Pablo Cabrera was the next one to hit the starting line. Placing third in the previous round, he was one to look for. He placed an overall decent run, yet nothing to write home about, scoring a 60.
Chris Jones followed soon after, his first run not the greatest. Straightening up several times and falling short on the final wall ride, his score was zeroed. However, overall it was a decent run, just with glaring issues.
Following Jones was Don Boline, a veteran of Rounds 1 and 2. Despite running low and shallow on the first bank, the rest of the run was acceptable to the judges.
As I mentioned earlier, the Irwindale luck strikes in pairs. Unfortunately for Kilada, the clock struck his number on his first qualifying run. Cutting too close on the first clipping point, he struck a cone with his front bumper, popping it off the tube frame. While this is a common occurrence, what’s not common is the bumper getting trapped under the frame, then later being ran over and shattering on track.
Following the bumper break-in, Carlos Estrella (AKA canoasada) and Sorensen placed their runs down. Estrella had a great run aside from missing the last clipping point by a metaphorical mile, while Amanda had the short end of the stick. She overcorrected her angle coming off the bank, straightening out.
Micah Diaz, the “wild child of The Drift League” if you ask Rathyna, put down a great run on his first qualifier, despite giving a bit too much room to the clipping points.
Following the great run was Stuke in his 2JZ S13. If you’ve been following The Drift League from Round 1 like I have, both himself and the sound of his nitrous purging on the starting line are familiar. Like Micah, last round he was forced to retire early after a devastating crash into the wall. Again, like Micah, he’s back with a vengeance, initially scoring first with 72 points on his first run.