With both Formula DRIFT Championships enter the second half of the season, the pressure has been turned up to 11 as Rookie drivers try to make an impression, the mid-tier drivers realize they’re approaching the point of no return, and the title contenders need to carve out an unassailable advantage. And as the lid has been clamped down on the pressure cooker, the spectators at World Wide Technology Raceway witnessed intense battles played out in both Round 5 of the FD PRO Championship and Round 3 of the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship.
A revised track layout, which saw minor alterations to some of the four Outside Zones, also contributed to the intensity by increasing the speed and flow. It meant drivers could edge closer to their competitors but any lapse in concentration was quickly punished.
PROSPEC SEEDING BRACKET QUALIFICATION
The tension was palpable among the 16 drivers enrolled in the Link ECU PROSPEC Seeding Bracket. With the first 20 places locked in by finishing positions from Round 2, the remainder had to battle for one of 12 competition places. Failure to do so would send them home early, but success would result in three valuable Championship points for each heat won, improving their Championship standing.
After four energetic heats, yet another Rookie emerged victorious. To date, Rookies have won all three 2025 Seeding Brackets and this time it was Ryan Kaufman (USA) driving the Taxi Garage Mazda RX-7 who stood on the top step.
Kaufman faced Matthew Bystrak (USA) in the Final but a collision in Outside Zone 1 (OZ1) caused the driver of the Bystrak Racing S550 Mustang to run into the dirt. The excursion caused a rear tire to debead – a misfortune deemed irreparable by FD regulations – awarding Kaufman the win.
Third place went to Rookie Chellee Hansen (USA) driving the Team Hansen supercharged Nissan S13. She lost a One More Time semi-final battle to Kaufman in which she struggled to keep pace with his victorious RX-7, but acquitted herself well.
Rookies Feras Qartoumy (USA) and Justin Ruth (USA) joined Sam Maghmoumi (Lebanon) and Kasey Kohl (USA) as the drivers who failed to win their Top 16 qualifying heats and were eliminated because they had the lowest rankings of the eight losers.
Thirteen year-old Camren Sorensen (USA) – winner of the Round 2 Seeding Bracket – also dropped a rear tire into the dirt, causing his Sorensen Motorsports / Spyder E46 BMW to slam the tire barrier during his Top 8 pairing against Kaufman. However, Camren had already qualified and placed eighth in the Seeding Bracket.
PROSPEC COMPETITION
History tried to repeat itself at Round 3 of the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship, except it made a slight mistake. The same three drivers finished on the podium at Round 2, except this time it was Nate Chen (USA) claiming his first ever FD win. He beat NJ winner Cole Richards (USA), who lost in the Final after he also dropped a tire into the dirt in OZ1, launching his Koruworks / Richards Racing Toyota GR86 into the air. With the rear tire debeaded, Richards took second ahead of Dmitriy Brutskiy who repeated his third place in NJ.
After demonstrating so much potential since his 2021 arrival in the series, Formula DRIFT teams and fans alike were delighted to see Chen score his first victory. But it didn’t come easy. His first hurdle was a Top 32 battle against DJ Stubstad (USA) in the SlideLine Performance Nissan 350Z. The judges’ decision went in Chen favor by virtue of a superior chase run, particularly in filling OZ4 – about the only area of weakness in Stubstad’s run.
The Top 16 battle against Adam Knapik (USA) continued the trend, with a mistake into OZ2 by the driver of the Optima Battery / Donut Media Nissan S14 on his chase run, giving the judges a relatively easy decision in Chen’s favor.
In his Top 8 contest with Alex Jagger (USA) in the Forsberg Racing Nissan Z, the clash went to One More Time (OMT) before Chen’s speed on the second lead run caused Knapik to miss several Outside Zones to catch up. And with Chen delivering a better chase performance, he advanced to the Final 4.
