10 Things We Learned at Formula Drift Connecticut
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The internet was divided on the new track, until it wasn’t.
Before cars ever went hot, the internet was already trying to decide if the new Connecticut layout was boring, awkward, bad for tandem, bad for drifting, bad for America, bad for everyone’s childhood, etc.
Then the event happened.
Once cars were actually on track, the complaints got a lot quieter. After talking with both drivers and crew members, it seemed like most of the real-world paddock opinion was pretty simple: the layout worked. It may not have looked like the craziest thing on paper, but it produced close tandems, intense battles, and a weekend that ended up being way more entertaining than the comment section wanted it to be. Also, the venue itself was top tier and impressed pretty much everyone with its scenic wooded background.
PROSPEC gets younger every time we look at it.
Dmitriy Brutskiy winning PROSPEC at Formula DRIFT Connecticut gave us a familiar name on the top spot, but the rest of the podium made everyone feel ancient. Braden Lons is 15 years old and finished second in his second Formula DRIFT event. Camren Sorensen is just 14 years old and became the youngest driver to ever podium at a Formula DRIFT event.
Fourteen.
Most people at 14 are trying to figure out algebra, their first phone password, and why their parents are ruining their life. Camren Sorensen is standing on an FD podium. The future is apparently here, and it still needs a parent to sign the waiver.
Sean Booth is exactly who we thought he was.
We’ve watched Sean Booth go absolutely shred the mountains at Drift Appalachia, so seeing him bring that same aggression to the Formula DRIFT stage was not exactly surprising. What Connecticut did prove though, is that Atlanta wasn’t the story. That was the fluke.
In Connecticut, Booth qualified third, drove into the Top 8, and was only stopped by the eventual event winner. That is not a cute little underdog moment. That is a guy showing everyone that the raw, aggressive, grassroots style we already knew was real can translate when the lights get brighter. Sean Booth is a wheelman. We knew it. Now a lot more people know it too.
The weather does not care about Formula DRIFT’s schedule.
At this point, rain and Formula DRIFT are basically in a long-term relationship this year. Qualifying day in Connecticut got hit with weather that completely changed the track conditions, because apparently FD events are no longer allowed to just happen in normal weather. But Formula DRIFT did what Formula DRIFT does; they sent it anyway. It made qualifying messy, unpredictable, and honestly more interesting. Not ideal for everyone involved, but great if you enjoy watching very expensive cars become weather-report victims.
Ben Hobson is good at cars.
Everybody knows Ben Hobson is one of the nicest guys on the grid. That part is not news.
What Connecticut gave us was the version where “nice guy on grid” also means “absolute problem in the bracket.” Seeing Ben finally make a deep run like that felt special. Not in a forced, sentimental way. In a “this dude has deserved a weekend like this for a long time” kind of way. His run into the Final 4 set up a battle with RTR teammate James Deane, and that was one of those matchups that felt cool before the cars even left the line. Add in the radio conversation between the two and it became magical.
Ben Hobson going deep in competition is good for drifting. More of that, please.
Branden Sorensen might be the sneaky best American driver right now.
Except it probably is not even sneaky anymore.
While Camren Sorensen was busy becoming the youngest FD podium finisher in PROSPEC, Branden kept doing what he has been doing all year in PRO: quietly becoming one of the most dangerous names in the field. In Connecticut, he qualified second and made the Top 8 before getting knocked out by Jack Shanahan, who went on to finish second overall. Before that, Branden qualified 13th and made the Top 8 at Long Beach, qualified third and made the Final 4 in Atlanta, then qualified eighth and made the Final 4 again in Orlando. At his age, that level of consistency is scary. He is already turning into one of those drivers nobody wants to see on their side of the bracket. At the halfway point in the season, Branden is sitting in third with his eye on a podium finish for the season.
Cole Richards may just be loading the comeback arc.
Cole Richards has already shown enough this season that nobody should be fooled by one rough weekend.
At Long Beach, in his PRO debut, he battled past TLO, Ryan Litteral, and Branden Sorensen on his way to the Final 4 before finally getting stopped by Conor Shanahan. In Atlanta, he ran into three-time FD Champion Chris Forsberg. In Orlando, he had engine issues and still put up a competitive fight against Matt Field. But in Connecticut he had car problems, a hard wall hit, and no qualifying spot. That sucks, obviously. But it does not erase what he has already done. Cole is still sitting 10th overall in points, there is a whole second half of the season left, and unless something changes dramatically, he looks like the clear Rookie of the Year favorite. The CT weekend felt less like a collapse and more like the part in the movie where the young guy gets punched in the mouth before coming back meaner.
The Shanahan brothers are as entertaining as they are good.
This one does not need a deep breakdown.
Conor’s car breaks. Jack advances. Jack proceeds to do donuts around him on the way to the finals against James Deane. The Shanahan brothers are already two of the most talented drivers in the field, but the added sibling chaos makes the whole thing even better. If this rivalry continues to build inside Formula DRIFT, we are all better off for it.
Dylan Hughes is always dangerous.
You can never count Dylan Hughes out.
He qualified number one overall in rainy Connecticut, which makes sense when you remember he is from the Pacific Northwest and has probably seen more wet pavement than most drivers have seen dry clipping points. But writing it off as a weather advantage is lazy. Rain does not magically make you fast. It punishes people who are not prepared, not adaptable, and not confident. Dylan was all three. He is one of the nicest guys on the grid, but that does not make him any less dangerous. In the right conditions, with the car underneath him, Dylan Hughes can ruin anyone’s weekend.
James Deane is still James Deane.
There is almost nothing left to say about James Deane that does not sound obvious.
He is the best. That's it. That's the point.
He won Connecticut, kept doing James Deane things, and is very much on track to potentially become a six-time Formula DRIFT champion. The next closest drivers in FD history have three titles. Formula DRIFT has only been around for 25 years, and James Deane has already claimed 20 percent of its championships. At some point, we are going to run out of ways to explain how good he is. For now, Connecticut was just another reminder that everyone else is still chasing the same guy.
