Fredric Aasbo third in St. Louis, now tied for Formula Drift points lead
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (July 21, 2025) – The Papadakis Racing team celebrated another strong weekend in Formula Drift competition as Fredric Aasbo earned a third-place finish in Round 5 at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday. The result keeps Aasbo at the top of the championship standings, now tied in points with key rival James Deane as the season heads into its final three rounds.
“Every point counts, and this weekend was about staying consistent,” said Aasbo. “The Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra felt amazing, and the team gave me everything I needed to fight at the front. We’re ready for the final push into the home stretch of the season.”
Aasbo remains one of the most dominant drivers in the sport’s history, with three championship titles and a record 20 career wins. So far this season, he has scored four podiums in five rounds, including a win at the season opener in Long Beach.
For his part, teammate Ryan Tuerck broke a run of early exits to advance through a one-more-time Top 32 battle against Simen Olsen. Driving the Rain-X Toyota GR Corolla, Tuerck went on to face James Deane in the Top 16, ultimately finishing the event tied for ninth place.
“It feels great to put some points on the board and show what the Corolla can do,” said Tuerck. “We’re building momentum and we’re in a good spot to finish the season strong.”
Toyota continues to lead the points in the Auto Cup for manufacturers, while Kenda Tire is a close second in the Tire Cup. Up next for the team is Round 6 in Seattle August 9-10 at Evergreen Speedway. Tuerck took the win there in 2024 and both drivers are favored for a podium result.
Outside of formal competition, both team drivers are coming off of a busy few weeks. Aasbo recently appeared at the storied Gatebil festival at home in Norway, while Tuerck made a fan favorite appearance in the Toyota Stout at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and a week earlier made a trip to Chicago for the NASCAR weekend where he ran laps in the East Coast Car at a special event in support of his Toyota teammates on the 23XI Michael Jordan-Denny Hamlin NASCAR team.
Norwegian driver Aasbo has won three Formula Drift titles since joining the Papadakis Racing Toyota team in 2011, earning his first series championship in 2015, as well as back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. The Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra driver has a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most winning in Formula Drift, having now achieved 20 No. 1 finishes in the premier USA series and 100-plus podium finishes on three continents over the past decade of global competition. In 2024, he finished third in the championship chase.
Tuerck, who hails from New Hampshire, is a Formula Drift title contender in the Rain-X Toyota GR Corolla. His down-home charm, commitment to the sport’s grassroots, and talent in front of the camera have brought him a social fanbase of 1.7 million followers. His build legacy includes the Celica GT411, the Stout, and the Formula Supra, and started with the viral Toyota GT4586 build released in 2016. That inventive first project inspired the genre of build content online when he paired a Toyota GT86 with a Ferrari 458 engine to generate some 70 million digital impressions. He joined the Papadakis Racing team in 2020 and is a fan favorite for his go-big or go-home commitment to competition.
Based in Carson, California, the Papadakis Racing team began drifting in 2004 and is the most winning in Formula Drift history, earning the 2022, 2021 and 2015 championship titles with driver Aasbo, as well as back-to-back championships with driver Tanner Foust in 2007 and 2008. Partner Toyota has won the manufacturer’s cup nine times since 2014. Team owner Stephan Papadakis is a legend of sport-compact racing who began building his reputation in the 1990s in drag racing. The team has recently expanded its capabilities outside of racing, delivering prototyping and engineering services for select industrial clients under the Papadakis Engineering banner.
Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motorsport with an emphasis on car control. In the Formula Drift series, drivers compete in knockout heats on a closed course, sliding sideways in trials judged on speed and style. With origins in Japan, the sport has rapidly grown to one of the most popular youth-oriented motorsports in the world. Here in the United States, Formula Drift officially launched in 2004 and its national schedule of eight events routinely host capacity crowds, while live-streamed multi-platform broadcasts attract millions of online viewers.
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