Vaughn Gittin Jr. came out to Formula Drift Round 4 “The
Gauntlet” at Wall Stadium in New Jersey with hopes of success in order to gain
some crucial points in the chase for the FD Championship. Not only did Vaughn
accomplish that goal, but he also drove the Monster Energy Falken Tire Ford
Mustang RTR all the way to 1st place after many extremely tough battles against
fierce competitors.
Wall Stadium is only a few miles from where Vaughn and the
rest of Drift Alliance really began to hone their drifting skills back in 2002.
Now ten years later, Vaughn has reached goals that were once only dreamed about
with a Formula Drift Championship and multiple wins/podiums in the books.
Round 4 at Wall Speedway saw another sold-out crowd and the
live Drift Stream saw over 200,000 total views in a 24-hour period. Even with
Friday’s semi-wet track conditions, Vaughn was able to perform a near-perfect
run that earned him a score of 96 and the second place qualifying spot.
For Saturday’s main event, Vaughn fought his way to the
semi-finals after beating out Miro Ovcharik in his battle of the top 32, Robbie
Nishida in the top 16, and then Matt Powers in the top eight. He met with his
Drift Alliance brother and good friend, Chris Forsberg in the semi-finals; this
would be a highly anticipated and very exciting battle, as these competitors
are known for holding nothing back when lined up against each other.
Vaughn would lead first, sweeping the bank and scraping the
wall, leaving his rear bumper in the Falken Tire smoke pluming from behind him.
He continued to blast through the course with maximum angle and put his car
exactly where it was supposed to be as defined by the Formula Drift judges.
When it was time to give chase, Vaughn followed Forsberg
into the bank and remained glued to him throughout the entire run. With a
better lead run and closer proximity on the chase run, Vaughn earned the win
and would move on to the finals to face his arch nemesis and Falken Tire
teammate, Daijiro Yoshihara.
Yoshihara was the only competitor that Vaughn Gittin Jr. had
faced numerous times and had never defeated. So besides the desire for the top
step atop the podium, Vaughn wanted very badly to attain this win against his
rival.
Vaughn would lead first and put down an amazing run while
Yoshihara pushed to stay close to the speedy Monster Energy Falken Tire Ford
Mustang. Vaughn’s competitor surged a little too hard going into the last turn,
causing him to straighten up and giving Vaughn the advantage.
Vaughn would next give chase, and did not let up once while
applying the pressure and sticking to his competitor’s door. Once the Falken
Tire smoke settled on the track, Vaughn was deemed the winner of the final
battle and 1st place overall at Formula Drift Round 4 at Wall Speedway. Watch
the VIDEO from Ford Racing recapping Vaughn’s win.
“It took me a little longer than expected to harness this
brand new 2013 Monster Energy Falken Tire Ford Mustang,” said Vaughn. “My team
and I worked extremely hard and overcame the challenges and got back on the
podium and it feels amazing!”
With the points earned from his 1st place finish and 2nd
place qualifying, Vaughn moves up to 4h place overall in the Formula Drift
Championship. Next up for Vaughn on the FD circuit is Round 5 July 21 at Evergreen
Speedway in Monroe, Washington. He plans to continue pushing hard in hopes of
another podium finish and working his way up ladder in the FD points chase. For
more information, please visit Vaughn’s Facebook Page or VaughnGittin.com
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