Paired against Dmitriy Brutskiy in the Never Settle BMW, it appeared the judges wouldn’t have much trouble deciding the winner when the double PROSPEC Champion left the track at OZ1 after making contact with Chen’s NCR Toyota 86. But on their second run, Chen appeared to lose drift in OZ2. And while this could have neutralized Brutskiy’s earlier error, the judges attributed Chen’s faltering to Brutskiy slowing in OZ1 and OZ2. As a result, Chen was awarded the win and headed into the Final to beat Richards.
“It was a crazy weekend with intense battles, some contact, collisions and interesting driving from competitors, but ultimately, we took it to the top!” Chen calmly explained after the podium celebrations. “Going into the Utah Final Round in a three-way tie with Cole Richards and Dmitriy Brutskiy will be even more intense but I’m going to concentrate on the simulator and having some fun. Hopefully, we can bring the momentum forward because we haven’t failed to reach the podium since the new engine setup, so I want to continue that trend.”
The remarkable outcome of Chen’s victory and the ten points he accumulated for each heat win meant he jumped from fourth to equal first in the Championship title race, tied on 100 points with Richards and Brutskiy. As Chen suggested, this has set up a fascinating showdown for the Final Round in Utah on August 28-30.
Adding a further wrinkle will be Cody Buchanan (USA) who finished fourth and occupies in fourth place. He’s amassed 80 points and could mathematically claim the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship if he wins in Utah and his opponents are eliminated from the Top 8 heats.
In the 2025 Rookie of the Year title chase, Jerry Johnson (USA) reached the Top 8 where he was defeated by Buchanan. By placing fifth on the night and sixth overall, Johnson is one place and 13 points ahead of fellow Rookie Collete Davis in sixth.
PRO SEEDING BRACKET QUALIFICATION
Heavy rain preceded the Type S PRO Seeding Bracket, creating treacherous conditions and necessitating a sighting lap for each driver before their Top 16 Seeding Bracket heat. But since Formula DRIFT is an all-weather series, the action proceeded as scheduled.
With 11 drivers contesting 12 competition places, all were guaranteed to qualify but would still be competing for both ranking, which would determine strength of their opposition in the Top 32 competition heats, and Championship points.
It was Nick Noback (USA) who conquered the challenging track conditions and the opposition in his Kenda Tires / Noback Racing E46 BMW to emerge victorious. In the Final, Noback had a difficult run against Dan Burkett (USA) in the RAD Industries Mk4 Toyota Supra. Failing to fill any of the Outside Zones, he’d focused on angle and proximity but left the door open for Burkett to improve on his performance. On their second run, the Supra driver over-committed in the transition to OZ4 and made contact with Noback. He subsequently spun out, ending his challenge but claiming second on the podium.
Rudy Hansen (USA) finished third in his Team Hansen supercharged Nissan S13, meaning the Hansen husband and wife team both finished in the same position in their respective Seeding Brackets and would advance to the competition heats.
PRO COMPETITION
As day turned to night, it seemed to be business as usual in Round 5 of the 2025 FD PRO Championship. Many of the usual suspects were striding towards what looked like an inevitable Final until Rookie Jack Shanahan became the cat among the pigeons. The competition bracket also assisted by pairing the two leading contenders in the semi-finals, opening the door to new possibilities.
In an ferocious encounter between four-time FD PRO Champion James Deane (Ireland) and three-time PRO Champion Fredric Aasbo (Norway), the driver of the Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra spun out of contention in Outside Zone 4 while in the chase position.
“I had a strong lead run but James did an amazing chase,” Aasbo explained. “I’ve been struggling with my chase runs all weekend, so we went for a Hail Mary chase and it didn’t quite work out in Turn 2. I was a bit behind and tried to catch him in Turn 3; there was a lot going on and it just didn’t stick. So, I thought why not just send it and see what happens. And this time it didn’t but we’re guaranteed third place.”
With Deane’s place booked for the Final, the other side of the bracket saw fan favorite Dylan Hughes (USA) face series Rookie Jack Shanahan (Ireland) in an all-BMW shoot-out. The two men were well matched in terms of skill, commitment, horsepower and, it turns out, mistakes. Both drivers were fast but flawed, so the judges dared them to do it again. And they did. Their second runs were neater and the Irishman in the Kumho Tires BMW 1 Series took the win by a very narrow margin over Hughes in the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil / GT Radial / 2JZ-powered BMW.
