- Why'd you have to hit me so hard?
Like three times!
- After I hit you the first time,
I was like I'm just not even gonna use the brakes.
- [Announcer] Oh doctor, look at this.
Here we go.
Oh, Matt Field makes contact.
Odi Bakchis doesn't back down.
- What up? I'm Matt Field.
- I'm Odi Bakchis, and this is my car.
- And this is my car.
Don't get me wrong, I wanna beat everybody out there
but there's one guy in particular ...
- He's a great teammate but an even better frenemy.
(car engine roars)
(dramatic music)
(bouncy music)
- So what Odi and I are gonna do,
we're gonna treat this next practice season as a battle.
- Head's leads, tails follows.
Yeah, it looks like I'm leading.
(car engine starts)
- Orlando, this track's fun, fast, seems very simple,
but it's actually really technical.
- This track is as bumpy as I remember it.
- Last year at Orlando, we ended up going straight
into the wall.
- And it has not gone easier.
(car engines roar)
I line up to run with Ryan Terry and I'm excited.
He's a great driver and it's good practice
to run with guys that are fast.
(car engines roar)
Run goes really well.
When we get off the bank, we go in the infield,
I get blinded by smoke pretty bad in the infield
and man, when the smoke clears,
I am way too close to Ryan.
I end up hitting him pretty hard.
It is a disaster because we're going into qualifying
really, really soon.
None of us have that much time
to get our cars back together.
The car cosmetically looked fine
but we both collided wheel to wheel,
the worst way to crash into stuff.
Alright.
I'll pull the (mumbles) forward and let's go up.
It means all the suspension takes the hit
and if that gets bent, you got a lot of work
and not very much time.
- We have all the parts to replace everything.
Just gonna come down to time and making sure
that everything is in the same position
that as we were before the accident.
- This is the second event this season
where I had to go into qualifying after fixing the car
but honestly, sometimes that's good.
It gets my blood pumping,
it gets the team up to speed,
and it gets me even more familiar with the car.
We're ready to go.
- Going into qualifying, we knew we had a solid setup.
(car engines roar)
I still threw it up on the wall
and rode the wall all the way around,
put a little dent in the rear bumper.
I was high on the bank,
I was close to the inner cliff,
it was fast and it was smooth.
- [Announcer] In standings, a 92 unofficially number one.
- I know that Matt got 92 on his first qualifying run.
(dramatic music)
I was confident to beat that score.
(car engines roar)
(dramatic music)
And I did, by just one point.
- [Announcer] And a 93, so puts him into top five position.
- Oh my car is smooth as silk over there.
Odi looks like he's doing the Mint 400.
(laughing)
Wah, wah, wah, wahmp.
- It's a little bumpy but I'm jamming.
I'm pretty confident I beat Matt in qualifying.
- It's one point.
- Hey, but it's one point.
- One point.
- Going into my first round,
I'm going up against Kevin Lawrence
who is PRO 2 champion, yet a rookie in PRO 1.
There's actually a lot of pressure on dudes like me.
We don't wanna lose to a rookie.
So I got some pressure on me.
Kevin Lawrence killed it in PRO 2.
He won the championship.
I knew that this guy could wheel.
(car engines roar)
So we go out there, I do as killer of a lead run
as I can.
He was fast.
He stayed on course for the most part.
You always gotta remind yourself as a driver
that you've got an advantage, you've got more experience.
(dramatic music)
- Lawrence went a little bit low on his initiation,
kinda wavered on the bank quite a bit.
We'll see how this follow goes.
(dramatic music)
(car engines roar)
(dramatic music)
- [Announcer] Odi, Odi advances on into the top 16.
Unfortunately ...
- [Male] Nice.
(hand slaps)
- So in Long Beach, we ended up going
against Jeff Jones in top 32.
And wouldn't you know it?
In Orlando, we're going against Jeff Jones in top 32.
Jeff is a wild card, man.
He's brash, smash, dash, and drive hard.
Unfortunately, Jeff's car broke in the warmup box.
The output shaft snapped or something
and there's no way he's gonna fix it in five minutes.
- Just gotta send it.
No competitor.
All we gotta do is get a smooth one in here
and get ready for top 16.
(car engine roars)
- Looks like Matt got an easy break into top 16
but, you know, sometimes you're lucky
and you get that.
He's not gonna have it easy with me though
so it's gonna be a good one.
