On Friday, we continued to make some small changes, after listening to what the judges were looking for. I took the outside line on the first left-hander and they loved that-but the tight uphill turn was still causing us problems. Looking back, I'm thinking maybe I should have taken away some traction to get the greater angle. You always learn something new, I guess.
On race day I made it as far as the Great Eight, where I ran against Tyler in a "One More Time" run. Crap! Tyler had the fastest runs over the weekend, so I knew I would have problems keeping up with him in speed. And I did. After our final run, they gave him the win and we were done for the weekend. After flying across the country and having your team stationed for four weeks on the East Coast following the Atlanta event (due to high gas prices), I felt bad about not making it to the podium. Either way, I definitely felt the support from the fans. Thanks, all of you East Coast drift fanatics! Drift ya later.
Toxic Drift
www.toxicdrift.com
Mopar
www.mopar.com
BF Goodrich
www.bfgoodrich.com
Dai Yoshihara
Drifting a GTO for the '08 season, the LHD seating position has been good so far for our JDM friend. But, after losing to his new boss, Rhy Millen (Boo! Hiss!) in Chapter Two, he's in Jersey to prove he's worth his salt.
New Jersey was a new track for all of us, so we didn't know how things were going to go. Thanks to my chief mechanic TJ's hard work, we were able to find a good setup and maximize the GTO's capabilities. I was able to achieve the deepest angles and qualified First! It's been a long time since I qualified First, and I was so happy!
In the Top 16 round, I went against Darren McNamara. His Saturn Sky is the same as a Pontiac Solstice, and I lost to two Solstices in the last round at Atlanta, so I didn't want to lose again. When I was leading, he was right behind me the whole time, so he had the advantage. But, when he was leading, he went off the track and I moved on.
In the Top 8 round, I went against Chris Forsberg. He is my tandem buddy from the old days, and we used to drive together for fun. However we've only competed against each other two times so far, and he won both times. WTF! Like both times before, we had a really good battle. We both drove pretty close to each other, but I think I took a slightly better line with more angle that allowed me to move on. It was the first time I beat him!
In the Top 4 round, I went against Tyler McQuarrie. I lead first and got an advantage. I knew his Porsche was super fast, so I tried to stick with him hard, and I think I was doing a pretty good job. But, I mis-shifted in front of the main clipping point and barely kept sideways, and he was 10 cars in front of me by the time I shifted back to the right gear. I was so mad at myself for mis-shifting that I wanted to scream! Then I had the Third Place match with Rhys, again! I had to get my revenge. He is also fast, so I tried my best to keep up with him. But damn-in the end I couldn't; he beat me again.
By Carter Jung
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