,
 |
| Vaughn Gittin Jr in the Monster Energy/Nitto Tire Ford Mustang took home an easy win against Pat Goodin in the Enjuku Racing Nissan 240SX. Why? Because Pat Goodin spun on his first run. Pat looked very good when he was able to keep the car going in the right direction but it was too late against the steady JR. |
 |
| Taka Aono in the Megan Racing/Hakook Tire Corolla faced the twin turbo powered Toyota V8 Lexus of Pat Mourdaunt. Despite qualifying better than Mordaunt, Aono wasn't quite able to pull it together again for the Top 32 against Pat. Mourdaunt moved on to Top 16 and the field was set. Tighten your belts, folks, it gets faster from here! |
Top 16
 |
| After Friday night qualifying Matt walked over to the pits of Daijiro Yoshihara to talk to Dai and Mike about his car. Apparently, he was popping out of gear and had to make a gear change to keep his car in a gear that wouldn't bounce out of. At least that's what he said, but Dai put it out of his mind and was able to out perform Matt in front of the judges. Daijiro was on a roll and in to the Great 8. |
 |
| This, was, epic. Sincerely, there aren't many words I can use to describe the battle between the 2012 Champion and the Norwegian Hammer. Both drivers are using turbocharged Toyota powerplants; Daigo in the 2JZ Straight-6 and Fredric in the 2AZ Inline-4. Don't let the power difference fool you either. Even with power rumored to be twice what Fredric is able to put out in his Scion, Saito wasn't able to shake him. The throttle clinic Aasbo put on was impeccable and the Hankooks were putting out more smoke than the Achilles while Aasbo hung on Daigo's door! On his follow run Daigo pulled closer to the wall and kept himself glued to Aasbo's door as well. |
 |
| It was enough that a One More Time was called. Once again, Aasbo took charge, but this time Daigo was holding tight against him. The proximity and line Daigo had were superior, but once again he was unable to shake Aasbo off his door. The judges still could not decide a winner and a second OMT was called. |
 |
| It came down to who made the least mistakes in the Judges' eyes. While they may have been practically invisible to the naked eye; they were enough that Fredric Aasbo and his Borg-Warner EFR Turbo Scion were given the win. This could become a battle that will be talked about for some time as 2012 Champion was knocked out of the Top 16. |
 |
| The BC Racing BMW E46 Sedan of Chelsea Denofa looked to knock “The Kid,” Ryan Kado, a few rungs down the ladder. Ryan really showed his maturity in the sport, but Chelsea Denofa showcased his years of experience in the sport as well and was able to pull proximity against Ryan. Chelsea Denofa moves on to the Great 8. |
