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Forza Horizon 6 Near Miss Skill Chain: completing the 'Count on your lucky star' challenge

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Forza Horizon 6 Near Miss Skill Chain: completing the 'Count on your lucky star' challenge

Alexandre Jollier July 14, 2026 at 12:40 PM

In brief

The Great Escape is a composite skill that requires combining a Drift and a Near Miss simultaneously—a mechanic the game doesn't clearly explain to you. The 'Trust your lucky star' challenge forces you to pull it off deliberately with a 2010s car, which frustrates a lot of players until they understand the critical timing.

The Near Miss Skill Chain is one of those skills you sometimes stumble into by accident while playing normally - and that you're unable to reproduce on purpose when the daily challenge demands it. The Count on your lucky star challenge asks you to do exactly that: get a Near Miss Skill Chain with a car from the 2010s. Here's how to do it cleanly, and above all without pulling your hair out.

What the game expects from you

The Near Miss Skill Chain isn't a standalone skill. It's the combination of two skills earned at the same time:

A Drift or E-Drift: you're actively sliding.
A Near Miss: during that slide, you skim a traffic car without touching it.

Timing is what trips up most players. The Near Miss has to trigger during the drift, not just before or just after. If you skim a car and then start the drift right after, it doesn't count.

Which car to choose for the Count on your lucky star challenge

For the daily challenge, you absolutely need a car from the 2010s (produced between 2010 and 2019). The recommendation here: the Ferrari 812 Superfast 2017. It's a solid pick - fast, rear-wheel drive (RWD), but powerful enough that it becomes hard to control the moment you touch the wheel at high speed.

If you don't have the Ferrari, any 2010s RWD car will do the job. RWD cars naturally over-drift, which makes it easier to trigger the E-Drift at the right moment.

The best spot on the map: the Japan highway

Head to the highway that runs along Japan's main island. It's the ideal spot for several reasons: long straights, multiple lanes on each side, and enough traffic to find isolated cars to skim.

Use fast travel straight to a section of the highway to get to the right spot quickly. The longer you stay in the same area, the denser traffic gets - which can help, but can also complicate attempts if the cars are too close together. If the road gets too crowded, fast travel to another stretch of the highway and start over.

The step-by-step technique

Once you're on the highway with your 2010s RWD car, here's the process:

Build up speed and spot a lone traffic car, with no other cars immediately around it.
Approach from behind, slightly offset to one side - as if you were about to overtake it.
Press A + steer toward the car to trigger the E-Drift, aiming your drift line so it skims the side of the vehicle.
If the angle is right, the nose of your car will pass within inches of the side of the AI car: the Near Miss skill activates, and right after, Near Miss Skill Chain appears at the top of the screen.
Don't touch the car - any contact cancels everything.
Finish the skill chain without crashing to confirm it and bank the Near Miss Skill Chain.

Tips for chaining attempts

Traffic on the highway follows a simple logic: the longer you stay in an area, the more it populates. Use that to your advantage to have enough cars to skim, but as soon as the density gets too high and you can't isolate a target anymore, switch sections via fast travel.

Tip

If you keep missing the Near Miss, it's probably an angle issue. You need to start the drift toward the car, not just alongside it. The trajectory matters just as much as proximity.

Honestly, once you understand the mechanic, it rarely takes more than two or three attempts. It's one of those challenges that seem complicated on paper but become obvious in practice.

Did you pull off the Great Escape while playing normally without knowing what it was?

Frequently asked questions

Why do I get a Near Miss but not the Great Escape?

You probably triggered the Near Miss outside of the drift. The Near Miss MUST trigger during the E-Drift, not before or after. The order of the skills is crucial—if you get a Near Miss and then drift, it doesn't count.

Which car do I absolutely need to use?

Any 2010s RWD car works, but the 2017 Ferrari 812 Superfast is the benchmark. It offers the power needed to drift easily without becoming uncontrollable the moment you look at the wheel.

Why does the traffic on Japan's expressway change?

The longer you stay in one area, the more populated it becomes. If it's gotten too crowded and you can no longer isolate your targets, use fast travel to switch sections and start fresh with new traffic.

I keep missing the Near Miss even while being close to the car. Why?

It's a matter of angle, not just distance. You need to start the drift TOWARD the car, aiming for a trajectory that skims it closely. The trajectory matters just as much as proximity—that's often where it goes wrong.

Key takeaways

The Great Escape requires an E-Drift AND a Near Miss at the exact same moment—timing kills more players than the driving itself.
The 2017 Ferrari 812 Superfast is the perfect choice: fast, naturally drift-prone RWD, but controllable unlike overpowered rides.
Japan's expressway is your ideal playground thanks to its long straights and traffic density you can adjust via fast travel.
Drift angle matters as much as proximity—you need to drift TOWARD the car, not just alongside it.
Two or three attempts are enough once you understand the mechanic; the challenge seems convoluted on paper but becomes obvious in practice.