
Fredric Aasbo scored a career-best second-place finish in the Need for Speed/Papadakis Racing Scion tC this weekend, moving the driver into the top-three in the Formula Drift standings. Aasbo was a contender from the start, scoring a strong, third-place qualifying position on Friday — even as other drivers struggled to find their rhythm on the fast and technical Road Atlanta course.
“The car and the team are dialed,” said Aasbo, who is driving his second full season in the U.S. with Papadakis Racing. “We have the podium in our sights at every round.”
Racing under the lights for a packed crowd Saturday evening, Aasbo put in a series of excellent drives to advance through the field — including a spectacular Final 4 battle that saw him running virtually blind through clouds of tire smoke from Japanese veteran Daigo Saito.
“The smokescreen can get so thick when you’re chasing another car that you can’t see anything,” said Aasbo. “The only way to win is to stay committed and get close enough to see taillights; it’s a battle I’m really proud of and the crowd loved it.”
The Need For Speed/Papadakis Racing Scion tC produces more than 600 horsepower from its high-revving turbocharged, four-cylinder engine and shoots flames through an exhaust pipe routed through the hood.
It’s an atypical set-up in a field that has made the move toward big-muscle V8 power, but team owner Stephan Papadakis is accustomed to being on the vanguard and he said the result proves the competitiveness of their approach.
“You could see from the first day this weekend that we’ve built a strong team and vehicle package with our Scion tC and Hankook RS3 tires,” said Papadakis. “Our goal this season is the championship and we’re on track to achieve it.”
Aasbo, the 2010 “Rookie of the Year,” returns to the Formula DRIFT championship in 2012 for only his second full season of American competition. He closed out his debut Formula DRIFT season at the end of last year in 12th overall.
Aasbo will next travel to China, where he will take on some of the best drivers in Asia at the World Drifting Series. His next U.S. competition is Round 3 of the 2012 Formula Drift Championship in Palm Beach, Florida, June 1 – 2.

OK, if we ever get a pickup game of hoops going I want Aasbo. The other team can have Hillier. Seriously, you couldn’t get a credit card under his feet!