It's actually funny because me and Matt purposely said
we're gonna tandem with one another during Thursday practice
and we just bounce slapped off each other.
Hey dude, this is fun.
But then, after qualifying, we get the bracket.
What we were really doing is practicing
for a top 16 battle.
- The last time we battled was 2015.
I'm pretty sure (mumbles).
- So is your car fast now?
- Yeah, it's fast.
Like we each have the same thought, like,
"Oh, now I know a little bit,
"I been watching, I know."
I think we each had that same thought.
- Alright I gotta look over my car,
make sure it's all good.
- Good luck, dog.
- Good luck.
- If you're going against Odi, you have to throw down.
You have to speed your car up and drive on point.
- With strategy, you try to figure out your opponent,
you try to figure out his speed throughout the weekend.
I think we're gonna kinda set the car up pretty tight.
- So, I've got a little gift for Matt Field here.
It's a good luck charm.
I'm gonna go ahead and put it on his car right there.
(bouncy music)
- Sometimes you just gotta play dirty.
(bouncy music)
(audience claps and cheers)
- I just gotta drive hard, that's it.
Unfortunately, driving with somebody like Odi, you can.
All out, Frenemies, baby.
(dramatic music)
(car engines roar)
- [Announcer] Look at this.
Odi Bakchis is batting a thousand
against the beast of the Bay, but I'll tell you what,
Matt Field looking a lot more confident
and this is bragging rights.
Talk about Frenemies here on the track.
(car engines roar)
(dramatic music)
- With Odi, I told myself a million times,
just initiate and stand on the throttle
and push him around the track.
- [Announcer] Look at this.
Here we go.
Oh, Matt Field made contact.
Odi Bakchis doesn't back down.
- And he took it like a champ.
(car engines roar)
- [Announcer] Like I said, bragging rights.
Push comes to shove as Odi Bakchis stays in
and Matt Field does as well, exchanging paint,
but coincidentally, they have the same color paint job.
(car engines roar)
- Made contact coming off of zone one.
I mean it looked like Odi slowed down quite a bit there
and Matt was still on throttle.
I mean, it was still a good battle.
They both did the straighten up,
so we'll see how it goes.
- See, they're not at fault for the collision
so they get 10 minutes to fix their cars.
- I'm back in the pit, the guys are pulling some body panels
that are impeding on my front wheel.
We double-check rear alignment.
We double-check front alignment and fix it.
Take the bumper out of the way because it was damaged
and I'm back at the line.
I'm ready to battle Matt Field.
(car engines roar)
- [Announcer] Matt Field, the Wish Falcon Tires Corvette.
- I went out for my lead run.
I knew I was gonna drive as fast as possible.
(car engines roar)
Hammer down, hit your points, don't give him an inch.
(car engines roar)
- [Announcer] Odi obviously a little close.
He takes out, whoa, high on the bank goes Odi Bakchis.
(car engines roar)
(dramatic music)
- You know, I look up at the screen,
there is Matt's face, there's my face.
Which way are the judges gonna slide?
And it's taking a little while.
(crowd cheers)
- [Announcer] Ryan says Odi Bakchis.
- As soon as I saw that first one, I was like,
"Man, that hit was just too much."
Then I saw one one more time and I was like,
"Come on, give it to me, give me one more time.
"I know that I screwed up but I know
"that I can clean that up."
- [Announcer] And Brian says
one more time.
(crowd claps and cheers)
(laughing)
- One more time, boys.
- Formula Draft, the judges cannot determine a winner.
It's gonna be called a one more time.
That means you get back in your car,
battle it out one more time.
- Whew, one more time.
- I made this easier for Matt.
He fought me so hard on the bank, I was about to spin.
I honestly think if he was to hit anyone else that hard,
they would have spun out.
So this is Matt's second chance to try to beat me.
(car engines roar)
- The strategy for the next battle is
if you don't hit him, you're gonna win.
- [Announcer] And we are back here
and this is the second half of this battle.
Here we go, Matt Field, the Wish Falcon Tires.
- The initiation was okay.
It wasn't as close as I wanted to be.
And then coming off the bank,
I came down past inner clip one,
closed a lot of proximity there.
Boom.
- [Announcer] Oh, and Matt Field, big mistake there.
- The car just shot the other direction.
- [Announcer] Oh, that's gonna be a bummer for Matt Field.
