GT Radial ended the 2026 Formula DRIFT season by capturing three major championships. 

Conor Shanahan recently secured the Formula DRIFT PRO Driver Championship at the season finale in Long Beach, Calif., adding to the season that also saw GT Radial win its second consecutive Formula DRIFT Tire Cup Championship at the previous competition in Las Vegas and Cole Richards earn Rookie of the Year honors. 

“This is the kind of season you dream about,” says Mike Meeiem, motorsports manager for GT Radial. “Winning the Tire Cup is a tremendous accomplishment by itself, but to add our first Driver Championship with Conor and see Cole earn Rookie of the Year makes this a truly historic year for GT Radial. These championships reflect the talent and commitment of our drivers, teams and everyone behind the GT Radial Formula DRIFT program.” 

Shanahan entered the Long Beach finale atop the Driver Championship standings after a victory at Las Vegas, where he and GT Radial teammate Matt Field delivered a 1–2 finish, say GT Radial officials. That performance clinched the Tire Cup for GT Radial with one round remaining. 

Shanahan secured GT Radial’s first Formula DRIFT Driver Championship.

The 2026 Tire Cup marks GT Radial’s third Formula DRIFT Tire Cup Championship in four years, say company officials. The brand captured its first Tire Cup in 2023, reclaimed the championship in 2025 and defended the title in 2026. 

GT Radial drivers compete on the Champiro SX2 RS, produced at Giti Tire’s passenger and light truck tire manufacturing facility in Richburg, S.C. It is the only Formula DRIFT competition tire manufactured in the United States.

“Three championships in one season are a powerful validation of the performance of the Champiro SX2 RS and the people behind it,” says Meeiem. “We’re especially proud that these competition tires are made by our team in Richburg. Formula DRIFT puts tires through some of the most extreme conditions imaginable, and winning at this level demonstrates the engineering, manufacturing expertise and performance capability that GT Radial brings to the road.” 

The Formula DRIFT program is also a "proving ground" for GT Radial tire technology, as the special conditions of drifting contribute to the company’s ongoing development of tires for everyday drivers. 

Officials say Richards’ Rookie of the Year honor demonstrates that the GT Radial program is positioned for growth in 2027.

“Cole had an outstanding rookie season and seeing him earn Rookie of the Year alongside Conor’s championship and the Tire Cup makes this season even more special,” says Meeiem. “We’ve built tremendous momentum, and now the challenge is to carry it forward. We’re already looking ahead to 2027.”