Fierce Drifting Competitions at 2019 Formula Drift New Jersey by Neil DeVera

★ www.wheelsandheelsmag.com / Text and Photos by Contributor Neil DeVera

The Formula Drift event at Wall Township Speedway was held on June 7-8, 2019.    This track has earned the nickname “The Gauntlet” and was full of blue skies that resulted in a day at the track that wan’t tooo hot nor was there any sign of rain (luckily)!    It was a packed venue!

IF 100 is a good score to obtain, whether it be in sports or a test at university or even a sign of perfection it was JTP Pawlak who seemed to get the memo.  Judging was not easy to earn this perfect score.  In the history books of Formula D, it was Tanner Foust, back in 2006, was the only other person to score a 100 for the record.   Other notable scores were obtained by Frederic Asabi with a total of 85 and James Deane with a total of 67 points. 

Other unique teams that were at the Gauntlet included:
*Dean Kearney - Twin Turbo V10 Dodge Viper 900 HP
*Alex Heilbrunn: Supercharged Chevy LSX V8 with upwards of 1,000 HP
*Daijiro Yoshihara: Turbocharged Chevy LS9 V8 (fitted into what looks like a Subaru BR-Z chassis)
*Kyle Mohan: Mazda 3-Rotor 20B
*Chelsea DeNofa & Vaughn Gittin Jr.: Ford Roush Yates RY45 V8 With Nitrous
*Ryan Tuerck: Toyota 2JZ-GTE Turbocharged I6 (tucked into a chassis of Toyota GT86)
*Forrest Wang: Toyota 2JZ-GTE Turbocharged I6 (nicely hiding in an Nissan S15 chassis and more than 1000 HP)
*Federico Sceriffo: Ferrari V12 Engine With Nitrous (and yes it’s a YELLOW Ferrari sporting a 100-shot of nitrous)
*Travis Reeder: Tesla-Based Electric Motor (unique to HEAR in person, but still made a good impression)
*Fredric Aasbo & Jhonnattan Castro: Papadakis Racing Toyota 2AR-FE I4 (both teams using a Toyota AE86 chassis)



With only a few delays during the days’ events there were several “one more times” to be contested.   If a one more time happens then both drivers will have 2 more runs (1 run in with each driver will “lead”)until a winner can be determined. The winner advance to the next bracket.  The one more time contest between Gitten JR and Aasbo stood out.    After the judges voted the judging was a draw and a one more time was to be done - but only after Gitten took an official competition time out, and making it back to the starting line.   The start of the one more time was head-to-head but the left side/left quarter panel are of his Mustang made contact with the wall and wasn’t able to continue.  That being happened, it was Aasbo vs Tuerck semi final runs.

Be sure to stay tuned for future coverage of Formula D events on wheelsandheelsmag.com!

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