It was the same old story, up too late awake too early. The phone rings and I answer over the line I hear the words “Hey, I am leaving my house right now and then going straight over to Matt’s. We are going to grab coffee and be on our way to your house. WAKE THE F*&$ UP!!” So, I stumble out of bed and start my day. As I am finally ready and sitting down on the couch to try to wake up a little bit, I fall back asleep and then am woken when I hear a car pull up. It was them, and I grab my camera bag and head out. The car ride down was full of shenanigans as I have come to expect hanging out with these two. We finally show up ,still unknowing if there was a charge to get in or not. The whole thing seemed vague to me, but none the less I was interested. We park get out I hand a camera off to Austin grab mine and we make our way in. Once we were in, I finally realized that in fact it was a free event which made everything better! As we walked around, people were making their way in and trying to park their cars in the “premium 5 dollar parking” inside the gates. We walk a little further and stop to talk to Les. As we were bullsh*&$ing for a few minutes, I started “people watching” and was taking notice of everyone in the car show wiping their cars down, cleaning tires and what not trying to make an impression. The car clubs were grouping together and figuring out parking arrangements to catch spectator eye.

As we wander around trying to figure out where everything is we end up in the tech area for the drag racing. In the very back of the tech area there is a small group of cars parked. THE DRIFT CARS! The drift guys are having a meeting and the 3 of us get hyped and try to figure out where they will be drifting. We ask a few people and no one seems to have any clue as to what was going on. Finally we find someone who knows and directs us to the course. By that time the drifting had begun. We grab a spot at the beginning of the track and quickly realize there is no action here. A couple of guys told us that 100yards or so away that there was an S turn where they were about to head to and that is where all the good action is. Upon receiving that info we run up the side of the hill and start on our walk. The 100 yards quickly turns into a half mile where we finally come across some people standing on the side of a hill which below was the S corner. The angles looked fairly challenging and as we watched we soon realized our suspicions were right. Everyone was having troubles  with the corners. Not to mention it was up hill. Once everyone from the group of drivers made it to the top of the hill they turned around and started down the hill which deemed itself more of a challenge. This was not evergreen speedway.

We watched the drifting for a little while longer and I got a call from a friend who was about to line up at the drag strip. He was trying to break into the 11’s with his EVO IX SE. So, I hurried back to the drag grandstands to just miss his pass. He ran a 12.4 for his first pass. I decided that since I was there I might as well check out the drag portion of the event. There were a LOT of Honda’s and Mitsubishi EVO’s drag racing. The most impressive to me though were the guys on bikes. I noticed one guy flying down the track with his front tire lifting and setting down constantly as he flew past. After getting bored of the drags and realizing the drifters were taking an hour break I decided to wander around at the car show.

There were some  great cars out there! A little Honda heavy but this is the Honda capital (Kent, WA), so I tolerated. By far the most impressive group was EAS with their high end EURO and JDM VIP styled cars. My only complaint with the show was that it seemed a little on the small side, but for being the first event like this I had no complaints. If this turns into an annual event I can only imagine what it to come. The concept for this event is one of a kind and will bring a lot of people to one place. All and all I was for it and satisfied with my time spent there. Even feeling a bit under the weather.

Formula Drift seems to get bigger every year in the Northwest and it certainly showed this past weekend. Not only were the grand stands packed at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe but, there were people piled up along the fence to get every last taste of tire, every last whiff of race fuel, and to witness each adrenaline packed crash into the wall.

There was plenty of hot weather, free NOS Energy Drinks, and action on the track but don’t forget about the other happenings at this event. The pits were also a very popular spot especially during the 2 hour intermission of drifting. Spectators were able to see their favorite drift car up close and personal and check out cars who got a little too friendly with the wall. You could also take home as many drifted tires as you could load into your car. The sponsors had plenty to do for fans. Scion Racing had a booth giving away free merchandise for your measly contact information, they were also selling a variety of shirts and hats. The ladies of Falken Tire were autographing posters for a long line of drooling fans with anticipation to hang these in their garages.

NOS Energy Drink had a “Bunker Lounge” and booth with plenty of umbrella girls handing out energy drinks, lanyards, and vuvuzelas, which got extremely annoying into the later hours of the evening. But, this gave fans a place to chill out, get out of the scorching sun and refuel with some free “Human Energy.” And of course you could see some unique whips out at the One of One Hellaflush show, which will be covered in a later post.

Your Formula Drift Throwdown champion for this year is Tanner Foust in the Rockstar Scion TC. Followed by Ryan Tuerck in the Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice, and Darren McNamara in the Saturn Sky. Here is Tanner going for the win as Ryan Tuerck slams the Pontiac Solstice into the wall.

Once again the Northwest has proven its deep enthusiasm for the sport of drifting with the packed stands and huge attendance numbers. For additional photos from members of the forum check the original Formula Drift event thread. Look for our Hellaflush One of One showcase in the coming days.

It’s that time again when the high performance drifting machines take the track at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA. You will find everyone from muscle fanatics to ricer enthusiasts at this event, be forewarned. If the previous Fatlace shows this year are a prediction of what is to come for the Seattle area the One/One show is not to disappoint and looks to be a very promising show. Here are a few videos of the previous One/One shows.

OneofOne x Formula Drift x Fatlace Round 1 Streets Of LB from Daniel Kruthanooch on Vimeo.

It’s shaping up to be a few hot days at Evergreen Speedway, with winter finally (and hopefully) behind us and forecasted high temperatures, Formula Drift is coming in hot to the Northwest. Be ready for two days of intense drifting action, broken bumpers, zip ties, and duct tape in Monroe, WA. And if that isn’t your thing then come out for the Hellaflush One/One Showcase and view some of the most original rides the Northwest has to offer.

Be sure to have your tickets. We’ll see you there!

This is an event to not be missed as the attendance list is packing a punch. It is sure to be one of the events to have attended this summer. This event is going to showcase some of the most classic cars in the Pacific Northwest. Come hang out and browse this unique gathering of cars, bring your friends, your BBQ, your classic ride, perhaps? And if you can’t make it, NWTuner.com will be there and we will report back with the days festivities.

The show consists of VW’s (MK1, MK2, MK3, Corrado, Scirocco, Passat, B3, B4), Audi’s (Pre 1987), Nostalgic JDM (Pre 1987), BMW (Pre 1992), Datsun (Pre 1987), and Nissan (Pre 1987).

For more information hit up: The Old School Reunion

Round four of the Rally America National Championship series has come and gone and with it a new winner and record; the NOS Energy Mitsubishi team of Andrew Comrie-Picard took first place. It was an all Mitsubishi podium finish as Bacon Motorsports very own Bill Bacon finished second and Monster’s L’Estage finished third. This was the first ever all Mitsubishi finish in Rally America history. The event had 61 teams entered and of them only 47 teams remained at the start of the last day. A whopping 24 teams did not finish; included in that was Dave Mirra and Ken Block. Travis Pastrana was racing in Australia for this event and did not enter.

The terrain Oregon offered these drivers was everything that the Northwest has to offer; miles of hills and straight stretches and treacherous mountain roads littered with obstacles. The weather for the event was perfect; besides all of the dust. At times there was a dust window for the drivers. From the results you can tell that the drivers were put to the test and only the best finished.

The next rally in the Northwest is July 15-17 which is the Idaho Rally down in Boise. For more information: Idaho Rally. We will be sure to report back with pictures and results.