The Twin Peaks Global RallyCross event in Snoqualmie, Washington this past Friday saw great attendance on Day 1 despite the thirty percent chance of rain that realistically turned into a day with thirty percent of no precipitation. The rain showers made for slick conditions as the drivers forged through mud that formed in the dirt areas of the course. The part of the course known as “The Link” quickly turned into a slew of cement like mud as the 2WD and 4WD cars struggled through to cross the finish line and complete laps. The 70-foot jump was the centerpiece for fans who showed up as the 4WD cars took their joker laps, sometimes even two cars jumping at once which made for some intense action. Andreas Eriksson took first place for Ford Racing in the 4WD class, beating out Tanner Foust on an action packed last lap where Foust ultimately injured his shoulder putting him out of the race in what is known as “The Boneyard.” The Boneyard is a high speed dirt corner that drivers take after the jump. For the 2WD class Mikael Eriksson won in his Porsche beating out Cody Crane in his Honda CRX by seconds.

Andreas Eriksson jumps his Best Buy Ford Fiesta.

Tanner Foust lands the jump in his Ford Fiesta at Old Mill Adventure Park.

Stephen Verdier takes the corner wide into “The Boneyard.”

Safety official watches the action closely, awaits to alert drivers with yellow caution flags.

Dave Mirra takes the 70-foot jump and loses his back bumper.

The slew of mud the drivers had to navigate through.

Dave Mirra takes the corner in the switch-back by-passing the joker. Earlier in the day he had some back luck going around the jump and rolled his car and landed back on the wheels.

Mirra leaves the course for the Subaru Rally Team to repair the car.

Foust flies through The Boneyard in his Rockstar Ford Fiesta.

Cody Crane catches some air screaming around the jump in his Honda CRX.

Dylan Van Way powers through laps with smoke barreling out of the back.

Marcus Dodd powering through flinging up mud and rocks.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when we post coverage from Day 2 action at Global RallyCross Twin Peaks, you won’t want to miss the photos and commentary.

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Drivers from the top ranks of action sports and rallycross in the United States and Europe will meet on an inventive industrial course for the second-round battle for the inaugural Global RallyCross Championship title – and a chance to earn an invitation to X Games 17 Rally competitions held in downtown Los Angeles this summer.

Full coverage of the event will be broadcast on ESPN; live streaming and video highlights are available online.

Racing will take place on an amazing track configuration at the Old Mill Adventure Park, which also plays host to the DirtFish Rally School. The course includes a huge gap jump that sees competition cars fly 70-feet through the air – a feature seen only at X Games and Global RallyCross competition – and a section that has cars race through an industrial warehouse, with the sound of high-power engines ricocheting off the walls.

Global RallyCross competition has been likened to videogame play and this round won’t disappoint fans looking for big action and incredible imagery.

Among those expected to compete at the two-day event are three-time X Games Rally gold medalist Tanner Foust in his Ford Fiesta rallycross car, Hyundai-backed Rhys Millen and five-time British rally champion Marcus Dodd. Subaru’s Dave Mirra and 2010 X Games driver and Formula DRIFT pro Stephan Verdier also plan to compete.

Drivers take on two days of competition, with Friday showcasing head-to-head racing known as SuperRally, and Saturday’s marquee RallyCross action featuring as many as six cars on course at once, aggressively bumping doors, sliding, and hitting the big jump. Top X Games stars including Travis Pastrana and Brian Deegan have described rally car competition as “action sport, with a roll cage.”

In addition to the fierce door-to-door competition, drivers will also be available for autograph sessions and a vendor midway will offer further entertainment for fans. Tickets for two days of action are just $25 and will be available on Friday at www.global-rallycross-com

We will be there, and a full post will follow after the action on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Sunday April 3^rd several big names in the PNW automotive scene came together to help with the Disaster relief efforts in Japan. A little over $3,000 was raised and donated to the American Red Cross and hundreds of fellow Tuners/Enthusiasts stopped by to show support. The NOS girls were out showing support and everyone hydrated. Ernie’s Grub’n Grub was also out showing support and cookin up the hot dogs.  The Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Car Show was just another example how amazing the automotive scene in the PNW really is.  Euro guys and Domestics even showed up to show their support. We are truly lucky to live in such a rich and diverse region and have great communities that can come together and put on such a great show.

A special thanks to: NWAUTOEVENTS, NOS, Griots Garage, Garage Plus, Dirt Fish Rally School, Pacific Raceways, and PSTOC for setting up and hosting this event

Yet another wet spring day in the Northwest could not stop hundreds of people from all over pulling their cars out of the garage to meet in North Seattle for Golden Gardens 2011. Packs of cars from Canada to Oregon left early in the morning cruised the I-5 corridor and the wet Seattle streets headed to a flat of paved parking lot by the Puget Sound. Cars lined to street for a mile south of the park and packed every available parking spot in the park and Shilshole Marina just south of the park. Cars ranged from projects in their beginning stages, rusted out old Datsun’s, fresh off the assembly line cars, tuners, drifters, and even a few miscellaneous trucks, 4×4’s and SUV’s. Showing off what they’re proud of with their cars, hoods up, rims shined up, washed and waxed and looking nice for everyone to admire and get ideas for their own projects. As the damp day moved on, cars rotated in and out of the show area as people came and went. People didn’t just park and walk through, a constant parade as cars cruised through the middle of the meet. With your average Northwest weather for spring the constant drizzle of rain didn’t hamper anyone’s spirit. More and more people came and went as if it wasn’t raining at all. The only problem I had with the rain was keeping the lens on my camera dry so I could take pictures. Other than that it is hard to beat a good car show on a Sunday.

Pictures to follow soon.

Pictures added.

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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.