Tanner Foust

Last updated

Tanner Foust
2021 Nitro Rallycross - RD1 Utah (51524156209) (cropped).jpg
Foust at the 2021 Utah Nitro RX round
Born (1973-06-13) June 13, 1973 (age 50)
EducationDegree in molecular biology from University of Colorado
Occupation(s)TV Show Host
Stunt Car Driver
Professional Drift Car Driver
Professional Rallycross Driver
Known for Rallycross and drift racing
Top Gear co-host
Formula D Drift Champion (2007, 2008)
X Games gold medallist:
Rally Car Racing (2007, 2010)
Rally Car Super Rally (2010)
Gymkhana Grid (2013)
Television and film
Film Stunt Driver
SPEED's SuperCars Exposed host
SPEED's Redline TV host
ESPN's Import Tuners host
History Channel's Top Gear host
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Global Rallycross career
Debut season 2011
Current team Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross
Car number34
Former teams Olsbergs MSE
Starts68
Championships2 (2011, 2012)
Wins17
Podiums35
Finished last season2nd
FIA World Rallycross Championship
Years active 20142016
Former teams Volkswagen RX Sweden
Marklund Motorsport
Starts9
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums2
Best finish13th in 2014
FIA ERX Supercar Championship
Years active 20112014
Former teams Marklund Motorsport
Olsbergs MSE
Rockstar Energy Rallycross Team
Starts21
Wins6
Podiums12
Best finish2nd in 2011
Championship titles
2007-2008 20112012
2019
Formula D
Global Rallycross
Americas Rallycross Championship
Medal record
X Games
Representing Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2007 Los Angeles Rally
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Los Angeles Rally
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Los Angeles Super Rally
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2008 Los Angeles Rally
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Los Angeles Rallycross
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2009 Los Angeles Rally
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2013 Munich Rallycross
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2013 Los Angeles Rallycross
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2013 Los Angeles Gymkhana
Nitro World Games
Representing Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Erda Nitro Rallycross
Website http://tannerfoust.com/

Tanner Foust (born June 13, 1973) is an American professional racing driver, stunt driver, and television host. He competes in rally, drift, ice racing, time attack, hill climb and rallycross with multiple podium placements, national championships, and world records. He was a co-host of the American version of the motoring television series Top Gear .

Contents

Background

Growing up in a naval family, Foust spent several years as a child in Scotland, where he discovered rallying and learned to drive on the country roads near his home. He returned to the United States and worked jobs as a golf caddy and school bus driver, from which he was fired, and went into a pre-med track at the University of Colorado, earning a biology degree. He spent his summers at the track, trading mechanic work and driver coaching jobs for seat time in racecars. After college, he began working as an ice driving coach, an instructor at automotive marketing events and competing in anything he could, including rally and drifting. He made the transition to professional racing in 2003, and soon moved to California to begin stunt driving for Hollywood films. With his passion for cars, he has rapidly become one of the busiest professional drivers in the United States. He considers himself fortunate that, in just over ten years of professional racing, he has had the opportunity to compete against the likes of Rod Millen, Colin McRae, Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel. [1]

Career

Foust in action during the 2014 World RX of Great Britain. Later that same year he won the World RX of Finland. Tanner Foust Lydden Hill 2014 004.jpg
Foust in action during the 2014 World RX of Great Britain. Later that same year he won the World RX of Finland.

He was slated to become co-host for the original American version of the motoring television series, Top Gear , on NBC and filmed a pilot before the series was dropped. The series has since been picked up by the History Channel and Foust was the only pilot presenter to be picked up when the program finally made it on air in the U.S. in late 2010. He has also hosted other shows including SPEED Channel's SuperCars Exposed , SPEED Channel's Redline TV and ESPN's Import Tuners. On November 21, 2010, he made his debut for the History Channel series, Top Gear, the American version of the BBC hit series of the same name.

Foust has been a stunt driver for films such as The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift , Ford vs Ferrari , Need For Speed and The Dukes of Hazzard and set multiple world records with Hot Wheels and Top Gear . He was a prominent competitor in the Formula Drift series, winning the 2007 and 2008 championship. Foust is the first driver in Formula Drift history to win back-to-back series championships. He is the most decorated driver in X Games history with 9 medals. Foust first competed in X Games XIII in 2007 where he won the gold in the rally racing event. He also participated in Rally America in 2009. In 2010 at X Games XVI he won gold in Rally Car Racing and Rally Car Super Rally, driving the Rockstar Energy Ford Fiesta. He also competed in the European Rallycross Championship, becoming the first American to do so. After leaving the drifting scene in favor of RallyCross in 2011, Foust became a regular ERC competitor, taking part in 9 of the 10 rounds of the FIA recognized series finished second overall as well as Global RallyCross - winning the championship. In 2012, Foust continued his success with another Global RallyCross championship.

