,
Justin “JTP” Pawlak in the Falken Tires Ford Mustang looked to use Wall Speedway as a drifting force against the controversy that sparked against him after Palm Beach. Ryan Kado in the Nexen Tire/Forged Racing Nissan 350Z would be his first match. Ryan’s lead run was impressive, but the “juxtaposition” of JTP and his fantastic lead run against Ryan was too much and Pawlak moves on. Danny George in the Crab Broker Mazda Miata tried to get crabby against Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink/Hankook Tires Nissan 370Z. However, the Force was strong with Forsberg and Chris moves on to Top 16.
 |
| Not even an offer of free Crab legs would help Danny George. Forsberg moves on! |
The Final Battle of Top 32 would be Kyle Mohan in the Nexen Tire/Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 going up against Ryan “Hampsha” Tuerck in the Retaks/Maxxis Tires Nissan 240SX. Since getting back into an S-Chassis car Ryan has not failed to make it past Top 32 in every round and this would be no different! Ryan was able to defeat Mohan and once again goes into the Top 16! While Kyle will be disappointed about this result, he can know that the Mazdatrix RX-8 of Dave Lemon is nearly ready for MPTCC Tuner Over domination at Auto Club Speedway in July, or at least that's what Lemon told me to say! That’s right, if all the testing went well this weekend, you will see the Mazdatrix RX-8 at the next MPTCC Race! Keep it here for more as that story breaks!
 |
| Even last minute tunes can't overcome a man who's consistently breaking into the Top 16. Ryan wins this round and moves on to Top 16 |
Top 16 begins with a rematch of Road Atlanta as Daigo Saito and Odi Bakchis faced off again in the battle of the bravest! While Odi braved the never ending tire smoke of the Achilles SC430, the results were the same and Daigo Saito moved on to the Great 8. Saito seems to be the thorn in Odi’s side, but each time he gets closer to a victory against the FD Asia champion. Will the third time be the charm or will there even be a third time?
 |
| Impressive drive by Odi, but Daigo takes him out again, this time in Top 16! |
Ken Gushi in the Greddy Racing/Hankook Tires Scion FR-S looked to bring down the V8 powered Hankook Tires Chevrolet Camaro of Conrad Grunewald. While Ken was able to keep “propinquity” against Conrad in his follow run, Ken spun on the first inner bank on his lead run, allowing Grunewald to pass him literally and figuratively. Ken Gushi, however, will be one of the Formula Drift drivers to get to try and drive Pikes Peak this year in a prepared Lexus IS-F CCS-R. The event falls between the Wall Speedway and Seattle rounds.
 |
| Yeah, that won't win you many rounds. Conrad Grunewald moves on. |
Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tires/Falken Tires Nissan 240SX looked to bring the “L”-ock to “old man” Rhys Millen in the Hyundai/Hankook Tires Genesis. The runs were spectacular as we watched it from the Driftstream. David Keary, Ross Fairfield, Drew Fishbein, and I all watched on as we thought that it would be a Rhys Millen win with his “contiguity” against Dai. He tapped Dai several times, but neither faltered. However, the judges’ call was that since Rhys made contact several times, Dai had the advantage and moved on. They watched on as I went to find new synonyms for that “proxi-word.”
 |
| Dai gets the win and from every angle, apparently. HOLY GOPROS, BATMAN! Sorry, had to say it! |
This run would be where the controversy struck like a lightning bolt from 2011’s “Hurricane” at Wall. Chelsea Denofa in the BC Racing BMW M3 faced the mighty V8 of Tyler McQuarrie in the GoPro/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Camaro. Denofa tried performing as he did all weekend, using an E-Brake entry into the bank. However, it did not give him enough initial angle and he had to drive more in. This was to his disadvantage as McQuarrie pulled close and had a great follow run.
 |
| “Rutt Ro, Raggy!” |
