Vaughn and I Dive Into The Reasons I’m Retiring From Formula Drift. 

I know this video is about Chelsea, but my god is Vaughn such an incredibly positive role model, not only as a driver but also as a leader and friend. Chelsea is by far my favorite driver ever, his passion, his hunger to better himself and make the sport progress is inspiring. You can feel his drive, almost like some great artist of stage. Can’t wait to see where his future endeavors will lead him and all of us. Congratulations for winning the championship again !

In any sport there's guys that have the ability to expand things into something all us others can't imagine yet. I can't wait to see what that's gonna be.

This is one of the big reasons why I love RTR. You guys really appreciate the fans and try and keep them in the loop. Most other teams wouldn’t make a video like this and post it to the world, but you guys recognize that fans would enjoy hearing the reasons straight from the source. I hate that CD is leaving, but I’ll follow what else he does in his career and keep cheering for RTR in FD. Good luck Chelsea, i can’t wait to see what you do next in the drifting world!

I love how the monster logos are part of the green screen

Not disappointed in the slightest. You’re crushing and it and chasing your dream, it’s extremely inspiring

It is crazy that you brought so many people back to FD and then dip out. Best of luck.

Vaughn is the boss that some of us could only dream of having, what an absolute legend of a dude. Some people wont understand, but i'm all for following whatever you want to do. FD isn't everything, I think LZ and his tour, gridlife etc have clearly shown that, there are other options out there. Keen to see what you have going in the future

I wanna see Chelsea do Gymkhana so bad

Vaughn basically calling Chelsea the “Travis Pastrana of drifting”. Massive respect. Extremely stoked to see what you do with the sport of drifting from here.

best reason there ever could be for a departure. I think drifting is at a very similar inflection point to the skateboarding world with Rodney, the fmx world with Travis, even trials biking with Danny MacAskill. Can’t wait to see where this goes.

Chelsea gymkhana/driftmasters would be sick to see

My favorite part is the monster hats showing the video behind them. It is so subtle that it ties them into the background and makes it feel intentional.

was really hoping Chelsea would influence FD to get better as he is the most entertaining driver and drives the way everyone wants to see.

Caught this vid 15 minutes after launch and watching the view ticker fly up is insane. Love that yall did this and happy to have been a part of media projects during such an iconic era. excited for whats next!

Happy to hear you’re finally stepping in the direction that you’ve been wanting to go towards and hearing Vaughn in your corner makes it so much cooler loved meeting you guys can’t wait to see what you do man!

you’ve undoubtedly shaped a lot of what fd is today and how they judge. you left your mark on the sport for sure and i’m pumped for whatever there is to come

One of my favorite drivers!! Just a badass dude! Congrats on winning FD and good luck on future endeavors, which I know you will rock it!!

I love it! Live your life Chelsea, we all need to take a step back at some point and focus on whats important, just do us all a favor and don't do what I did and step so far back that people forget who you are, I miss being at the track. Love you dude!!!

Been following you since I first saw you in a drivers meeting for an event I had volunteered, XDC 2009 in Vegas, you were an amazing driver then and your dedication to this thing you love is nothing short of inspirational. Think it’s awesome that you’ve put yourself in a situation that you can continue to live out the maximum of your dreams to a point where even the biggest comp in the world cant contain them. So ready to see where and what you do next bud. Godspeed!

You definitely found that balance this year I could see it in your driving it changed alot and I said he's driving very robotic it made sense why you won. I'm happy you got your chip!!🤝🏼

lookin forward to what you do next. i feel like in sports like this, winning competition isnt always the only end goal. its cool to see what people can do when they have the freedom to really show what they can do.

I’ve been a fan of yours for a very long time and as long as your happy with your decision, im happy for you and will continue to be stoked to see you drive and evolve drifting as a whole!

