Drivers Inc.’s Tanner Foust entered this past weekend’s two-day ARX of Gateway St. Louis event determined to continue his success in the Rallycross season.
After Sunday, he had done just that.
Following a third-place finish in the Day 2 race, Tanner found himself with 67 championship points in the series—good enough for second place, just 12 points behind leader Scott Speed.
Tanner got in some pre-race testing on Friday the No. 34 Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen, shown below on the track in St. Louis:
When it came time for the event itself, ARX of Gateway was marked by some memorable racing, and Tanner was at the heart of it. Literally.
Afterward, Tanner talked about both races. Regarding the Day 1 Final, which ended when Tanner was involved in a collision, he was philosophical.
“We had a bit of an up and down day. The Rockstar Energy Drink Volkswagen R was the car to beat on track today in terms of outright speed but we just got caught up in a few incidents. The Final seemed promising for our first podium of the season but I was hit from the back then the front by a Subaru and that was the end of the day. I’m gutted after such a hard fought day, but looking ahead to tomorrow, the Andretti guys will have the Beetle R at 100% readiness and I won’t be taking any prisoners.”
The driver of the No. 34 was a bit more positive a day later after taking third and reaching the podium.
“Nice to smell champagne after one of the hardest weekends I have ever had Rallycross racing in the last 10 years, period. Yesterday’s battle ended with no points in the Final but enough wins in qualifying to stay in the championship fight. While today, the (tire) puncture and a few dramatic events made for a different starting position in the Final. After a hard fight for six laps, finishing third was still a good result for the team who are working in nearly 100 degree heat and high humidity to kept the car in one piece. Gutted for Cabot (Bigham), who was a victim of a strange format rule of the series and wasn’t able to compete in the final but he collected points in qualifying. A tough weekend overall but nice to walk away with a podium finish.”