Round 5: Breaking Point at Evergreen Speedway is about to begin. Stay tuned for round by round LIVE updates here on the Formula DRIFT blog.
Round 1: Ryan Tuerck receives a bye run
Round 2: Robbie Nishida vs. Joon Maeng. Robbie leads Joon on the first run. Robbie stays high on the bank and Joon chases. 2nd run both drivers run high on the bank and Nishida stays close behind on the bank. Into the power alley both drivers are good but into the 2nd the last clipping point Joon goes wide and Robbie passes him. Robbie Nishida moves on to the Top 16.
Round 3: Tanner Foust vs. Tommy Suell. Tanner leads and Tommy gives chase and gives Tanner a battle sticking to him on the bank. Great run. Tommy to lead and both high on the bank..Tommy clips the wall and drags his bumper. Going into the power alley…Tommy goes wide and almost spins and Tanner crashes into him. Both hit the k-rail. Tanner loses his front bumper. Tommy needs a tow. Tanner heads back to the paddock. Tanner moves on to Top 16.
Round 4: Vaughn Gittin vs. Alex Pfeiffer. Vaughn leads Alex and stays high on the bank. Alex is a little lower and Vaughn stays good on the run, while Alex makes a small correction in the power alley into the 2nd to last clipping point. 2nd run Alex leads and rides the wall while Vaughn gives chase. Alex spins into the 2nd to last clipping run and Vaughn slides close to clipping the corvette. Vaughn moves on.
Round 5: Justin Pawlak vs. Jodin LeJeune. Justin stays high and fast through the bank while Jodin chases. Jodin makes slight correction at last clipping point. 2nd run. Jodin leads goes high and scrapes the wall on the bank. Justin takes a tighter line and follows Jodin, but makes a mistake coming off the bank. Jodin LeJeune moves on to the Top 16.
Round 6: Eric O’Sullivan vs. Kenji Yamanaka. Eric leads and gives a big lead on the bank staying high, while Kenji gives chase and goes a bit sloppy. 2nd run. Kenji leads but Eric stays with him and forces Kenji to take an inside line through the power alley. Tight battle. Eric O’Sullivan moves on.
Round 7: Dai Yoshihara vs. Ryuji Miki. Dai crashed during practice and fails to make it to the line. Miki takes a “bye” run and moves on to Top 16.
Round 8: Tony Brakiohiapa vs. Kyle Mohan. Tony B leads and has good angle while Kyle tries to stick with him through the course. 2nd run. Kyle leads and he stays high on the bank and they both stay close on the transition to the power alley. Kyle had a better line. Tony B moves on.
Round 9: Ross Petty receives a bye into the next round.
Round 10: Stephan Verdier vs. Michihiro Takatori. Verdier leads and stays nice and high on the bank while Takatori takes a lower line. Verdier takes a great line through the course. 2nd run. Takatori leads and Verdier chases and has a shallow angle in the power alley, but Verdier makes a big correction into the 2nd to last clipping point. It’s going to a One More Time.
1st run of the OMT. Verdier takes a huge lead on Takatori and makes a great run. Takatori is far behind through the course. 2nd run of OMT. Takatori leads and Verdier runs close but straightens out and then spins out. Takatori moves on to Top 16.
Round 11: Chris Forsberg vs. Calvin Wan. Chris leads and stays high on the bank, Calvin spins on the transition off the bank. Calvin leads and Chris gives chase closely, but Calvin straightens out and exits the course. Chris advances.
Round 12: Darren McNamara vs. Michael Essa. Darren leads and stays really high on the bank and Essa catches up. Great run. 2nd run. Essa stays high and has small correction on the bank and Darren stays close throughout the course. Darren McNamara moves on.
Round 13: Samuel Hubinette vs. Pat Mordaunt. Sam takes a huge lead into the bank and Pat gets close to catching up and gives a good fight. 2nd run. Pat leads and Sam stays very close on the bank and sticks tight on Pat and there is contact. Sam loses his bumper. Sam moves on.
Round 14: Ken Gushi vs Rhys Millen. Gushi leads and stays high on the bank and Rhys gives chase close, while Ken makes a small correction in the power alley. 2nd run. Rhys leads and pulls away but Ken gives a lot of angle and catches up to Rhys. Ken Gushi moves on to the Top 16.
Round 15: Tyler McQuarrie vs. Ron Ewerth. Tyler leads and creates a huge gap. Tyler swings a bit wide on the clipping zone, but finishes way ahead of Ewerth. 2nd run. Ron leads and Tyler takes a high line and gets close to Ron and swings back on the clip keeping it close. Tyler McQuarrie advances.
Round 16: Taka Aono vs. Yasu Kondo. Battle of the Corollas. Great run by both as they stick close throughout the run. 2nd run. Yasu leads and Taka rides the wall catching up. Yasu Kondo moves on after a great battle.
We are heading into halftime break. The action continues at 5:30 PM. Keep checking the FD Blog for more LIVE Updates