Take your time brooooo dont worry we have vaugh adam and james dean

Sad to see you Go but Excited to see whats next for ya... Hopefully Luke Fink Can take ya seat in the mustang ;)

I started watching FD because of you in 2022. I was like... this guy does something extra that noone else do. And this year I really started liking it. All your wins and battles, they were amazing to watch this year. And also a beautiful looking new car. And then, at the end of the season we find out that all if this is no longer in FD. I was so sad that day. The X-factor of FD is gone. But realized later that nothing ends with this. Just a new chapter starts. Wish you the best of luck on whatever it will be! And please tell to whoever will drive to RTR next year to take those risk cuz it is what makes it exciting to watch! 😉

I would love to see maybe Chelsea do his own thing but still under RTR. Maybe it is a different vehicle or still a rtr mustang etc etc or maybe Chelsea gets a piece of RTR but from the outside looking in and listening to these 2 talk for the last hour the relationship business side and development engineer side seems awesome. Then the friendship side seems amazing as well. Best of luck regardless if what you do and we will still support both of you. And let's go champ. I apologize, let's go Champs!!!!!!!!!

I hope that what ever Chelsea decides to do, RTR continues to back him. Going back to the line that Vaughan had said "in 2017 if you would have asked if Chelsea DeNofa would be influential to rtr i would have said no way. Cut to now" what he should have said is now Chelsea is just as much rtr as Vaughan is.

all those "un-chaseable" backwards entries, going stupid on angle and just pushing it as far as it can go with style is the reason I have been a fan of yours man. cant wait to see whats next. the comp vs street bmx analogy made sense man. keep killing it

That now makes way for Luke Fink

This was the kind of sit down talk we needed. Definitely cannot wait to see what chelsea does next. Hopefully get a chance to drive with em

I'm so glad yall put this out for people to get a little more understanding. It was definitely a shock for me. I thought out of the lineup, CD would be the known rock. But I'm glad you were able to get such a good result out of a rough event. Goes to show what an amazing team RTR is. Curious to see where they go in FD and can't wait to see what CD gets into to! #yearofmaxd

So sick to have this time of connection. Stoked to see what you're doing and hope to work with you again soon!

Congrats bro🎉 hammer down!!!

I probably never would have watched an FD race if it wasn’t for Chelsea. Let alone become a RTR fan. Less than a year later I have a much better appreciation of the style, planning and judging. Also ended up with a bunch of RTR t’s and badge’s even tho I’m don’t own a mustang. My Dad work at ford for over 40 years as a automotive engineer. I came close to working in the big design building myself. I’ll be watching to see what he’s up to next. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be good. ✌️

Nice production here with the green screen etc, but audio was a bit low and weird. Anyways, keep killing it! I hope we will see some insane videos with you behind the wheel, maybe you can work with Hoonigan?

Essa's season is the embodiment of consistent he was just their every event and locked in

Luke fink for RTR next

Awesome dudes. Sounds like Adam has given Chelsea the confidence to chase his dream. That's pretty cool. Vaughn has to be the coolest bloke in Motorsport. What an awesome fella. He's clearly just genuinely stoked to be involved with the likes of James, Chelsea and Adam and watching them grow brings him more joy than anything. Legend.

I been watching Formula Drift religiously since 2013 when I can. I think you've proved your point of being a badass drifter. I like to see newer rookies make their mark, makes it interesting. The only thing I hate seeing in Formula Drift is seeing drifters like Kyle Mohan running the same setup and never really getting better after years. No hate on Kyle though... I just find the racing sport so much seeing drivers move up.

I hope Luke comes in to replace you so we still have that X factor driver

What a man Vaughn is! What a true leader and absolute champion of a person! Chelsea you are just the best, love your vibe! I will miss you from FD, you have been my favourite driver for so long and you are such a treat to watch!

The mountain drifting video was awesome. The scenery with all the fall season trees, the drone work, and the driving was just the perfect video. Cant wait to see what the future holds for these goats.

This just makes me even more excited for what Chelsea has in the bag for these 3 years! Cheers to a fun 3 years.

