Valuable Points On the Line as Utah hosts Round 7 of the PRO Championship, the penultimate event before the PRO title is decided at the Irwindale Final.

In a season that didn’t see a repeat winner until Round 6, DeNofa claimed his third victory at Round 7, extending his lead in the 2023 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship to a remarkable 53 points.

Following his strong qualifying performance, DeNofa took a slow march through the competition heats, avoiding major incidents such as Mike Power (USA) spinning his Power Racing Type Nissan S15 in front of him in Outside Zone 3 (OZ3). Taking to the dirt himself, DeNofa kept the Pennzoil / BC Racing Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD in one piece and faced a similar situation in the Top 16. This time it was Robert Thorne (USA) who dropped three wheels off OZ3 in his ASM E46 BMW Sedan Pro Edition. DeNofa followed suit but was awarded the win thanks to a stellar lead run.

In the Great 8, it was Kazuya Taguchi (Japan) who tried off-roading at OZ2 in his Upgarage / ISR Performance / GT Radial / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota 86. Whereas the two previous excursions occurred when competitors were attempting to break away from DeNofa, Taguchi made the mistake of trying to keep pace. DeNofa himself was using his rear wheels as gravel machine guns in OZ2 but retained control and slid into the Final 4 to meet Simen Olsen (Norway).

Despite an incredible season driving the ridiculously fast Feal Suspension Nissan S14.9, Olsen also tried to maintain proximity to the Mustang. As a result, he over-committed to OZ1, over-rotated in the drift and scrambled to regain control.

Finishing third was still a great result for Olsen, who interjected himself into the title chase recently and left Utah third in the Championship. Unfortunately, one of his victims was team leader Aurimas “Odi” Bakchis (Lithuania) who he ejected from the Top 16. The loss dropped Odi to fifth overall and out of title contention.

Olsen in third has a 77-point deficit, which perhaps only gives him a mathematical chance of winning the title. But like Hobson in PROSPEC, Olsen transformed his FD status by joining Odi’s Team Feal this year and will undoubtedly be a major contender in 2024.

Chelsea Denofa (left) and Mike Power (right) race to the finish line during round seven of the Formula Drift Pro Championship at Utah Motorsports Campus, Saturday September 16, 2023, in Granstville, UT. | Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Media House
Matt Field races his Chevrolet Corvette during round seven of the Formula Drift Pro Championship at Utah Motorsports Campus, Saturday September 16, 2023, in Granstville, UT. | Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Media House

In the Final, DeNofa was paired against Matt Field (USA) ­in the Borla Performance / GT Radial Corvette. Both drivers have a similar approach to the sport and a precise aggression that gets the job done.

Field’s poor qualification meant he faced serious opposition on route to the Final. However, technical problems for the Corvette Barbarius of Joao Barion (Brazil) in the Top 32 meant Field’s first competitive heat was against Dean Keraney (Ireland) in the Top 16. It was close combat with the HyperNFT Dodge Viper but Field took the win thanks to a superior chase run.

Meeting three-time FD PRO Champion Chris Forsberg (USA) in the Great 8 was another potential stumbling block but early initiation and a big correction at Inside Clip 1 (IC1) put the driver of the NOS Energy Drink / GT Radial Nissan Z out of contention.

Field’s Final 4 heat against Ryan Tuerck (USA) driving the Rain-X / Nitto Tire / Rockstar Energy GR Corolla was an incredibly close call in favor of the Corvette driver. Tuerck had earlier eliminated teammate Aasbo from the Great 8. Dropping him from second to fourth in the title race and with an 81 point deficit to DeNofa, three-time FD Champion Aasbo appears to have an impossible task in Irwindale.

Chelsea Denofa races his Ford Mustang RTR to the finish line during round seven of the Formula Drift Pro Championship at Utah Motorsports Campus, Saturday September 16, 2023, in Granstville, UT. | Photo: Tyler Tate/T Squared Media House

The Final between DeNofa and Field seemed to be over almost as soon as it had begun. With every driver aware of DeNofa’s speed, Field left the start line in hot pursuit. Drifting into IC1, Field’s Vette appeared to find front-end grip, causing it to suddenly straighten. In very close proximity to DeNofa, Field speared the rear of the Mustang. The high-speed collision threw debris across the track before both cars were recovered to the pits.

With 10min for DeNofa and 5min for Field, there was speculation around whether both cars could return to the combat arena. But the experience and preparation of the leading teams in Formula DRIFT meant two cars completed the second run. DeNofa was awarded the win after a restrained chase sealed the deal but not without initial speculation that DeNofa had come out of drift.

“Utah was a wild event but very different for me,” Denofa said post race. “Usually we win by driving as hard as we can and being very precise, but today it was more about luck and making less mistakes than the other drivers. The win feels different but the points move us up in the Championship, which is important going into Irwindale where we’re going to try to enjoy the event. A Championship would be cool but winning every event is the goal and maybe we’ll end up on top!”

As DeNofa claimed his third win of the season and RTR Motorsports racked up five, it meant Ford was crowned winner of the 2023 Formula DRIFT PRO Auto Cup. Nitto continued to lead the Tire Cup, in large part thanks to the same team.

Field’s result meant he leapfrogged Aasbo into second in the title chase. Field would need luck to lift the 2023 trophy but extraordinary things happen in Formula DRIFT, so don’t miss the Final Round at Irwindale Speedway on October 13-14, livestreamed on the series YouTube Channel and MAV TV.