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Casper Canul (ARK Performance 1996 Nissan 240SX S14.5)

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#1 · (Edited)



The first Hispanic drifter to have reached podiums making him the top Hispanic Drifter in the World. Professional Drifter Casper Canul, finished 5th in points in the Formula Drift 2006 Series and 10th in points in 2007. He also has many firsts to his credit. Casper is the first Professional Latino drifter in the Formula D Championship series. He is also the first Latino drifter to have achieved podium finishes. While the 2005 Drift season gave the public a taste of his Latin flavor with a memorable third place podium finish at the ever challenging Wall Speedway in New Jersey, the 2006 season has been beyond amazing. Casper finished a stellar second at Infineon Speedway in Sonoma, California. He finished the season with 1 visit to the final four, 3 Great Eight finishes and 7 straight top 16 placements. He has quickly advanced on the Formula Drift scoreboard, gaining speed on his competitors with each event. When the smoke clears, Casper is always ready to battle his way to the top.

Casper Canul is one of the most popular drivers in the Drifting World. He has been customizing cars for as long as he can remember, but his passion for drifting came at a later date. He distinctly remembers becoming hooked after watching Option Videos and from then on was determined to learn how to drift as fast as humanly possible. After learning the basics Casper focused all of his attention on racing, where he quickly made a name for himself in the drifting world. Casper's inspiration for building the 1996 240SX S14 started in Nov. 2003. The S14 was originally built by a couple of his friends that had a shop in their backyard. The car was later re-built in Casper's shop. They put in a roll cage and completely gutted the interior. As time went on he added suspension tuning, transmission synchros, angle modifications, turbo response, and a performance cooling system just to name a few.

"Drifting has taken me to so many different cities and countries. I feel so blessed to have been given this chance to live my dreams. I want to thank all those who have supported me throughout my whole career, it could not have been done without them. And, also thank those who didn't support my career as it helped me become a better driver and person overall. Drifting has done things for me that I never would have believed if someone told me this in 2003. For those of you, no matter what you do, always believe in yourself and carry yourself professionally on and off the course as that will carry over into your daily life.

The best part of watching Canul from afar is seeing the growth. In 2003 it was all he could do to get into the events. Last year (2007) he was fifth by the end of the season and each year has gotten better. Drifting is the most urban of motorsports according to its observers and Casper Canul might be the most urban of its competitors. Not only is he multilingual, his racing roots have him part of an African American owned team (promoting diversity in motorsports) (Team X), his ethnic/parental roots are in the Yucatan Peninsula, his personal roots are in Alhambra (an L.A. suburb), his collegiate roots are in the U.S. Northwest and Pasadena and his business roots are in family owned business 35 years Casper´s Mobil Service where he grew up learining about cars and light mechanics.

Canul is 35, married about 20 months and a new Dad as of December 19th. He has a son: Gaspar Enrique Canul named after Casper and Casper´s Dad. I´ve seen Canul, seemingly a quiet reserved guy by nature, hit the rev limiter when he´s pumping the crowd in Spanish during a rally in his sponsor pits. "Motorsports has been my biggest passion. It´s all fun and games after, but during competition it´s fierce terror out there. I love reggaeton!" which is Spanish Hip-Hop. "Being the only Latino, whether I like it or not, I´m a role model. As a role model I want to be as professional and dedicated as I can. I want to show them that if you´re surrounded by the right people and do the right things, you can be where I´m at today." "In the past I´ve gone to schools. I´ve done more media stuff. I love picking up the kids and taking pictures and holding their hands. It´s a big connection and that´s what I strive to do."

Casper has been an athlete most of his life playing baseball, football, hockey, wrestling, and swimming at Mark Keppel High School. "I´m very competitive by nature. I always want to put myself against the best even if they´re bigger, badder or the best. I have to thank my parents for that. It´s part of my nature." One day Caspar Enrique Canul will be one of the bigger, badder and best, but that won´t stop his personal competition. It´s who he is. He must still define and learn to live with the best he has within him.



 
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#5 ·
As much as I would love to come to Vegas and attend the event, I don't think you"ll be seeing me in July. :cry: But next year, at Road Atlanta, me and Tufast both intend to step it up the on the Formula D coverage. :bigthumb:
 
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