Sorensen wins Formula DRIFT PROSPEC Round 3 in Indianapolis, but PRO Round 5 rained out

Embarking on perhaps the most ambitious series shake up in its 23-year history, Formula DRIFT arrived at the second of three new tracks on its 2026 calendar at Indianapolis Raceway Park last weekend. This included paving sections of the track to create a more entertaining course for both the drivers and fans. 

The improvements were developed in conjunction with the Formula DRIFT Driver Liaisons, Judges and Competition Department. During the course of the weekend, the Series also made a number of course changes following consultation with the teams to both ease the learning curve for drivers and enhance safety within the existing certified tolerances.

And while history was made in the PROSPEC Championship, with the youngest driver in series history claiming the win, there was also major disappointment when a huge storm deluged the track at the start of PRO Competition. Despite valiant efforts to pump away the water, the rain kept falling and FD staff were finally forced to cancel at 11:00pm, marking the first time a round has ever been cancelled.

PROSPEC QUALIFYING

Drivers in the Formula DRIFT Link ECU PROSPEC Championship voted to retain the competitive tandem Seeding Bracket Qualifying format rather than the solo runs preferred by PRO teams. Under the Seeding format, the first 24 places in Top 32 Competition were determined by the Championship standings from Round 2, while the remaining eight places would be filled from among the 16 drivers competing in the Seeding Bracket. 

Track conditions remained reasonably consistent throughout the session, with relatively light rain affecting the level of grip in the latter stages. It would be difficult to determine whether it played a part in rookie Jacob Duncan (USA) scoring his first Seeding Bracket win in the Duncan Motorsports Nissan S13. However, the win was simplified when his rookie opponent Christian Cotrone (USA) failed to complete the Final because of damage to the differential under his Howards Cams C6 Corvette.

Similarly, third-place rookie Matt Rusiecki (Canada) was unable to compete in his semi-final heats after damaging his Lordco Auto Parts Nissan 350Z in the Top 8. However, he was awarded third by virtue of his first-place ranking in the Seeding Bracket.

With a full field of 16 drivers for the Seeding Bracket, eight were eliminated from Top 32 Competition including Brian Hoplamazian (USA), Dustin Miles (USA), Matt Shulman (USA), Krzysztof Krutul (Poland), Levi Wait (USA), Luis Lanz (Venezuela), Allen Boss (USA) and Jayden Martorana (Canada).

PROSPEC COMPETITION

Round 3 of the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship is where title hopefuls need to stamp their authority before the Final Round 4, but with two-time Champion Dmitriy Brutskiy leading the points table after two podiums including a win in Round 2, he seemed on course to take a historic third crown.

However, the trend in Formula DRIFT has been for the young guns to ambush the oldtimers, and PROSPEC was no different. Fourteen year-old Camren Sorensen (USA) had already made series history by being the youngest driver to stand on the PROSPEC podium in Round 2. And he made history again by being the youngest winner in Round 3.

Many people speculate it’s the ability of the younger drivers to learn new tracks on driving simulators that gives them an edge, and Camren certainly seemed unfazed by the challenging turns of Indianapolis Raceway Park.

His path to victory saw him beat Kelsey Rowlings (USA) in the Top 32 before slipping through the Top 16 with a bye run to then defeat sister Amanda Sorensen (USA) in the Top 8 heats after her Quad Lock / Rockstar Energy / Sorensen Motorsports BMW lost its supercharger drive belt. In the Top 4 heats, Jerry Johnson (USA) had power steering trouble in the Freedom Machinery C6 Corvette, gifting the youngest Sorensen more success.

In the Final, Rookie Jason Webb (South Africa) put up a strong challenge in his NonStopTuning / Webb 45 Racing Ford Mustang Convertible. However, two of the three FD judges decided Sorensen made fewer mistakes in the chase position and awarded him a narrow but historic victory.

The 50-point reward for winning Round 3 saw Camren jump from sixth to third in the title race, only three points behind second-place Webb and ten points behind Championship leader Brutskiy.

“That was an amazing event,” said Sorensen after the trophy ceremony. “We got lucky with the bye run but had good battles with Kelsey and Jerry until it started raining and we knocked a wheel out of alignment against the wall. But it all came together at the end. I’m so excited for Vegas. The car will be ready and I’ll be ready to do this again!”

