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Mustang GT drifter Gittin closing in on title Vaughn Gittin Jr., who this year traded his 2005 Mustang for a 2010 Mustang GT with a supercharged 4.6L engine, edged up the leader board at Sonoma’s Infineon Raceway Aug. 8 with a solid seventh-place finish Aug. 22. The Top 10 finish added to Gittin’s points total and moved him up two spots to third place overall with one round remaining in the 2009 Formula Drift Championship.
After a sixth-place qualifying round, Gittin faced off against Falken Tire teammate Ross Petty. Petty spun in his effort to catch leading Gittin in the first run, and couldn’t shake the Mustang driver when his turn to lead came up. The win put Gittin into the Sweet 16 qualifiers. Justin Pawlak was Gittin’s opponent for that round, with Gittin taking the first lead. Reports of sharp angles and massive tire smoke follow the Mustang drifter from each course, and Infineon was no different. Gittin then mirrored Pawlak’s lead, and judges gave him the advancing nod. The eight-driver field was as far as Gittin got this time, falling to Stephen Verdier’s Subaru. Verdier went on to take first place, his first of the series, followed by Ken Gushi and Ryuji Miki. This is the first season for Gittin’s 2010 Mustang GT. Autosport Dynamics of Charlotte, N.C. took a page from Colin Chapman’s notebook, adding plenty of lightness to tip the scales at a shade less than 2,500 pounds. That bulk moves swiftly thanks to the 4.6 liter Aluminator motor, stuffed full of go-fast goodies and topped with Ford Racing’s Whipple supercharger. All together, the combo blows out something like 680 horsepower. More than enough to smoke those Falkens. Infineon’s Locked and Loaded competition coincided with the track’s IndyCar weekend, a race won by Dario Franchitti for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, a fact not lost on Formula Drift officials. "This event proved that drifting can coexist with other motorsports and provide quality entertainment for all fans, and we are very proud to be a part of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend," Ryan Sage, vice-president of marketing and cofounder of Formula Drift, was quoted at Formulad.com. "With only one event remaining in the season it will come down to the wire and we will be crowning a new champion." That one event is scheduled for Irwindale’s Toyota Speedway, Oct. 15-16. Top 10 overall following Sonoma Chris Forsberg, 2006 Nissan 350Z, 470 points Ryan Tuerck, Pontiac Solstice, 414 points Vaughn Gittin Jr., 2010 Mustang GT, 401.5 points Samuel Hubinette, Charger SRT-8 Hemi, 399.25 points Tyler McQuarrie, 2006 Nissan 350Z, 396 points Tanner Foust, 2009 Scion tC, 373 points Darren McNamara, 2007 Saturn Sky, 370.5 points Stephen Verdier, 2006 Subaru STI, 364 points Robbie Nishida, 2004 Nissan 350Z, 362.25 points Justin Pawlak, 2009 Mazda RX-8, 354 points — Ken Simmons |
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