Mopar(R) Mourns Loss of Former Team Member Shaun Carlson
Former Team Mopar(R) driver and team owner Shaun Carlson passed away suddenly on Oct. 4. Carlson was 35. 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 potentially fatal arrhythmias. 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 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 native 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(R) 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(R) 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 Hubinette steered to the inaugural Formula Drift (FD) championship in 2004, and Carlson owned and tuned the Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10 Hubinette drove to the 2006 FD championship. Carlson and Hubinette also teamed for FD series runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2008 and nine FD event wins during their partnership—a series high.
"On behalf of Mopar and Chrysler Group LLC, I would like to express 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."