Tanner Foust takes the event victory while Vaughn Gittin Jr. is crowned 2010 Formula Drift Champion!

Photos: J.Martinez and John Pangilinan

Formula DRIFT entered the final event of the 2010 season at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for Round 7: Title Fight with Tanner Foust in his Rockstar Energy Scion Racing TC taking the event victory and becoming the Tires.com Triple Crown winner, while Vaughn Gittin Jr. in his Monster Energy/Falken Ford Mustang is crowned the 2010 Formula DRIFT champion.

With the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale hosting the final event to a sold out crowd, the action was non-stop all weekend, featuring the Formula DRIFT ProAM championship, Fatlace One of One Showcase car show and last but not least, the Formula DRIFT championship. In addition, this was the first drifting event to be filmed in 3D by DirecTV with an air-date to be announced. The event was also featured live online via the DriftStream to a global audience.

As with most finals, the final event did not fail to disappoint, showcasing intense drifting action that will determine a new champion. The battle for third place pitted Darren McNamara in the Falken Tire Saturn Sky against Michihiro Takatori in the BF Goodrich Nissan S15. McNamara pushed his car too hard hitting the wall and taking himself out of the competition giving Takatori third place. The final battle placed two time Formula DRIFT champion Tanner Foust against Vaughn Gittin Jr. After a close One More Time battle, Foust edged out Gittin to take the event victory as well as secure his first Tires.com Triple Crown bonus prize.

“This was one of the most epic Formula DRIFT events of all time,” said Tanner Foust, winner of Round 7: Title Fight. “This is the best track to drift and in front one of the biggest crowds. The drivers stepped it up from the Top 32 and on and gave everyone attending a great show. No one seemed to care about protecting their car and threw it all out there. I can finally close the door on my chase for the Triple Crown as I’ve been chasing it for years being so close multiple times and want to give it up to Tires.com for the opportunity.”

With his advancement into the Top 16, Vaughn Gittin Jr. secured the 2010 Formula DRIFT championship. Gittin found the podium six out of the seven events through the season on his way to his first championship. “This is just simply unbelievable,” exclaimed Vaughn Gittin Jr., 2010 Formula DRIFT Champion. “This has been a dream of mine for the past seven years. It is a true accomplishment for my team and a testament to their commitment to the sport.”