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Formula DRIFT

Category	Drifting
Country	United States
Inaugural season	2004
Classes	PRO PROSPEC
Manufacturers	Ford Toyota Chevrolet BMW Nissan Cadillac Mazda Ferrari Dodge
Tire suppliers	Nitto Tire GT Radial Kenda Tires Vitour Tires Nexen Tire Kumho Tire
Drivers' champion	PRO 2023 Chelsea DeNofa PROSPEC 2023 Ben Hobson
Official website	formulad.com
Current season

Formula DRIFT (also known as Formula D or 'FD') is an American drifting series, and was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that introduced D1 Grand Prix to the United States. The new entity would solely own, operate and launch the first official drifting series in North America. Formula DRIFT is not associated with the FIA series of formula racing championships.^[1]

Formula DRIFT has 84 licensed drivers competing in PRO and PROSPEC (formerly PRO 2^[2]) as of June 2024. The series consists of an eight-round championship played out at race tracks across North America. Formula DRIFT is judged on line, angle, and style, rather than who finishes the course in the fastest time.

Drivers in North America can compete in regionally sanctioned PRO/AM organizations for licensing.^[3]

• USDrift – Mid-Atlantic
• East10Drift – Southeast
• Evergreen Drift – Pacific Northwest
• Colorado Drift – Colorado
• ND Drift – Minnesota
• Southwest Drift – Las Vegas
• Spec-D Drift series – Bincent Shreklund
• Hot Pit Autofest – California
• Full Lock Drift – Oklahoma
• US Drift Circuit – Florida
• Great Lakes – Pennsylvania

Winners and high finishers of these feeders series are then able to enter the Formula DRIFT PROSPEC series, a secondary national tour where drivers compete to move up to the main series.

• Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach, California. Seasons 2006
• Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. Seasons 2004
• Orlando Speed World in Orlando, Florida. Season 2015
• Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. Season 2008
• World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. Seasons 2018
• Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Seasons 2006
• Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantsville, Utah. Seasons 2022
• Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California. Season 2004
• Interstate Raceway in Glyndon, Minnesota. Season 2024

• Wall Speedway in Wall, New Jersey. Seasons 2005–2007, 2009–2019
• Autodrome Saint-Eustache in Saint-Eustache, Quebec. Seasons 2015 – 2017
• Palm Beach International Raceway in Palm Beach, Florida. Seasons 2011 – 2013
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seasons 2009 – 2012
• Summit Point Motorsports Park in Summit Point, West Virginia. Season 2007
• Reliant Center in Houston, Texas. Seasons 2004 – 2005
• Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Season 2005 – 2006
• Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. Seasons 2004 – 2013
• Lake Erie Speedway in Erie, Pennsylvania. Season 2021

Formula DRIFT has increased its international presence every year since 2008 with the addition of demonstration and sister series in other countries. "Taking the Formula DRIFT brand internationally is a huge milestone. Our priority is to continue to build the Series here while growing the sport of drifting as a whole," said Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula DRIFT. "We are very careful in choosing our event partners and take careful consideration of the boundaries of our international affiliates such as Drift Australia, MSC, and Pro Drift."^[4]

Formula DRIFT Asia. Formula DRIFT Asia was created in 2008 with the inaugural FD Singapore competition. The first real international competition of its in Asia, held at the Changi Air Show Grounds. This historic event was sold out before the gates opened. Since then, Formula Drift Asia became its own championship series, the first Pan-Asian professional drifting championship. In 2009 and 2010, the Championship made stops in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. For the 2011/2012 Championship tour, Formula DRIFT Asia added an additional stop in Indonesia.^[5]

• Rd.1 Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore Season 2010
• Rd.2 Bangkok Wonderworld, Bangkok, Thailand Season 2010
• Rd.3 Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Season 2010

The first Formula DRIFT Asia Champion was Tengku Djan.

