Team Falken’s Vaughn Gittin, Jr., emerges victorious

In a night fraught with fierce opposition, Team Falken’s Vaughn Gittin, Jr., maintained the strongest stance throughout Formula Drift’s Round 5 “Throwdown” at Evergreen Speedway.  “JR” qualified first and exhibited total control while his Falken teammates succumbed to tough competition. It was JR’s second win in a row and moved him into first place in the 2012 Formula D Pro Championship with just two rounds to go.  The win was Falken’s second consecutive victory at Evergreen.
 
Driving the Monster Energy / Falken Tire Ford Mustang, JR and his Ford Mustang and Falken teammate Justin Pawlak took the top two spots in qualifying at Evergreen.  Fellow Falken drivers Darren McNamara and Daijiro Yoshihara were 11th and 12th, respectively.  Both Yoshihara and JR advanced to the Top 16 Round, but their rivals proved stronger as the action on the track provided a number of close battles and upsets throughout the evening.  The capacity crowd clearly enjoyed the event, cheering on JR as he continued his dominating run through the rounds, defeating Rhys Millen in the Top 4 and then Ryan Tuerck in the Final.

“It was a tough night, but I think we worked some magic,” said Gittin, Jr.  “I owe this to my team and all my partners.”
 
“This clearly is the kind of result Team Falken is looking for,” added Nick Fousekis, Falken's Director of Motorsports Marketing and Events.  “JR is on a good run with two wins in a row.”
 
“Evergreen Speedway is a unique environment,” added Jonathan Bradford, Falken’s Drift Team Supervisor.  “It’s fairly unpredictable.  We won here last year with “Dai” Yoshihara.  Using a similar set-up this year with our Falken Azenis tires, everything clicked for JR, but Dai, Justin and Darren were obviously disappointed with their performances.  We’ll be stronger at Vegas.”