Conor Shanahan entered the Shoreline Showdown in Long Beach with a 47-point championship lead and a fairly simple path to the title. All he needs to do is win his opening Top 32 battle on Saturday, and the championship is his. Friday’s qualifying session, however, introduced an interesting possibility.
Several drivers dropped out during the day, including Chris Forsberg, who suffered an engine failure and won’t be competing on Saturday. With fewer than 32 drivers in the field, the top qualifier receives a bye in the opening round. That meant Conor could have theoretically qualified first and clinched the championship without having to compete in a single tandem battle. Instead, it was his older brother Jack Shanahan who took the top spot, scoring a 91.5 on his second qualifying run.
James Deane, who trails Conor by 47 points in the championship standings, qualified second with a 90.4. Conor finished third with an 87.6 and will face J. Castro in his opening battle. Adam LZ qualified fourth, while Branden Sorensen, the only other driver still mathematically in championship contention, secured fifth with an 85.7.
There are also some interesting potential matchups based on how the bracket is set up. Jack Shanahan and Branden Sorensen could meet in one semifinal, while Conor Shanahan and James Deane could face each other in the other. The Shanahan brothers, meanwhile, are on opposite sides of the bracket, meaning they could only battle each other in the final.
Here’s the Top 32 bracket for Saturday, with qualifying seeds in parentheses.
- J. Shanahan (1) vs. bye (32)
- B. Hobson (16) vs. J. Jones (17)
- R. Charpentier (8) vs. C. O’Sullivan (25)
- D. Hughes (9) vs. V. Gittin Jr. (24)
- A. LZ (4) vs. D. Madison (29)
- D. Stuke (13) vs. C. Buchanan (20)
- B. Sorensen (5) vs. R. Hansen (28)
- K. Gushi (12) vs. R. Litteral (21)
- J. Deane (2) vs. A. Hateley (31)
- W. Masuyama (15) vs. R. Tuerck (18)
- F. Aasbo (7) vs. F. Sceriffo (26)
- A. Bakchis (10) vs. D. Burkett (23)
- C. Shanahan (3) vs. J. Castro (30)
- N. Chen (14) vs. S. Olsen (19)
- T. LeMaire (6) vs. C. Richards (27)
- M. Field (11) vs. T. Beechum (22)
Anything can happen at a Formula Drift season finale, but Conor’s situation heading into Saturday couldn’t be much simpler. Beat Castro in the Top 32, and he’s the champion.
GalleryPhotos by Jason Siu