• Date TBD International Competition – Qatar Racing Club
• Date TBD International Competition – Yas Marina Circuit
• February 5, 2012, Demonstration – Figali Convention Center
• May 27, 2012 International Competition – Location TBD
• June 11, 2011, Formula Drift Ultimate Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
• February 25, 2011, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• February 12, 2011, Figali Convention Center, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
• January 17, 2010, Figali Convention Center, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
• March 8, 2009, Figali Convention Center, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá
• August 23, 2008, Monterrey Autodromo, Monterrey, Mexico
• April 27, 2008, Changi Air Show Grounds, Singapore

Formula DRIFT has continued to refine its rulebook and technical regulations year to year in terms of car and competition regulations.

Cars and their builds are constantly under review by the Formula DRIFT staff. The rule book is revised every year to promote fair and exciting drifting. Some cars and practices are written out of the rule book in order to keep a realistic and level playing field. During the 2004 season, the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe was permitted to compete; subsequently it was ineligible in Formula DRIFT.

Although Formula DRIFT does not permit front-wheel drive cars, it does allow all-wheel drive cars to be converted to rear wheel drive, such as the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi EVO. In the United States, the Scion tC is sold only in the FWD layout, but because it shares the same chassis as the AWD Toyota Avensis (sold only in the United Kingdom and Europe), it can be converted to a competition-ready RWD layout. This change sparked great debate between drifters in the series who felt that an original FWD vehicle should not be eligible due to the front cross member changes needed.

A trademark of Formula DRIFT competition cars is the very open engine rulebook. Formula DRIFT allows engines from other manufacturers to be swapped into competition cars. "Engine, transmission, ECU and/or final drive modifications are free, but only the rear wheels may propel the vehicle". This results in a huge variety of engine/chassis combinations as well as huge power outputs commonly in excess of 850+ whp. Vehicles wishing to compete for the Manufacturers Championship must use an engine from the same manufacturer as the chassis. Engine swaps remain very common with older models but can be seen with new builds as well. Naturally aspirated or supercharged Chevrolet V8 engines are often used because of their availability and lower operating costs.

Suspension modification is widely open to development as long as stock pickup locations are utilized. Suspension tuning is a vital part of any successful Formula DRIFT team.

To keep cars in check Formula DRIFT institutes a maximum tire size based on the vehicles total weight.

Formula DRIFT cars are given fixed numbers for their cars and are not necessarily based on rankings.

Formula DRIFT uses its own scoring system that may differ from other drifting organizations. Often scoring systems for qualifying, tandem battles, and penalties are different.

Qualifying – Formula DRIFT competitors are allowed two non-consecutive judged solo runs to post their highest possible score in order to compete. The top 32 drivers with the highest qualifying scores are entered in a competition bracket pairing the highest scoring drivers against the lowest scoring drivers. 1st v. 32nd, 2nd v. 31st, 3rd v. 30th, etc. The drivers are judged on line, speed, angle, and overall impact. The judges can also make additional request at the drivers meeting for actions or techniques that will weigh in their decision making (ex; entry technique, racing line, proximity, etc.). Formula DRIFT drivers are scored on a points-deduction system where every driver will start their judged run with a perfect score of 100 pts. For every mistake, points will be deducted. These points will vary between .25 point to the most severe mistakes 1.75.^[6]

Competition – The top 32 qualifying drivers are paired up in an elimination bracket pairing the highest scoring drivers against the lowest scoring drivers. The biggest difference from qualifying is that now drivers face off head to head on the track in a tandem battle. The two cars run together side by side, each driver trying to show greater skill than the other. The highest qualifying driver leads on the first run, then on the second run the lower qualifying driver leads. Drivers are judged on the same basic criteria as qualifying but an emphasis is put on the interaction between the two drivers competing head to head. The lead driver will set the pace and driving line often trying to produce a gap between themselves and the following driver. The following driver will try to stay on top of the lead driver as close as possible without making contact with their vehicle. The goal is to mimic or "shadow" the lead drivers run while staying on their door throughout the run. It is possible for either driver to win either run. Often one driver will have a points advantage going into the second run. Driver mistakes (ex. 2 wheels off course, spinning out, avoidable contact, etc.) can also cause them to be given an automatic zero. The three-judge panel then will look at both runs and determine one of three outcomes; Driver 1 advances, Driver 2 advances, or if a winner can not be determined a "One More Time" will be called. In the event of a "One More Time" the drivers will then complete a new pair of runs. The drivers will face off again until a winner can be determined. The winner advance to the next bracket.

