Formula Drift – Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
After a disheartening crash during round 5 of the Formula D series in Seattle, it seemed as though Dai’s 2009 drifting season would come to an end. Qualified 5th overall, Dai and the Falken Tire/Discount Tire Lexus IS350 were looking better than ever. During the final practice before the Top 32 competition, the IS350 ran into the wall at the first bank of the drift course that damaged the car beyond repair. Fortunately, Dai walked away from the crash with only a sore neck and no other major complications.
With only 2 weeks separating round 5 and 6, Falken Tire was quick to make the decision of rebuilding a car for competition so that Dai could compete and complete the season. They decided to use a car from the previous season, a Nissan 240SX S13 that Ross Petty had competed in. With only 9 days of build time, SPD Metal Works was quick to the job and began the build process immediately. “We just focused at the task at hand and grinded it out until the car was complete,” explained Scott Dodgion of SPD Metal Works and crew chief for Dai.
The new car was built and finished at 4AM the day of the first qualifying session. With just enough time to trailer the car 6 hours to Infineon Raceway, the car was ready for testing, which came during the first round of practices before qualifying. With very limited seat time, Dai buckled down and did what he does best. Only having a couple of hours of practice, Dai qualified 9th overall for Top 32 competition.
During the Top 32 competition, Dai was paired up against Eric O’Sullivan who just came off of a 2nd place podium finish in round 5’s competition 2 weeks earlier. Dai lead the first round and came in strong to the first initiation point as O’Sullivan followed closely behind. Before completing the first clipping point, O’Sullivan spun while Dai completed the course. Due to O’Sullivan’s spin, Dai moved on to the Top 16 battle.
After fighting the entire season to get past the Top 32 round, being in the Top 16 was definitely a feat that was finally accomplished. During the Top 16 battle, Dai was paired up against Ken Gushi. Gushi led the first run with a clean line as Dai followed close behind. The second run, Dai came in with Gushi initiating closely behind. Unfortunately, Dai straightened out around the hairpin and was knocked out.
“Although I didn’t make it past the Top 16 round, I am extremely happy as this was a major accomplishment for me this year. I am very thankful towards SPD for building me a car only in 9 days, I only wish I did better for them. I am also thankful towards Falken and Discount Tire for believing in me and allowing SPD to build me another car. And thank you to all my sponsors, with out your help, none of this would have happened” – Dai Yoshihara
The final round of the Formula D series comes to Irwindale, CA. With about a month and a half before competition, Dai and his team will be making the most of it testing the new car to complete the season on a high note.