxxas Racing and Jenkins Brothers Racing team provided an amazing package, a great Ram Truck with an awesome Mopar engine and BFGoodrich Tires to help hook up all that power on the muddy, challenging track.

Posted in Non Drifting, Sam Hubinette | No Comments »

We just posted about the Palm Beach International Raceway track layout and now we have our hands on the drivers list for this event in Florida. Here is who is currently signed up for the event:
1. Fredric Aasbo
2. Taka Aono
3. Odi Bakchis
4. Tony Brakohiapa
5. Pat Cyr
6. Michael Essa
7. Mike Feiock
8. Matt Field
9. Chris Forsberg
10. Vaughn Gittin Jr.
11. Otto Graven
12. Conrad Grunewald
13. Ken Gushi
14. Jim Guthrie
15. Zoltan Hadju
16. Brad Hettinger
17. Sam Hubinette
18. Jeff Jones
19. Ryan Kado
20. Dean Kearney
21. Luke Lonberger
22. Joon Maeng
23. Darren McNamara
24. Tyler McQuarrie
25. Dennis Mertzanis
26. Rhys Millen
27. Kyle Mohan
28. Patrick Mordaunt
29. Charles Ng
30. Eric O’Sullivan
31. Justin Pawlak
32. Ross Petty
33. Alex Pfeiffer
34. Matt Powers
35. John Russakoff
36. Mike Skudlarek
37. Ryan Tuerck
38. Matt Waldin
39. Walker Wilkerson
40. Daijiro Yoshihara
41. Toshiki Yoshioka

Posted in Alex Pfeiffer, Charles Ng, Chris Forsberg, Daijiro Yoshihara, Darren McNamara, Dean Kearney, Eric O'Sullivan, Formula D, Fredric Aasbo, Jeff Jones, Joon Maeng, Just Drift, Ken Gushi, Kyle Mohan, Matt Powers, Matt Waldin, Michael Essa, Patrick Mordaunt, Rhys Millen, Ryan Tuerck, Sam Hubinette, Vaughn Gittin Jr. | 6 Comments »

I did my best over the weekend to collect data/notes on the weekends event to help assist people in Fantasy Drift or just fill the minds of curious readers. I would love some feedback on this and if it is something people would like to see in the future.

Recorded Entry Speeds
Daijiro Yoshihara – 96.8mph (Final)
Daijiro Yoshihara – 96mph (Top 4)
Vaughn Gittin Jr. – 95.9mph (Top 16)
Fredric Aasbo – 94mph (Top 16)
Chris Forsberg – 92mph (Top 16)
Eric O’Sullivan – 91mph (Top 16)
Toshiki Yoshioka – 90mph (Top 16)
Walker Wilkerson – 89.4mph (Top 16)
Kenneth Moen – 89mph (Top 32)
Justin Pawlak – 86mph (Top 16)
John Russakoff – 84mph (Top 4)

Battle Breakdowns
Daijiro Yoshiara Vs. Jeff Jones
Daijiro Yoshihara Vs. Fredric Aasbo
Daijiro Yoshihara Vs. Vaughn Gittin Jr.
Daijiro Yoshihara Vs. John Russakoff
Daijiro Yoshihara Vs. Darren McNamara
Darren McNamara Vs. Mike Feiock
Darren McNamara Vs. Matt Powers
Darren McNamara Vs. Justin Pawlak
Darren McNamara Vs. Toshiki Yoshioka
Toshiki Yoshioka Vs. Ross Petty
Toshiki Yoshioka Vs. Walker Wilkerson
Toshiki Yoshioka Vs. Patrick Mordaunt
Toshiki Yoshioka Vs. John Russakoff (3rd Place/OMT)
John Russakoff Vs. Conrad Grunewald
John Russakoff Vs. Matt Waldin
John Russakoff Vs. Chris Forsberg
Matt Waldin Vs. Kenneth Moen (OMT x2)
Chris Forsberg Vs. Cyrus Martinez
Chris Forsberg Vs. Eric O’Sullivan (OMT)
Eric O’Sullivan Vs. Kyle Mohan
Vaughn Gittin Jr. Vs. Odi Bakchis
Vaughn Gittin Jr. Vs. Tyler McQuarrie
Tyler McQuarrie Vs. Dean Kearney
Fredirc Aasbo Vs. Pat Cyr
Patrick Mordaunt Vs. Ken Gushi
Patrick Mordaunt Vs. Michael Essa
Ken Gushi Vs. Charles Ng