Competition Time Out – Drivers have a one-time option to utilize a "Competition Time Out" in order to attempt to fix their vehicle. In the event that a driver or car can not come to the start line in time for their tandem run the other driver will be allowed to run a solo lap to advance.

Overtaking – Follow cars are permitted to overtake or pass in certain instances. passes may only happen at inside clips, and can only be done so if the lead car is off line enough to allow the follow car to pass between them and the clip. If a successful pass is made the lead car run is deemed a zero.

The current judges are Robbie Nishida (2023–), Brian Eggert (2012–), Chris Uhl (2020–). Kevin Wells is the Competition Director for the series.^[6]

Season	Driver	Car
2004	Samuel Hübinette[7]	Dodge Viper Competition Coupe
2005	Rhys Millen[8]	Pontiac GTO
2006	Samuel Hübinette[9]	Dodge Viper SRT-10
2007	Tanner Foust[10]	Nissan 350Z
2008	Tanner Foust[10]	Nissan 350Z
2009	Chris Forsberg[11]	Nissan 350Z
2010	Vaughn Gittin Jr.[12]	Ford Mustang
2011	Daijiro Yoshihara[13]	Nissan 240SX
2012	Daigo Saito[14]	Lexus SC430
2013	Michael Essa[15]	BMW M3
2014	Chris Forsberg[16]	Nissan 370Z
2015	Fredric Aasbø[17]	Scion tC
2016	Chris Forsberg[18]	Nissan 370Z
2017	James Deane[19]	Nissan Silvia S15
2018	James Deane[20]	Nissan Silvia S15
2019	James Deane[21]	Nissan Silvia S15
2020	Vaughn Gittin Jr.[22]	Ford Mustang RTR
2021	Fredric Aasbø[23]	Toyota Supra
2022	Fredric Aasbø[24]	Toyota Supra
2023	Chelsea Denofa[25]	Ford Mustang RTR
2024	James Deane[26]	Ford Mustang RTR

Note: Chris Forsberg was first driver to win 3 championships (2009, 2014 and 2016). The second one to win 3 was James Deane, and the third was Fredric Aasbø (2015, 2021, and 2022). Although he was the second driver to win 3 championships, Deane was the first and so far only Formula DRIFT driver who managed to win 3 championships in a row (2017, 2018 and 2019).

Season	Driver	Car
2009	Tengku Djan[27]	Nissan S15
2010	Tengku Djan[28]	Nissan S15
2011	Daigo Saito[29]	Toyota Altezza[30]
2012	Daigo Saito[31]	Achilles Radial Lexus IS C
2013	Daigo Saito[32]	Achilles Radial Lexus IS C
2014	Fredric Aasbø[33]	RSR Toyota 86
2018	"Mad" Mike Whiddett[34]	RedBull Racing Mazda RX-7
2019	Andrew Gray[35]	Moty's Toyota Chaser (JZX100)
2020	Kouichi Yamashita[36]	Team WELD Toyota Mark II (JZX100)
2021	Kouichi Yamashita[37]	Team WELD Toyota Mark II (JZX100)

