# 2022 Formula D season

The 2022 Formula D season (officially titled Formula Drift Pro Championship) was the nineteenth season of the Formula D series. The season began on April 2 at Long Beach and concluded on October 15 at Irwindale Speedway after eight events.
Fredric Aasbø won the championship, becoming the third three-time champion in Formula Drift history. Matt Field finished runner-up to Aasbø for the second consecutive year, with a highly consistent campaign that saw him reach the Final Four in each of the first six rounds. The eight-round season saw an unprecedented seven different winners, including three first-time winners in Dylan Hughes, Travis Reeder and Kazuya Taguchi. The only driver to score multiple victories during the season was Aasbø.

## Entries

For 2022, Formula Drift imposed a limit of 37 drivers that could be awarded a full-season entry. Forrest Wang attempted to return to the series, having last competed in 2019 before taking a break from competition to raise a family. However, his two-year absence meant he no longer had priority status for a full-season entry, and his admission was not accepted.
| Team | No. | Car | Tires | Driver | Round(s) |
| After Hours Autosports | 711 | BMW M3 E46 | GT Radial | Joshua Love R | All |
| Alec Robbins Racing | 35 | Nissan 350Z | Federal Tires | Alec Robbins | All |
| Bakchis Motorsports, LLC | 723 | Nissan Silvia S15 | Falken | Aurimas Bakchis | All |
| Beechum Racing | 999 | Ford Mustang | Nexen | Trenton Beechum | All |
| BUY NOW JAPAN | 530 | Nissan Silvia S15 | Nexen Federal Tires | Wataru Masuyama | All |
| Cash Racing | 16 | BMW M3 E46 | Nexen GT Radial | Jonathan Hurst | All |
| Drift Force | 33 | Toyota GT86 | Nexen | Joshua Correa Reynolds | 1–4 |
| Drift Force | 91 | Toyota GT86 | Nexen | Yves Meyer | All |
| Essa Autosport | 101 | BMW M3 E46 | GT Radial | Michael Essa | All |
| FFF DRIFTINGDEPARTMENT.COM | 117 | Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano | Nexen | Federico Sceriffo | 1–7 |
| Five Bar Motorsports | 357 | Chevrolet Corvette C7 Z06 | Nexen GT Radial | João Barion | All |
| Forsberg Racing | 64 | Nissan Z (RZ34) | GT Radial | Chris Forsberg | All |
| Garagistic | 171 | BMW M3 E36 | Federal Tires | Rome Charpentier | All |
| JCR | 17 | Toyota GR86 | Nexen | Jhonnattan Castro | All |
| Jeff Jones Racing | 818 | Nissan 370Z | GT Radial | Jeff Jones | All |
| Jerry Yang Racing and Fabrication | 123 | Toyota GT86 | GT Radial | Kazuya Taguchi | All |
| Ken Gushi Motorsports | 21 | Toyota GR86 | Nexen | Ken Gushi | All |
| Kyle Mohan Racing | 99 | Mazda RX-8 | Federal Tires | Kyle Mohan | All |
| Matt Field | 777 | Chevrolet Corvette C6 | Falken | Matt Field | All |
| Mspek Performance | 527 | Nissan Silvia S14.9 | GT Radial | Daniel Stuke R | All |
| Noback Racing / KoruWorks | 54 | BMW M3 E46 | GT Radial | Nick Noback R | All |
| Papadakis Racing | 151 | Toyota GR Supra | Nitto | Fredric Aasbø | All |
| Pawlak Racing | 13 | Ford Mustang | Falken | Justin Pawlak | All |
| Power Racing | 919 | Nissan Silvia S15 | GT Radial | Mike Power R | All |
| RAD Industries | 34 | Toyota Supra A80 | GT Radial | Dan Burkett | All |
| RTR Motorsports | 5 | Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D | Nitto | Adam LZ | All |
| RTR Motorsports | 88 | Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D | Nitto | Chelsea DeNofa | All |
| Ryan Litteral Racing | 909 | Nissan Silvia S15 | GT Radial | Ryan Litteral | All |
| Ryan Tuerck | 411 | Toyota GR Corolla | Nitto | Ryan Tuerck | All |
| Simen | 707 | Toyota GR Supra | Nexen Federal Tires GT Radial | Simen Olsen | All |
| Sorensen Motorsports | 513 | BMW M4 F82 | Nexen | Branden Sorensen | All |
| Taylor Hull | 82 | Chevrolet Corvette C6 | Nexen GT Radial | Taylor Hull | All |
| Team DHR | 129 | BMW M3 E46 | Falken | Dylan Hughes | All |
| Team Japan Auto | 153 | Toyota Supra A80 | Nexen | Ola Jæger R | 2–8 |
| Team Karnage | 43 | Dodge Viper (VX I) | Nexen | Dean Kearney | All |
| The Heart of Racing222 | 26 | Aston Martin V12 Vantage | GT Radial | Darren Kelly R | All |
| Travis Reeder Motorsports | 77 | BMW M3 E46 | GT Radial | Travis Reeder | All |

