Team Mopar® Driver Hubinette Claims Points Lead with Runner-Up at Evergreen Speedway
NuFormz Racing Mopar® Dodge Viper SRT10® driver Samuel Hübinette qualified No.1, scored a second-place finish and seized the top spot in the standings in the rain-plagued Formula Drift: Breaking Point event on Saturday, August 9 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash.
The event was the first-ever to take place under wet and rainy conditions since the Formula Drift series was founded in 2004—an impressive run of good luck considering the usual fickle fortunes of Mother Nature. Hübinette called on experience gained driving on ice lakes as a youth in his native Sweden to meet the challenge presented by the slippery conditions, capturing the No. 1 spot in qualifying, his second of '08, as a steady rain fell. The "Crazy Swede" then dispatched Ken Gushi, Ryuji Miki and Robbie Nishida before falling to Rhys Millen in the finals.
Hübinette's third podium finish and second runner-up of the year vaulted the two-time Formula Drift champion into the No. 1 spot, 12 markers ahead of the next closest driver. Only two events remain in the 2008 Formula Drift campaign as Hübinette chases his third Formula Drift title in just five years.
"We achieved a phenomenal weekend with the help of Mopar, NuFormz Racing and BFGoodrich," said Hübinette. "We took the points lead in the championship battle and second-place in the event, and that's not bad at all considering how difficult it was to go 60-to-70 mph sideways in the rain. It was definitely the trickiest event for me, but the result was outstanding. Now we just have to keep the momentum and grab the championship."
Hübinette and the NuFormz crew will next do battle on September 13 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. For more info on the Formula Drift Series, visit formuladrift.com.