Season	Driver	Car
2014	Dan Savage[38]	Sikky / Achilles Tire Mazda RX-8
2015	Alex Heilbrunn[39]	MonsterBMW BMW M3
2016	Marc Landerville[40]	Perry Performance Nissan 240SX
2017	Kevin Lawrence[41]	Enjuku Racing / Hankook Tire / BC Racing Nissan S14
2018	Travis Reeder [42]	Nissan S13
2019	Trenton Beechum[43]	Clonex Racing Nexen Tire Motorsport Ford Mustang
2020	Dmitriy Brutskiy[44]	Essa Autosport / Never Settle Drift BMW E46
2021	Dmitriy Brutskiy[45]	Essa Autosport / Never Settle Drift BMW E46
2022	Robert Thorne[46]	ASM BMW E46
2023	Ben Hobson[47]	Feal Suspension / Pedal Commander Nissan Silvia S14.9
2024	Tommy Lemaire[48]	XPN Nissan Silvia S14.9

• 2005 Mike Peters – Chevrolet El Camino
• 2006 Bill Sherman – Nissan 240SX
• 2007 Darren McNamara – Toyota Corolla Coupe GT/Nissan SR20
• 2008 Michihiro Takatori – Nissan Skyline ER34
• 2009 Eric O'Sullivan – Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• 2010 Fredric Aasbø – Toyota Supra JZA80
• 2011 Aurimas "Odi" Bakchis – Nissan Silvia S14
• 2012 Daigo Saito – Lexus SC430
• 2013 Mats Baribeau – Toyota Mark II
• 2014 Geoff Stoneback – Nissan Silvia S14
• 2015 Masashi Yokoi – Nissan Silvia S15
• 2016 Alex Heilbrunn – BMW E46 M3
• 2017 Piotr Wiecek – Nissan Silvia S15
• 2018 Dirk Stratton – Chevy Corvette
• 2019 Travis Reeder – Nissan 240SX
• 2020 Adam LZ – Nissan Silvia S15
• 2021 Simen Olsen – Toyota GR Supra^[49]
• 2022 Mike Power – Nissan Silvia S15
• 2023 Robert Thorne – BMW E46

• 2007 Bill Sherman – Nissan 240SX
• 2008 Stephan Verdier – Subaru Impreza WRX STI
• 2009 Stephan Verdier – Cooper Tire Subaru Impreza WRX STi
• 2010 Mad Mike Whiddett – Mazda RX8
• 2011 Matt Powers – Nissan 240SX^[50]
• 2012 Robbie Nishida – Lexus SC300
• 2013 Darren McNamara – Nissan Silvia S14
• 2014 Dean Kearney – Dodge Neon
• 2015 Alec Hohnadell – Nissan Silvia S14
• 2018 Matt Field – Chevy C6 Corvette
• 2019 Ryan Litteral – Nissan 350Z
• 2020 Taylor Hull – Cadillac ATS
• 2021 Matt Field – Chevy C6 Corvette
• 2022 Ken Gushi – Toyota GR86
• 2023 Simen Olsen – Nissan Silvia S15

• 2007 Chris Forsberg
• 2008 Ryan Tuerck
• 2009 Chris Forsberg
• 2013 Fredric Aasbø

• 2007 Chris Forsberg
• 2008 Robbie Nishida
• 2010 Fredric Aasbø
• 2011 Matt Powers^[50]
• 2012 Daigo Saito
• 2013 Robbie Nishida
• 2014 Chelsea DeNofa
• 2017 Jhonnattan Castro
• 2018 Chelsea DeNofa
• 2019 Piotr Wiecek
• 2020 Chelsea DeNofa
• 2021 Matt Field

• 2007 Joon Maeng
• 2008 Patrick Mordaunt^[51]
• 2009 Taka Aono
• 2011 Walker Wilkerson^[50]
• 2012 Danny George^[52]
• 2013 Robbie Nishida
• 2014 Forrest Wang
• 2015 Ken Gushi
• 2018 Michael Essa
• 2019 Pat Goodin
• 2020 Jeff Jones / Rome Charpentier (tie)
• 2021 Jeff Jones

