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Formula Drift – Round 4 – Las Vegas, NV July 10-11, 2009
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
July 10-11, 2009
Formula Drift Round 4 – All In
Article: Clinton Lum
Photos: Mike Bender and Clinton Lum
It was a hot weekend in Sin City as the top drifters in America fought for for 1st place as well as respite from the heat. Weather could have been much worse than the slightly overcast and windy 106 degree weather in the desert. Even though there was a slight wind in the air, it was hot and the environment felt like being in a convection oven.
The track setup at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway started with a long straightaway. This allowed the drivers ample room to get their speeds in the upper 80+ mph range. The first left hander weeded out the men from the boys and those who had skills made it through the long sweeper, those that failed to execute the turn ended up into the tire barricades. Sometimes they came out alright even when plowing into the tires.
The nighttime drifting runs were interesting to see and photograph due to the shear volume of smoke pouring out of some of these cars. It was challenging for both the following car as well as the crowd to see what was happening since the flood lights just lit up the smoke. Some scenes looked as if the lead cars were powered by rocket engines due to the huge billowing fluffy clouds of smoke exiting their rear tires. There was power under those hoods and none of the qualifying drivers were going to hold anything back because this event was aptly named, “All In”. It was either put up or shut for this round of competition.
Although it was a long, hot day at the track, it was well worth it to see some the best drifters in America duke it out in Vegas. And even though there were numerous “One More Time” runs during the course of competition, the drivers managed to keep their cars, as well as themselves, cool under pressure.
1st Place: Tanner Foust (Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC )
2nd Place: Ryuji Miki (APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7)
3rd Place: Chris Forsberg (NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z)
Current Point Standings
1st Place: Chris Forsberg (307 points)
2nd Place: Ryan Tuerck (294 points)
3rd Place: Samuel Hubinette (271 points)