Dylan Hughes Take First Career Win at 2022 Formula Drift Orlando Speed World
The Formula Drift series made a quick turn south on I-75 to Orlando, Florida for Round 3 of the 2022 Formula Drift series. This year, the Florida weather was really challenging across the entire weekend—we saw pouring rain, bright sun, and heavy winds as the track fell under a tornado watch before it all finished up. Drivers and teams were challenged with constantly changing track dynamics as the series paid visit to the first banked oval course of the season.
Qualifying
Fredric Aasbo came out hard right out the gate, coming fresh off a victory in Road Atlanta, and put down a score of 94 in his Toyota Supra that nobody could match!
Chelsea DeNofa was the closest competitor with a score of 93 points and he finished second. Chris Forsberg and Adam LZ both were forced into the Knockout Qualifier, and both managed to make the event with Chris Forsberg scoring an 89 to lock him into 29th place and Adam LZ squeaked in on a tiebreaker to finish 32nd.
Taking on the Top 32
Fredric Aasbo and Adam LZ both warmed up their Nitto NT555 G2 tires and kicked off the main event battling each other! Fredric Aasbo took out Adam LZ and his RTR Ford Mustang pushing him into the Top 16. Chris Forsberg’s new Nissan Z chassis is looking very dialed and ready to compete for a Championship this year and defeated his former teammate Jhonnattan Castro.
Odi Bakchis had a big misstep and crashed on his entry as the weather conditions changed and was eliminated in the Top 32 by Yves Meyer. Chelsea DeNofa put on a show and knocked out the rookie Mike Power. Dylan Hughes advanced to the top 16 by eliminating the Ferrari 599 GTB driven by Federrico Sceriffo.
What A Top 16
Fredric Aasbo started off this round by defeating veteran driver Jeff Jones who always puts up a tough battle these days. Chris Forsberg faced off against Dan Burkett again this season and took home a second victory in a row against Rad Dan in his Toyota Supra.
Chelsea DeNofa and Ryan Tuerck had a wild battle, but Tuerck fell into bad luck suffering a mechanical failure on his chase run against Chelsea DeNofa. The car couldn’t return to the line giving Chelsea DeNofa the easy advancement in the bracket to the Great 8.
Dylan Hughes got a free ride into the Great 8 because Darren Kelly couldn’t fix his Aston Martin Vantage, that was damaged from his Top 32 battle, in time to make it to the line.
Then There was 8
This round of competition kicked off with Fredric Aasbo facing the former Champion Michael Essa. Fredric Aasbo had such a great tandem chase battle the whole sold out stadium stood on their feet and went wild! Michael Essa really stood no chance in the end and Aasbo advanced into the Final Four. Chris Forsberg took out the rookie Daniel Stuke next which set him up for a Final Four battle against Chris Forsberg.
Chelsea DeNofa and Matt Field had a battle for the history books as these two went back and forth bumping each other around the course. Chelsea DeNofa in the chase run tapped Matt Field’s door which caused him to scrub speed and spin. The judges spent a long time reviewing the incident but, in the end, went for a OMT call. Once the OMT battle happened, the track conditions had changed a ton as the tornado like winds and rain had arrived. Chelsea DeNofa made a mistake on his chase this time and spun out to give Matt Field the pass into the Final Four. Dylan Hughes then took out his Pacific Northwest friend Travis Reeder and beat him to make his way into the Final Four for just the second time in his career.
An Almost Familiar Final Four
The first battle against Fredric Aasbo and Chris Forsberg played out as a great battle between two of the legends of the sport. It seems over history that Fredric Aasbo tends to take the victory over Chris Forsberg, but not on this occasion! Chris Forsberg really showed his new Nissan Z was capable and advanced his way into the Final Round. Due to his qualifying position, Fredric Aasbo was guaranteed a third place/podium finish.
Dylan Hughes came out in the rain and looked good on his lead lap as Matt Field hit him on entry and then spun chasing him around the bank. It gave Dylan Hughes a routine victory where he was set to face his former boss Chris Forsberg for his first final battle.
Two Friends Face Off
Dylan Hughes started his career in Formula Drift working as part of Chris Forsberg’s crew before starting his own team in the series. They even shared a shop in Orange County, California for several seasons as they both competed. It was a special and memorable final battle, and it was a close one! The judges favored Dylan Hughes and he went on to win his first ever Formula Drift event! Dylan Hughes becomes only the 29th driver in Formula Drift history to win an event. He becomes just one of ten drivers who have only won a single Formula Drift event on top of that.
Fredric Aasbo maintains his Championship lead with 264 points. Matt Field now finds himself just nine points behind him with 255. Chris Forsberg jumps way up to third place now with 249 points and this Championship is looking close as the series heads to Englishtown, New Jersey next month for Round 4.
