Formula Drift | The Wall

Formula Drift
The Wall

Photography by Emil Garcia
Release by John Pangilinan

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Formula DRIFT returned to Wall Speedway for Round 4: The Gauntlet. Vaughn Gittin, Jr. in the Monster Energy / Falken Tire Ford Mustang takes the victory.

Round 4: The Gauntlet at Wall Speedway saw a sold out crowd continuing the successful season. The Driftstream saw over 200,000 total views in a 24-hour period.

“The drift fans from all over the North East are die hard and came to watch the action until the very end,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “With many of the top drivers hailing from the area, the North East fans saw two local drivers with Vaughn Gittin, Jr. and Chris Forsberg on the podium.

The competition was fierce at the half-way point of the season. Finding the podium was the past three season champions. Top 4 competition saw a repeat of the final round from Round 3, with the 2009 champion, Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z battling against Formula DRIFT rookie Daigo Saito, in the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430, who currently sits in second place in the overall standings. Forsberg got his revenge and was able to defeat the rookie ending up in third place and moving him up to fifth place overall. The final battle pitted the current 2011 Formula DRIFT champion, Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan 240SX against the 2010 Formula DRIFT champion, Vaughn Gittin, Jr. Yoshihara had a major correction on his chase run which gave the win to Gittin, for his first podium of the season and improving to fourth place overall. Yoshihara found the podium for his second consecutive event and remains in third place in the standings.

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“It took me a little longer than expected to harness this brand new 2013 Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang,” said Vaughn Gittin, Jr., winner of Round 4: The Gauntlet. “My team and I worked extremely hard and overcame the challenges and got back on the podium and it feels amazing!”

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The competition increases with only a few points separating the competition on their way to becoming the next champion. The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with Round 5: Throwdown on July 20-21, 2012 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2012 Point Standings After 4 Events
1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 342 Points
2. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 329 Points
3. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 291Points
4. Gittin Jr., Vaughn Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang 279 Points
5. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z 265 Points
6. Bakchis, Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis Motorsports Nissan 240SX S14 243.25 Points
7. Millen, Rhys Hankook / Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Genesis Coupe 240 Points
8. Tuerck, Ryan Team Retaks Nissan 240SX 239.50 Points
9. Aasbo, Fredric Need for Speed / Papadakis Racing Scion TC 238.50 Points
10. Powers, Matt Need for Speed / Nitto Nissan S14 212.50 Points
11. Moen, Kenneth Lutz Performance Nissan 350Z 206.50 Points
12. Gushi, Ken Greddy / Hankook Scion FR-S 196.50 Points
13. McQuarrie, Tyler Mobil 1 Chevrolet Camaro 183.50 Points
14. Essa, Michael GSR Autosport / Nitto BMW ZR4 177 Points
15. Grunewald, Conrad Hankook Chevroley Camaro 173.50 Points
16. DeNofa, Chelsea BC Racing BMW M3 138.50 Points
Round 4: The Gauntlet Event Results
1. Gittin Jr., Vaughn Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang Winner
2. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan 240SX Second Place
3. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z Third Place
Tires.com Triple Crown Standings after 1 event of 3
1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 106 Points
2. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan 240SX 92 Points
3. Saito, Daigo Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 78.5 Points

Day 1

Day 2

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