Hi Everyone,
Our Subaru/SPT/ESX team
goes out in true ESX fashion as we win the NHRA World
Finals race and the 2007 NRHA National Championship!!
As our last race partnered with Subaru of America, Inc.,
it felt great to not only win the world finals "Wally",
but also clinch the NHRA National Championship again,
making our team, back to back, 2006 & 2007 World
Champions!!
Competing against long time rival
Ari Yallon and his patriotic "Red and White"
striped Mazda in the final round, we were able to edge
him out by running a blistering 9.2 second 1/4 mile
against his 9.9 second pass!
We've been racing against Ari and his Texas based team
since 2002 and it's always exciting to go head to head
with such a great competitor!
This NHRA win also marks our
18th "Wally" for our dominating Street Class
Subaru STi! Please visit the following link
for pictures from the event and the NHRA Awards banquet
that followed:http://www.esxmotorsports.com/media_07championship.htm We have had a great run with
Subaru of America, Inc,!!! For seven years we have been
out there setting world records and showing the world
the fantastic all wheel drive that comes standard in
each and ever Subaru. As proven time and time again,
the superior traction provided by this all wheel drive
system paired with the remarkable Subaru 4 cylinder
engine was an unstoppable match! We were the only team
in the Sport Compact racing venues that exclusively
competed with vehicles equipped All Wheel Drive! Uniquely
standing out from the crowd for 7 years our Subaru/SPT/ESX
team made some fantastic strides, including;-Introducing the Subaru brand
to a new audience in "Drag Racing" and showcasing
the tractional benefits of Subaru and winnning 18 NHRA
first places and 2 National (World) Championships.-Dominating Rally racing by wining
the Rally America Series in 2005.
-Releasing the highly anticipated "Ali Afshar"
Signature Series ESX STI's. Emulating our world record
race cars, 27 of the most unique STI's, individually
numbered and signed and sold exclusively thru Subaru
dealers nationwide. Becoming the most expensive Subaru's
ever sold off a Subaru showroom in certain instances
in excess of 60 Thousand Dollars!
-Helping promote and develop he SPT (Subaru Performance
Tuning) brand of Subaru specific performance parts!
-Developing the first ever C.A.R.B. (California Air
Resource Board) 65 Horsepower upgrade for Subaru's.
A legal and suitable option for enthusiasts to add performance
without compromising anything!
-Discovering and creating the driving phenomenon called
"Julie Stepan", in our 2005 Female Driver
Search. She is now a tremendously well known 10 time
NHRA champion racer and competes for General Motors.-A Subaru first by entering the
highly visible "Long Beach Grand Prix" and
competing our four door, four cylinder powerhouse against
Vipers, Corvettes, Cadillacs, Porsches and others in
the premier road racing series in the United States.-Partnering our team with "Elizabeth
Glazer Pediatric Aids Celebrity Golf Charity" for
3 years and other extremely wonderful charities.
-Garnering an unbelievable amount
of media coverage in hundreds of magazine features,
covers, radio, internet, film and television shows.
We are very honored
to have had the support of such a great company and
great people which have truly become family to our ESX
team. With their help ESX has truly become the undisputed
Subaru motorsports powerhouse in United States!
I would like to take a moment to personally thank certain
individuals who directly supported our successful program.
(My apologies as this a very long list, but this list
represents 7 years of people helping us set world records
and making dreams come true!)
Tom Doll - CFO & Executive
VP
Gary Palanjian
Jay Gelletely
Tim Colbeck
Rick Crosson
Bill Cyphers
Keith Tilton
Jim Sinclair
Tony Graziano
Jim Pernas
Lisa Fleming
Brian Simmermon
John Hubach
Larry Hasty
Abana Jacobs
Diane Halpin
Margaret Sleister
Terri Mollo
John Sheilds
Adam Woodhull
Phil Pausmer
Edgar Ford
Karen Allan
Randy Reinhardt
Matt Gooden
Larry Kelso
Tobin Hodge
Dan Cassidy
Tim Murphy
Mike Campbell
Joe Nunnery
Brian Freidman
Mark Budack
Erik Lukas
Joe Barsyts
Ric Hawthorne
Dan Hays
Jonika Horton
Jonathon Rivard
Bill Steiner
Vince Orso
Suzy Hoagland
Jerold Padilla
Rob Egleston
Mike Gobin
Dennis Kloet
And former Subaru employee's:
Bob LaBossiere
Fred Adcock
Bruce Barker
Brent Gunderson
Tim Parzybok
Jodi Richie
And all the Subaru Dealers that supported us throughout
the years, specifically:
Gunnar Heuberger
Phil Porter
Pete & Steve Mastro
Dave Thomas
Desiree & everyone at Franks Irvine Subaru
Matt Maloche
And Don Marino!!
Special Thanks to all our sponsors:
Todd Steen at BFGoodrich
Joe Arceo at Arceo Wheels
Ron Delgado at Injen
Ryan Takashima at Fujita F5
Bill Tichenor at Holley/NOS/Earls
Andy at Sticker City
Ola at Innovative Turbo Systems
Joe at Pro Torque
Steve at Fluidyne
The Driveshaft Shop
Auto Meter
B & M
Peterson Fluid Systems
Spearco
Progress Technologies
NGK
Bell
MSD Ingnition
Ferrea
Forced Performance
Turbosmart
The Brake Man
Torco
And everyone who was ever a part of what became "ESX"
from the beginning:
Johnny, Pasha and Jennifer Afshar
Alex and Azar Afshar
Jamie Montesalvo
Bryan Doose
Kiven Reynolds
John, Joe and Joel Cox
Ross Kaufman
Robert McClellan
Cheryl Mullaly
Christine Moore
Carol and Joy Moore
Jessica Bruce
Marshall Pruitt
Gary Sheehan
David Gallagher
Bob, Sheila and Mark Stratos
Robert Tovmassian
Nina Tohmassian
Jett Arceo
Karl Martin
Chris Harrington
Gary Kubo
Chris Johnson
Ramsey Campbell
Benoi Dagenais
James Sajor
Jay Ortega
Wayne Potts
Paul and Mike Lauricella
Mario Caner
Randy Kessler
Chris Harris
Dominic, Robert, Tony and Sam Rigoli
Leo Arroyo
Shay Giambastiani
Dennis Laurents
Marc Vahanian
Kevin Saneania
Mike Makara
Arash Gravori
and
James and Sean Afshar
Without them, none of our dreams would have come true!
These are all key people in our extended ESX family.
(I'm very sorry if I missed anyone, you know who you
are.)
We look forward to the next chapter of ESX Racing in
2008 and feel confident we'll continue in our winning
ways!
And finally in additional exciting news, I just finished
wrapping a new feature film titled "He's Just Not
That Into You" based on the best selling book!
I play the character "Skip", along side some
very talented individuals including producer and star
Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson,
Jennifer Connolly, Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly &
directed by 2007 Emmy nominee Ken Kwapis! Make sure
to check it out next year!
Thank you again everyone for allowing us to chase our
dreams!
