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Can Samuel Steal Back his Crown?

The Final Stretch:
Heading into the final event of the season, Tanner Foust has snatched the lead from 2-time champion Samuel Hubinette. Tanner, however, only leads the pack by 26 championship points. In order for Hubinette to take back the crown, not only will Sam need to finish in 1st or second place, but he will need to Tanner to place no higher then 4th. Rhys Millen has a bit more of a mountain to climb, trailering Tanner by 56 points. In order for Rhys to take the crown, Tanner would need to fail to qualify for the seasons final event. Barring some sort of Tanya Harding shenanigans, the likelihood of this occurring are pretty low considering that Tanner has been one of the most consistent qualifiers over the past 2 seasons, and owes his 2007 Championship in large part to his qualifying prowess.

The Points Leaders:

1. 504 - Tanner Foust
2. 478 - Samuel Hubinette
3. 448 - Rhys Millen
4. 423 - Daijiro Yoshihara
5. 403 - Chris Forsberg
6. 389 - Ryan Tuerck
7. 381 [-18pts] - Michihiro Takatori***

Full List of Scores

Tanner Foust takes Sonoma

1st - Tanner Foust
2nd - Rhys Millen
3rd - Bill Sherman
4th - Ryan Tuerck

Final:

• R. Millen vs T. Foust

Final 4:

• R. Tuerck vs R. Millen
• T. Foust vs B. Sherman

Top 8:

• S. Hubinette vs R. Tuerck
• R. Millen vs C. Grunewald
• T. Foust vs V. Gittin
• B. Sherman vs C. Forsberg

Top 16:

• S. Hubinette vs R. Miki
• R. Tuerck vs K. Gushi
• R. Millen vs R. Nishida
• C. Grunewald vs K. Yamanaka
• T. Foust vs M. Takatori
• D. Yoshihara vs V. Gittin
• B. Sherman vs S. Verdier
• C. Forsberg vs K. Mohan

Qualifying:

1. Sam Hubinette - 97.00
2. Tanner Foust - 96.67
3. Bill Sherman - 96.42
4. Rhys Millen - 96.00
5. Conran Gruenwald - 94.5
6. Chris Forsberg - 94.5
7. Dai Yoshihara - 94.25
8. Ryan Tuerck - 93.83
9. Ken Gushi - 93.67
10. Vaughn Gitten Jr - 93.58
11. Kyle Mohan - 93.17
12. Kenji Yamanaka - 92.17
13. Robbie Nishida - 91.75
14. Steph Verdier - 91.75
15. M. Takatori - 91.17
16. Ryuji Miki - 90.72

Taka Leads the Charge into Sonoma!

Longtime grassroots supporter and DriftLive favorite, Taka Aono, has taken the top unseeded qualifying spot. Except when he is drifting his swank Cressida wagon, Taka is a hardcore AE86 driver, and has been behind the wheel of a Corolla since the early days of drifting in Southern California. Sonoma has not typically been a track that favors Corollas because climbing back up the hill after the huge slid down tends to require some power. Hopefully the turbo setup that Taka is running proves up to the task.

Unseeded Qualifiers:

1. Taka Aono 92.17
2. Kenji Yamanaka 91.58
3. Justin Pawlak 90.67
4. Bill Sherman 90.25
5. M. Haraguchi 89.75
6. T. Yoshioka 88.50
7. Tony Brakahopia 88.33
8. Tony Angelo 85.83
9. JT Wharerau 84.17 92.2mph
10. Blake Fuller 84.17 86.9mph
11. Quoc Ly 84.00
12. Hiro Sumida 83.50 94.8mph
13. Patrick Mordaunt 83.50 84.9mph
14. Steph Papadakis 83.08
15. Ross Petty 82.92
16. Y. Kondo 82.50

———
Calvin Wan 81.58
Tyler McQuarrie 81.33

All Ties are broken by entry speeds.

Results from everythingdrift.com

Vaughn Gittin Jr Found Barefoot

Vaughn Gittin has just announced he is giving away a pair of his custom made DC Shoe Co Captain America #25 racing kicks. Enter at: www.vaughngittin.com

Setting the Stage for Sonoma

The Boys are Back in Town:
Samuel Hubinette is back in a Viper and back in first place. Rhys Millen just took his second event win of the season. Rhys Millen and Samuel Hubinette have long dominated the Formula D Championship series, and it looks like they are interested in retaking their crown(s) after a “rebuilding” season in 2007. Collectively they have won 3 out of the 4 season run since 2004, and consistently find themselves on the podium. Tanner Foust is currently running second in points, followed closely by Daijiro Yoshihara

What Lies Ahead:
After another strong finish from Rhys at Washington, he has closed Samuel’s lead to 54 points, but with only 2 events remaining in the series, 54 points is a steep hill to climb. In his drifting career, Sam has only failed to make the top 16 a single time, during the 2007 season at Road Atlanta. The maximum number of points that Rhys could earn with two first place finishes is 216. A bit of quick math (216 - 54 = 162) reveals that not only does Rhys have to place well, he needs Sam to place poorly. Considering that Sam has only failed to make Top 16 a single time (Road Atlanta 2007), Rhys may need to try to grab a low qualifying spot at the next two events and try to take his destiny into his own hands. Considering his 14th spot at Washington, Rhys may already be thinking along these lines.

Let us not forget Tanner Foust and Daijiro Yoshihara. Both drivers have the necessary skills and well prepared vehicles. Tanner took the championship last year thanks, in no small part, to his strong qualifying record and rock solid consistency. Daijiro’s GTO has elevated his threat level, and may end up being a roadblock for teammate Rhys on his road to Championship #2.

Sonoma History Lessons:
Tanner was the top qualifier last year at Sonoma, but was knocked out in the Top 8 by Vaughn Gittin Jr. Rhys and Sam were also knocked out in the Top 8 in 2007 by Conrad Grunewald and Chris Forsberg respectively. Chris went on to win the Sonoma event with Gittin placing second and Gushi and Grunewald rounding out the top 4. In 2006 Rhys took the podium with Sam in the 4th spot. Daijiro and Tanner both got knocked out in the round of 16.