## Schedule

| Round | Title | Circuit | Location | Date | Winner | Car |
| 1 | AutoZone The Streets of Long Beach Presented by TYPE S | Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California | April 2 | Ryan Tuerck | Toyota GR Corolla |
| 2 | AutoZone Road to the Championship Presented by TYPE S | Road Atlanta | Braselton, Georgia | May 7 | Fredric Aasbø | Toyota GR Supra |
| 3 | TYPE S Scorched Presented by AutoZone | Orlando Speed World | Orlando, Florida | May 21 | Dylan Hughes | BMW M3 E46 |
| 4 | The TYPE S Gauntlet Presented by AutoZone | Englishtown Raceway Park | Englishtown, New Jersey | June 11 | Travis Reeder | BMW M3 E46 |
| 5 | Crossroads | World Wide Technology Raceway | Madison, Illinois | July 16 | Kazuya Taguchi | Toyota GT86 |
| 6 | Throwdown | Evergreen Speedway | Monroe, Washington | August 6 | Chelsea DeNofa | Ford Mustang RTR |
| 7 | TYPE S Elevated Presented by AutoZone | Utah Motorsports Campus | Grantsville, Utah | September 17 | Ken Gushi | Toyota GR86 |
| 8 | TYPE S Title Fight presented by AutoZone | Irwindale Speedway | Irwindale, California | October 15 | Fredric Aasbø | Toyota GR Supra |
| Sources: |||||||

## Championship standings
### Scoring system

During qualifying, drivers perform solo runs which are judged on parameters such as line, angle, fluidity and commitment and assigned a numerical score up to 100. These scores are then ranked to determine the qualifying classification and hence populate the brackets for the competition phase. 2022 sees the return of championship points being awarded for qualifying: the top qualifier is awarded three points, the second-placed qualifier two points and the third-placed qualifier one point.
The qualifiers proceed through a series of competition heats, with those eliminated in the first round (Top 32) receiving 35 points and classifying 17th through 32nd, the second round (Top 16) receiving 52 points and classifying 9th through 16th, the third round (Great 8) receiving 67 points and classifying 5th through 8th, and the fourth round (Final Four) receiving 80 points and classifying 3rd and 4th. In the Final, the runner-up receives 91 points and the winner 100 points. Final classification within each round is then determined by highest qualifying position; for example, of the two drivers eliminated in the Final Four, the driver who qualified higher is awarded 3rd position and the final place on the podium.
If 22 or fewer drivers are present, an alternative qualifying format is used in which a Last Chance Bracket (LCB) is populated by the drivers who qualify from 15th down. The top two LCB qualifiers enter the competition heats as normal, while the remaining LCB qualifiers (3rd down to a maximum of 8th if 22 drivers are present) receive 35 points, equivalent to the 17th–32nd positions at a regular event.
In the event of a tie on points at the end of the season, the driver who classified higher in the most recent round will be awarded the higher position.

#### Qualifying stage

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
| Points | 3 | 2 | 1 |

#### Competition stage

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th–8th | 9th–16th | 17th–32nd | LCB 3rd–8th |
| Points | 100 | 91 | 80 | 80 | 67 | 52 | 35 | 35 |

