Unless you are a Formula Drift fan, it’s hard to imagine a crowd numbering nearly 20,000 on Saturday at Irwindale Speedway for the season finale with the championship to be determined. Irwindale serves as home track for most the competitors, which ramps up the intensity of the already intense sport.

As one of the first tracks to feature drift competition, the Irwindale course is considered challenging as it utilizes part of the oval track and turns in what is normally the infield.

Chris Forsberg entered the 16th and final round of this year’s competition as one of three competitors to have captured a championship.

The self-taught Forsberg won his first title in 2009 in a Nissan. Forsberg won again in 2014 and enters the final Formula Drift event of the season with a 36-point advantage over 2015 champ Fredric Aasbo.

Vaughn Gittin Jr., the 2010 champ, is third in the points race, trailing Aasbo by 24 points. Aurimas Bakchis is fourth with only a slim chance of finishing first. Matt Field is also a longshot contender in fifth place, trailing Bakchis by 75 points.

“Irwindale is an awesome place to watch drafting,” Formula Drift co-founder Jim Liaw said. “And for those that didn’t do so well this year, they want to cap off their year so they are going to bring their ‘A’ game. And those in contention for the championship are going to bring their game.

“It’ll be 100 percent intensity the entire night.”

PWC finale

It will be quite a season finish this weekend for GT competitors at the Pirelli World Challenge Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Nine points separate Alvaro Parente and second-place Patrick Long from Manhattan Beach as they compete at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Northern California road course.

Lurking in third is four-time champion Johnny O’Connell, who trails Parente by 104 points.

“I’m in a ‘must-win’ situation this weekend,” said O’Connell of Sunday’s 50-minute GT sprint event. “We aren’t mathematically out of the title chase yet. We’ll need some luck to win the title but, hey, I’m Irish. Who knows?”

Of course anything can happen, as Long knows. He saw is team close down operations in May, but was able to join Wright Motorsports later in the month and continue his championship fight.

“The level of competition in the Pirelli World Challenge has vaulted since I was here in 2011,” Long said. “The drivers, cars and teams are so competitive now and it has been a real fight to race for wins and championship points. I look forward to returning to (Mazda Raceway) Laguna Seca for the season finale and the battle for the championship.”

Agajanians honored

The Agajanian brothers — Cary, J.C. Jr. and Chris — will be inducted into the San Pedro Sportswalk to the Waterfront at 10 a.m. Monday. The sons of J.C. Agajanian, one of auto racing’s most prominent car owners and promoters, were part of the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winning team with Alexander Rossi, the fourth in family history.

Monday’s ceremony will recognize the athletic inductees with the installation of bronze plaques into the sidewalk of downtown San Pedro on Sixth Street between Palos Verdes and Centre Street.

Also scheduled to be inducted are Hendi Ancich, a longshoreman who an NFL referee for 21 years, including Super Bowl XXIV; former USC All-American and L.A. Rams running back Jon Arnett, inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001; Sarah Gascon, currently the captain of the USA women’s handball team; and Mike Walsh, five-time Los Angeles City football title champion at San Pedro High School.

The fifth person to be honored is Doug Krikorian, a sportswriter for 44 years, the final 22 at the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Krikorian covered 26 Super Bowls, 25 World Series, 17 NBA Finals, three Olympic Games and countless championship boxing matches.

Pit stops

• NMCA West has revealed its 2017 schedule for the “West Coast’s Fastest Street Cars” with all of its grassroots drag racing set for Auto Club Dragway at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Rollie Miller, the group’s general manager, said the location allows “affordable, family-friendly and racer-friendly events.” Each NMCA West event will include an all-day autocross Saturday and Sunday. The dates are March 31-April 2 for the Spring Nationals; June 2-4 for the West Coast Shootout; Sept. 15-17 for the Street Car Nationals; and Oct. 13-15 for the World Finals. In last weekend’s West Street Car Nationals in Fontana, Mack Moffat won Fastest Street Car Pro Mod, ending Greg Seth-Hunter’s perfect season. Ross Wilson ran 8.35 seconds at 164.39 mph in Lucas Oil NA 10.5 to defeat Rancho Cucamonga’s Bryan Cobbett, who posted 8.39 at 163.45.

• Ventura Raceway will be dark until Oct. 15 after a busy Saturday night. In VRA 360 Sprints, Kyle Smith returned after his hard crash Sept. 3, winning the 30-lap main event over 2016 series champion Rick Hendrix. In the VRA Dwarf Cars 20-lap main, Tommy Velasquez III won his first race and trails leader Johnny Conley by 180 points. Luis Espinoza won the IMCA Modified race and Steve Brown was the VRA Senior Sprints winner, but trails Chris Meredith by 90 points.

• Perris Auto Speedway will host a five-race Winter Series for Super Stocks, Street Stocks, Factory Stocks and Modifieds. All cars that meet the rules of the PASSCAR Series, Bakersfield Speedway, Santa Maria Raceway, Ventura Raceway and Barona Speedway in these divisions are eligible. Only the Dec. 10 opener will not be sanctioned by IMCA. The other dates in 2017 are Jan. 7 and 21 and Feb. 11 and 12.

• With Juan Pablo Montoya moving on, Team Penske has named American open-wheel driver Josef Newgarden as his replacement in 2017, joining IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud and Will Power and Helio Castroneves.

“For any open-wheel racer — or any race car driver in general — Team Penske is a dream job,” Newgarden said. “Roger Penske is a legend in the motorsports community and his team has done just about everything they’ve ever set out to do.”