Sorensen Wins PROSPEC Round Three, Becomes Youngest Ever FD Event Winner

Camren Sorensen made history at Formula DRIFT Indianapolis by becoming the youngest ever driver to win a PROSPEC round. The 14-year-old fought through a tough field of drivers and conquered a tricky layout that claimed several cars on his way to making history.

From the start of practice on Thursday, it was evident that the track layout was going to be a challenge, but what wasn’t quite as evident was how many cars it would claim over the course of the weekend. Drivers from PROSPEC to PRO struggled with a barrier on the bank after the long first outer zone that was meant to guide them down into the infield section and protect them from the leading edge of a permanent concrete barrier on the track.

Coming off his third-place finish in Connecticut at PROSPEC Round Two that made him the youngest driver ever to podium at FD, Sorensen looked confident in practice and into his Top 32 matchup with Kelsey Rowlings. His win over Rowlings took him to a rare Top 16 bye run after Kasey Kohl and Coty Demster were both knocked out of competition during their Top 32 battle. That bye run took Sorensen to a battle with his sister Amanda who was on a deep run of her own. Unfortunately for both the siblings and spectators, a supercharger issue had Amanda down on power and their battle was cut short.

In general, the Top 16 saw a big improvement in the quality of the battles over the Top 32, and despite a host of other mechanical issues that slowed the pace of the competition, nearly every battle was close and competitive. Semifinal matchups between Dmitry Brutskiy and Jason Webb on one side of the bracket and Sorensen and Jerry Johnson on the other resulted in a battle for the top step between Webb and Sorensen.

Sorensen took a shunt from Webb on the chin and stayed in it through the second-to-last outer zone. After a quick timeout to give the car a once-over in the pits, Sorensen put down a clean chase run and earned two of the three judges’ favor, making himself the youngest ever event winner in the series’ history.

Brutskiy’s third place was enough to keep him top of the table ahead of the final PROSPEC round and Webb retained his second place overall, while Sorensen jumped three spots to third in the season standings.