Justin Pawlak Takes the Victory at Round 2: Road to the Championship

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Justin Pawlak Takes the Victory at Round 2: Road to the Championship;
Pawlak Remains on Top of the Standings and Becomes the Tires.com Triple Crown Leader

Long Beach, Calif. – May 12, 2012 – Formula DRIFT returned to Road Atlanta for Round 2: Road to the Championship. Justin Pawlak takes the victory in the Falken Tire Mustang increasing his point lead in the Pro Championship Points Standings.

Round 2: Road to the Championship brought the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship back to the Series birthplace nine years ago. Fans came in droves seeing an increase in attendance at Road Atlanta. This marks another consecutive season of growth.

“It’s very satisfying that Road Atlanta and Formula DRIFT have formed a partnership nine years ago to help grow drifting in this region,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “We look forward to our ten year anniversary at this venue next season.”

Justin Pawlak takes his second consecutive victory to increase his points lead. Additionally, Pawlak is now the points leader in the Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize. Pawlak faced Fredric Aasbo in the Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC and edged out the 2010 Rookie of the Year to take the victory. Walker Wilkerson in the Falken / Fatlace / Garage Autohero Nissan 240SX battled Formula DRIFT rookie, Daigo Saito in the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 in the consolation round. After a one more time battle Saito beat out Wilkerson to take his second third place finish of the season.

“The boys at ASD and Falken gave me what I need to help me get to that number 1 spot,” said Justin Pawlak, winner of Round 2: Road to the Championship. “Next round is West Palm Beach and with a great car and great team we were able to take the win there last year and plan to remain focused and keep this momentum going.”

The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship continues with Round 3: Invasion at West Palm Beach International Raceway on June 1-2, 2012.

Formula DRIFT Round 4: The Gauntlet Results

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Formula DRIFT Round 4: The Gauntlet Results;
Conrad Grunewald Wins at Wall Speedway

Long Beach, Calif. – June 18, 2011 – Formula DRIFT returned to Wall Speedway for Round 4: The Gauntlet. The capacity event was action packed with Conrad Grunewald in the Hankook Tire Chevy Camaro taking the victory. This marked Grunewald’s first victory in Formula DRIFT history and second podium since 2005.

Round 4: The Gauntlet at Wall Speedway was another exciting event where the combination of the banking on the track and the competitive nature of the drivers pushed them to the limits. As a result a few of the vehicles were damaged in competition in dramatic fashion keeping them from advancing to the later rounds. The fans witnessed a true showing of world class drifting.

“Despite the brief storm that caused chaos after qualifying on Friday, the Formula DRIFT community pulled together to help one another to put on another great event,” said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Fans came out to fill the capacity of the venue on Saturday to showcase the ever growing sport this season.”

The final four vehicles gave a tremendous show for the fans with the first battle pitting number one qualifier Ryan Tuerck in the Mobil 1 / Gardella Racing Chevy Camaro against Conrad Grunewald in the Hankook Chevy Camaro. Tuerck went high on the banking, making impact which damaged his vehicle taking him out of the competition and automatically giving him fourth place. Current points leader Justin Pawlak in the Falken Ford Mustang faced teammate Daijiro Yoshihara in the Discount Tire / Falken Nissan 240SX to meet Grunewald in the finals. Yoshihara lost the battle and took third place due to Tuerck’s damaged vehicle and moved into second in the Pro Championship points standings. The finals saw a battle of American muscle with Pawlak facing Grunewald. Grunewald edged out Pawlak for his first victory of his career. Pawlak remains the points leader with this third podium finish of the season.

“I’m really happy for the team,” stated Conrad Grunewald, winner of Round 4: The Gauntlet. “We overcame a lot to get to this position this weekend. And I am overwhelmed to be on top of the podium for my first time and especially to do it by beating a Ford Mustang.”

The Formula DRIFT Championship continues for Round 5: Throwdown at Evergreen Speedway on July 22-23. Tickets are available to purchase online.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com