For 2013, Foust medaled in both racing events at X Games XIX Los Angeles with a gold in Gymkhana Grid and silver in RallyCross. These marked his eighth and ninth X Games medals.

In Summer 2015 he started shooting the sixth and final season of Top Gear completing 72 episodes. [2]

At the Chicago Auto Show in February 2014, Foust announced a new partnership with Volkswagen and Andretti Autosport. He drove a Volkswagen New Beetle for the 2014 Global RallyCross Championship season as well as selected events with Marklund Motorsport in the inaugural season of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. He became the first, and so far only, driver from outside Europe to win a round of the championship, winning the 2014 World RX of Finland. As the US rallycross series has changed its name from Global Rallycross to America’s Rallycross and Nitro Rallycross, Foust has finished runner up in the championship 3 times and won the NRX championship in 2019. He holds the longest running streak of Heat victories in rallycross worldwide at 25 and is currently the winningest driver in the US.

Foust signed with McLaren XE to race in the 2022 Extreme E season alongside Emma Gilmour. [3] He and Gilmour won McLaren's first Extreme E podium by finishing second in the Energy X-Prix. [4] The pair were retained for the 2023 season. [5] McLaren won its second podium by finishing second in Round 4 at the Hydro X-Prix. [6] McLaren withdrew from Round 8 at the Island X-Prix II due to the car being badly damaged in Round 7's redemption race. [7] In December 2023, McLaren announced that Foust and Gilmour will leave the team after two season. [8]

Foust driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the 2021 Nitro Rallycross Championship 2021 Nitro Rallycross - RD1 Utah (51523422711).jpg
Foust driving for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the 2021 Nitro Rallycross Championship

Achievements

Rally America
X Games
Rallycross championships
Formula D
Other

Racing record

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results

(key)

Division 1

YearEntrantCar12345678910ERXPoints
2010 Rockstar Energy Rallycross Team Ford Fiesta POR
8
FRAGBR
6
HUNSWE
6
FINBELGER
0
POLCZE
8
11th40

Supercar

YearEntrantCar12345678910ERXPoints
2011 Rockstar Energy Rallycross Team Ford Fiesta GBR
8
POR
1
FRA
6
NOR
6
SWE
1
BEL
8
NED
NC [lower-alpha 1]
AUT
3
POL
3
CZE
3
2nd116
2012 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta GBR
1
FRA
13
AUTHUN
2
NOR
1
SWEBEL
2
NED
6
FIN
6
GER3rd100
2013 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST GBR
1
PORHUNFIN
1
NORSWEFRA
6
AUTGER9th68
2014 Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GBR
3
NORBELGERITA18th14
  1. Excluded by the Stewards of the Meeting, but exclusion was later quashed by FIAs International Court of Appeal

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

(key)

Supercar

YearEntrantCar12345678910111213WRXPoints
2014 Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo POR GBR
5
NOR FIN
1
SWE BEL CAN
NC
FRA GER ITA TUR
DNP
ARG 13th42
2015 Marklund Motorsport Volkswagen Polo POR HOC
9
BEL GBR
16
GER SWE CAN
3
NOR FRA BAR
5
TUR ITA ARG 15th44
2016 Volkswagen RX Sweden Volkswagen Polo POR HOC BEL GBR
22
NOR SWE CAN FRA BAR LAT GER
18
ARG 29th0

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

(key)

AWD

YearEntrantCar12345678GRCPoints
2011 Olsbergs MSE Ford Racing Ford Fiesta IRW1
3
IRW2
2
SEA1
2
SEA2
1
PIK1
1
PIK2
6
LA1
4
LA2
2
1st134

