Formula Drift Round 2
Atlanta

Dear Diary,

Where do I begin!? Atlanta is such an up and down track for us! At the inaugural Formula Drift in 2004 we earned 2nd place, in ’05 we had insane drivetrain issues where we broke everything behind the tranny… twice! That left us with a Top 16 finish. 2006 was the debut of the Titan 350Z, and it did not go well, we made it through the course without spinning maybe three times, resulting in a Top 16 finish as well. 2007 was back to the top with a 1st place finish, followed by a Top 16 knockout in 2008. Which leaves us in 2009 with a 1st place finish!

The weekend started out great, we got into town early and headed up to Charlotte for Kyle Busch’s birthday party with NOS. It was a fun time and gave the team a chance to hang out and relax. From there we headed back to the track to get ready for Thursday practice. A lot of new faces started showing up like DA Aces Wilkerson and Wagner, and a few other guys that could not make it out to Long Beach for the first round. Thursday practice went well, we had some leading and some chasing runs to make sure the car was setup for the weekend.

Friday was a pretty smooth day for the most part, some quick practice to make sure everything was good for qualifying but as we were running practice, the judges wanted to keep pushing the starting line back to see how fast we could go into the first turn. They had moved the start line back four times with only a few minutes left in practice, and all of a sudden my gearing was too short for the straightaway! Without having a quick change rear end, I had to think fast since I had maybe one pass left before qualifying, so I jumped back in line and had to change up my entry style to allow me to enter earlier. Everything worked out and we went through qualifying coming out tied in 11th. Not a bad position…

Saturday starts nice and late so we got to cruise in the track at around 11am. Walked through the pits and checked out the car, everything was ready to go! My spotter Blair and I worked out how to really watch the other drivers and take notes on how they were running. For some reason I feel that we did a much better job at this event than normal. Our communication was great throughout the entire ladder. First match up was against Chris Kregorian, he was getting through the course but his lines were not very consistent. So I had to be cautious while chasing him. Good thing I was because when I chased him into the first corner, he overshot the clip and went off-track. I grab the handbrake and tried to maintain drift as he jumped back on course in front of me! We finish the run clean and we were awarded the win!

Moving into Top 16 I see that we were faced with Samuel. I was not very excited to have to run Sam so early in the competition. But this new Top 32 format really seems to put drivers to the test earlier on! I had to chase on the first pass, so I knew I had to get on the gas quick to keep up with him down the hill. He still pulled three car lengths on me but I was able to catch up in the horseshoe. On my lead lap Sam was very close to me throughout the run so the judges gave us a one more time. We pair off again and this time I jump on the throttle a lil sooner since Sam was hardly giving me the pace cone, he still pulls at least two car lengths before the first corner and once again I fight through the course and get door to door with him in the horseshoe. On the lead lap Sam once again is all over me so the judges call for another one more time! This time on my chase run I launch down the hill like its qualifying time. He still has no trouble driving 800hp of Viper past me down the hill. We enter the course and this time in the horseshoe I was sooo close to him that I got a little choked up at the top clipping point. I was then told that Sam slowed down from an average of 38mph to 30mph exiting the horseshoe. The judges counted it against Sam, and then on my lead lap, I drove down the hill as hard as I could and threw the car in, right as I get into the throttle… BOOM! Sam hits the side of my car, my head hits the roll cage and my car spins to a stop. Everything seemed ok since he missed the wheel/suspension… we headed back up the hill, and we were awarded the win.

Top 8 was another interesting match up, Tyler McQuarrie in the Falken V8 convertible 350Z. I lead first and threw down a nice clean run in front. On my chase lap, the lights drop and I hit the gas, I immediately notice Tyler was not moving so I jumped on the brakes about two car lengths ahead. I look over my shoulder and see the car shake and start the lunge forward. I get back in the throttle and we tear through the course, we had a clean run and we were nice and tight in the chase… we had won again! After the round, Tyler and his crew chief came over and thanked me for my sportsmanship. I gladly said no problem. This has happened to me in the past and I would never do that to anyone. I do not want to win by default.

We were now in the Final 4! Two chances for the podium! I look around and see Ryan Tuerck and Joon Maeng in the Final 4 with me! What an amazing outcome! I was first faced against Tuerck, who just came off his Long Beach win. We both knew it was going to be a fair and awesome match up so we just drove as hard as we could. In the end we were awarded the win and were heading for the finals! Darren McNamara was the last driver in the Final 4 who just defeated Joon in the semis, this had just become a 2007 rematch! In my first chase lap we were super close and running smooth. On my lead lap I made a huge mistake and miss shifted the car in the horseshoe! But Darren followed that with a spin in the last corner! He was so close to taking the win! Next lap I chased again, and just went for it, there was no holding back at this point, we were in the finals! Door to door all the way around the horseshoe and down the hill, I just had to lay down a clean lead lap, and that I did. I punched that car into 3rd so hard I thought the tranny was gonna fall out. But it didn’t miss this time. The official told us to go to the horseshoe and they would announce the winner. When they called my name it was one of the best feelings I’ve had in a long long time. 1st Place Road Atlanta!!!

Next stop is back to Wall, NJ. Hometown for me and many of my friends. Looking forward to it!