The Irwindale Speedway, aka "The House of Drift" saw some exciting action as three drivers vied for 1st in the 2007 Formula Drift Competition. With just 24 points separating the 1st place leader (Tanner Foust) and 3rd place driver, Chris Forsberg, it was anyone's chance to take the series. There was also a 1 point separation between 2nd place Daijiro Yoshihara and Forsberg. Fans could not have asked for a more exciting race than this.
This year's series began in California and the finals were held here as well. What was interesting was that the weather also was somewhat reminiscent of Round 1 in Long Beach, CA. Rain fell on Southern California the night before the finals and the track was a little wet. The sun did manage to come out during early afternoon and helped to warm things up a bit, not that the practice runs around the track weren't hot enough. During the qualifying runs, there were a few collisions with the uncompromising concrete walls an a few into the plastic barriers that defined the course. Luckily, nothing serious occurred. These drivers have incredible skills and pushed their cars fast and close to the concrete k-walls every time they are on track. You don't get too far in this competition if you are not willing to push yourself to the limit. But riding that dangerous edge can either garner you high scores or a trip to the paddock for repairs.
The series leader, Tanner Foust, managed to get some pretty fast speeds during competition and clocked in at over 80+ mph on some of his runs. Now that's some hella speed around that oval.
Final Series Standings
1st Place - Tanner Foust (608 pts)
2nd Place - Chris Forsberg (571 pts)
3rd Place - Daijiro Yoshihara (559 pts)
Triple Crown Winner: Chris Forsberg
Just 1 more month till the D1GP World Championship as well as the USA Competition during the Thanksgiving Holiday. Looks like all of the die hard drift fans can give thanks to these skilled drivers as they recoup from the holiday feasting that went on a couple of days prior. Competition will be held at the Irwindale Speedway again and we should all pray for sun because last year's event was so cold and wet.
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