Discount Tire, Americas largest independent tire and wheel retailer, and sponsor of the Formula Drift Discount Tire/Falken Tire Nissan S13, announced that Daijiro Dai Yoshihara captured the 2011 Formula DRIFT Championship, and the prestigious Tires.com Triple Crown title, during the final race of the season held at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in California earlier this month.
Yoshihara entered the Formula D Round 7: Title Fight event as the overall points leader and was among five drivers with a chance to win the championship. Yoshiharas final race and solid season long performance ushered him in as the 2011 champion. In addition to winning the Formula D championship, Yoshihara also won the Tires.com Triple Crown, marking the first time in Formula D history that a Discount Tire driver took home the prestigious title.
Discount Tire sponsors the Tires.com Triple Crown, which is comprised of three regular season Formula D events. The driver with the highest combined score from Road Atlanta, Evergreen Speedway and Irwindale Speedway races receives a $ 10,000 cash prize and a custom Fender guitar.
Discount Tire, a long-standing North American Drift supporter, has been the primary sponsor of Yoshihara since 2009 and the exclusive tire and wheel retailer of the Formula DRIFT Championship Series for the past eight years.
Winning a championship is a dream come true, said Daijiro Yoshihara, 2011 Formula DRIFT champion and Discount Tire driver. We put in years of hard work and my team and sponsors all deserve credit for making this happen.
Video from Yoshiharas championship run at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale is available on Discount Tires YouTube Channel at http://bit.ly/DTCDriftChamp.
We are tremendously proud of Dais performance during the season and congratulate him on bringing home the Formula D Championship and Triple Crown title to Discount Tire, said Discount Tire Product Development Manager Marcus Bolland. His work ethic is reflective of our company and he represents our winning ways on and off the track. We are honored to support him.
Yoshihara has also been on a season long fundraising campaign for his home country of Japan that culminated with the race at Irwindale. He set a goal to raise $ 100,000 to benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Yoshihara, born in Tokyo, Japan launched his fundraising campaign at the April 2011 Formula D race in Long Beach, Calif. Yoshihara has since sold stickers and t-shirts to collect proceeds to support those who have been adversely affected by the tragic earthquake and tsunami that occurred earlier this year. Available for purchase at http://www.rfjp.org, the t-shirts sell for $ 20.00 USD and come with the choice of three different phrases: Drift to Japan, Together, Support Japan and I support Japan. The stickers sell for $ 5.00 USD and are offered in several I support Japan versions. Both pieces of merchandise integrate the Red Cross logo. Yoshihara plans to complete his overall fundraising campaign later this year and will become involved with relief projects when he returns to Japan.
My goal is to show the people of Japan we have not forgotten and will continue to support the rebuilding of Japan, said Yoshihara.
ABOUT US
Discount Tire, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is Americas largest independent tire and wheel retailer. Also known as Americas Tire in Oregon and some parts of California, we currently operate 800 stores across the country. In 2010, the company marked its 50th year serving customers as their trusted tire retailer in local markets across the U.S. Discount Tire also sponsors NASCAR Nationwide Series and Formula D racing. News, driver appearances, show car schedules and racing schedules can be found at http://www.discounttiremotorsports.com. For more information about Discount Tire and America's Tire visit About Us.
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