I would like to again, thank Emotive Image for allowing me to borrow some gear and My Life at Speed for allowing me to piggy back on their site for media credentials.

My day began at 3 a.m. as my alarm went off, ringing, making those wonderful annoying noises that wake us up mid-sleep. I began to gather myself. As I woke, wondering why I set my alarm for 3 a.m., it then hit me; Formula Drift was today! I scrambled to get all of my necessary gear together; cameras, memory cards, lenses, speed-lights, reflectors, tripod and batteries. As I walked outside to put it in my car it was a crisp summer morning, probably 40 degrees, and yes in July.

The journey began as I drove from Moscow, Idaho, to Monroe, Washington. It’s roughly a 5 hour drive, and I had a mandatory safety meeting at 11:30 a.m., which hasn’t changed since I have been shooting Formula Drift, I clearly had plenty of time to arrive. If I counted how many times I have done this drive I have to have some sort of world record, but I digress. My mp3 player was loaded with new music as I hit the early morning road which led through vacant towns and silent fields of wheat, it seemed as I was the only one up this early.

Five hours later, and over the Cascade Mountain Range, I hit the gorgeous outskirts of the Emerald City. The sun was gleaming across the city line, Lake Washington was calm, and your typical volume of cars on the road for a Saturday morning. I start my way north through freeways full of construction; hit the glorious Highway 2 east, out toward Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington I go.

Arriving at Evergreen Speedway you are presented with the back of the grand stands which can house roughly 15,000 drift fans, not including those that can fit between the fence and grand stands. You could tell Formula Drift had been there with their signs, tents, and banners all over the venue. I had arrived early with about 2 hours to spare before my meeting, which would eventually allow me to shoot on the track. It was easy to recognize and find people I knew that I could catch up with while waiting for my “orange Formula Drift bracelet” that would let me into the car show area, and to the pits. While the 100 plus cars filled the Slammed Society Showcase, we continued to bullshit and talk about the previous day’s events, of which I was not in attendance. Judging by their sun-kissed faces, some UV rays were in store for me and boy did I get burned.

Post-safety meeting I felt energized and full of know-how on proper ways to conduct myself while on the track. If the track is hot, you may not cross to the other designated photo areas. Only cross if the red shirt official with the mic and headset on says that it’s safe to cross. Got it. I had formulated a plan to shoot the car show and get some lifestyle shots of people at the event, but that went to the back burner after a friend from Emotive Image let me borrow some equipment. I was now in the video shooting-mode (Video will follow this post in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.). By this time the sound of engines revving and tires screaming filled the air as practice runs were in session.

The car show was my first stop for video, and a few still shots here and there. This is where I met up with the Eric Gearhart of NWAutoEvents.com. We discussed the hilarity in him being mistaken for my site, NWTuner.com and me getting credit for his work. So, we connected on that level and throughout the day had miscellaneous shenanigans. Below you can see Aaron Kathman, another great automotive photographer, and Eric (Yes, spelled with a “c,” who does that?!) chimping.

You might have attended the event and are wondering, “What do photographers do with all the downtime when the drivers request 5 minutes to inspect their car, and are waiting on runs?” Well, planking was what some of us did. We also discussed the new thing to do in photos, it’s called, “Owling.” Yep, you make yourself look like an owl.

The crowd poured into the venue and it seemed from the track that there wasn’t a seat left empty in the house. The Pacific Northwest continues to show its support for extreme automotive sports, earlier in the year Global Rally Cross was shocked by the hardcore rally community up here when their event was packed. Formula Drift saw a 10% increase in this year’s attendance with a sold out crowd.

We will let the photos speak for themselves. If you missed out this year, be sure to make it next year as it will be Formula Drift’s 10 year anniversary.

The top three winners at Round 5:
1. Yoshihara, Daijiro Falken Tire / Discount Tire Nissan 240SX Winner
2. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Hankook Tire Nissan 370Z Second Place
3. Aasbo, Fredric Need for Speed / Hankook Scion TC Third Place

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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!

Formula D Irwandale 2009 Rd 7 “Judgement Day” from Abbitt Wilkerson on Vimeo.

Formula DRIFT Professional Championship 2009 Point Standings

1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 527 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice 521 Points
3. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Nissan 350Z 485 Points
4. Hubinette, Samuel NuFormz Dodge Viper 462.25 Points
5. Gittin, Vaughn Falken Tire Ford Racing Mustang GT 451.50 Points
6. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC 447.50 Points
7. McNamara, Darren Falken / Sears Auto Center Saturn Sky 426.50 Points
8. Nishida, Robbie Hankook Tires / Dynamic Autosports Nissan 350Z 425.25 Points
9. Pawlak, Justin Bergenholtz Racing / Nitto Mazda RX-8 416 Points
10. Gushi, Ken RS*R Scion Racing TC 388.50 Points
11. Yoshihara, Daijiro Discount Tire / America’s Tire / Falken Nissan 240 381 Points
12. Brakohiapa, Tony Cooper Tire Ford Mustang 379.25 Points
13. Petty, Ross Garage Boso / Falken Nissan S15 377.25 Points
14. Aono, Taka Technosquare Toyota AE86 Corolla 369.75 Points
15. Verdier, Stephan Cooper Tire / Crawford Performance Subaru STI 364 Points
16. Miki, Ryuji APEXi / Hankook Mazda RX-7 341.75 Points

Round 7: Judgment Day Event Results

1. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice Winner
2. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Nissan 350Z 2nd Place
3. Foust, Tanner Rockstar / Hankook Scion Racing tC 3rd Place

Tires.com Triple Crown Bonus Point Final Standings

1. Forsberg, Chris NOS Energy Drink / Maxxis Nissan 350Z 262 Points
2. Tuerck, Ryan Gardella Racing / Mobil 1 Pontiac Solstice 256 Points
3. McQuarrie, Tyler Falken Nissan 350Z

Source: http://www.formulad.com