Often we see Mustangs competing against another in motorsports. That happens in the ranks of Formula Drift as well, but there they also battle and eclectic mix of domestic and import challengers piloted by drivers from all over the world. At this year’s second event of the year, appropriately named, Scorched Earth — in light of the Florida sun pounding on the Orlando Speed World oval track pavement — the pony cars burned brightly in qualifying, but eventually faded away in competition.
Leading the charge for the Mustang brigade once again was Justin Pawlak, who also finished the highest at the season opener in Long Beach. JTP put down a near-perfect run on his first qualifying shot, which was good enough for the third spot. He was obviously in a groove at the start of the event.
During qualifying, Justin Pawlak, a.k.a. JTP, was on a mission. He qualified in the third spot with an out-of-the gates run of 96, which he backed up but didn’t better in round two. In competition he made it through two battles before falling, but this was his second solid showing of the young season, so he sits at seventh place heading into the third event What might be even more impressive than his driving is that his Roush Mustang gets the job done with a TVS-blown Coyote that you could run in your street stallion.
“(We ran a) 96 on our first run!” Justin, who is stoked to be back running under the Falken Tire flag, enthused on social media. “We’ll try and improve on our second, but we’re in the show tomorrow!”
He didn’t better than number, but once the battles began on Saturday, he took out Federico Sceriffo in the first round and Dean Kearney in the second. As he pushed into the top eight, JTP squared of with Ryan Tuerck and couldn’t quite get past him.
Though Justin lost, the Roush Performance-backed driver is in the points chase mix, as he sits at seventh after two events, just 70 points behind leader Frederic Asabo.
Chelsea Denofa hit the wall pretty hard during the first round of qualifying, but the RTR Motorsports team was able to repair his ride in time for round two. However, before the competition began they discovered a mechanical ailment that couldn’t be cured in time, so he had to sit out the battles. Instead he spent some time in the booth helping call the Top 16 competition for the FD livestream. Chelsea is currently ranked 16th in the FD points race.
Things didn’t quite fare as well for the RTR Motorsports BroStangs piloted by Chelsea Denofa and Professional Fun Haver, Vaughn Gittin Jr., who both had brushes with the wall in qualifying. Chelsea’s was far more serious, however.
Drifting Basics
If you love burnouts, but have never seen drifting in the flesh. Its brand of tire-destroying car control is an automotive ballet that must be seen to be truly appreciated. In Formula Drift it is, of course, a competition, and this is how it works:
• Drivers get two solo qualifying runs in an attempt to make the Top 32 competition.
• Drivers are judged on the angle, line, and style of their runs.
• In competition two cars battle each other in tandem for two runs.
• One car leads and is judged on the same angle, line, and style criteria.
• Meanwhile the follower tries to mimic the leader as perfectly as possible.
• Then they swap positions and a winner of the battle is determined.
• The drivers work their way through a bracket based on qualifying until the event winner is determined.
For more, you can check out a full primer right here.
“Miscalculated leaving the bank because of a distraction on the track, but the team got the car back together extremely fast and scored an 87 an hour later!” Chelsea explained before competition began on Saturday. “Unfortunately, after qualifying the team discovered mechanical damage that kept me from making my second run and will keep me from competing today.”
While Vaughn was able to run in competition, he squared off with his Drift Alliance frenemy, who knocked him out of the competition.
“Formula Drift Orlando was a roller coaster of emotions! But in the end it’s motorsports and unpredictable. Good luck to Chris Forsberg and the rest in the round of 16!” Vaughn said after his first-battle loss.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. qualified in the low 90s on his first run, but kissed the wall and had to bail on his second, so he didn’t move up higher. In competition the Ultimate Fun Haver squared off against eventual winner Chris Forsberg in the first round, so he didn’t go as far as he would have liked in Orlando. Vaughn heads into Atlanta ranked 19th in points.
Ultimately, Chris would have great luck was he went on to win the event.
Hopefully the Mustangs will have that kind of good fortune as they slide into Road Atlanta for Round Three of the Formula Drift schedule, dubbed the Road to the Championship, on May 11-12, 2018.