It's absolutly understandable why someone wants to quit or take a break from competing at such a high level. I will miss seeing you in FD, by far one of the most exiting drivers to watch in FD, and i will say, when you had basically nothing to loose, those runs were the best. If you made a huge mistake in the lead, you would always put on the most redicilous chase run after it.

supernice to put this one2one video on! 4sure i had a 2016 F1 Nico Rosberg moment.. winning the championship an leave on the high. but the 'later nerds' was legendary ! all the best!

Nooooooo. You not only did you get me into drifting but cars altogether. Your style is just completely different than any one else. And your personality too, it just makes it relatable to me.

I just hope and wish Chelsea continues his RU-vid, uploads more frequently and builds a new car. Not a fox body. Not a E36. Or 46. Just something cool and bad ass and fun. Can’t wait to see you in Houston Chelsea!!

That Pennzoil shirt is awesome.

I love how the front right wheel comes up when ever you are drifting it's probably cause the suspension is so compressed it's got no where to go, hells yeah Denofa!

@23:07 what a beautiful moment. Hats off to you Chelsea.

I hope he tries Drift Masters events. Drift Masters will surpass FD. They sold out a stadium, more drivers. With that come more diversity in cars. They also have interesting tracks. I personally like the style of judging better too.

Looking forward to seeing what Chelsea has planned for the foreseeable future. Keep true to yourself as always and the fans will be along for the ride. Congrats on the championship tidal, glad it happened for you this year!

Respect for making the hard call. Change is the most difficult thing people never try. Best of luck to you!!!!

Wish you the best in your future endeavors and congratulations on the win

Super disappointed to be totally honest but I definitely respect your decision for yourself and your family. I will still be following on the RU-vid channel but FD won’t be the same without you.

38:51 just clicked on the end and this moment was perfect

Can't wait to see whats next. I was hoping for one of these vids.

Vaughn had best boss ever energy! Appreciate you guys

Chelsea has been the best to happen to FD and RTR in a long time he brought such a refreshing skill and just such an entertaining person to watch. I want nothing to see the best for him, super stoked for his future and what he will do.

Really looking forward to the era of Max Denofa! LFG! 🏆🤘🏼

Anyone remember the James deane promo video where Chelsea, Vaughn and James were all chatting and vaughn said "Chelsea's out there to have fun, James is here to win a championship, and me and Adam are splitting a season" Well, looks like it went the other way lol

Bro Chelsea, you are the driver I watch FD to see and the reason I sport RTR gear.

I love the monster logos on their hats acting as tiny green screens lol

You have to respect the ability to make tough life decisions that honor passion and personal duty. Chelsea is so true to the core.

These guys dont wear capes, but they are my hero's in motorsport. 🇦🇺👌🙏

I would like to see Chelsea go with everyone else to the autumn matsuri.

Do whatcha gotta do homie! We are here for it !

Chelsea Pulled a Nico Rosberg lol. So excited to see what Chelsea has in store next!

Give Luke fink the seat!!!! It's what we wanna see!!

I feel for Chelsea and wanting to be free from the box of FD. So glad he left as a Champion, well deserved for awhile now!

Like I said in other comments on reddit or whatever, gonna miss you in FD, hope there's gonna be a driver that gonna bring that drive 11/10 and have fun

Hope he goes over to Nappy Boy Auto with Hert and Pain. That'd be some sweettttt stuff.. On the topic of FD getting a bad wrap, maybe its just a lack of transparency to the fans... of course people are always gonna disagree one way or another, but if people had Chelsea's example of the drivers meeting being posted, at least people could point to that to "clear" the air on whatever call. They just give vague points of judging criteria and zones and decals and such. Also, you want that kind of passion from the fans - if it wasn't there FD wouldn't last long.

I learned sim drifting watching Chelsea's how to drift series.

It took me 40 minutes to realize the monster logo on their hats weren’t silver reflective but just the green screen causing it lol

I follow you since the "Say Howdy get Rowdy" Recaps on Dailymotion.. (didn't have many Chances to check on some live drifting, sitting here in Germany) Huge Fan since then. I wishg you all the best to fulfill your Dreams! And I am looking forward to see what there is to come!

