The Mustang Source Captures All the Action at Formula Drift New Jersey

‘Ready to Rock’ Team Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Chelsea DeNofa valiantly hold Top 10 spots and will return for FD Seattle, July 19-20.

We’re now halfway through Formula Drift 2019, and the group of Mustangs that started at the beginning of the season in Long Beach, California, back in April are all still holding strong. The “Ready to Rock” (RTR) duo of owner/former FD champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. and  Chelsea DeNofa, and driver Justin Pawlak were all in attendance at the recent Formula Drift New Jersey that took place last month at Wall Stadium Speedway in Wall Township, NJ.

These drivers had to deal with a last-minute adjustment to the Wall Stadium Speedway track layout. In recent years Formula Drift had been running a figure eight-like layout, but due to an issue with the track, they had to adjust it to a peanut-like layout.

This change was going to put more load on a tire as they circled the course. One Mustang driver was up to the challenge and decided to make history.

Pawlak set Formula Drift history during qualifying. Not since the now legendary drift, rallycross, stunt driver, and TV star Tanner Foust has anyone completed a 100 point perfect qualifying run. Pawlak’s 100 point run gave him the top qualifying spot, while DeNofa and Gittin Jr took the 10th and 11th spots in the Top 32 round of competition.

The Mustangs were coming strong at FD New Jersey. DeNofa was beaten by Piotr Wiecek in the Top 16 round while Pawlak made to the Top 8 round. Gittin Jr. made his way all the way to the Top 4 before falling to former Formula Drift Champion Fredric Aasbo. Aasbo eventually fell to Ryan Tuerck who took the FD New Jersey win.

The trio of Mustang drivers are currently holding down the last three Top 10 spots in the 2019 Formula Drift Championship standings after Round 4, with Gittin Jr, Pawlak, and DeNofa taking 8th, 9th, and 10th respectively.

The Formula Drift action returns July 19 and 20, when the competitors make their way to Washington for FD Seattle.

Check out more of our smokin’ coverage form New Jersey FD, below.

Photos for The Mustang Source by Danny Korecki

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Danny Korecki

Danny Korecki is a financial analyst by day and a freelance automotive writer by night. He has contributed to many of Internet Brands' Auto sites, including Corvette Forum, Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Rennlist, and Team Speed.
If you are a fan of drifting, check out some of his extensive Formula Drift coverage as well as his on-the-scene reporting from other popular automotive events, like Corvettes at Carlisle.
For more of his automotive exploits, you can follow Danny on Instagram (@dkorecki) and Twitter, and check out his YouTube channel.

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