Dai Does It!- Formula Drift Round 7 at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA

The Final Battle for Round 7 at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California was between two men with a ton of pride and much more to prove to not only themselves, but to those would believe that they will not be driving in 2012. Rhys Millen in his Red Bull Hyundai Genesis wanted to prove that he still has a lot left in him, that he was not ready to retire, that there was still more to find in the V6 power-plant and the Genesis chassis. Tyler McQuarrie in the Falken Tire Nissan 350Z wanted to prove to Falken they were letting a talented driver go, that he has more potential than people give him credit for, that he could do more than just come in Top Ten in points.

Final Battle!

Both Drivers, talents that are the best in the business, lined up for the final two times for 2011. With Tyler McQuarrie leading, both drivers put their best games on. Tyler and Rhys manji into the bank and got close to the wall with Tyler getting more angle. Coming off the bank, both drivers were flying down the NASCAR start/finish straight, getting as close to the front clip as the nose of their cars would allow. Transitioning into the inner bank, it happens, the rear of Rhys' car hits the inner oval wall and spins him out while Tyler drove on. While Rhys did a “Hollywood Donut” at the end of his run, it just displayed that Rhys was a showman until the end and Tyler McQuarrie, who stopped Darren McNamara from winning his championship, who gave up his ride at Las Vegas, who was being let go, won the whole show!

Rhys spins, giving the win to Tyler McQuarrie!

Tyler McQuarrie was graceful in his final round with Falken Tire, “It feels huge to end this year with a win,” McQuarrie began, “you know, it's been a tough season, there's been some stuff that's happened that's just been out of the ordinary, so to come out of here with a win to take that into the offseason, take that momentum it's massive and I really, really needed this.” Winner at Irwindale, how did that feel? “It's a great way to end the season, and at Irwindale, on top of it. This is our Indy 500! It's huge!”

Second Place winner in the Red Bull Hyundai Genesis, Rhys Millen, on winning Second Place, “Really good, coming off a win in Las Vegas, we had a lot of momentum, we had a couple of barriers coming into this weekend with mechanical issues, but, you know, we got those corrected and the car felt strong. Unfortunately, at Seattle, driver made an error, the car was on fire and it was so fast tonight, it was ours for the taking and you can say the better man prevailed… (McQuarrie) was well deserving for the win.”

Rhys takes Second!

Third Place Winner, and Third Place Overall winner, in the NOS Energy 370Z, Chris Forsberg on his 2011 run, “It was an awesome year!” He began, ” We got Top Three, it was exactly was I was pushing for the entire season, with coming right out of the box in Long Beach with a Fourth, I knew that we had the car to do it, we just had to keep our head on our shoulders and get good finishes!” On gaining Third Place at Irwindale, “we squeaked by Darren McNamara in the most spectacular, crash fest possible! We both wanted it so bad!”