Formula Drift Round 6 2012: Las Vegas, NV

Formula DRIFT returned to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Round 6: After Dark. Rhys Millen in the RMR / Hankook Hyundai Genesis Coupe takes the victory and moves up to third place in the overall points standings leading into the final event of the season.

Round 6: After Dark brought drifting back to Sin City and treated fans to a night spectacle that included the Vegas ProAm championship, Slammed Society car show, Targa Trophy display of vehicles and more. The Driftstream saw an estimated 150,000 viewers in a 24-hour period.

“The Las Vegas round of competition is always one of the most action-packed, but with a completely new course it challenged the drivers and excited the fans,“ said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. “Each year we have seen an increase in attendance and have accommodated with the addition of extra grand stands. This was a very exciting event to lead into the championship round in October. This was another tight championship chase with three former champions in the top five.”

A new track configuration was added to the event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway giving an extra challenge for the drivers to adjust to the new course along with the weather conditions of the desert. Robbie Nishida in the Bridges Racing / Achilles Tires Lexus SC300 faced points leader Vaughn Gittin, Jr. in the Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang in a battle for third place. Gittin took the win and secures his point lead in the chase for the championship. The final battle pitted second place qualifier, Rhys Millen, fresh off his record setting victory at Pikes Peak in the same Hyundai Genesis Coupe that he competed in at this event, against the number one qualifier, Frederic Aasbo in the Need for Speed / Hankook Scion tC. On his lead run, Aasbo met the wall to give the advantage to Millen. On the second run Millen kept a consistent line to take the victory moving him to third place overall and within striking distance of the point leaders.

“It was an incredible victory for our entire crew at RMR, for Hyundai, Pulse and Hankook. To come here from Pikes Peak in the exact same car in a different configuration and in a different driving style and to do it back to back,” said Rhys Millen, winner of Round 6: After Dark. “This is a true drivers course and suits the car well and we were flawless all day long. Unfortunately, some of our competitors gifted us a couple wins, but at the end of the day we put the pressure on them to run deep and fast.”

The chase for the championship is as tight as it has ever been and will be decided at the final event of the season. The Formula DRIFT Pro Championship Round 7: Title Fight on October 12-13 at Irwindale Speedway. Tickets are on-sale now and can be purchased on the Formula DRIFT website.

For more information visit: www.formuladrift.com

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2012 Point Standings After 6 Events
1. Gittin Jr., Vaughn	Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang	473 Points
2. Saito, Daigo	Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430	447.50 Points
3. Millen, Rhys	Hankook / Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Genesis Coupe	428.25 Points
4. Pawlak, Justin	Falken Tire Ford Mustang	403 Points
5. Yoshihara, Daijiro	Discount Tire / Falken Tire Nissan S13	401.50 Points
6. Aasbo, Fredric	Need for Speed / Papadakis Racing Scion tC	395.50 Points
7. Tuerck, Ryan	Team Retaks Nissan 240SX	383.50 Points
8. Gushi, Ken	Greddy / Hankook Scion FR-S	321.50 Points
9. Forsberg, Chris	NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Nissan 370Z	317.25 Points
10. Grunewald, Conrad	Hankook Chevrolet Camaro	305.50 Points
11. Powers, Matt	Need for Speed / Nitto Nissan S14	302.50 Points
12. Essa, Michael	GSR Autosport / Nitto BMW ZR4	297 Points
13. Bakchis, Aurimas "Odi"	Bakchis Motorsports Nissan 240SX S14	292 Points
14. Yoshioka, Toshiki	RS*R Nissan S15	279 Points
15. Nishida, Robbie	Bridges Racing / Achilles Tire Lexus SC300	259.25 Points
16. DeNofa, Chelsea	Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8	248.75 Points
Round 6: After Dark Event Results
1. Millen, Rhys	Hankook / Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Genesis Coupe	Winner
2. Aasbo, Fredric	TNeed for Speed / Papadakis Racing Scion TC	Second Place
3. Gittin Jr., Vaughn	Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang	Third Place
Tires.com Triple Crown Standings after 2 events of 3
1. Gittin Jr., Vaughn	Monster Energy / Falken Ford Mustang	176 Points
2. Aasbo, Fredric	Need for Speed / Papadakis Racing Scion TC	153 Points
3. Tuerck, Ryan	Team Retaks Nissan 240SX	143.50 Points

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