Meet the Racers of Forza Motorsport Showdown
02.22.07 // 09:00
Here's the game. Six amateur drivers with different racing backgrounds compete head to head in the race of their lives. The first one across the finish line wins $100,000. They have to get there in a street car they've never driven, manned by a crew they've never met. Based on the incredible Xbox 360 racing simulator, Forza Motorsport 2, this is Forza Motorsport Showdown. Now, meet the drivers from the show on SPEED -- their stories, as told in their own words. Click on the videos to watch!
Clarence Barnes: Clarence is a self-promotion machine. He believes he has the talent and skills to compete with anyone. He currently works for a local radio station in Los Angeles. In his eyes, the only thing that has held him back is money to put together a real race team. His racing class is Auto Cross.
Angela Cope: Angela lives and breathes racing just like her fraternal twin sister Amber. They were only nine-years old when they were given their first go-kart for Christmas. But then again, what would you expect if you were the third-generation in a family of racers. Her uncle Derrike Cope won the Daytona 500 in 1990. Her racing class is Late Model / ARCA.
Clay Dale: Clay's racing career began in 1988 at local dirt tracks and progressed to asphalt in 1990. His asphalt racing accomplishment include over 50 feature wins and many top 5 finishes in the Late Model Stock Division at Peachstate Speedway in Jefferson, GA and the NASCAR sanctioned Lanier National Speedway in Braselton. His racing class is Late Model / Stock.
Ken Gushi: Ken is considered one of the most gifted young drifters in the U.S. His background as a drift racer began when he was 13. His father, Tsukasa Gushi, took his 1986 Toyota Corolla and drove him to a dry lake bed where he taught Ken the basics of car control. Ken developed his drifting skills and qualified to the US D1 Grand Prix all without a driver's license. His racing class is Drifting.
Freddie Lewis Jr.: Freddie is your diehard race enthusiast who has tasted racing at nearly every level, but was never able to create a strong enough hold to make a career out of racing. He began racing 125cc shifter karts at age 12, as the passion for speed and adrenaline set in early and he was hooked ever since. He attended Fastrack Racing School in Charlotte, N.C., as well as Fastrack Racing School in Melbourne, Australia. His class is Indy Pro Series, IRL, and ARCA.
Jace Meier: In his relatively short racing career, Jace has earned a total of five championships in just over four years of competition. He started racing go-karts at age 12 in Las Vegas at the X-Plex Karting Center. In his first full year of kart racing, Jace won one regional and three local championships. Because of his height, Jace moved out of Karts the following year and into Legend cars in the 2004 season, where he finished fifth in overall point standings. That same season, he earned a spot on Don Sutton's Developmental Team to drive one of the Sutton Ford Focus Midgets in 2005. His racing class is Late Model / Midget.
