Podium Finish at ‘Final Fight’ Seals the Deal on Hubinette’s Second Championship for Mopar
Center Line, Mich. — Team Mopar’s Samuel Hubinette, the inaugural 2004 Formula D champ, set forth on a mission in 2006. The “Crazy Swede� was looking to reclaim his title after finishing second in the ’05 points battle. Hubinette can now say “mission accomplished,� as his third-place showing on Saturday at Southern California’s “House of Drift,� Irwindale Speedway, earned him the 2006 title and brought home Mopar’s first championship of the year.
Hubinette’s Path to the Championship
Hubinette entered the “Final Fight� at Irwindale before the largest crowd ever to witness a drifting event. He held a 36-point lead on Rhys Millen, and could claim the title by advancing to at least the Final Four round of the tandem battles. The “Crazy Swede� qualified his NuFormz Racing Mopar Dodge Viper SRT10 second, and then defeated Mitsuru Haraguchi to advance to the Elite Eight. Millen kept the heat on with round wins of his own, making Hubinette’s second-round match-up against Kenji Yaminaka all-important.
Hubinette and Yaminaka both went all-out, but a mistake in the corner by Yaminaka proved the difference, as the judges advanced Hubinette, earning him the Formula D Series championship. Hubinette and the NuFormz crew of Shaun Carlson (team owner), Kenny Nevins and Tim Dunbar high-fived in celebration in pit lane.
In the Final Four round, Hubinette was unable to advance past event winner Daijiro Yoshihara. With Tanner Foust unable to stage for the third-place race, Hubinette took the last podium spot and marked his championship with a victory lap in his trademark style, hanging out the door of his Mopar Dodge Viper and unleashing plumes of tire smoke on the cheering Irwindale crowd. The outing was Hubinette’s fifth podium finish in seven races, and his three wins were the most on the series this year.
Hubinette’s Comments
“This is a great achievement. I’m stoked to be a part of the championship effort we have put forth. Thanks to Mopar and SRT (DaimlerChrysler’s Street and Racing Technology division) for incredible product and support that won us this championship. Of course, none of this could have happened without help from BFGoodrich and its G-Force T/A KDW tires. They’re amazing. And I’m indebted to NuFormz and its commitment and devotion to this program. It’s just golden. Shaun Carlson has used his skills to make the Mopar SRT10 Dodge Viper a complete drift machine! Kenny [Nevins] and Tim [Dunbar] are guys that have poured blood, sweat and tears into drifting. They’ve worked hard and it definitely paid off.
“It’s been a pretty big year. I took part in my first feature film [The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift] as a stunt driver, got engaged, became an American citizen, won my second championship, and I’m getting married in December. Wow! 2006 has rocked for me. We’re going to come back just as strong next year and look to capture our third championship, this time in the Mopar Dodge Charger SRT8!�
