Chris Forsberg

Last updated
Forsberg Forsberg
Born:April 6, 1982
Nationality Flag of the United States.svg
Hometown Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Residence Costa Mesa, California
Car Number64
TeamNOS Energy Drink/Forsberg Racing
Formula Drift Results
Championships3
Wins17
Podiums57
Top 10 Finishes92
First Event2004 Round 1 (Atlanta, Georgia)
First Win2005 Round 6 (Irwindale, California)

Christopher Forsberg (born April 6, 1982), is an American Formula D driver from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He competes in the Formula Drift series in his Nissan Z (Z34) for Forsberg Racing, where he is the owner and shop manager. NOS Energy Drink is a primary sponsor and has been a partner since 2004.

Contents

Forsberg has competed in every round of Formula Drift since 2004, and is a three-time champion. During this time he amassed the most head-to-head battle wins and podium finishes in Formula Drift history. [1]

Upon closing of the 2020 Formula Drift season, Forsberg won the award for Best Drifting Style, while Forsberg Racing's James Caldwell won Crew Chief of the Year at the Virtual Awards Banquet as voted on by Formula Drift teams. [2]

Forsberg Racing (with Bryan Heitkotter as driver) competed in the 2021 Gridlife Touring Cup wheel-to-wheel racing championship. Its entry is a Nissan 370z.

Forsberg Racing has two entries in the eSports World Championships. This esports racing series mimics the FIA GT World Challenge and uses the Assetto Corsa Competizione software platform. The team consists of Bryan Heitkotter and Forsberg, each driving a Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. [3] [4]

Early life

As a teenager, Forsberg learned how to work on cars with his black 1988 Mazda RX-7 FC.

Forsberg credits Tony Angelo, Initial D, Option Magazine, and his brother Erik with introducing him to the RX-7 and drifting. [5] [ better source needed ]

Grassroots Drifting

In the winter of 2003, Forsberg held a drift event in Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, New Jersey.

By March 2003, Mike Napp, then president of the facility, [6] gave Forsberg permission to organize motorsport events.

Professional Drifting Career

2004

In 2004, Forsberg placed second at his first ever Formula Drift event at Road Atlanta and followed with another podium finish at Round 2 in Houston, Texas.

Forsberg drove the 350Z SR20DET for part of the inaugural season, but had to switch to a borrowed Nissan Silvia S13 for one race because of technical difficulties. The SR20DET Z finished the campaign.

After Irwindale, the team participated in a D1 event in which Forsberg became the first American driver to beat a Japanese driver, Team Orange’s Kazuhiro Tanaka.

2005

Forsberg competed in the Team Falken Password JDM Silvia S15. His last battle of the season was the season finale against Rhys Millen in his GTO. Super Street documented the drama:

"The finals between Rhys Millen and Team Falken's Forsberg Forsberg would be something for the books however. On Forsberg's old 350Z, he had a sticker that said, "too close for missiles, switching to guns!" Well, in the season finale and the final battle, the sticker could have read 'where there's smoke, there's fire!' That's right, in blazing glory and a fiery drift battle, Forsberg's rear bumper lit up as he went completely sideways through the course at speeds only Millen could duplicate. A one more time was in the works which proved too much for Millen's GTO. Suspension problems would ensue on the GTO as Forsberg continued his consistency through the track at blazing speed producing tons of smoke." [7]

Forsberg won the round and attained his first Formula Drift win.

2006

Nissan North America took notice of Forsberg's driving and gave him a convertible 350z for the 2006 season. The team swapped the stock VQ35DE engine for the Nissan Titan's VK56DE V8. The convertible was not a competitive car for Forsberg, and he had to use his backup car, the SR20DET 350Z, for a few rounds as he sorted out the V8 and its chassis. He had two unfavorable rounds of the seven, though he still qualified.

2007

2007 was Forsberg's first to run his own team and act as team manager. Collaborating with Maxxis tires, and on a shoestring budget, he campaigned for a top three-level team. Fueled by contingency money, 2007 was a breakout year. Because of its success, Maxxis matched Formula Drift’s winnings. The team finished second place overall, paving the way for its NOS Energy Drink sponsorship.

2008

NOS Energy Drink committed to a full title sponsorship, building on their previous relationship. The year started by beating Tanner Foust and Sam Hubbinette at Long Beach, taking first place.

2009

Forsberg won his first Formula Drift championship, as well as the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize, becoming the first driver to win both in the same season. His win marked the first time a Formula Drift champion had a purely drifting/enthusiast background, whereas previous champions had professional motorsport experience. [8]

2010

Formula Drift brought in more V8s and more power. Midway through 2010, the team installed an upgraded Nissan Motorsports engine, adding 200 hp, and bringing total horsepower up to approximately 580rwhp.

2011

2011 marked Forsberg's first full season in a 370Z and a Nissan Motorsports engine. This car had factory angle, brakes, and gas tank. Nissan supplied the chassis and motor. The car was mildly built with a focus on good reliability. The team finished 3rd overall.

2012

The team parted ways with its crew chief and Forsberg moved to Maryland, where MA Motorsports [9] prepared and built his cars. Its focus was on vehicle weight reduction and engine reliability. The team finished 11th overall.

2013

In a personally contentious season, Forsberg would get second overall, accompanied by rumors, accusations, and conspiracy theories. [10]

2014

Forsberg and the team held points position from the first round to the last round (never lost points position) and clinched their second Formula Drift title. NOS Energy Drink left as a primary sponsor due to the company's corporate restructuring, reducing funds and a raw, matte black, carbon fiber livery. That season the car was upgraded by 150 hp, which included nitrous. The Forsberg Racing team expanded to two cars for 2014, with Jhonnattan Castro taking the second seat in an updated version of Forsberg's 2012 370Z chassis. Forsberg presented the idea of the "Start Line Chicane" to Formula Drift, which has been implemented in nearly every drifting series in the world.

2015

Forsberg ran the first half of the season without major financial support. It was the team's third consecutive year of top-three championship finishes.

2016

Despite not winning an event, Forsberg was crowned Formula Drift champion, once again piloting his V8-powered Nissan 370Z. His consistency (two third-place finishes and four second-place finishes, all consecutively) allowed him to take the championship lead after Round six in Seattle, which he continued to defend until the final round in Irwindale. He won the Formula Drift World Championship after participating in a Formula Drift World Championship round in Okayama, Japan, which made him eligible to score World Championship points.

2017

Forsberg moved back to California from Maryland. Nameless Performance took over the race team management and vehicle prep. [11] The team developed a twin-turbo VQ35HR engine package versus the V8. The season’s 11th overall finish was due to multiple engine issues and repeated use of the backup car.

2018

Forsberg took control of the race team and rebuilt the car with his team in southern California. 2018 was a year of growth for his pit crew, as they made the car more competitive. Even with multiple engine failures, the team managed several podiums as well as a win in Round 3. The team finished fourth overall.

2019

After two years of struggling with the VQ platform, the team committed to the Nissan VR38DETT engine. The team finished sixth overall and was able to prove the VR engine’s reliability.

2020

Forsberg landed on the podium at Round 5 and followed with a 1st Place finish in Round 6. However, engine failure during Rounds 7 and 8 took the team out of championship contention. The team finished 5th overall.

Competition cars

YearTeamCarEngine
2004N/ANissan 350Z SR20DET
2005Falken Password JDMNissan Silvia S15SR20DET
2006Sears Auto CenterNissan 350Z VK56DE V8
2007N/ANissan 350ZVK56DE V8
2008 - 2010NOS Energy Drink NissanNissan 350ZVK56DE V8
2011 - 2016NOS Energy Drink NissanNissan 370ZVK56DE V8
2017, 2018NOS Energy Drink NissanNissan 370Z VQ35HR TT
2019, 2020, 2021NOS Energy Drink NissanNissan 370Z VR38DE TT

Special Projects and Vehicles

1975 Datsun "Gold Leader" x RAD Industries 280Z

In 2014 Forsberg purchased a stripped-down RB motor equipped 1975 280Z for $4,000 with no intention of making it a show car, until AEM approached him about displaying it in their 2016 SEMA booth. [12] [13]

With help from RAD Industries [14] some of the car’s build specs included: CarbonSignal seats, carbon/suede door cards/center console, widebody kit, TechnoToy Tuning suspension, Wilwood brakes, Speedhut meters, hydraulic handbrake, 500 hp RB25DET engine and custom SSR MS-1 wheels. “Gold Leader” would win SuperStreet/Meguiar’s Best in Show and the Sony Playstation Best Import award. [15] [16]

Nissan Rally 370Z x Broken Motorsports

The Rally Z buildout is an American Rally Association compliant homage to the 1971 East African Safari Rally overall winner Datsun 240Z. [17] The collaboration between Nissan/Nismo and Broken Motorsports [18] was intended for display at SEMA 2020, but because of the global pandemic, this did not happen. [19]

2011 Toyota Nascar 2JZ-GTE x Good Enough! x Gumout

For his Youtube channel series Good Enough! Forsberg and the gang purchased an ex-Brandon McReynolds Nascar. Forsberg took it to Irwindale Speedway with Ryan Tuerck. Forsberg did one 1/8th mile pass, with a 0.499 reaction, for a 7.9466 at 94.38 mph where they ultimately blew the engine. They swapped in a 2JZ-GTE making 750-800 horsepower; upgrades include Brian Crower rods, JE pistons, and a Garrett GTX4088 turbocharger.

2006 Infiniti M56 "La Flama Blanca" (the Party Car)

The M56 is a four-seat demo drift car complete with a 500 hp VK56DE 5.6L V8 engine. Forsberg Forsberg built this car in 2010 at his shop in Southern California as a four-seat ride-along vehicle. Forsberg custom designed and fabricated the roll cage so that all four bucket seats (Recaro SPG driver seat; SPG XL passenger seats) were able to fit safely and securely. Engine mods include Nissan Motorsports individual throttle-bodies, Jim Wolf camshafts, and custom Tri-Y exhaust, mounted to a 350Z transmission, an ACT twin disc clutch, and a custom Driveshaft Shop driveshaft and axles. [20]

2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Jimmie Johnson x Valvoline

Valvoline asked Forsberg to upgrade a brand new Silverado and then take it out with NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. He orchestrated the entire build. Features include ICON Vehicle Dynamics suspension and wheels, tubular bumpers, Rigid LED lights, and some engine performance upgrades from K&N and Magnaflow. The truck was later given away in a sweepstakes.

2009 Nissan 370Z Twin Turbo x Drift Garage

Drift Garage, [21] a Youtube series produced by Network A was hosted by Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck. Along with friends Dylan Hughes (fabricator) and Brian Wilkerson from MA Motorsports, they built a "just for fun" demonstration car with a "might as well…" build philosophy. [22]

The 370Z was gutted and rebuilt after the show. Some of its features include: VQ35HR engine, Fast Intentions Stage II turbo kit, SSR SP4s wheels with Hankook RS3 tires, Nismo body kit, Seibon Carbon fiber body panels. [12]

1988 Mazda "Forsberg’s First" RX7

Forsberg purchased this car in March 2000 at age 17 with the intention of learning how to drift and took it to the first Club Loose events at Englishtown Raceway Park. Since then it has had four owners. In 2004, it nearly completed a full season of Formula Drift. In 2009 Forsberg purchased the car from Lindsay Ross, slowly bringing it back to life over 10 years. The goal was to create a 250 hp naturally aspirated, easy to drive weekender package rather than lots of power and speed. [23]

Motor Trend's "Drift This"

Drift This [24] was a 2019 web series produced by Motor Trend featuring Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck. The premise was to take improbable drift car candidates and modify them "using creative engineering, custom fabrication, and pure brute horsepower." [25]

Some of the vehicles featured in Drift This were a 35-foot Escalade limousine, a turbocharged LS UPS truck, a sandrail, a bubble Caprice, a military issue Humvee M998, and bumper cars. [26]

Formula Drift results, accolades and accomplishments

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Miscellaneous events, demos, and exhibitions