Battle Damage
Justin Pawlak – Rear End Damage from Solo Crash (Practice)
Eric O’Sullivan – Rear End Damage from Solo Crash (Practice) / Side Damage from Mohan Contact (Top 32)
Ryan Kado – Wheel/suspension damage from contact with Charles Ng (Practice)
Dean Kearney – Broken Control Arm (Practice) / Steering Rack Issues (Practice)
Matt Powers – Front Passenger Side Suspension Damage (Qualifying)
Kyle Mohan – Hit in Door by Eric O’Sullivan (Top 32)
Darren McNamara – Passenger Side Door Damage from Matt Powers (Top 16)

Mechanical Issues
Darren McNamara – Engine Sensor Issues (Practice)
Sam Hubinette – Header Crack (Practice) / Engine Cutting Out (Qualifying)
Rhys Millen – Engine Problems – Noted as Electrical (Practice)
Ross Petty – Blown Engine (Qualifying Run 2)
Ken Gushi – Wastegate Manifold Crack (Practice) / Broken Differential (Top 16)
Kyle Mohan – Coolant Line Burst (Top 32)
Taka Aono – Failed to line up for Top 32 battle against Ryan Tuerck
Patrick Mordaunt – Engine Fire (Top 16)

Posted in Charles Ng, Chris Forsberg, Daijiro Yoshihara, Darren McNamara, Dean Kearney, Eric O'Sullivan, Formula D, Fredric Aasbo, Justin Pawlak, Kyle Mohan, Matt Powers, Patrick Mordaunt, Rhys Millen, Sam Hubinette, Vaughn Gittin Jr. | 4 Comments »

A huge and extensive gallery documenting Round 2′s practice/qualifying is now up at Wrecked Magazine. The 450+ image gallery follows the drivers from the morning practice sessions into qualifying for the main event. While Conrad Grunewald was busy being a show off and entering backwards all day in his Chevrolet Camaro we had 31 other guys out hungry to capture a spot in the main event. Here is the journey which put Vaughn Gittin Jr. back in the Saturday show and left out many top names such as Rhys Millen and Sam Hubinette due to car failures.

Check Out the Gallery: http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=227

Posted in Formula D, Gallery, Joon Maeng, Rhys Millen, Ryan Tuerck, Sam Hubinette, Vaughn Gittin Jr. | No Comments »

Another horrible weekend for the SHR team falls on them at Road Atlanta. When Sam came down the hill for his first pass he hit about 30-35mph and the engine sounded like it exploded. He drove straight off course and back to the pits scoring a zero. Sam Hubinette posted some photos of the team hard at work on the car before his second qualifying pass which is attached below.

They made it out to the grid before his second qualifying pass. Sam Hubinette flew down the big hill and started a great run. He lined up the horseshoe and as he swung around it the same horrible sound came from the car. Sam ended up gripping the rest of the track and resulted in a second zero for the weekend. The team is no doubt frustrated and going to struggle to keep up with championship points moving forward. A top 5 finish should almost be impossible at this point for Sam which we all know he is capable of from years past.

Posted in Formula D, RESULTS, Sam Hubinette | 5 Comments »

Sam Hubinette looked amazing in practice and after all that time he put in at Irwindale Speedway lately we aren’t that shocked he looks good. The thing is none of us at the office question Sam Hubinette’s raw talent as a driver but this Dodge Challenger has sure been a wild card this season. He stopped in Practice 2 earlier due to a crack in his headers. This is an obvious easy fix but draws concerns of if the car might have some other nightmares looming over it for the weekend.

Posted in Formula D, Major Announcements, Sam Hubinette | 11 Comments »