LAS VEGAS, Nev. (November 7, 2014) – Rockstar Energy Drink driver Tanner Foust received the Global Rallycross “fan favorite” award to cap a successful 2014 racing season and says he is looking forward to more rallycross next year in the new Volkswagen Beetle.
“The driving force in making this the fastest growing motorsport in the world is the fans and it’s an honor to be voted fan favorite,” said Foust, who emerged the clear winner for the second year in a row after more than 200,000 votes were cast online. “It means a lot to me that there are so many people out there who want to be involved in what we’re doing and I want to thank everybody for the incredible support.”
Thursday night’s awards ceremony in Las Vegas marked the conclusion of the exciting 10-stop 2014 Global Rallycross Championship. It was a successful season for Foust and the new Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team.
“We made a lot of new fans this year and we are definitely going to hit the ground running at the start of the 2015 season with our amazing new car,” said Foust.
Foust and his Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross teammate Scott Speed opened the GRC season in Barbados this May in a pair of Volkswagen Polo rallycross cars that had been previously campaigned in Europe. Foust earned his first GRC win of the season in the Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Polo at Round 4 in New York and this September made the switch to the brand new Volkswagen Beetle. He drove that car to its first heat race win on its Los Angeles debut.
The new car, being developed in co-operation with Volkswagen Motorsport, represents a significant step in development for the Volkswagen team. The all-wheel-drive Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle produces some 540 horsepower from a direct-injection 1.6-liter turbocharged inline four and achieves 0-60 miles per hour in less than two seconds.
The final race of the 2014 Global Rallycross season took place Wednesday night in Las Vegas on a temporary track built outside the LINQ Hotel and Casino under the view of the High Roller observation wheel. For the first time, the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team brought out both of the team’s new Beetles — giving Foust’s teammate Speed his first taste of the car in competition.
The Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Beetle opened the weekend on top, with a pair of heat wins. But contact with a rival in the semifinal round damaged the car’s suspension and ended Foust’s chances at a podium result. He finished in sixth place.
“We have shown we have the speed to win and in the next couple of months the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross team is going to be focused on making these new cars battle tough,” said Foust. “We’re going to be very difficult to beat in 2015.”
It has been a busy year for the driver. In addition to a full campaign on the Global Rallycross Championship this season with the Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross squad, Foust has continued his work in film and television, with the latest season of the popular Top Gear USA airing on HISTORY. His web series Life in the Foust Lane is available to watch now on the Rockstar Energy Drink YouTube channel.
Foust has also made select appearances in the FIA World Rallycross Championship with the Marklund Motorsport team, bringing the Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen Polo to a win at ultra-competitive Finnish round. And, as a guest driver for Rob MacCachren’s Rockstar Energy Drink team, he got his first taste of Pro 2 short-course truck racing in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.
At this week’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, Foust unveiled the Tanner Foust Racing Eneos RWB Beetle, which represents collaboration between the Volkswagen rallycross driver and famed Porsche tuners Rauh-Welt Begriff.
The driver will return to rallycross competition in 2015, with additional special appearances planned. Details of Foust’s exciting 2015 plans will be unveiled in the coming months.
Full coverage of the final round of the 2014 Global Rallycross season airs on NBC, Sunday, November 16 at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).
ABOUT TANNER FOUST
Tanner Foust is a versatile and multi-talented driver known for his supreme car control and a proven track record of podium placements, national championships and world records. He is a three-time U.S. rallycross champion (2012, 2011, 2010) who has also won four X Games gold medals (2013, 2010, 2007), and two Formula Drift championships (2008, 2007).
He has also held multiple world records including for the astonishing Hot Wheels Double Loop Dare, which saw Foust drive a car through a 66-foot loop-the-loop. He also scored the indoor speed record for TV’s Top Gear USA, and set a distance jump record with Hot Wheels when he made a 332′ ramp-to-ramp leap in a truck at the Indy 500.
His varied race experience includes multiple years of open wheel competition, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, rally racing, various types of sports car racing and the SCORE Baja. He has represented the USA in the annual Race of Champions three times, teaming with NASCAR star Carl Edwards in 2008, Travis Pastrana in 2009, and Mick Doohan in 2010.
A year after making his overseas debut in the European Rallycross Championship in 2010 with a select campaign, Foust became the first American driver to win a round of that championship and finished both 2011 and 2012 ranked in the top three; he won two of the three rounds he entered last year. At home, Foust has been a dominant driver in rallycross since it was first introduced to the United States in 2010.
When he isn’t racing, the professional driver also performs in films and on television. He is an on-air host for the U.S. version of the seminal BBC auto show Top Gear, produced by BBC Worldwide Productions and airing on the HISTORY channel. Episodes of his online documentary series, Life in the Foust Lane, are available on the Rockstar Energy Drink YouTube channel.
Foust also handles stunt driving in numerous popular films, TV shows and commercials. He is featured as a stunt driver in the Need 4 Speed film, as well as other major releases including the Bourne Legacy, Bourne Ultimatum, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Dukes of Hazzard, Red Dawn and Iron Man 2 movies.
ABOUT ROCKSTAR
Rockstar Energy Drink is designed for those who lead active lifestyles – from Athletes to Rockstars. Available in over 20 flavors at convenience and grocery outlets in over 30 countries, Rockstar supports the Rockstar lifestyle across the globe through Action Sports, Motor Sports, and Live Music. For more information visit: www.RockstarEnergy.com
TANNER FOUST’S RALLYCROSS PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE BY
Rockstar Energy Drink (www.RockstarEnergy.com); Volkswagen of America (www.vw.com); ENEOS Motor Oil (www.eneos.us); Forza Motorsport (Forzamotorsport.net); Xbox (www.xbox.com); NAPA Chassis (www.napachassis.com); ODYSSEY Battery (www.odysseybattery.com); Motegi Racing (www.motegiracing.com); Alpinestars (www.alpinestars.com); GoPro (www.gopro.com); Siemens (www.siemens.com); Andretti Autosport (www.andrettiautosport.com)
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