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ SitePoint. "Formula DRIFT". www.formulad.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  2. ↑ Formula Drift (December 5, 2020). "RESULTS FROM THE 2020 FORMULA DRIFT VIRTUAL AWARDS". Archived from the original on 2021-01-19.
  3. ↑ "Assetto Corsa". Assetto Corsa. Archived from the original on 2019-12-02.
  4. ↑ "Sportscar 365". sportscar365.com . 8 January 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-01-12.
  5. ↑ "The Force - Chris Forsberg #64 (FULL DOCUMENTARY)". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-02-01.
  6. ↑ "Englishtown Strip Getting Out Of Drag Racing Business". [Racin' Today]. Archived from the original on 2018-01-21.
  7. ↑ Staff Writers, Modified (March 21, 2009). "2005 Formula Drift Round 6 Season Finale". Super Street . Archived from the original on 2021-02-03.
  8. ↑ "Formula DRIFT 2009 Champion Crowned". Formula Drift . 20 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10.
  9. ↑ "MA Motorsports | Automotive Performance Shop | Baltimore, MD". MA-Motorsports. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  10. ↑ Rong, Blake Z. (October 13, 2013). "Michael Essa wins the 2013 Formula Drift championship". Autoweek . Archived from the original on 2021-02-03.
  11. ↑ "Shop | Nameless Performance Parts". shop.namelessperformance.com. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  12. 1 2 Wong, Jonathan (March 13, 2017). "1975 Datsun 280Z - Two Snaps Up In Z Formation". Super Street . Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
  13. ↑ AutoFocus, Hoonigan. "From a $4000, Gutted, and RB Powered 280z, to "Forever Car": Chris Forsberg's Gold Leader Z." YouTube .
  14. ↑ "RAD Industries Parts Store". rad-industries.com. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  15. ↑ Harrington, Alex. "Chris Forsberg's Datsun 280Z 'Gold Leader' Restomod – A Road Legal Drift Car". Sun's Garage . Archived from the original on 2020-09-24.
  16. ↑ Banner, Justin (31 January 2017). "Resto-mod Z: Chris Forsberg's Datsun 280Z". Speed Hunters . Archived from the original on 2017-01-31.
  17. ↑ "Safari Rally". Wikipedia . Archived from the original on 2004-07-11.
  18. ↑ "Broken Motorsports – Race, Rally & Performance" . Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  19. ↑ Crisara, Matthew. "This Nissan 370Z Rally Car Is An Homage To The Safari Datsun 240Z". Motor1. Archived from the original on 2021-01-06.
  20. ↑ Hassler, Nate (September 28, 2012). "2010 Infiniti M35 - Fantastic Foursome". Super Street . Archived from the original on 2015-09-06.
  21. ↑ Network A (2014-01-20). Chris Forsberg & Ryan Tuerck Build A Drift Missile Car For Cheap: Drift Garage Ep. 1 . Retrieved 2024-05-20– via YouTube.
  22. ↑ Garrett, Mike (November 29, 2016). "Just For Fun: Chris Forsberg's 370Z". Speed Hunters . Archived from the original on 2016-12-01.
  23. ↑ "Finally fixed my old RX7 for my brother to drive". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-02-02.
  24. ↑ "Drift This".
  25. ↑ Trend, Motor (March 4, 2019). "Everything Goes Sideways In MotorTrend's New Series DRIFT THIS" (Press release). Archived from the original on 2019-03-04.
  26. ↑ Martin, Zach (May 16, 2019). "FD Champ Chris Forsberg Juggles Full-Time Racing and Co-hosting Drift This". Hot Rod . Archived from the original on 2019-05-16.
  27. ↑ Evans, Brett T (September 28, 2016). "Ken Block and BJ Baldwin Hoon Can-Am Maverick X3 in "Battle Broyale"". Four Wheeler . Archived from the original on 2016-09-29.
  28. ↑ Narayan, M. Satya (February 24, 2011). "Drifting feast for motorsport fans in UAE". Gulf News . Archived from the original on 2021-02-06.
  29. ↑ "Yas Marina hosts its first ever jam-packed drift event as Aasbo takes home the win". Circuit Pro Digital . February 26, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-03-01.
  30. ↑ Chen, Larry (January 30, 2017). "Drifting In China: A Retrospective". Speed Hunters . Archived from the original on 2017-01-30.
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