I’ve been covering Formula DRIFT as a staff photographer for over 10 years. In that time, I’ve been fortunate enough to witness some very high highs and an equal amount of very low lows. In a sport where every millisecond matters, I often need to step back and take it all in.
This year has been the year of the Irish invasion, and we all saw it coming. James Deane was the first Irish driver to really dominate in the US, but after five championship wins, James lost the 2026 title to his fellow Irishman, Conor Shanahan. Considering James has won five of the seven full seasons he’s competed in in Formula DRIFT, I’d say it’s not too bad, as he still finished second, with Conor’s brother Jack in third this year.
If we get a bit nerdy and technical, I feel like the 2023 season didn’t really count either. It was James’ first departure from the Nissan S-chassis in a major drift championship, so I look at it as a learning year for him and the RTR team as they figured out what worked best. On top of that, James was teammates with prime Chelsea Denofa, who was very much ‘one with the car ’ that season. Chelsea and James are also very different drivers who prefer drastically different car setups, so the RTR team definitely had their work cut out for them when adapting to James’s preference. Ultimately, all of this led to James placing third in the championship, but it took the entire 2023 season to get there. Effectively, 2026 is the first time James has lost a Formula DRIFT championship while in top form.
Heading into the Long Beach ‘Shoreline Showdown’ finale, Conor just needed to beat Jhonnattan Castro in the Top 32 to secure the 2026 title. I figured it would be a boring battle because Jhonnattan spent the entirety of practice and qualifying hunting electrical gremlins in the car. I guess his tuner finally figured something out, though, because I was surprised by his form when he and Conor faced off. From my standpoint, I thought it could have gone One More Time (OMT). Ultimately, Conor took the win and clinched the championship, with Jhonnattan the first to congratulate him as they awaited the battle results.
But had Conor not won this year, the title would have gone to another of his fellow countrymen. The final points tally showed just how close the three Irishmen were, with fewer than 20 points separating them. Branden Sorensen, who finished fourth, was more than 40 points behind Conor’s brother, Jack Shanahan, in third.
Those are some insane stats. Formula DRIFT awards 10 points for a battle win, so 40 points is almost an entire event’s worth. For Conor, James and Jack to be ahead by that margin in an eight-round season is pretty crazy.
With Conor now crowned champion, what comes next? Based on the 2026 stats, I think this Irish wave will continue into 2027. However, rather than James leading the pack alone, I’m fairly certain he’ll be battling the two Shanahan brothers for the top spot. Jack’s momentum doesn’t look like it’ll slow down anytime soon, especially with hints that he could switch to a Toyota 86 next season – a car he’s very familiar with from his time in Drift Masters. I do not doubt that the combination of Conor and Jerry Yang Racing will be a force to be reckoned with for some time. Could we see a Jerry Yang team with both Shanahan brothers next year? I wouldn’t be surprised.
Moving on to a different story, let’s talk about Ryan Tuerck. Ryan’s been around the FD paddock longer than most and has come close to securing the championship a few times. I remember him from his Tuerck’d days when automotive YouTube content was in its infancy. Ryan paved the way for drifting content outside Formula DRIFT, and without him and his team, automotive YouTube might not have progressed as it has.
At the start of the year, Ryan announced that the 2026 FD season would be his last. What followed was eight FD events of Ryan’s main media coordinator and I making sad jokes about something being the last time Ryan would do it (i.e., the last time Ryan puts on his helmet during the first practice session of FD Seattle on a Friday).
Ryan has always been a fan favorite, and with his amazing sense of humor, he’s always been someone I could joke around with during a race weekend. Much like Dai Yoshihara hanging up his FD helmet, Ryan’s departure will leave a hole in the series. I do have to say, though, I see Dai pretty often, and Chelsea Denofa too, since he left FD competition. So I’m certain that the same will be said for Ryan. He may be done with Formula DRIFT, but he’s far from done in motorsports.
Recently, Ryan has been exploring other forms of racing, giving hillclimbs, stage rally, and time attack a go. With his motocross background, rally could be next for him, especially after seeing his G16E-powered ST205 Celica GT-Four break cover.
Without Ryan and Adam LZ, the 2027 Formula DRIFT paddock will certainly have a different vibe. The key difference, however, is that Adam has made it clear he plans to return to FD when the time is right, with the intention of chasing the championship at his full potential.
Back in Long Beach, I also caught up with the ‘Fun-Haver’ himself, Vaughn Gittin Jr., who needs little introduction to this corner of the internet. He’s always one to drive at ten-tenths, so the media guys appreciate it when he’s on track. Over the past few years, Vaughn has stepped back from Formula DRIFT, competing in only around two rounds each season, typically Atlanta and the final round, which seem to be his favorites. In fact, he turned up to Atlanta earlier this year and won the whole thing. It’s pretty crazy when you think about it. The rest of the grid spends all year preparing to win across the eight rounds of the championship, only to be beaten by Vaughn, who isn’t just competing in off-road events with his Bronco, but also running an entire business, RTR, on top of his drifting.
Formula DRIFT’s ‘Long Beach 2’ layout is significantly different from the one used at ‘Long Beach 1’ in April. The spring event uses a section of the famous Long Beach GP circuit, which IndyCar and IMSA also compete on, while the fall layout is essentially an FD design of its own. Utilizing the existing GP infrastructure, this city-sponsored Long Beach event is a unique addition to the series calendar.
I’ll be honest, the Long Beach 1 layout is still my favorite. That’s not to say I dislike this one; in fact, I quite like it. But something about the original layout, its history, and the challenge it presents makes it much more interesting to shoot.
I’m excited to see what 2027 has in store for Formula DRIFT.
