July 29, 2021
Englishtown, NJ – NCR Clinches Podium Spot at Raceway Park’s Gambler Drift Competition
Nate Chen piloted the NCR Fortune Auto GT86 built by Committed Service Brand to a P3 finish at Round 2 of the Gambler at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. It was an all-Formula DRIFT PROSPEC podium with Dmitry Brutskiy taking P1 and Steve Misko taking P2.
“Could not be happier with how the team performed this weekend,” said Nate Chen, founder of NCR. “The transition from PRO/AM to PROSPEC has presented significant challenges both on and off the track, but everything came together this weekend and for the first time all season, I felt like we unlocked the full potential of the NCR GT86 powered with by Holley and Molnar Technologies internals”.
The competition began on Saturday with practice and qualifying in grueling conditions with a heat index of 96 degrees. The recently added Chillout System did its job at keeping Chen cool and able to focus without the worry of heat stroke, which has been a significant problem at Formula DRIFT PROSPEC rounds this year. After working through minor gremlins with the car, Chen placed 15th in qualifying with an average score of 78 between two runs.
On Sunday, the organizers decided to speed through the competition to beat the rain that was expected in the late afternoon. This resulted in each driver getting one practice lap before the Top 32 battles.
Chen’s first battle was against Maskim Chachulin in the Globo Auto BMW E92. Chachulin’s car shut off in his chase run against Chen, but not wanting to play it safe, Chen stuck his NCR GT86 to Chachulin’s door and got the win. Photo: Mike Loftus
Next up, Chen was paired up against Tyler Foley in his LS powered BMW E36. Chen followed closely as Foley filled outer zone 1 and made a clean transition between outer zones 1 and 2. Unfortunately, Foley went too deep in outer zone 2 hitting the wall with the rear, going off course, and plowing into a barrier with the front of his car. Chen narrowly avoided Foley and got the win as Foley was forced to retire after sustaining heavy front end damage.
Chen battled Chris Meyer in his LS powered BMW E46 in the Great 8. Meyer put down a solid lead run, but Chen was on his door the entire time. On the second run, Meyer was unable to keep pace with the NCR GT86 and went off course in outer zone 3, giving Chen the win.
Chen went up against fellow Formula DRIFT PROSPEC driver, Steve Misko in Steve’s LS Nissan S14 in the semi-finals. Misko’s double e-brake initiation caused Chen to bobble in outer zone 1, but Chen quickly got back on Misko’s door the rest of the run. Chen’s lead run was his best of the weekend, but not enough to overcome the mistake in his chase run and Misko got the win.
In the battle for 3rd place, Chen was up against Bloodmaster’s Brian (Hop) Hoplamazian in his VQ powered Nissan S13. Chen immediately got to Hop’s door and stayed there throughout the entirety of the run. Chen put down another solid lead run and pulled away from Hop to claim the last spot on the podium. Photo: Mike Loftus
Follow Nate Chen Racing: Instagram: @nathaniel.chen; Facebook: @NateChenRacing; YouTube: NATE CHEN Photos: Chris Leik, Mike Loftus