That meant an all-Ireland Final, with the most successful driver in FD history parking his AutoZone Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD alongside Shanahan’s BMW. As friends and actual neighbors who’ve supported each other for many years, the men were very comfortable competing together. “It felt like practice day. I knew it would be fun,” Deane would say after the Final.
On their first run, Deane executed a perfect lead at a pace that caused Shanahan to transition early into OZ2 in his effort to maintain proximity. And that’s all it took. Although Shanahan similarly performed an outstanding lead run, Deane’s chase was impeccable and the single mistake decided the outcome.
Deane became the first driver to win two rounds this season and scored enough points to draw level with Aasbo at the top of the Championship Standings. And on his current form, there are echoes of Deane’s 2024 campaign where his mid-season momentum took him to the Championship win.
Despite his incredible achievement, Deane wanted to share the moment with his friend: “I’m proud to share his first FD podium with him because I sat with him on his first ever day drifting and to see him go from a little 12 year-old kid to what he is today makes me very proud.”
In turn, Shanahan reflected on an achievement he never dared to dream of by stepping onto the Formula DRIFT podium to collect his runner-up trophy. Having struggled to advance in previous rounds, the result saw Jack leap from 19th to eighth in the Championship standings. Simultaneously, he cemented his lead in the 2025 Rookie title chase, placing him 26 points and six Championship places ahead of nearest rival, Connor O’Sullivan (USA).
We caught up again with Deane after the champagne was sprayed: “This was a great result – we won here last year as well – pushed as hard as possible all weekend and got into the Top 8 against Rome [Charpentier] but as I went into the burnout box we had no brakes or handbrake, so we called a Competition Time Out and bled them,” Deane recalled. “We still had no pedal but there was just enough to lose momentum and we managed to win the battle. I drove my heart out against Aasbo before the dream happened and I was battling Jack, my neighbor – who I’ve known since he was four years old – in the Final. I sat in with him for his first drift and was always helping him for the first year, so to see him progress to become a badass and share his first ever FD podium was a very special moment.
“We’re now tied on points with Fredric, so we’ll do our best in Seattle and see what happens!”
Fourth place was secured by Dylan Hughes who made a welcome return to the sharp end of the results table, jumping from 13th to ninth overall.
The winner of Round 4, LZ, was jettisoned from the Top 8 by Shanahan after a close battle. Placing fifth, LZ remained third in the table but with a 60-point deficit to the leaders.
Perhaps the biggest loser at FD STL was Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania) who also dropped a rear tire into the dirt in OZ1 in his battle against Andy Hateley (USA). The Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S14.9 punched into the air and the damage meant Odi was unable to return to competition. Scoring no points, the driver who placed second in 2024, dropped to sixth overall.
In the 2025 Formula DRIFT Auto Cup and Tire Cup, Toyota and GT Radial maintained their lead, respectively.
“What an amazing way to end a remarkable Round in the Mid-West at World Wide Technology Raceway with two incredible championship battles on our hands,” said Ryan Sage, President of Formula DRIFT. “In PROSPEC, Nate Chen took home his first ever win after losing a gut-wrenching battle to Cole Richards at the last round. But Richards is right there and moving at an incredible pace, while Dmitriy Brutskiy continues to provide a lot of entertainment but also some controversy with his driving. And as we head to the Final Round in Utah we’re excited to see which driver lifts the Championship trophy. And will it be Dmitriy claiming his record third title or Richards and Chen claiming their first?
“In PRO, James Deane and Fredric Aasbo continue to amaze and are clearly the two leaders in the Championship but there’s no doubt LZ is now a legitimate force and we’re seeing the fruit of his labor in the sport. There’s certainly time for him to claw back the deficit and mount a strong challenge for the 2025 PRO title.
