Formula Drift Round 4 2012: Wall, NJ

Event Coverage and photos by Jacob Leveton and Andrew Jennings

Vaughn Gittin Takes the Victory at Round 4: The Gauntlet at Wall Speedway; Yoshihara and Forsberg Round out the Podium

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.

“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!”

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

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