VAEM

During the weekend, Vaughn Gittin Jr. rolled out to Formula Drift Round 3 at Wall Stadium in New Jersey with high hopes of maintaining his sizable points lead by landing on the podium.

He accomplished that goal when he finished the event in second place and took to the podium for the third time consecutively in his Monster Energy/Falken Tire 2011 Ford Mustang.

Before the weekend’s intense competition, Gittin Jr. participated in the annual Throttle Thursday hosted by Gary Gardella and X Games BMX Gold medalist Scotty Cranmer. Gittin Jr. took Cranmer for a ride-along in his Mustang at Wall Stadium on Thursday afternoon, allowing Cranmer to get a good feel for another type of action sport. Later that evening, Formula Drift drivers and teams were invited out to the Incline Club—a skate, bike, and scooter park owned by Cranmer—to have some fun and watch some professional BMX demos. The event was a great way to bring together different action sports communities and allow the Formula Drift drivers to have some fun before the busy weekend.

Gittin Jr. qualified in fifth place on Friday and was set to match Robbie Nishida in the battle of the top 32 on Saturday’s main event. After a fan-filled autograph session and a final night practice, Gittin Jr. was ready to do battle on game day.

On Saturday, Gittin Jr. dominated his way through Nishida in the top 32, as well as Falken Tire teammate Tyler McQuarrie in the top 16. Gittin Jr. was paired with Drift Alliance brother Justin Pawlak, driver of the 2010 Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang, in the top eight. After two strong runs from both Mustang drivers, it was apparent that Gittin Jr. had the advantage to Pawlak and would be moving on to the final four.

Gittin Jr. faced two-time Formula Drift Champion Tanner Foust in the final four. Gittin Jr. led first, with a high line on the bank. Foust tried to mimic Gittin Jr.’s high line, causing Foust to hit the wall and disrupt his drift. Gittin Jr. maintained his line, angle, and speed throughout the course as Foust struggled to keep up. Gittin Jr. gave chase and kept close to Foust throughout the course. The advantage was given to Gittin Jr., and he moved on to an automatic podium position.

It was déjà vu for Gittin Jr., when he was matched up against Falken Tire teammate Daijiro Yoshihara in the finals—as the two had battled for first place at Round 2 in Atlanta a month earlier. During the final battle of the night, the Falken RT615-K tire smoke filled Wall Stadium during two amazing runs from both competitors. After the smoke cleared, Yoshihara had once again been deemed the winner of the battle and the event. Gittin Jr. would finish the night in second place, rounding out his third consecutive podium of the 2010 Formula Drift season.

After three rounds of Formula Drift, Gittin Jr. remains the championship points leader; 21 points ahead of Yoshihara in second place, and 63 points ahead of Foust in third place. Gittin Jr. moves into the northwest next for Round 4 July 9-10 at Evergreen Speedway, where he hopes to keep his podium streak alive while maintaining his championship points lead.

Source: Vaughn Gittin Jr.