“But we can’t finish without congratulating Jack Shanahan who has overcome so many challenges in his Rookie year to achieve his first ever FD podium in an all-Irish Final alongside his buddy, James Deane. And with the season powering forward, we’re looking forward to the Seattle Round, then the PROSPEC Final in Utah before arriving at the first ever, purpose-built drift course for the Long Beach Final Round 8 in October. We hope you’ll stay with us to the end.”
ROUND 5 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS*
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | James Deane | 50 |
| 2 | Jack Shanahan | 40+6 |
| 3 | Fredric Aasbo | 30 |
| 4 | Dylan Hughes | 30 |
| 5 | Adam LZ | 20 |
| 6 | Matt Field | 20 |
| 7 | Rome Charpentier | 20 |
| 8 | Jeff Jones | 20 |
| 9 | Connor O`Sullivan | 10 |
| 10 | Hiroya Minowa | 10 |
| 11 | Chris Forsberg | 10 |
| 12 | Tommy Lemaire | 10 |
| 13 | Conor Shanahan | 10 |
| 14 | Ryan Tuerck | 10 |
| 15 | Trenton Beechum | 10+3 |
| 16 | Andy Hateley | 10 |
2025 FD PRO TOP 16 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS*
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | James Deane | 180 |
| 2 | Fredric Aasbo | 180 |
| 3 | Adam LZ | 120 |
| 4 | Hiroya Minowa | 110 |
| 5 | Matt Field | 100 |
| 6 | Aurimas Bakchis | 100 |
| 7 | Jhonnattan Castro | 90 |
| 8 | Jack Shanahan | 76 |
| 9 | Dylan Hughes | 70 |
| 10 | Chris Forsberg | 70 |
| 11 | Branden Sorensen | 70 |
| 12 | Rome Charpentier | 60 |
| 13 | Connor O`Sullivan | 52 |
| 14 | Dan Stuke | 52 |
| 15 | Conor Shanahan | 50 |
| 16 | Ryan Tuerck | 50 |
2025 AUTO CUP TOP 5 STANDINGS*
| Toyota | 290 |
| BMW | 289 |
| Nissan | 242 |
| Ford | 199 |
| Chevrolet | 135 |
2025 TIRE CUP STANDINGS*
| GT Radial | 313 |
| Kenda | 304 |
| Nitto | 250 |
| Kumho | 158 |
FD PROSPEC ROUND 3 TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS*
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Nate Chen | 50 |
| 2 | Cole Richards | 40 |
| 3 | Dmitriy Brutskiy | 30 |
| 4 | Cody Buchanan | 30 |
| 5 | Jerry Johnson | 20 |
| 6 | Alex Jagger | 20 |
| 7 | Collete Davis | 20 |
| 8 | Brian Wills | 20 + 3 |
| 9 | Cory Talaska | 10 |
| 10 | Trevor Root | 10 |
| 11 | Hooman Rahimi | 10 |
| 12 | Adam Knapik | 10 |
| 13 | Kelsey Rowlings | 10 |
| 14 | Luis Lanz | 10 |
| 15 | Ryan Kaufman | 10 + 12 |
| 16 | Chellee Hansen | 10 + 6 |
FD PROSPEC TOP 16 DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS*
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | Nate Chen | 100 |
| 2 | Cole Richards | 100 |
| 3 | Dmitriy Brutskiy | 100 |
| 4 | Cody Buchanan | 80 |
| 5 | Cory Talaska | 70 |
| 6 | Jerry Johnson | 65 |
| 7 | Collete Davis | 52 |
| 8 | Alex Jagger | 40 |
| 9 | Trevor Root | 40 |
| 10 | Josh Stuart | 40 |
| 11 | Collin Zielinski | 33 |
| 12 | Hooman Rahimi | 30 |
| 13 | Adam Knapik | 30 |
| 14 | Chellee Hansen | 25 |
| 15 | Camren Sorensen | 25 |
| 16 | Brian Wills | 23 |
* Preliminary standings. Final results pending official confirmation
