Tanner Lee Foust (born June 13, 1973) is an American professional racing driver, stunt driver, and television host. He competes in

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

, drift, ice racing, time attack, hill climb and

rallycross Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport held on a mixed-surface circuit (racing), racing circuit using modified production touring automobile, cars or prototype racing cars. It began in the 1960s as a cross between rallying and autocross ...

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''.

Background

Growing up in a naval family, Foust spent several years as a child in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 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 The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, 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 California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to begin stunt driving for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * 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 Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

, Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel.

Career

He was slated to become co-host for the original American version of the motoring television series, '' Top Gear'', on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and filmed a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

before the series was dropped. The series has since been picked up by the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

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 Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as a ...

's '' SuperCars Exposed'', SPEED Channel's '' Redline TV'' and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

'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 ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'' and set multiple world records with

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is an American media franchise and brand of scale model model car, cars invented by Elliot Handler and introduced by his company Mattel on May 18, 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox (brand), Matchbox until Mattel bought ...

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 The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car that was marketed by Ford from 1976 to 2023 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and had been positioned below the ...

. 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 Global Rallycross (known as Red Bull Global Rallycross for sponsorship reasons) was a rallycross series operated by businessmen Colin Dyne in conjunction with Sponsor RedBull. The series ran for seven seasons, primarily in North America, from 201 ...

- 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. At the

Chicago Auto Show The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. It is the largest auto show in North America. Event History Samuel Miles, formerly a promoter of bicycle shows, produced the first "official" ...

in February 2014, Foust announced a new partnership with

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

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 The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull G ...

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

Achievements

; Rally America * 2005 Rally America - PGT Champion (Subaru WRX) * 2006 Rally America - PGT Class Championship Second place overall (Subaru WRX) * 2007 Rally America - Fourth Place (with 6 podium placements) ; X Games * 2006 X Games - Rally Third fastest time in the Stadium Super Special * 2007 X Games - Rally Gold Medalist (Subaru STI) * 2008 X Games - Rally Silver Medalist (Subaru STI) * 2009 X Games - Rally Bronze Medalist (Ford Fiesta) * 2010 X Games - Super Rally Gold Medalist (Ford Fiesta) * 2010 X Games - Rally Gold Medalist (Ford Fiesta) * 2011 X Games - RallyCross Silver Medal (Ford Fiesta) * 2013 X Games Munich - RallyCross Bronze Medalist Ford Fiesta) * 2013 X Games Los Angeles - Gymkhana Grid Gold Medalist (Ford Fiesta) * 2013 X Games Los Angeles - RallyCross Silver Medalist (Ford Fiesta) ; Rallycross championships * 2011 European Rallycross Championship - Silver Medalist (Ford Fiesta) * 2011

Global RallyCross Championship Global Rallycross (known as Red Bull Global Rallycross for sponsorship reasons) was a rallycross series operated by businessmen Colin Dyne in conjunction with Sponsor RedBull. The series ran for seven seasons, primarily in North America, from 201 ...

- Champion (Ford Fiesta) * 2012 Global RallyCross Championship - Champion (Ford Fiesta) * 2018 Americas Rallycross Championship - Silver Medalist (Volkswagen Beetle) * 2019 Americas Rallycross Championship - Champion (Volkswagen Beetle) ; Formula D * 2006 Formula Drift - 3rd place overall (Nissan Silvia) * 2007 Formula Drift - Champion (Nissan 350Z) * 2008 Formula Drift - Champion (Nissan 350Z) * 2009 Formula Drift - 6th Place (Scion TC) * 2010 Formula Drift - Silver Medalist (Scion TC) ; Other * 2009 Race of Champions - Nations Cup semi-finalist * 2010 Gymkhana Grid Gold Medalist AWD Division (Ford Fiesta) * 2011 World record for longest jump in a four-wheeled vehicle (332 feet) * 2011 World indoor speed record (until February 2013) * 2012 World record for largest loop-the-loop in a car (60 feet in diameter)

Racing record

Complete FIA European Rallycross Championship results

( key)

Division 1

Supercar

Complete FIA World Rallycross Championship results

( key)

Supercar

Complete Global RallyCross Championship results

( key)

AWD

Supercar

Complete Americas Rallycross Championship results

Complete Nitrocross results

Complete Extreme E results

( key) ^* Season still in progress.

TV and film

* ''

'' (2005) stunt driver * '' Rally America'' (2005–2007) as Himself * '' Formula D'' (2005–2007) as Himself * '' Auto Access'' (2005–2007) Host * '' Import Racers'': "Bull Run" (2006) as Himself * '' CSI: Miami'': "Driven" (2006) stunt driver * '' Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) stunt driver * '' Master of Champions'': "Premiere" (2006) Contestant * '' RM Classic Car Auction'' (2007) Host * '' Redline TV'' (2007) Host * ''

Dirt Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...

'': "Ita Missa Est" (2007) stunt double * '' The Bourne Ultimatum'' (2007) stunt performer * ''

Numb3rs ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of 118 episodes. The series was created by Nico ...

'': "Velocity" (2007) stunt driver * ''Top Gear'' (NBC) (2008) Host * '' Mad Skills: Rhys Millen Is the Kiwi Drifter'' (2008) as Himself * '' SuperCars Exposed'' (2008–2009) Host * ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...

'' (2009) stunt double * ''Street Customs'': "GTO" (2009) as Himself * '' Battle of the Supercars'' (2010) as Himself * '' Iron Man 2'' (2010) stunt double * ''Top Gear'' (U.S.) (2010—2016) Host * '' Hot Wheels: Fearless at the 500'' (2011) as Himself * '' Red Dawn'' (2012) stunt double * '' The Bourne Legacy'' (2012) stunt double * Octane Academy (2012) as Himself * Octane Academy (2013) as Himself * '' Need for Speed'' (2014) stunt driver * '' Hitman: Agent 47'' (2015) hitman stunt driver * ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on January 25, 1989, through Priority Records, Priority and Ruthless Records. It was Record producer, produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, a ...

'' (2015) Stunt Driver * ''

Ford v Ferrari ''Ford v Ferrari'' (titled ''Le Mans '66'' in some European countries) is a 2019 American biographical sports drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. It stars Matt Da ...

'' (2019) Ronnie Bucknum * John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) Stunt Driver

Notes

References

External links

*
Papadakis Racing Tanner Foust Bio

Rockstar Racing Tanner Foust Bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foust, Tanner 1973 births American rally drivers American stunt performers Andretti Autosport drivers Audi Sport TT Cup drivers D1 Grand Prix drivers Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers Drifting drivers FIA European Rallycross Championship drivers Extreme E drivers Formula D drivers Global RallyCross Championship drivers Living people McLaren Racing drivers Racing drivers from Denver World Rallycross Championship drivers X Games competitors