Gallery>>irwindale Night Fight

Picking up where I left off yesterday, let's move into the second half of tandem competition at the Formula D finale.

Now that the championship race had been more or less decided, were able to focus on putting on a show for the fans in the packed grandstands.

Following driver intros, the first two guys to head out were Falken teammates Darren McNamara and Tyler McQuarrie. When the smoke from their Azenis had cleared, DMac was the one advancing to the Great Eight.

The Red Bulls were on parade next as Mad Mike Whiddett did battle against Rhys Millen.

This time, the Hyundai-powered Red Bull would come out on top. Mad Mike's Formula D rookie season had come to a close.

Drift Alliance bros Justin Pawlak and Ryan Tuerck went out next in another thumping V8 matchup.

Tuerck had a significant bobble coming off the bank, enough to give JTP the win in what was an otherwise tight match.

Tanner Foust and Conrad Grunewald headed out next to destroy their Hankooks in front of the crowd.

By this point, Tanner Foust was clearly gonna be one of the guys to beat. Another pair of textbook runs gave him the win here.

Michihiro Takatori and Chris Forsberg battled next. While Forsberg was the clear favorite here, a mistake on the inner bank would end his night.

Takatori and his V8-powered S15 would be moving to the Great Eight.

The next match was over as soon as started with James Deane getting into the wall as he leads Ian Fournier through the bank. Just like that, Ian's R32 was going to the Great Eight.

Next up, Matt Powers vs Matt Field. The battle of the Matts was decided when Field spun on the inner bank. Matt Powers moves to the Great Eight for the first time in 2010.

Finishing up the Top 16 would be one the night's most anticipated matches – Gittin vs Aasbo. The fourth time they've battled this year!

This was a match that a lot of people thought should have gone on more time. Here tough, you can see that Vaughn is a slightly more aggressive coming through the inner bank.

Fredric drove the wheels off his Supra as usual, but Vaughn had pulled a big enough advantage to take the victory.

Moving into the Great Eight, Darren McNamara and Rhys Millen would start things off.

In the end Millen just couldn't match the speed of the V8-powered Saturn. DMac moves to the Final Four.

Justin Pawlak drove his heart out trying to defeat Tanner Foust in the next battle, but Tanner appeared to be unstoppable. Foust moves into the Final Four.

The next battle would be another one of the night's great ones – Ian Fournier vs Michihiro Takatori. Fournier had things pretty easy up to this point, but he brought the fight right to Takatori.

After an OMT was called, Takatori finally earned the favor of the judges and moved into the Final Four. Fournier's incredible driving should definitely not be overlooked though.

Finishing up the Great Eight were Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Matt Powers. It was more than a solid effort from Matt…

…but not enough to beat the champ. Vaughn moves to the Final Four.

The Final Four kicked off with one of the best battles not just of the night, but of the entire 2010 FD season – McNamara vs Foust.

The two fastest cars in the series, and this year's two biggest rivals. Neither one of these guys was going to give up an inch.

During their OMT run, DMac finally pushed a little too hard, losing drift and allowing Tanner to move to the Final.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. would advance to battle Tanner after he defeated Takatori in the next match.

During his battle against Takatori for Third Place, DMac overshot the infield transition and got into the wall hard.

Darren was fine, but his car didn't leave in the best shape. Oh well, there's a whole off-season for the ASD guys to fix it!

After the wreckage had been cleared, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Tanner Foust came off the line for the final tandem match of 2010.

This battle between 2010's most succesful drivers was fitting way to close out the season.

Not surprsingly, an OMT was needed before this one could be settled.

Battles like this one and the one between Tanner and DMac are shining examples of how much talent has risen over the last couple years. After the first OMT, the judges had determined a winner.

Tanner would take first, Gittin would take second place (and the season championship), Takatori would take third.

It was a fine end to an incredible season.

I can't even imagine what 2011 will bring…

-Mike Garrett

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1

I think I know what will be in store next year for FD...greater disparity between the privateers and these $$$$$$$$$$$$$ full race cars. We seem to be seeing the same 8 faces, every round, every event at the top. Saving grace could be someone giving Aasbo a team vehicle and proper funding instead of shop car and his limited pocketbook. I would also like a change in venues, to stimulate the growth of FD by spreading it around, and also to inject new blood into the series. 5 of the 7 events have been staples of FD for many years now, and some of the drivers now have years of experience at them while newer drivers its a new course. new venues or track configurations can help level the field and make for better competition.

Driftstream NEEDS to happen again, as over a million unique IPs is awesome!!!

2

congrats to our nw driver Ian Fournier and Matt Powers as the last of the non v8 powered cars to make it

3

damn, looks like some great stuff, wish i could have seen it!

4

desktops of pics 1 and 3 please:)

5

I agree that big budget teams have to be kept in check to keep drifting what it is.

Otherwise it might go the way of the way of impkrt drag racing, with only a couple competitive teams with monster dollars.

Full interior in front of the front seats, non modified chassis' etc, and maybe a rule where the cars had to drive the last 20k to the track would be fun!

6

luke fink needs to come to fd as i think he is the only driver capable of beating the v8 at their own game, wel done to fd this season, they hav pushed the boundries of drifting to new heights, long may it continue,i loved every round,the driftstream is just epic, keep up the good work guys..

7

Aasbo should have the win, fredric are much better than gitten

8

To continue to make drifting exciting someone is going to seriously look into a power limit one day. D1GP is quickly turning into a quest for power, here's hoping FD does not tread the same path.

9

I cant wait for Mcnamaras AE86 is ready to do damage next season. Feel like I've seen rockstar or falken on top again and again and again and again, some restrictions sound like should be in order. Too bad DAI didnt get up there.

10

@Sneaky= FD IS already quest for power... its wack...

d1gp= angle/speed/guts/crashes/fun, 4th/5th gear entry.

FD= minimum-superchargers/v8/v10/smoke fest/.. 3rd gear passes? LOL@FD where smoke wins and angle does not mean SHIT. LS6=not enough power LOL@FD



Don't forget about politics... how come sponsored drivers/American drivers have an edge in judging?? or the two biggest sponsors end up on top? happens to be drink company.. wheres Redbull?? lol Watch the whole season...

11

@Peaks Privateer. Yes i'll agree i can't help noticing that FD seems to be V8 or go home no matter what chassis you're running.

12

You guys ever think maybe the big sponsors just have the best teams and drivers? ASD cars killed it all year @ FD. Maybe ASD is just that good. Doesn't have to be any conspiracy. The best teams and drivers are supposed to win.

13

i had a lil chat with tanner foust on the filming of top gear america and said there are new rules for fd next season that he has to ditch the v8 and go to a turbo 4 ..... and plus he also said that he's getting sick and tired that everybody is going v8

14

RJ i hope you are correct making therm run at the very least the # of cylinders that the body of the car came wth would make it much more interesting! I will be at the Top Gear america filming on wednesday, i hope i can talk to Tanner about it!

15

James = Ding, Ding, Ding. WE HAVE A WINNER!!!



Oh, let me guess, if it's not an energy drink company lining FD's pockets then it has to be Falken Tire. I am so sick of hearing about the conspiracy theories. Just like any sport, the team with the most resources, consistency, and a bit of luck will almost always prevail. Haters gonna hate.

16

drifting is a motorsport and they all evolve, just cause you can't agree or afford to compete in fd doesnt mean you gotta cry about it. ASD's cars kill it and thats cause they are the best, they found good drivers, matched them with good cars, then they got good results. Strange how that equation works

17

Aasbo Was robbed by JR once again.

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