By now, we all know that Tanner Foust has some skills behind the wheel. From drifting public roads to winning two gold medals at X-Games Rally and Super Rally, Tanner is the kind of driver we like to get behind, and a damn good friend to The Smoking Tire. Tanner has been competing in the European Rallycross series this year, and for the first time, rallycross has come to America, at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Competing against some of his biggest X-Games rivals, including Dave Mirra, Travis Pastrana, and Andrew Comrie-Picard (ACP), Tanner positively wiped the floor track with them all, and got himself a well-deserved first place. Video after the jump.
Video: Tanner Foust Slaughters The Competition at New Jersey Rallycross
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Samuel Hubinette and Andrew Comrie-Picard Practice For X-Games Rally
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
With the X-Games coming up this weekend, drivers are practicing all over Southern California in preparation. Unlike a skateboard, cars need to be thoroughly run-in before competition, and sometimes things break at the last minute. So, thorough practice sessions are necessary, and I just happen to be one of the lucky few that BF Goodrich invited to Irwindale Speedway (I mean a rock quarry down the street from Irwindale Speedway) to check out Samuel Hubinette and Andrew Comrie-Picard giving their matching Mitsubishi Evo’s a real thrashing. Formula Drift Champion Hubinette, in the newer Evo X, was extremely excited about this weekend’s competition, saying, “Driving a rally car, even though it’s new for me, feels very natural. Coming from drifting, ice racing in Sweden, and stunt driving, Rally is a natural extension of my abilities, and it’s just really, really fun. The jump they are building will be the biggest I’ve ever done by far, but as long as you keep your speed right, it’s one of the easier parts of the course.”
Comrie-Picard, known simply as ACP by, well, pretty much everyone, was looking great, hustling his Evo IX around the short course and scaring the crap out of any journalist willing to hop in the passenger seat.
Mega-Rally-Gallery after the jump!
Video: Crazy Arab Drivers Take Over Dubai Road
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010We’ve seen some crazy Arab driving before. Whether it’s Carrera GT’s and BMW M5′s drifting through downtown Dubai, or Shiekhs running Formula One cars on closed sections of desert highway, Arabs clearly know how to have fun in a car. (I should know, I’m half Arab – MF).
Here’s another good one. A bunch of guys in Lexus LX570 trucks block off traffic while some guys in shitbox Daihatsu’s and Toyota pickup trucks start doing donuts and drifting. Then the Daihatsu goes up on two wheels, and proceeds to cruise down Shiekh Zayed Road, the main road through Dubai, for several minutes, weaving through traffic.
I wish we were brave enough to try something like this on the 405 Freeway in LA, but we’re quite certain it wouldn’t end well.
Thanks, Vinny for the tip!
Behind The Scenes – Street Drift: Mulholland with Tanner Foust
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010The Smoking Tire goes behind the scenes with Tanner Foust on Mulholland Highway to see what it takes to put together his “Street Drift” Series.
What you may not know is this: if you have seen Tanner’s “Street Drift: Mulholland” video, you may realize that it was shot with dozens of cameras from all angles, including a chase car and camera-mounted R/C Helicopter. Our video, of the same day, was shot with One HD Cam and Two Flip Cam’s. That’s it. You be the judge, who used their resources better?
Tanner Foust: Mulholland Highway Street Drift
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010I know Tanner pretty well, have for a couple years, and the dude’s got skills. It’s not hard to really scare the crap out of a passenger when you’re a professional driver, but going sideways at very high speeds and NOT scaring the passenger? Much more difficult. I was at Mulholland Hwy the day they shot this, and The Smoking Tire has exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage of this video that we will be airing in a few weeks. For all of you who are going to make the Ken Block comparison comments, realize that KB’s Gymkhana videos had TONS of tire tread marks around the obstacles, the result of him doing take after take. Look at the asphalt on Mulholland; pristene, which means one take.
Gallardo Goes Skiing
Sunday, March 14th, 2010Lamborghini has invaded the snow-covered territory of Subaru, Audi and Mistubishi. This Gallardo, built by reiter-engineering, has some serious snow tires and one of the most hauntingly amazing exhaust sounds I’ve ever heard. I watched Tiff Needell drift an LP-560-4, tamely, around an ice course, but this is different. Drifting is just how this car stretches before it tears up a ski slow, surely causing an avalanche with the howl it produces. Simply awesome. And soon, this will be cheaper than buying a normal lift ticket. We want to thank our friend ToofaneBatamameezi for hosting this awesome video.
Video: Wagon Attack II Will Make You Lust For Automotive Weirdness
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Your friends and family won’t understand. People will look at you strangely. They’ll want to shun you, then hold an intervention. Anything for you to break the habit. Who the hell wants an 20-year old Honda Civic 4WD Wagon, especially when it looks like that? They’ll never get it, you tell yourself. They’re all a bunch of ignoramuses. What do they know?
But it’s ok. Your friends here at The Smoking Tire? We understand. And we feel the same way.
Watch with caution; this video may just change your life. You’ve been warned.
And there’s still one on eBay Motors right now. Act fast, however: this video’s already up to 44,000 views.
- Blake Rong
Radical Rides and the Optima Ultimate Streetcar Invitational
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009The Smoking Tire heads out to Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch for the Optima Batteries Ultimate Streetcar Invitational, where SEMA Showcars get the crap kicked out of them on the race track. While there, host Matt Farah not only gets to test out the track himself in a Lotus, but also gets a ride from a pro driver in a Radical SR3.
Bonus Footage: Drift Night at Adams Motorsports Park
Saturday, September 12th, 2009While filming at Adams Motorsports Park in Riverside, CA for an upcoming episode, we stuck around to see what Thursday Night Drift was about. Turns out, it’s a great place to see some real amateur talent. First a beautiful RX7 show up, driven by Formula D driver Kyle Mohan, and then, a race trailer showed up with Sam Hubinette’s matte-black 750hp Viper, and Sam put on a real show for us…. Enjoy this bonus footage from Adams Motorsports Park!
