Tuerk-Driver of the Year

Irwindale, CA (10.12.2008) Gardella Racing driver, Ryan Tuerck, earns coveted “Driver of the Year” award at the Formula D banquet! The title “driver of the year” is a great accomplishment for the pilot of the Pontiac Solstice, who made it his mission to show what he could do with the support of a solid team. There were many people who doubted the success that Ryan would have since he was behind the wheel of a Pontiac GXP with a production engine. However, the custom tune-up brought the vehicles’ performance to 350 hp and Tuerck was able to prove that the Solstice GXP was a great platform for anyone interested in getting involved in the sport of drifting. From the start of the season, everyone had their eyes on Tuerck. With a great start in at the first Formula D event; making it into the “great 8” it was clear that he was going to be a good fit for the Gardella Racing team. The entire GR crew was impressed with his ability and professionalism. Once the team left the streets of Long Beach they were on an upswing; making the podium with a third place finish in Atlanta and winning the NOPI Drift event at Englishtown. This rookie team made it as high as fifth place on the FD championship points ladder! The combination of Tuerck and Gardella Racing was lethal; the new team finished a great debut season in the top 10 on the FD points ladder. “I am proud of what my team accomplished this season,” said Gardella. “I want to thank my good friend, Jarod DeAnda, for introducing me to Tuerck 2 years ago at Wall Speedway in NJ,” continued Gardella. “A lot of people in the industry told me it was going to be near impossible for a team to make it into the top 10 in points their debut season. But I was confident that with the great team of Gardella Racing mechanics and engineers and Ryan behind the wheel, we could prove everyone wrong. I am excited for ’09 season!” Keep an eye on gardellaracing.com as the team is re-launching a newly designed site in the coming weeks.