For Immediate Release
August 11, 2009
Vaughn Gittin Jr. fights his way to fourth place at Evergreen Speedway
Vaughn Gittin Jr. arrived at Formula Drift Round 5 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington this past weekend ready to rock in his 2010 Falken Tire Ford Mustang. After an unexpected incident in the final four which led him to tap Eric O’Sullivan’s car and become DQ’ed, he battled Tyler McQuarrie in the consolation round only to be beaten by his Falken Tire teammate. Vaughn finished the weekend just inches outside the podium in fourth place.
During Thursday’s practice, Vaughn and the Autosport Dynamics crew made some minor adjustments to the Mustang to get the proper setup for the track. Seattle news anchor Mark Wright from “Q13 Fox News this Morning” went for a ride in Vaughn’s passenger seat. The clip aired twice during Friday morning’s news.
http://www.q13fox.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=ced3b3da-972d-4f19-91d1-1e0fbbe59cb1&src=front
On game day, Vaughn was set to battle Alex Pfeiffer in the Chevrolet Corvette for the top thirty-two. Vaughn led first and swept the bank with intense angle right up against the wall, while Alex followed shallow, correcting in the infield. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfBSHrtOIag Vaughn followed closely next, maneuvering his way around the Corvette after it spun going into the last turn. Vaughn was awarded the win and eagerly moved on to the top sixteen.
Vaughn was matched with two-time Formula Drift Champion, Tanner Foust, for the battle of the Sweet Sixteen. After a close battle and Vaughn tapping the wall while maintaining his drift (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJUm-utIcYc), the judges called for a “one more time” to determine a winner. During the first run of the OMT, Tanner led while Vaughn closed the gap with a blanket of bellowing smoke following him. Vaughn led next and scraped the wall again coming off of the bank, while Tanner held a more shallow line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01T-JiNc2vw The Scion tC proved no match for the Ford Mustang; Vaughn received the win and proceeded to move on to the Great Eight.
“Tanner is a great driver and our battles are always so close,” says Vaughn. “I knew I had to do something drastic to beat him. I decided to put the rear bumper on the wall of the bank both times that I led to make sure the judges had no choice but to declare me the winner. It was so much fun!”
For the battle of the top 8, Vaughn was paired with Drift Alliance brother Ryan Tuerck. Ryan led first and Vaughn shadowed his every move throughout the course. In the second run, Vaughn led and initiated super early, maintaining deep angle throughout the entire course. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVOcXxidaIg After a close battle, the judges awarded Vaughn the win.
In the semi-finals, Vaughn was matched up with Formula Drift top-four newbie Eric O’Sullivan. Vaughn led first with a perfect run, while Eric went shallow and off-track in the infield. Vaughn gave chase next. “For some reason he was not able to get down the straightaway as fast as he did earlier in the round and we entered the bank a bit too close for comfort,” says Vaughn. “He was a little lower and slower entering the bank then he should have been and we made contact.” After a few minutes of deliberation, the judges decided that the tap was Vaughn’s fault and passed Eric onto the finals. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruBWxab1pAs
Vaughn battled it out for third place with Falken Tire teammate Tyler McQuarrie during the consolation round. Tyler led first and both Autosport Dynamics cars rode the wall high on the bank. Vaughn led next and put down an amazing run, but the judges awarded Tyler the winner of the battle and the round’s third place finisher. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0nf_m6l0xg
Vaughn finished the event in fourth place and currently sits in fifth place overall in points for the Formula Drift Championship. With two rounds left – both at tracks that he has podiumed – Vaughn is prepared to fight for some crucial championship points. For more information, please visit VaughnGittin.com.