### Pro Championship standings

| Pos | Driver | LBH | ATL | ORL | ENG | WWT | EVS | UTA | IRW | Pts |
| 1 | Fredric Aasbø | 4 | 1$^3$ | 3$^1$ | 8 | 10 | 6 | 2$^1$ | 1$^1$ | 647 |
| 2 | Matt Field | 2$^3$ | 3$^1$ | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 610 |
| 3 | Ryan Tuerck | 1$^1$ | 5 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 573 |
| 4 | Chelsea DeNofa | 5$^2$ | 9$^2$ | 5$^2$ | 3$^1$ | 26 | 1$^2$ | 3 | 13 | 544 |
| 5 | Chris Forsberg | 8 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 27 | 3$^3$ | 6 | 29 | 519 |
| 6 | Dylan Hughes | 7 | 17 | 1 | 9$^3$ | 5$^3$ | 5 | 5$^2$ | 12 | 511 |
| 7 | Travis Reeder | 28 | 11 | 6$^3$ | 1 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 461 |
| 8 | Ken Gushi | 21 | 24 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 456 |
| 9 | Aurimas Bakchis | 3 | 4 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 453 |
| 10 | Rome Charpentier | 6 | 18 | 26 | 2 | 12 | 23 | 19 | 11 | 402 |
| 11 | Wataru Masuyama | 14 | 21 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 17$^2$ | 397 |
| 12 | Branden Sorensen | 12 | 6 | 24 | 12 | 23 | 21 | 27 | 5$^3$ | 379 |
| 13 | Jeff Jones | 31 | 8 | 11 | DNQ | 11 | 13 | 22 | 3 | 373 |
| 14 | Michael Essa | 17 | 26 | 7 | 17$^2$ | 19 | 9 | 28 | 8 | 363 |
| 15 | Kazuya Taguchi | DNQ | 15 | 9 | 13 | 1$^1$ | 17$^1$ | 12 | DNQ | 349 |
| 16 | Justin Pawlak | 27 | 12 | 19 | 6 | 17$^2$ | 12 | 18 | 19 | 348 |
| 17 | Mike Power RY | 30 | 14 | 32 | 21 | 13 | 32 | 8 | 24 | 346 |
| 18 | Dan Burkett | 19 | 7 | 13 | 31 | 32 | 4 | DNQ | 32 | 339 |
| 19 | Jonathan Hurst | 16 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 9 | 31 | 10 | 23 | 331 |
| 20 | Daniel Stuke R | 10 | 22 | 8 | 11 | 20 | DNQ | 16 | 22 | 328 |
| 21 | Taylor Hull | 15 | 19 | 12 | 29 | 24 | 8 | 14 | DNQ | 328 |
| 22 | Dean Kearney | 13 | DNQ | 16 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 23 | 31 | 313 |
| 23 | Nick Noback R | 29 | 27 | 28 | 18 | 6 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 312 |
| 24 | Simen Olsen | 26 | 29 | DNQ | 27 | 25 | 29 | 4 | 16 | 307 |
| 25 | Adam LZ | 18 | 25 | 31 | 19 | 21 | 27 | DNQ | 4 | 290 |
| 26 | Alec Robbins | 24 | 13 | 20 | 32 | DNQ | 20 | 32 | 10 | 279 |
| 27 | Yves Meyer | 25 | 31 | 14 | 20 | 14 | 19 | DNQ | 18 | 279 |
| 28 | Jhonnattan Castro | 9 | 10 | 17 | DNQ | DNQ | 16 | 9$^3$ | 20 | 279 |
| 29 | Ryan Litteral | 20 | DNQ | 27 | 16 | 28 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 262 |
| 30 | Federico Sceriffo | DNQ | 16 | 29 | 23 | 8 | 28 | 25 | | 259 |
| 31 | Kyle Mohan | 11 | 23 | DNQ | DNQ | 30 | 24 | 26 | 14 | 244 |
| 32 | Darren Kelly R | 32 | 28 | 15 | 26 | DNQ | DNQ | 24 | 28 | 227 |
| 33 | Ola Jæger R | | 32 | 25 | 30 | 31 | DNQ | 30 | 25 | 210 |
| 34 | João Barion | 22 | 30 | DNQ | 24 | 29 | 18 | DNQ | 30 | 210 |
| 35 | Joshua Love R | 23 | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 22 | 25 | 21 | 27 | 175 |
| 36 | Trenton Beechum | DNQ | DNQ | 30 | 28 | DNQ | DNQ | 31 | DNQ | 105 |
| 37 | Joshua Correa Reynolds | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
In-line notation :
| $^{Superscriptnumber}$ | Qualifying position (Top 3 only) |
| Bold | Top qualifier |
| RY | Rookie of the Year |
| R | Rookie |

