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The crowd now was more anxious, as the next battle could determine if Daijiro Yoshihara in his Discount Tire/Falken Nissan 240SX would take the points lead or would stay in second place. His opponent was Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z, the 2009 series Champion. The Nissan chassis battle pitted the GM sourced V8 of Dai’s car against the Nissan sourced V8 of Forsberg and both cars had close to the same horsepower. Pushrods versus Dual Over Head Cams, new Nissan chassis versus old Nissan chassis, Falken versus Hankook, this battle had all kinds of rivalries written in it.
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Both cars lined up with Daijiro Yoshihara set to lead first. His thoughts for Japan still in his mind as the arm band he and his car wear on their left sides show their respect for the fallen in his home land. Chris Forsberg would follow closely, knowing that Dai would enter early and hold his line inches from the wall. Dai had the best angle going through the oval he’d had all day and Chris matched and began to pull a little more behind Dai. Both drivers came within inches of the rear zone, but then disaster struck! Going into the front clipping zone, Forsberg straightened out and gave the advantage to Daijiro! This was not what Chris needed to win, he would need to pour out the talent and give the best run of his life in order to win this one or hope that Dai’s talent would run out, resulting in a spin or stall!
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| In the end, it was Dai Yoshihara taking it all the way. Two wins and 4 out of 5 podiums so far this year and back in first place in the points standings. |
Chris Forsberg now led Daijiro and initiated early on the straight to hold as much angle as long as he could! Dai held fast and was following right behind him. Dai could go all out, as he knew he would be within striking distance of JTP if he placed second. Dai straightened out a bit to keep on Forsberg’s door and Forsberg slowed down forcing Dai to compensate! Forsberg slowed further and Dai had to do his best not to hit him and cause a spin, which would have put Dai at fault and forced a OMT!
With Dai having to avoid Forsberg, it forced Dai to keep from hitting him and he was successful at the finish line! However, would the Judges rule that Dai had too little angle in the oval? Could he be penalized for having to adjust his line to prevent contact? As the crowd listened for Jarod DeAnda, Justin Pawlak was up in the booth and could see the Judges decision as well. They flipped their dry erase boards over and showed that their decision was for Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire/Falken Tire Nissan 240SX built by SPD Metalworks! This would give Chris Forsberg in the NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z built by Chris Forsberg Racing second place!
“I guess today, I got my mojo back,” commented Dai at the Podium, “I feel really good!” On getting the points lead, “It’s great, you know, but still, we have two more rounds, so it doesn’t mean that much. It’s good to be on the top, but first place, second place it doesn’t matter. I need to be in first place at the end of the year.”
Next up is Las Vegas, this hot and dry track is hard on everyone from the crew to the drivers to the cars. Will the heat continue to burn JTP or will his fire to win the championship be too hot for Daijiro Yoshihara to handle? We’ll find out August 26-27th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!
See Y’all There!
