Hot on the heels of the most thrilling Formula DRIFT Finals in the series’ 15-year history the organizers held their annual Awards ceremony last weekend. It gives them a chance to honor the top drivers, newcomers, fan favorites and the people who play an important part behind the scenes.
The 2018 Awards banquet includes categories for the Formula DRIFT Pro and Pro 2 categories, plus a special series of awards that bring to an end the FDXV celebrations.
Formula DRIFT also wants to thank all the drivers, teams, support staff, media and fans for supporting the series throughout the year but here are some of the outstanding performances:
2018 FD PRO AWARDS
2018 FORMULA DRIFT BLACK MAGIC PRO CHAMPIONSHIP
Silverware was presented to champion James Deane, with Fredric Aasbo in Second and Piotr Wiecek in third
AUTO MANUFACTURER’S CUP
The prize went to Toyota for amassing a significant points lead over nearest challenger, Ford
TIRE MANUFACTURER’S CUP
This was collected by Falken, which also had a healthy points lead
FAN FAVORITE DRIVER
The public vote went to James Deane
FAN FAVORITE CAR
The public chose the Ford Mustang RTR driven by Chelsea Denofa
TOP QUALIFIER OF THE YEAR
Awarded to James Deane as the driver with the highest average qualifying position
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Won by Dirk Stratton who beat Matt Vankirk to the title by two points
BEST DRIFTING STYLE
Forrest Wang was voted the driver with the best style throughout the 2018 season
HARDEST CHARGER
Awarded to Chelsea Denofa for being the driver who fully committed to every run in every battle throughout the season
TAKEDOWN OF THE YEAR
This award recognizes the driver who faced and beat the largest number of different of competitors during the season and was awarded to Piotr Wiecek
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER OF THE YEAR
Given to Matt Field, who finished 17th in 2017 and rose to 7th in 2018
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
Recognizing the biggest jump from the driver’s qualifying position to finishing result, it was won by Matt Coffman at FD Seattle where he qualified 22nd and finished 8th
PERFECT EVENT AWARD
This award went to Fredric Aasbo who qualified first and won the FD St Louis event
SPIRIT OF DRIFTING
Michael Essa was voted the driver who best represented the sport of Drifting during 2018 with his tenacity, professionalism, and positivity. He also takes time to mentor and help up-and-coming drivers
GIVING BACK AWARD
Daijiro Yoshihara was recognized as somebody in the Series who gave back to the community and/or to a cause in a significant and impactful way in 2018. In this case, Dai has made continuous efforts to raise funds for the Japanese Red Cross since the earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, Japan
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Chris Forsberg was recognized for being the first driver to surpass 200 wins in head-to-head FD battles. He’s also the most successful driver in the series with three championship titles in 2009, 2014 and 2016. He also has the most podiums to date and is the only driver to have competed in every round of Formula DRIFT from day one
SPOTTER OF THE YEAR
Voted for by FD hardcard holders, Amy Bakchis won this accolade for assisting husband Odi at each round in addition to co-managing the team and their business, Feal Suspension. She does all this while being a mother and is expecting their second child next spring
CREW MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Stan Williams from Justin Pawlak Racing has been in the series for many years and was awarded the prize by his fellow hardcard holders
CREW CHIEF OF THE YEAR
This went to Garrett Nikolich from Forrest Wang’s Get Nuts Lab. He was instrumental in enabling Forrest and the team to make a strong comeback in the series after a one-year absence
TEAM MANAGER OF THE YEAR
The ever-popular Stephan Papadakis from Papadakis Racing is the most successful team manager and car builder in FD history, working with both Tanner Foust and now Fredric Aasbo. His team debuted a completely new Toyota Corolla in 2018, finishing second in the championship by only four points, which is the closest margin in FD history. It also made a significant contribution to Toyota’s first place in the Auto Manufacturer’s Cup
2018 FD PRO 2 AWARDS
2018 FORMULA DRIFT LINK ECU PRO2 CHAMPIONSHIP
The trophies were presented to champion Travis Reeder, with Dylan Hughes in Second and Sebastien Gauthier in third
FAN FAVORITE DRIVER
The public voted for Dylan Hughes
FAN FAVORITE CAR
The public chose the Nissan 350Z driven by Alec Robbins
TOP QUALIFIER OF THE YEAR
There was actually a three-way tie for this awards so the judges defaulted to most recent round at FD Irwindale and the winner was Brandon Schmidt
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Sebastien Gauthier finished third overall in Pro 2 and became the top rookie driver
MOST IMPROVED OF THE YEAR
This went to Crick Filippi, who finished 21st in 2017 and rose to 6th in 2018
COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
Recognizing the biggest jump from the driver’s qualifying position to finishing result, it was awarded to Travis Reeder at FD St Louis where he qualified 14th and won the event
FDXV AWARDS
To celebrate its 15th year, Formula DRIFT recognized the people who had been with the series since the beginning
Kenshiro Gushi – Driver
Daijiro Yoshihara – Driver
Vaughn Gittin Jr – Driver
Chris Forsberg – Driver
Andy Yen – Driver and Judge
Bryan Olfert – FD employee and currently Sponsorship Manager
Andy Luk – FD employee and currently Operations Director
Jarod DeAnda – FD announcer
Falken Tires – Series sponsor