### Auto Cup standings

Auto Cup points are awarded each round to the two drivers with the highest classified finish for each manufacturer. To be eligible, both the chassis and engine must have been constructed by that manufacturer.
| Pos | Manufacturer | LBH | ATL | ORL | ENG | WWT | EVS | UTA | IRW | Pts |
| 1 | Toyota | 1$^1$ | 1$^3$ | 3$^1$ | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1$^1$ | 1326 |
| 1 | Toyota | 4 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 2$^1$ | 2 | 1326 |
| 2 | Chevrolet | 2$^3$ | 3$^1$ | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 973 |
| 2 | Chevrolet | 15 | 19 | 12 | 29 | 24 | 8 | 15 | 30 | 973 |
| 3 | Ford | 5$^2$ | 9$^2$ | 5$^2$ | 3$^1$ | 17$^2$ | 1$^2$ | 3 | 4 | 937 |
| 3 | Ford | 18 | 12 | 19 | 6 | 21 | 12 | 18 | 13 | 937 |
| 4 | Nissan | 8 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 27 | 3$^3$ | 6 | 26 | 781 |
| 4 | Nissan | 20 | DNQ | 27 | 16 | 28 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 781 |
| 5 | BMW | 17 | 26 | 7 | 17$^2$ | 19 | 9 | 28 | 8 | 363 |
| 6 | Dodge | 13 | DNQ | 16 | 22 | 16 | 15 | 23 | 31 | 313 |
| 7 | Ferrari | DNQ | 16 | 29 | 23 | 8 | 28 | 25 | | 259 |
| 8 | Mazda | 11 | 23 | DNQ | DNQ | 30 | 24 | 26 | 14 | 244 |

### Tire Cup standings

Tire Cup points are awarded each round to the two drivers with the highest classified finish for each tire manufacturer.
| Pos | Tire | LBH | ATL | ORL | ENG | WWT | EVS | UTA | IRW | Pts |
| 1 | Nitto | 1$^1$ | 1$^3$ | 3$^1$ | 3$^1$ | 2 | 1$^2$ | 2$^1$ | 1$^1$ | 1333 |
| 1 | Nitto | 4 | 5 | 5$^2$ | 5 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1333 |
| 2 | GT Radial | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1$^1$ | 3$^3$ | 4 | 3 | 1213 |
| 2 | GT Radial | 10 | 7 | 6$^3$ | 11 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1213 |
| 3 | Falken | 2$^3$ | 3$^1$ | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5$^2$ | 7 | 1208 |
| 3 | Falken | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5$^3$ | 5 | 11 | 9 | 1208 |
| 4 | Nexen | 9 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 887 |
| 4 | Nexen | 13 | 16 | 14 | 20 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 18 | 887 |
| 5 | Federal Tires | 6 | 13 | 20 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 831 |
| 5 | Federal Tires | 11 | 18 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 19 | 11 | 831 |

## Footnotes

* ↑ The cars of Matt Field and Fredric Aasbø collided during their Final Four battle. Field was deemed not at fault and awarded the win, but his car was too badly damaged to compete in the Final.
* ↑ Ryan Tuerck debeaded a tire in his Top 16 battle with Chelsea DeNofa.
* ↑ Ryan Tuerck and Branden Sorensen collided during their Top 16 battle. Tuerck was deemed not at fault, but could not repair his car in time for his Great 8 battle with Travis Reeder.
* ↑ Ken Gushi suffered a suspected clutch issue on the way to the grid for his Top 32 battle with Daniel Stuke, handing the win to Stuke.
* ↑ Jeff Jones suffered an engine failure during his first qualifying run, and was not able to make a second run.
* ↑ The cars of Ryan Litteral and Jonathan Hurst collided during their Top 32 battle. Hurst was deemed not at fault and awarded the win, but his car was too badly damaged to compete in the Top 16.
* ↑ Jonathan Hurst called a Competition Time Out during his Top 32 battle with Daniel Stuke, but was unable to fix his car in the allotted time.
* ↑ Simen Olsen's car shut down during his Top 32 battle with Fredric Aasbø in the chase position, and he was unable to take his lead run.
* ↑ Darren Kelly qualified 31st but struggled with power steering issues, which led him to withdraw his car from competition.
* ↑ Darren Kelly made contact with a spinning Alec Robbins during their Top 32 battle. Kelly was awarded the win but could not repair his car in time for his Top 16 battle with Dylan Hughes.
* ↑ Trenton Beechum lost a wheel during his Top 32 battle with Travis Reeder.