Cody Buchanan wins Final Round and is crowned 2025 Formula DRIFT Link ECU PROSPEC Champion after leading contenders were eliminated early

EVENT DETAILS

Date: Friday, August 29, 2025

Location: Burt Brothers Motorpark, Grantsville, UT

Event: Formula DRIFT Link ECU PROSPEC Championship Final Round 4

 

2025 FD LINK ECU PROSPEC CHAMPIONSHIP

1. Cody Buchanan (USA) – 272 Motorsports / Sandbeck Race Developments Nissan 350Z
2. Nate Chen (USA) – NCR STEK / Moroso Performance / Fuelab / NCR Toyota 86
3. Dmitriy Brutskiy (USA) – Never Settle BMW

RESULTS FOR FD PROSPEC ROUND 4

1. Cody Buchanan (USA) – 272 Motorsports / Sandbeck Race Developments Nissan 350Z
2. Collin Zielinski (USA) – Fitment Industries Nissan S14.5
3. Cory Talaska (USA) – Talaska Creative E36 BMW 2JZ

NOTES

• With a three-way tie at the top of the Formula DRIFT Link ECU PROSPEC Championship table, there was an expectation that either Nate Chen, Cole Richards or Dmitriy Brutskiy would claim the 2025 title. However, Cody Buchanan had written a different script
• Cole Richards (USA) was the first challenger to falter when he was knocked out of the Top 32 heats by Camren Sorensen (USA) in a tight fight that saw Richards leave the track in Outside Zone 4 (OZ4). He would finish 17th on the night and fifth overall
• Chen and Brutskiy were both knocked out of the Top 16 heats. Chen lost a One More Time battle to Amanda Sorensen (USA) and finished the event in ninth, claiming second in the 2025 Championship
• Brutskiy was dispatched by Collin Zielinski on his way to the Round 4 podium. However, the double PROSPEC Champion, who is also competing in the 2025 PRO Championship, placed tenth on the night and third in the title standings
• In the absence of the title leaders, Buchanan stormed to the Round 4 win by beating Zielinski in the Final to complete a perfect weekend on the top step of two podiums. He came into Utah on 80 points and finished the season with 130 – 20 ahead of Chen
• Talaska placed third in Utah and could have been the Champion himself if he’d beaten Buchanan in the quarter-final. But he stood on the Round 4 podium, finished fourth overall and claimed the Opening Round victory in Atlanta
• The 2025 Rookie of the Year is Jerry Johnson (USA) driving the Cage Kits / LVRY Motorsport Toyota GT86. He again reached the Top 8 but was again defeated by Buchanan in a repeat of Round 3. Despite that, Jerry again placed fifth on the night, keeping him sixth overall but first in the Rookie race ahead of Zielinski in seventh and Collete Davis (USA) in ninth
• The youngest driver to ever compete in Formula DRIFT, 13 year-old Rookie Camren Sorensen, placed 16th in Utah, 14th overall and fourth in the Rookie race
• All teams in the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship must use Link engine management and GT Radial tires

FD PROSPEC ROUND 4 TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS*

POSITION	DRIVER	POINTS
1	Cody Buchanan	50
2	Collin Zielinski	40
3	Cory Talaska	30
4	Trevor Root	30
5	Jerry Johnson	20
6	Amanda Sorensen	20
7	Josh Stuart	20
8	Kasey Kohl	20 + 3
9	Nate Chen	10
10	Dmitriy Brutskiy	10
11	Collete Davis	10
12	Brian Wills	10
13	Adam Knapik	10
14	Nik Jimenez	10
15	Adam Heishman	10 + 9
16	Camren Sorensen	10

 

FD PROSPEC TOP 16 FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS*

POSITION	DRIVER	POINTS
1	Cody Buchanan	130
2	Nate Chen	110
3	Dmitriy Brutskiy	110
4	Cory Talaska	100
5	Cole Richards	100
6	Jerry Johnson	85
7	Collin Zielinski	73
8	Trevor Root	70
9	Collete Davis	62
10	Josh Stuart	60
11	Amanda Sorensen	40
12	Adam Knapik	40
13	Alex Jagger	40
14	Camren Sorensen	35
15	Brian Wills	33
16	Nik Jimenez	30

 

* Preliminary standings. Final results pending official confirmation

 

FORMULA DRIFT UTAH RECAP

FD PRO Round 7 Competition results will be sent tomorrow. A recap of all the action from FD UT with event images will be available on Monday.