For immediate release
October 11, 2010
Contact: Abby@VaughnGittin.com
Vaughn Gittin Jr. crowned 2010 Formula Drift Champion and finishes 2nd at Round 7
Vaughn Gittin Jr. came out to Round 7 of the Formula Drift Professional Championship with high
hopes of putting himself on the podium one last time to finish off his successful season. Not only
did Vaughn accomplish that goal when he took 2 nd place at Irwindale Speedway – his sixth
podium out of seven rounds – but he secured himself as the official 2010 Formula Drift Champion
and as the “Driver of the Year” in the Monster Energy Falken Tire 2011 Ford Mustang.
Over the weekend, a sold-out crowd filled the paddock and the grandstands at Irwindale
Speedway, otherwise known as “The House of Drift”. In addition to the Formula Drift TV show that
airs on the VERSUS channel, this was the first drifting event to be filmed in 3D by DirecTV with
an air-date to be announced. Round 7 was also featured live online via the DriftStream to a worldwide audience which reached over one-million unique views overall this year.
Vaughn has had much success at Irwindale Speedway in the past, and he is always welcomed as
a crowd-favorite. In 2005 he made history when he won the D1GP USA vs. Japan, becoming the
first American to win a D1 Grand Prix event. In 2007 at this southern California track, he brought
America home the gold once more by winning the D1GP World Championship. He also won his
first Formula Drift ever at Irwindale Speedway in 2008.
With Vaughn’s QUALIFYING RUN that put him in 6th place out of the 40-plus drivers in
attendance, he was matched with Formula Drift rookie, Nikolay Konstantinov, in his top 32 battle.
Vaughn led first and put his car in all the right places, while blazing through the course with
intense angle. Nikolay struggled to keep up with the powerful Monster Mustang. When it was
Vaughn’s turn to give chase, Nicolay couldn’t properly initiate his drift. Vaughn tried to mimic his
competitor, but passed him as Nicolay sunk down the bank. Vaughn finished out his run, leaving
a thick trail of Falken Tire smoke in his path. Watch Vaughn’s top 32 run HERE. (View from
1:51:00.)
By wining his battle in the round of 32 and gaining some crucial points, Vaughn officially secured
the 2010 Formula Drift Championship. “This is just simply unbelievable,” says Vaughn. “Winning
the Championship has been a dream of mine for the past seven years and everything we have
been working towards fell into place this season. It is a true accomplishment for my team and a
testament to their commitment to the sport and myself."
But the day wasn’t nearly over for the newly-announced Champion. Vaughn still had one last
podium to shoot for. Click HERE to watch the opening ceremonies of the top 16 main event. (Skip
to 1:37:00 to view.)
In the top 16, Vaughn was paired with “Rookie of the Year” Fredrick Aasbo, who was the only
driver the entire year thus far besides Daijiro Yoshihara to win in a tandem battle against Vaughn.
This would be the fourth time of the season that these two fierce competitors would meet on the
track.
Vaughn led first and entered early, maintaining a high line on the bank with a ton of angle.
Coming off the bank, he was able to pull a gap and put the Monster Mustang right up on the
infield wall as Aasbo tried to close the gap and followed with a more shallow line.
Vaughn gave chase next, sticking close to his competitor and mimicking Aasbo’s every move on
the track. After the Falken Tire smoke had settled from the two vehicles, the judges declared
Vaughn the winner; he would be moving on to the Great Eight. Click HERE to watch Vaughn’s top
16 battle. (Skip to 0:24:15 to view.)
Vaughn found himself faced with Matt Powers in the top eight. Powers had placed fourth in
Irwindale last year, so Vaughn knew not to count him out. Vaughn led first and put down another
picture-perfect run, with much more angle and speed than his competitor.
When it was his turn to give chase, Vaughn put intense pressure on Powers and didn’t let up
once throughout the course. Vaughn took the well-deserved win, and would be moving on to the
semi-finals! Click HERE to watch his top 8 battle. (Skip to 0:52:05 to view.)
Vaughn would battle it out with Michihiro Takatori in the final four. Vaughn led first and
immediately was able to pull a sizable gap on the bank after his initiation. He hit all the clips while
Takatori was not able to catch up to the engine-screaming and tire-smoking Monster Energy
Falken Tire Ford Mustang.
Vaughn gave chase next and was able to reel into Takatori immediately, keeping close to him
throughout the course. Vaughn tapped the infield wall and maintained his drift, showing the crowd
and the judges that he deserved to be in the finals. The judges agreed and sent him into the finals
to face two-time Formula Drift Champion, Tanner Foust. Watch Vaughn’s final four battle by
clicking HERE. (Skip to 1:10:45 to view.)
After two insanely aggressive and incredibly close runs by Vaughn and Tanner, the judges (and
the crowd) called for a One-More-Time. During the OMT, Vaughn gave it everything he had, but
the judges deemed Tanner an advantage and gave him the win. Vaughn would take the 2 nd place
spot atop the podium for Round 7 at Irwindale Speedway.
With his 2nd place finish in Irwindale, Vaughn has taken to the podium six times out of the seven
rounds – a record number of podiums in one season by one driver in the history of Formula Drift.
This was just icing on the cake for Vaughn, as his real victory was being crowned the 2010
Formula Drift Champion. Vaughn is the second driver in the history of Formula Drift to come from
a strictly-drifting background — the first driver being his Drift Alliance teammate Chris Forsberg
who won the Championship in 2009.
Sunday night, Formula Drift celebrated the season and had an awards ceremony at their annual
end-of-the-season banquet. Not only was Vaughn deemed the 2010 Formula Drift Champion, but
he was voted the “Driver of the Year” by his competitors, their teams, and industry affiliates. Click
HERE to watch Vaughn’s endearing speech after accepting his Championship trophy. (Skip to
1:50:45 to view.)
“Wow, what a year of dreams coming true,” says Vaughn. “I turned 30, launched the Mustang
RTR, got engaged, and now I am the 2010 Formula Drift Champion. This dream of winning the
Championship has been chased since the first Formula Drift in 2004. Our sport has grown a lot
since then and I have grown as a driver, learning more and more every year. This year the hard
work and dedication paid off huge.”
“While I am the guy behind the wheel,” Vaughn continues, “there a lot of people behind me on
Team Falken that work extremely hard to make sure I have the tools to do my job and without
them, there is no way I could have done it. Team Falken has believed in me since 2003 and it is
an honor to bring them a Championship. Their commitment and dedication to drifting is
unmatched, just as there commitment to having the best tires on the track and the street. I
sincerely want to thank everyone that has been a part of this journey; I couldn't have done it
without you. I'm not sure how I am going to top this epic year, but believe me, I plan to try! 2011…
here we come!
Video links:
Qualifying run: http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271548874
Opening ceremonies (1:37:00) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271605283
Top 32 (1:51:00) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271599564
Top 16 (0:24:15) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271609754
Top 8 (0:52:05) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271609754
Final 4 (1:10:45) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271609754
Final 2 (1:26:45) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271609754
Final 2 OMT (1:37:50) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271609754
Banquet Speech (1:50:45) http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/271667945