• 2008 Tanner Foust

• 2008 Daijiro Yoshihara
• 2011 Daijiro Yoshihara^[50]
• 2012 Fredric Aasbø^[53]
• 2013 Daigo Saito
• 2018 Forrest Wang
• 2019 Chelsea Denofa
• 2020 Chris Forsberg
• 2021 Chelsea DeNofa
• 2022 Chelsea DeNofa
• 2023 Fredric Aasbø

• 2011 Matt Powers^[50]
• 2012 Ryan Tuerck^[54]
• 2013 Matt Powers
• 2014 Ryan Tuerck

• 2011 Matt Field's S14 ^[50]

• 2011 Mike Kojima^[50]
• 2012 Mike Kojima^[55]
• 2014 Brian Wilkerson
• 2015 Nathan Tasukon
• 2018 Stan Williams
• 2019 Jimmie Cadwell
• 2020 Jason Dixon
• 2021 Greg Leone

• 2010 Jonathon Bradford
• 2011 Chris Forsberg^[50]
• 2012 Stephan Papadakis^[56]
• 2013 Michael Essa
• 2014 Stephan Papadakis
• 2015 Kenji Sumino
• 2018 Stephan Papadakis
• 2019 Stephan Papadakis
• 2020 Stephan Papadakis
• 2021 Stephan Papadakis
• 2023 Stephan Papadakis

• 2011 Rhys Millen^[50]
• 2013 Michael Essa
• 2015 Dean Kearney
• 2018 Matt Coffman
• 2019 Ryan Tuerck
• 2021 Chris Forsberg

• 2011 Walker Wilkerson^[50]
• 2013 Fredric Aasbø
• 2014 Fredric Aasbø
• 2018 James Deane
• 2019 Matt Field
• 2020 Adam LZ
• 2021 Chelsea DeNofa
• 2022 Adam LZ
• 2023 Adam LZ

1. Fredric Aasbø – 19 wins – 2014 at Wall Speedway and Texas – 2015 at Long Beach, Wall, Seattle, and Irwindale – 2016 at Orlando and Canada – 2017 at Orlando and Canada – 2018 at Long Beach And St. Louis – 2019 at Road Atlanta – 2020 at St. Louis (Rd 1) And Irwindale (Rd 7) – 2021 at St. Louis – 2022 at Road Atlanta and Irwindale – 2024 at Road Atlanta

2. Vaughn Gittin, Jr. – 13 wins – 2008 at Irwindale – 2010 at Long Beach and Sonoma – 2012 at Wall Speedway and Seattle – 2014 at Road Atlanta and Miami – 2016 at Road Atlanta and Wall Speedway – 2018 at Irwindale – 2020 at Seattle (Rd 3) and Seattle (Rd 4) – 2023 at Road Atlanta

3. James Deane – 10 wins – 2017 at Long Beach, Road Atlanta, Seattle and Texas – 2018 at Wall Speedway and Monroe – 2019 at St. Louis – 2024 at Long Beach, Englishtown, and St. Louis

4. Chelsea Denofa – 10 wins – 2016 at Long Beach – 2019 at Texas – 2020 at St. Louis (Rd 2) – 2021 at Orlando, Lake Erie, and Seattle – 2022 at Seattle – 2023 at Orlando, Seattle and Utah

5. Aurimas Bakchis – 10 wins – 2015 at Road Atlanta – 2016 at Seattle – 2017 at Wall Speedway – 2019 at Long Beach and Orlando – 2020 at Irwindale (Rd 8) – 2021 at Road Atlanta, Long Beach, and Irwindale – 2023 at St. Louis

6. Chris Forsberg – 10 wins – 2005 at Irwindale – 2007 at Road Atlanta and Infineon – 2008 at Long Beach – 2009 at Road Atlanta and Seattle – 2013 at Seattle – 2014 at Long Beach – 2018 at Orlando – 2020 in Texas (Rd 6)

