Formula DRIFT Season Ends with a Bang for Mustang Drivers

Photos By Editorial Director Mark Gearhart

The 2014 Formula DRIFT season has been a stellar one for Ford fans as the two Mustang drivers in the series- Justin Pawlak (JTP) and Vaughn Gittin Jr.– have made a name in the drift community for the famed domestic brand. Check out some of the highlights from this year’s Formula DRIFT finale below.

Qualifying for the weekend with 1.5 points, Pawlak competed against Matt Field in his first battle of the 2014 Formula DRIFT final event, only to be beat out in an EXTREMELY close run.

After many battles won throughout the season, the two Mustang drivers in the series went into the October 10^th /11^th finals in great standing, with Monster Energy Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR driver Gittin ranked third behind Drift Alliance partner Chris Forsberg and Norwegian driver, Fredric Aasbo, and Pawlak, who drives the 2014 Falken Tire Ford Mustang, ranked seventh.

Over the course of the weekend, exciting match-ups ensued among the Pro drivers at Irwindale Speedway, as Gittin and Pawlak battled it out on the track against some of their biggest competition.

Also qualifying with just 1.5 points, Gittin battled it out for two rounds, ultimately losing to his Drift Alliance partner Chris Forsberg.

After qualifying with a mere 1.5 points, Gittin started his race to the top for the final round against third-year Formula DRIFT driver Patrick Goodin. Gittin ultimately beat out Goodin, sending him into the second round against a familiar competitor.

In the next battle, which pinned Gitting against Drift Alliance partner Forsberg (following Forsberg’s win against Nissan driver Geoff Stoneback in the first round), Gittin put on a fantastic show but was ultimately beat out by Forsberg in the end. Forsberg went on to battle Aasbo, losing to the famed Norwegian driver in a battle of the best. Forsberg battled Matt Field to secure his place in the final four.

Daigo Saito then took on Aasbo in the finals after Saito took out first-place qualifier Forest Wang, securing his run for the podium during the seventh and final event of the 2014 Formula D season. In a turn of events Saito took the final win, securing his third consecutive victory at Irwindale with a total of 100 points won throughout the weekend. Second on the podium for the seventh round of the series was Aasbo, with 80 points from the weekend, followed by Wang, with 64 points.

Pawlak lost his seventh-place point standing position over the weekend, ultimately ending his season in ninth place overall.

Though Forsberg was knocked out of the finals by Aasbo in his final run, Forsberg did secure his second Pro Championship title, naming him the first and only driver to hold two championships in the series. Forsberg won the Pro Championship with a total of 561.50 points, just 11.50 points more than Aasbo for the season.

Had Aasbo won against Saito in the final run for the weekend, he would have been in close running for the Pro Championship title, potentially taking it away from Forsberg in the end.

Pawlak’s reign in seventh place came to an end when it came down to a “one more time” battle against Nissan 240SX driver Matt Field. Pawlak fought hard but ended up handing the torch over to Field. Pawlak finished just inside the top 10 for the year, with 16 points won in his runs for the weekend, giving him a total of 277.00 points for the season.

Though Gittin didn’t make it into the final four in the final round of the 2014 Formula DRIFT season, he did maintain his third-place position in point standings for the year.

While Pawlak finished ninth, Gittin maintained his third-place points position with 32 points won in the final round and a total of 393.00 points secured throughout the season.

With the two Mustang driver’s help, Ford came in third for the 2014 Manufacturer Cup, with Scion taking the ultimate bragging rights, followed by Nissan.

Gittin helped sponsor Nitto tire come in second for the 2014 Tire Cup, which was ultimately taken by Hankook. Pawlak’s sponsor Falken came in fourth for the Tire Cup.

With one Mustang driver on the Pro Championship podium for the year and both Mustang drivers in the top ten finishers, Ford had quite the season in Formula DRIFT for 2014. Next year, when the 2015 series kicks off around the beginning of April, we’ll be watching for Ford and its drivers to go far once again!

Be sure to check out our MUSTANGS ONLY PHOTO GALLERY from the 2014 Formula DRIFT finals after the jump!