Supercar

YearEntrantCar123456789101112GRCPoints
2012 Olsbergs MSE Ford Racing Ford Fiesta CHA
2
TEX
2
LA
5
LOU
4
LV
1
LVC
1
1st94
2013 Olsbergs MSE Ford Fiesta ST BRA
8
MUN1
6
MUN2
3
LOU
4
BRI
7
IRW
2
ATL
2
CHA
10
LV
2
2nd123
2014 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Volkswagen Polo BAR
11
AUS
18
DC
5
NY
1
CHA
8
DAY
6
9th209
Volkswagen Beetle LA1
8
LA2
13
SEA
10
LV
6
2015 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Volkswagen Beetle FTA
5
DAY1
1
DAY2
5
MCAS
12
DET1
10
DET2
10
DC
5
LA1
2
LA2
3
BAR1
1
BAR2
1
LV
9
3rd388
2016 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Volkswagen Beetle PHO1
1
PHO2
1
DAL
3
DAY1
5
DAY2
1
MCAS1
8
MCAS2
C
DC
3
AC
4
SEA
1
LA1
2
LA2
4
2nd565
2017 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Volkswagen Beetle MEM
2
LOU
4
THO1
1
THO2
9
OTT1
2
OTT2
1
INDY
2
AC1
10
AC2
9
SEA1
1
SEA2
1
LA
1
2nd807

Complete Americas Rallycross Championship results

YearEntrantCar123456RankPoints
2018 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Volkswagen Beetle SIL
1
AUS1
3
TRO
2
AUS2
1
2nd107
2019 MO1
4
GTW1
6
GTW2
3
TRO
1
AUS
1
MO2
7
1st143

Complete Nitrocross results

YearEntrantCar12345678910NRXPoints
2021 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Audi S1 UTA
7
ERX
7
WHP
6
GHR
13
FIRM
6
6th82
2023-24 Xite Energy RacingFC1-XMID
UMC1
9
UMC2
3
WHP1
WHP2
HLN1
HLN2
STA
TBA
TBA
11th*84*

Complete Extreme E results

(key)

YearTeamCar12345678910Pos.Points
2022 NEOM McLaren Extreme E [lower-alpha 1] Spark ODYSSEY 21 DES
5
ISL1
10
ISL2
6
COP
5
ENE
2
7th46
2023 NEOM McLaren Extreme E Spark ODYSSEY 21 DES1
6
DES2
7
HYD1
8
HYD2
2
ISL-I1
7
ISL-I2
9
ISL-II1
10
ISL-II2
WD
COP1
5
COP2
5
8th67

* Season still in progress.

TV and film

Foust, for Team Hot Wheels, jumping across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's infield at turn 4 Fearless at the 500 20110529.jpg
Foust, for Team Hot Wheels, jumping across the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's infield at turn 4

Notes

  1. McLaren entered round 1 as McLaren XE.

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References

  1. "Tanner Foust Official Page Biography". Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  2. Twitter: Tanner Foust filming now
  3. "McLaren Racing - Tanner Foust to race for McLaren Extreme e in 2022".
  4. "Emma Gilmour makes history as first female driver to podium for iconic race team McLaren". Stuff. November 28, 2022.
  5. "10 reasons to be excited for 2023". www.mclaren.com. January 23, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  6. "Veloce Racing take the win in Round 4 at the Hydro X Prix". Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey. May 14, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  7. Wilde, Dominik (September 16, 2023). "McLaren withdraws from Island X Prix II after second roll". RACER. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  8. "Emma Gilmour and Tanner Foust to depart the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team". McLaren. December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  9. "Rally America Champion Standings 2007" rally-america.com
  10. "Summer X 16 Rally Car Super Rally Results". espn.go.com. July 31, 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010.
  11. "Summer X 16 Rally Car Racing Results". espn.go.com. July 31, 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010.
  12. Ritchie, Erika I. (August 1, 2011). "Etnies Rally drivers take gold, silver at X Games 17". Orange County Register . Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  13. "Rockstar Energy". Archived from the original on August 12, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  14. "X Games Day 3 recap" Archived August 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine espn.com
  15. "Tanner Foust wins Gymkhana GRID". Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  16. "FIA European Championship for Rallycross Drivers 2011". rallycross.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
  17. "2011 Championship Standings". global-rallycross.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011.
  18. "2012 Championship Standings". global-rallycross.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
  19. "2007 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Standings". formulad.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2008.
  20. "2008 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Standings". formulad.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012.
  21. "2009 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Standings". formulad.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012.
  22. "2010 Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Standings". formulad.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012.
  23. Horsey, Jen (December 10, 2010). "Foust Wins Gymkhana Invitational". sports.espn.go.com.
  24. Woodyard, Chris (May 30, 2011). "World Record Jump Rattles Indianapolis 500". usatoday.com.
  25. Bane, Colin (June 30, 2012). "Hot Wheels Double Loop Success". espn.go.com.
Preceded by Formula D Champion
2007 and 2008
Succeeded by