Photos By Group Editor Mark Gearhart

This weekend racers and fans from across the world descended upon the “House of Drift” at Irwindale Speedway to see the climatic battle of the 2013 Formula Drift season. For fans of drifting, this has been an exciting season with everything coming down the the final few races.

Ultimately the 2013 season would belong to privateer Michael Essa and his BMW, who qualified first at the finale but suffered an engine failure during the Round of 32. Even so, he still had enough points to secure the 2013 title once Chris Forsberg, the runner-up, came up short in the final matches. 

It was an anti-climatic finish for the championship, it was however, the first time a European vehicle took the Formula Drift title. And what of the two Mustang drifters who seemed to be early favorites for the title? Unfortunately Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Justin Pawlak had to settle for fifth and sixth places overall, turning in consistent performances that just came up short this season.

But both drivers had their highs and lows throughout the 2013 season, keeping things interesting for Mustang and Formula Drift fans. Gittin came out swinging, taking second place in the season opener at Long Beach and third place at Road Atlanta during Round 2, securing early frontrunner status.

Unfortunately for Gittin, it was all downhill from there quite literally, and he would never break into the top three again, slowly falling behind as other drifters climbed up the points ladder. Ultimately, Gittin finished about 75 points behind Essa, settling for fifth place overall and making it as far as the Great Eight at the Irwindale finale before being knocked out of the season’s final race.

As for Justin Pawlak, our other favorite Mustang drifter, his season was equally unsuccessful. Mid-season it looked like Pawlak might be ready to break away from the pack, finishing first in qualifying and taking second place overall during the fourth round at New Jersey. Pawlak  finished the rest of the season like he started it; coming in the middle of the pack. Pawlak finished the 2013 season in sixth place overall, losing to Round 7 winner Daigo Saito in the Round of 32 at Irwindale.

Justin Pawlak’s season started rough with a crash at Long Beach, and never seemed to gain traction. Although Pawlak did manage to finish second in round for at New Jersey, the rest of his season wasn’t enough, and he ended up having to settle for sixth in points after being eliminated early at Irwindale, losing to Daigo Saito in the Round of 32.

It was a tough season for both Gittin and Pawlak, who both seemed confident in their ability to make a run at the championship this year. Gittin last won the Formula Drift title in 2010, and has come teasingly close to nabbing it again last year when he finished less than 20 points behind the eventual champ. That must have been supremely frustrating, and this year he didn’t even secure a single first-place finish.

As for Pawlak, he hasn’t managed to come as close to the Formula Drift title since his second place overall finished in 2011, losing by a razor-thin margin of less than 6 points. But even though these two Mustang drifters will have to wait until 2014 for another shot at the championship, they’ve certainly kept us entertained. There is always next year, and we’re sure both Pawlak and Gittin will come out, engines revving and tires squealing to make another go at bringing the Formula Drift title back to the Ford Mustang.

It would be a great 50th anniversary present for the Mustang. Just sayin’. We’ll have to wait until next year’s season opener for any more drift action, until then check out the gallery below.