,
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| Rhys Millen roared to the top 16 before falling to Matt Powers. It must have been sweet revenge for Matt’s crew chief Costa Gialamas who used to work for Millen before. |
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| Justin Pawlak had it down all day. He shoved his way up a tough ladder fighting close battles from the top 16 on up like a Michigan wolverine. His Ford engine sounds much different that the Chevy LS. The Ford screams and the Chevy sound muchs deeper and throatier. |
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| Mike and Christa Kojima spot for Dai Yoshihara. |
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| The Yoshihara and Pawlak battle was a hard fought one. Both drivers went tooth and nail and both forced each other into making serious mistakes. Dai struggled to keep up with the speedy Mustang in mid course and slid wide missing the first inner clipping point and Pawlak nearly stalled and almost straightened out in the last hairpin. In the next round, Dai went wide again and Pawlak went shallow at the second outer clipping point. After a long deliberation, the judges gave the win to Pawlak. |
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| Matt Powers long charge to the top of the podium got stopped by winner Justin Pawlak. It was great to see two of our favorite drivers duke it out man to man for the top prize in a close exciting battle. It was a fight of opposites, the So Cal surfer against the Michigan native universal white guy, the low buck brawler S14 against the Technological terror Mustang, Nitto vs Falken, great stuff! |
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| The winners, Justin Pawlak, Matt Powers and Dai Yoshihara. |
Round 1: Streets of Long Beach Event Results
1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 1st Place
2. Powers, Matt Need for Speed Nissan S14 2nd Place
3. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 3rd Place
Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2011 Point Standings after 1 Round
1. Pawlak, Justin Falken Tire Ford Mustang 102 Points
2. Powers, Matt Need for Speed Nissan S14 94 Points
3. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13 88 Points
4. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z 70 Points
5. Mohan, Kyle Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 69 Points
6. Grunewald, Conrad Hankook Tire Chevy Camaro 66 Points
7. Millen, Rhys RMR / Red Bull Hyundai Genesis Coupe 65 Points
8. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice 63 Points
9. Aasbo, Fredric Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC 61.50 Points
10. McNamara, Darren Falken Tire Pontiac Saturn Sky 58 Points
11. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Tire Nissan 350Z 57 Points
11. Wilkerson, Walker Intec Racing Nissan 240 57 Points
13. Field, Matt Fatlace Nissan 240SX 56 Points
14. Petty, Ross Garage Boso / Falken Tire Nissan Silvia S15 55 Points
14. Waldin, Matt Helix Energy Drink Nissan 350Z 55 Points
16. Mertzanis, Dennis Mertzanis Racing Nissan 240SX 54.50 Points
