Rockstar Energy Drink/Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla Hatchback second in points
WALL, New Jersey (June 5, 2019) – Fredric Aasbo and the Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla Hatchback will be chasing for a win this weekend as the Formula Drift championship heads to New Jersey for Round 4.
Aasbo is second in the points as the 2019 season approaches its midpoint at Wall Stadium Speedway. He and the Papadakis Racing team are hoping to keep up the momentum from last month’s perfect weekend in Georgia, where the driver earned the top qualifying spot and brought home the win.
“I have a love-hate relationship with Wall,” said Aasbo. “I got my first series win there, but I’ve also experienced first-hand why they call it ‘the Gauntlet.’ This weekend is going to be about finding a good rhythm and riding that to the top of the elimination ladder.”
The track is nicknamed “the Gauntlet” for the treacherous guardrails that line its steeply banked oval. The Formula Drift track configuration uses parts of the high bank, straightaway, and inside turn. It favors precise driving coupled with careful setup.
“Every track in this championship offers something different and at Wall it’s about managing the bumpy transitions and staying just close enough to the edge,” said team owner Stephan Papadakis. “We’re happy with the way we’ve been able to refine the handling in the Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla Hatchback on ovals.”
Aasbo is the most winning driver in Formula Drift history, with 13 series wins — all since joining Papadakis Racing in 2011. He has earned two of those victories at Wall Stadium Speedway, his first in 2014 and a repeat a year later on the way to the 2015 championship crown. Last year, Aasbo scored ninth-place points there after he made contact with the guardrail.
Full coverage airs live online at http://www.formulad.com/live starting at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday with qualifying and returning at 12:45 p.m. Saturday for the opening Top 32 tandem rounds.
Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motorsport with an emphasis on car control. In the Formula Drift series, drivers compete in knockout heats on a closed course, sliding sideways in trials judged on speed and style. With origins in Japan, it is one of the fastest growing forms of motorsport in the world.
ABOUT FREDRIC AASBO: Known for his flat-out style, champion driver Fredric Aasbo has achieved 100-plus podium finishes on three continents over the past decade of competition. He is the most winning driver in Formula Drift history.
Aasbo returns to the Formula Drift series in 2019 for a full season in the Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla Hatchback, while also running a select season of events in Europe in the Rockstar Energy Drink / Icom Toyota 86-X, and drifting championship events in Asia.
Aasbo made his U.S. debut at a global drifting invitational in 2008 and turned heads as the winner of the 2010 Formula Drift Rookie of the Year title. Since then, he has charged through the drifting ranks around the world and is both a fan favorite and championship winner.
Originally from Ski, Norway, Aasbo now splits his time between his native country and Southern California. He campaigns a full international season, with competition stops in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Asia.
ABOUT PAPADAKIS RACING: The Papadakis Racing team began drifting in 2004 and is the most winning team in Formula Drift history, earning the 2015 title with driver Fredric Aasbo, as well as back-to-back championship titles with driver Tanner Foust in 2007 and 2008. The Rockstar Energy Drink / Nexen Tire Toyota Corolla Hatchback is the latest competition build from the Carson, California, based team.
Team owner Stephan Papadakis is a legend of sport-compact racing who began building his reputation in the 1990s with the first front-wheel-drive, tubechassis drag car in the U.S. The team earned multiple records and championships in the discipline, turning in elapsed times and trap speeds previously thought unattainable in front-drive drag cars. Papadakis’ successes in front-wheel drive were matched by his efforts in rear-wheel drive when he campaigned just the fifth car to join the NHRA’s Sport Compact 200 MPH club.
Papadakis shares his experience on his popular PapadakisRacing YouTube channel. Through regular uploads from the shop and track, he has discovered a strong audience eager for his uniquely open and accessible approach to the technical side of vehicle performance.
Fredric Aasbo is heading for Formula Drift Round 4 in New Jersey his weekend
