,
 |
| Now here is a conundrum. Which is faster, a Turbo 4 or a NA V8? Really, that's probably a poor question to ask, but rather, which is faster, a 456 Horsepower NA V8 or a 750 Horsepower Turbo 4? It's like a pound of bricks versus a ton of feathers, the ton of feathers is going to be heavier because, well, it weighs a ton. Well, same thing in this case as Darren McNamara in the Falken Nissan Silva with an LS V8 was slower than the Need for Speed Scion tC of Fredric Aasbo, who has the 750 Horsepower turbo 4. Despite every suspension and tire trick Chris Marion and Mike Kojima could throw at the Silvia, it's hard to beat straight up horsepower. |
 |
| Robbie Nishida in the Achilles Radial Lexus SC400 also has a lot of power, but he went up against the SR20DET powered David Briggs in the Au Fab Nissan 240SX. This was actually the original chassis that David used in the DMCC. He started Formula Drift in a NASCAR Mopar V8 powered Nissan 350Z, but it just didn't work and he switched back to the SR20DET 240SX. His performance has improved since the switch too. However, going up against Robbie, who now has a great feel for the chassis and a crew that is working like clockwork, would be hard to defeat. Robbie Nishida moves on to the Top 16. |
 |
| Ryan “What Right Rear Wheel?” Kado in the Forged Performance Nissan 350Z with the plumbing plenum would take on the hard charging Ryan Tuerck in his Retaks Nissan 240SX. Ryan's performance since the start of this year has been such a huge turn-a-round compared to last year. The 240SX chassis is something that Tuerck is just at home in. It's his missle car, the car he started in, and now it is the car that is leading him to a potential Top 10 points finish for 2012. Kado has been on an absolute tear in the turbo powered 350Z. He's had a great second year in Formula Drift and I expect to see more improvement in 2013. However, this would be Tuerck's night and Kado would be defeated. |
 |
| Luke Lonberger has been struggling this year and last in the Blu808/LG Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette. His performance against Matt Powers in the Need for Speed Nissan 240SX would not be enough to slow down Powers' run to the Top 16. Matt's year hasn't been quite as exciting or gone as well as 2011, but that's not to say that Matt hasn't performed in 2012. |
 |
| The Lonberger-Powers round would be the final in the Top 32 and it was time for the half time break. Many photographers and videographers take advantage of this time to get the scenes around the drivers and the track to add color to their video or article. Here, Ross “What the Actual %!$#@” Fairfield of Dead Pirate Productions and OMGDrift.com gets some transitions of the day to night scenes of the Irwindale Round. |
 |
| I, on the other hand, would like to show you guys just how packed Irwindale gets. Before the show even started, Round 7 of the Formula Drift Championship was sold out and everyone grabbed an early seat for the Top 16 to the Finals. There wasn't an empty seat here, even in the added grandstands in the infield and near the starting line. I don't even think the new Skyboxes were empty. Irwindale brings a unique show to drifting, as it has in the 10 years it's been around in Formula Drift and the years before when D1 came to town. There really isn't anything quite like the “House of Drift.” |