Brutskiy lost to Webb in the semi-finals after a small mistake in Zone 5 dropped him out of contention. However, his third place in the Never Settle BMW meant he remained at the top of the points table and is perhaps favorite for the Championship with his extensive experience. All will be revealed when the Link ECU PROSPEC Championship travels to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 24-26 for the Final Round 4, where the 2026 Champion will be crowned.

PRO QUALIFYING

With the cream rising to the top, Jack Shanahan (Ireland) topped the Qualifying session in his Pulsar Turbos E82 BMW with a score of 84.63 points on his second run. His score was a reflection of both his precise car placement, which was analyzed by the automated UDSM system, and driving flair, which caught the eye of the judges. 

However, Matt Field (USA) had been the man to beat throughout the session, scoring 83.55 on his first run in the Borla Performance / GT Radial / Heat Wave Visual / Logitech / Liqui Moly Corvette. Field placed second, narrowly ahead of third-placed Aurimas Bakchis (Lithuania), who scored 82.7 points in the Feal Suspension / GT Radial / Subimods Subaru BRZ. Championship leader James Deane (Ireland) put the O'Reilly / Pennzoil Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD into fourth with a score of 82.53. 

In fact, the top 20 positions were covered by less than 10 points, showing the quality of the FD PRO field, including leading rookie Cole Richards who scored 80.66 points to qualify eighth in the Richards Racing Toyota GT86.

With 29 drivers qualifying for the Top 32 Competition places, nobody would be eliminated provided they completed at least one of their two Qualifying runs. Unfortunately, Jeff Jones (USA) crashed the Big Drift Energy / Prisma Lab Nissan 370Z late in the pre-Qualifying Warm Up session and was unable to score any points, so he would watch from the sidelines.

In the Championship race, it’s worth remembering the top qualifier receives four points, second place receives three, third gets two and all other drivers receive one point. And with the title often decided by a handful of points, Qualifying performance throughout the season could be a decisive factor, especially at a Round where no Competition points were allotted.

PRO COMPETITION

With the Top 32 Competition heats underway, storm clouds gathered overhead and light rain began falling shortly after. Formula DRIFT usually doesn’t stop for rain, but after completing more than half of the Top 32 and with only six positions left open, the rain got significantly heavier and two lighting strikes forced the evacuation of the grandstands. 

The torrential downpour led to local flash flood warnings and a number of tornado sirens were heard in the distance. When the rain stopped, it had dumped an estimated 60-100,000 gallons of water on the racing surface and throughout the paddock. The track officials and FD staff were prepared for the worst and had multiple water pumps running. To speed up the process, more pumps were obtained from local vendors and the local Fire Department brought high-volume pumps. 

After battling the floodwater for more than five hours, real progress was being made but at 11:00pm the heavy rain returned and with insufficient time remaining, the call was made to halt the rescue operation. With exhausted staff, a flooded track, continued rainfall, and no further contingencies, cancellation was the only remaining option.

“I am sad to announce that for our first time in the 23-year history of Formula DRIFT, we were forced to cancel the remaining PRO Championship Competition heats that were taking place at Indianapolis Raceway Park for the first time,” said Ryan Sage, Formula DRIFT President.

“After a successful PROSPEC Championship Round yesterday, it is with a heavy heart that we made the announcement. The tremendous support we have received from the great City of Indianapolis made it particularly difficult.

“I would like to give special thanks to Alyse, Rollie and the IRP crew as well as our Formula DRIFT track staff who, for more than five hours accepted the role of flood management while soaked to the bone, all in the hope we could finish the event.

“To the fans who stuck around to the end, I honestly have no words. The overwhelming sense of defeat is offset by the honor we feel to have such incredible fans for this great sport. We are so grateful to have you as part of the FD family. Thank you for all that you do,” Ryan continued.

“In the morning we will dust ourselves down and climb back in the ring, ready for the next Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round at Evergreen Speedway in Seattle on August 21-22.”

Fans who remained through the storm, avoided the lightning strikes, and endured the flooding were treated to a burnout session by the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship drivers who wanted to show their gratitude before heading home.

In the aftermath of Round 5, the Formula DRIFT Rulebook states that points will only be awarded for completed sessions. Therefore, points scored in Qualifying will remain, but no points will be awarded for the incomplete Top 32 Competition. The final Round 5 Qualifying order will be used to determine the ranking for Round 6 Qualifying.