- First battle is out of the way.
I know Matt's sitting on an incomplete.
(dramatic music)
(car engines roar)
All I have to do is drift the course,
so I still have to chase him
but I can do it very cautiously.
And that's when I feel something strange in my car.
- [Announcer] It looks like Odi is
kinda lacking the angle too here.
- I deviated a tire.
Now I know my car's on three wheels basically
and I try to just make it across the track
and complete the course drifting.
(car engines roar)
- I mean, that's a testament to his driving.
He can drive the car on three wheels.
That's awesome.
- [Announcer] So slide 'em left for Field,
right for Bakchis.
Andy says Odi Bakchis.
Ryan says one more time, so they could go one more time.
And there it is, Odi Bakchis gets the win.
(Matt sighs)
- Whoo!
- Why'd you have to hit me so hard?
Like three times?
- You slowed down.
After I hit you the first time,
I was like I'm just not even gonna use the brakes.
I'm just gonna stay right here.
- Well, good stuff. (hand slap)
- Go win this thing. - Alright, thanks.
- Oh (sighing).
It's a bummer to lose against anybody.
Odi is definitely a benchmark,
I think for a lot of these drivers out here.
He's fast and he's on point and he's an excellent driver,
so to be able to compete at a super high level with him
and get a one more time, it feels really good.
(dramatic music)
- Going further and deeper into competition,
I knew I had to go against James Deane,
and that guy is hard to beat, statistically.
He wins everything in Europe.
Then he decides to come over and win everything here.
(dramatic music)
I know I can't grip up my car
to the point that I did with Matt Field
'cause I have to run slightly higher tire pressure
and somehow be on his pace, if not a little bit faster.
(car engines roar)
(dramatic music)
- [Announcer] And we are ready to send it.
Here with Deane and Bakchis.
(car engines roar)
Deane exits out, a little feigned entry.
Deane high on the bank.
- First run, I was able to initiate and lock in
and just keep it all the way around the bank.
(car engines roar)
(dramatic music)
(car engines roar)
When we drop into the infield, it was no problem.
Everything was smooth and we finished off the course,
smooth sailing.
Then we switched, James follows me.
I run as perfect of a line as I can.
I locked in the car in such a good groove
that it picked up a ton of speed.
Sure enough, as we come across the finish line,
you know, I look in my mirror, I don't see his car.
I knew that I generated a gap.
You need something like that to win against this guy.
I might have a chance.
Let's see what the judges say.
(dramatic music)
- [Announcer] And it looks like James Deane is your winner.
James Deane advances on.
(clapping)
- I could have followed him even closer on the bank.
I was just like locked in
and I was just like making the same even angle,
just like the same all the way through the bank,
but I should have just (bleep) pushed it
like it was a final battle, you know?
- Right, right.
- You know, I was disappointed,
but at the same time, I know this guy is hard to beat.
- It was close.
I thought it was one more time, but good job.
- Yeah, your lead runs were killer.
- Thank you very much.
- But overall, the lesson learned is
you gotta go hard all the time.
I wish I went a little bit harder chasing him on the bank
'cause he went a little harder chasing me on the bank
and I feel like that's what sealed the deal.
(dramatic music)
In a hot, muggy place like Florida,
cars just run different, man.
- I know, I definitely have a bunch of warnings,
especially going into Orlando for intake air temps.
- My car is a lot simpler than yours.
I use a mechanical throttle body.
Well, I use a Holley HP.
I really like how small this thing is.
It's less wiring.
I got two pigtails.
- Just two plugs?
- (laughing) That is--
- I use like all of these.
Oh man, honestly, going to drive-by-wire
was one of the biggest steps, for sure.
'Cause I'm kind of a firm believer
in matching wheel speed and power
to vehicle speed.
- Yeah, basically, bottom line is
what we want these things to do, they do it reliably.
- I guess even your little one will do okay, too.
- Yeah, Matt, I wanna show you something
that helped me run against you.
- Now you show me.
- One of my guys put an Odi sticker on your taillight
during our run.
And all I have to do is stare at that
and point right at it.
- How long's that really been there?
- It's seriously been there right before our battle
against each other.
- [Male] It looks pretty good.
- Yeah.
- I don't know how you saw it so far back.
- Oh, oh.
- I like it.
I'll leave it.
McAron, I know it was you.
(dramatic music)