7. Samuel Hübinette – 9 wins – 2004 at Road Atlanta, Houston, and Infineon – 2005 at Road Atlanta and Chicago – 2006 at Long Beach, Chicago, and Wall Speedway – 2007 at Summit Point

8. Daijiro Yoshihara – 8 wins – 2006 at Irwindale – 2007 at Seattle and Wall Speedway – 2010 at Road Atlanta and Wall Speedway – 2011 at Road Atlanta and Seattle – 2013 at Long Beach

9. Ryan Tuerck – 7 wins – 2009 at Long Beach and Irwindale – 2015 at Orlando – 2019 at Wall Speedway – 2020 at Texas (Rd 5) – 2022 at Long Beach - 2024 at Seattle

10. Tanner Foust – 7 wins – 2006 at Road Atlanta – 2007 at Irwindale – 2008 at Englishtown and Sonoma – 2009 at Las Vegas – 2010 at Seattle and Irwindale

11. Rhys Millen – 7 wins – 2004 at Irwindale – 2005 at Wall Speedway – 2006 at Infineon – 2008 at Road Atlanta and Seattle – 2011 at Las Vegas – 2012 at Las Vegas

12. Daigo Saito – 6 wins – 2012 at Palm Beach and Irwindale – 2013 at Road Atlanta, Wall Speedway, and Irwindale – 2014 at Irwindale

13. Justin Pawlak – 4 wins – 2011 at Long Beach and Palm Beach – 2012 at Long Beach and Road Atlanta

14. Matt Field – 4 wins – 2016 at Texas and Irwindale – 2021 at Englishtown – 2023 at Long Beach

15. Piotr Więcek – 3 wins – 2017 at Irwindale – 2018 at Texas – 2019 at Seattle

16. Ken Gushi 3 wins – 2005 at Houston – 2019 at Irwindale – 2022 at Grantsville

17. Tyler McQuarrie – 2 wins – 2010 at Las Vegas – 2011 at Irwindale

18. Michael Essa – 2 wins – 2013 at Palm Beach and Texas

20. Darren McNamara – 2 wins – 2009 at Wall Speedway – 2014 at Seattle

One win each for:

1. Alex Pfeiffer (2004 invitational at Irwindale featuring the top 16 Formula D drivers from 2004)^[57][58]
2. Calvin Wan (2005 at Infineon)
3. Yukinobu Okubo (2006 at Seattle)
4. Mitsuru Haraguchi (2007 at Long Beach)
5. Toshiki Yoshioka (2008 at Las Vegas)
6. Stephan Verdier (2009 at Infineon
7. Conrad Grunewald (2011 at Wall Speedway)
8. Masashi Yokoi (2015 at Texas)
9. Kristaps Bluss (2018 at Road Atlanta)
10. Dylan Hughes (2022 at Orlando)
11. Travis Reeder (2022 at Englishtown)
12. Kazuya Taguchi (2022 at St. Louis)
13. Adam LZ (2023 at Englishtown)
14. Nick Noback (2023 at Irwindale)
15. Conor Shanahan (2024 at Orlando)

A total of 16 tire manufacturers have sponsored drivers over the history of Formula DRIFT (USA) competition.

All PROSPEC drivers are required to run the spec GT Radial Tire.

• GT Radial
• Kenda Tire
• Nexen Tire
• Nitto Tire
• Vitour Tires
• Kumho Tire (Debut Season)

All PROSPEC drivers are required to run the spec GT Radial Tire.

The 2023 Season of Formula DRIFT saw the exit of Falken Tire and Federal Tire, as well as the introduction of Vitour Tire, and the re-introduction of Kenda Tire. Many drivers who were previously sponsored by Falken switched to GT Radial, while Kenda and Vitour picked up newer drivers, and some who were previously sponsored by Federal.

• GT Radial
• Kenda Tire (Re-Debut Season)
• Nexen Tire
• Nitto Tire
• Vitour Tires (Debut Season)