LAS VEGAS, NV - It was an all-Team Falken night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as its Formula Drift team put on a show and once again took the top three spots. Tyler McQuarrie earned his first podium this season and secured his career-first podium topping Formula D finish, winning the Vegas "After Dark" event, followed by Daijiro Yoshihara in 2nd and Vaughn Gittin, Jr., in 3rd. Currently, Gittin, Jr., continues to lead the championship standings with his Monster Energy/Falken Tire 2011 Ford Mustang, followed by "Dai" in second place with Darren McNamara in 5th. All five Team Falken factory drivers are in the top 10 (McQuarrie in 9th and Justin Pawlak in 10th.)
It was the second time in Falken's Formula Drift program that the team swept the podium. Falken previously performed the feat at New Jersey in 2009. Thus far in 2010, Team Falken has earned nine podiums in just five events.
"This is why we are here!" exclaimed Jonathon Bradford, Falken's Drift Team Supervisor. "We had everything in place; the cars running great and the drivers excited to take on Vegas. It was a good night, though it's always tough to see our drivers have to compete against each other for the championship."
Many competitor teams looked strong and came out in numbers as a total of 48 entries made the Vegas Formula Drift event. The Falken drivers showed consistency in practice as team engineers swarmed over the cars like bees discovering a new hive, getting them dialed in to make a run for the top spot and running cool while combating the scorching temperatures. By the time the Top 4 were competing, it was Dai beating Vaughn, and McQuarrie defeating Tony Brakohiapa. Gittin, Jr., went on to beat Brakohiapa to take 3rd, while McQuarrie, in his Nissan 350Z Convertible, took down Dai following mechanical issues, driving his Discount Tire Silvia S13 (240SX) in the final. All Falken entrants, including its privateers, were shoed with Falken's new Azenis RT-615K tire.
As always, the hospitality was kicked up a notch as Falken played host to 158 dealer guests, while the fans enjoyed the appearances of the Falken Spokesmodels who distributed Falken swag throughout the night.
"The Falken Tire Nissan 350Z ran perfect all weekend and crew at ASD nailed the proper set-up for this Vegas course," noted a very happy McQuarrie. "Man, it feels good to be on top."
The action continues just three weeks away, as the teams return to California for Round 6 and rev up Infineon Raceway in Sonoma on September 10-11.
Drifting takes competitive motorsports to the extreme and has successfully attracted strong crowds, loyal fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life. Falken quickly realized how popular and demanding this format would become, and since 2003, has been a solid fixture within the sport. The focus is on skill and precision driving, as competitors in specially prepared, high-powered vehicles intentionally execute controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course.
Falken Tire Corporation, based in Fontana, California, was introduced to the North American market in 1985. Falken focuses on UHP (Ultra High Performance) products and utilizes pro drifting and American LeMans race programs to further develop, improve and market passenger vehicle products for worldwide distribution. For more information, visit Falken Tire's updated website at www.falkentire.com, as well as its new fan enthusiast site, www.wegetyougoing.com, which recently launched a new interactive section, Falken Fanatic.
Entering its seventh season, Formula DRIFT Championship is recognized as the North American professional drifting championship series. As the first official series in North America, Formula DRIFT attracts fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life. This high-skilled, high-powered sport has more than 60 professional drivers competing in all seven competitions this year. Additional info is at www.FormulaD.com