In the end , we are all behind you man , keep up pushing towards what get YOU hype.

I wish you the best in your next adventure man! I know it'll be AWESOME.

Freestyle drift comp whould be sick. Backies and 360s would be unreal

Formula D has lost the most entertaining balls to the wall race driver that the sport has ever seen. Huge respect to you @Chelsea wishing you all the best moving forward and can't wait to see what you do now you can unleash the beast no holds barred Chelsea style.

After watching your talks with Aaron from lone star drift i knew this was coming. The love you have for actually drifting vs fd drifting is more important. As with all the people we as fans watch isn't about you winning or losing, its the personality we love. You could be digging a hole but because its you doing it in your way, that's what we want. Congratulations on the championship and I can't wait for future videos.

The writing was on the wall with the how to keep top spec drifting more spec and affordable with rad racing. great points made in that video. god speed and looking forward to the future!

Can't wait to see what new things are brought to the sport of drifting from this expansion, congrats on the ballsy move and wish you luck Chelsea!

I started watching FD in 2018 and I have liked your style from day one. Can’t wait to see your next phase.

I'm so excited where you go and what you do next man! Congrats on the championship!

got to love the Monster logo on the greenscreen making it see through

Gotta love the monster logo on the hats Gettting effected bye the green screen

Can we please get more of this? I love listening to it

Thank You Chelsea. Looking forward to see who’s going to drive your car next season. Looking forward to seeing what your next adventure is.

I remember watching you rip around hialeah in a miata thinking how good you were, now look at you!!

I would love to see a recap edit of your FD journey from 2012 to now. I‘ve watched your 2012 recap Video like 100 times and it is my motivation to complete my car and think about drifting from another perspektiv.

Not so secretly hoping that Chelsea ends up doing a Driftkhana/Gymkhana kinda deal with hoonigan and maybe even making the Hoonifox a reality

Denofa is one of the best things to happen to drifting in a while

The street skater analogy is spot on.

I understand where Chelsea is coming from. He wants to constantly push himself to do the next massive run because his 80% is everyone else’s 100%. So he keeps pushing and pushing because he gets bored running at 80%. One of the reasons he is my favorite driver, not just in fed but favorite driver in autosports… is because he pushes himself so hard in every run. I won’t lie… he was almost boring to watch at some points because he was actively trying to win the championship. He wasn’t taking his usual big risks and wasn’t pushing himself. But with that being said, it was soooo exciting to see him play the game that is fd. Congrats on the big trophy! You really do deserve it. I can’t wait to see everything that comes next.

OOPS as an OG corporate racer and watching guys from my past who have left opportunities that only become available to a very few once in a lifetime it rarely worked out. I have observed finding a way to expand within what you already have keeping the core intact is critical add to it do not eliminate it, add to the gig, etc. Just a thought, not a hater, best of luck.

Much love Chelsea. Best of luck for your future plans! Cant wait to see what you get up to

Bring Luke Fink to RTR

My pipe dream would be Chelsea build up the notch to pro spec level and come back that way for fun. Don’t mind me I’ve been living in ai since 03

From a fan's point of view, it seems like the pit parties are deflated versions of what they used to be, the tracks are more often than not less than ideal and destroy the cars, that announcer guy is annoying and is more catch phrases and a lot of the times totally misses what happens on the track, the interview lady is nice but just doesnt seem to get obvious car knowledgeable and thats who they send down in the pits, and the whole event takes forever to watch. I get the judges most of the time so not much problem there, but the filler material while waiting on runs is just that guy running his mouth when it could be someone fun and knowledgeable talking to people in the pits. FD is stale, and although its the top of comp and the battles can be insane, the presentation is boring and irritating. Well, thats my rant, hope I see you do some of this alternative stuff with Adam and a lot of the other creators.

Not gonna lie, it hurts not to see chelsea next year in fd but dudes gonna kille it on whatever he does, and honestly i can see him doing Gymkhana, dont know why but when they talked about travis all i saw was chelsea doing gymkhana!