XDC was pretty simple on how the inner workings came were. Basically all the drivers did runs to qualify for the Top 16, from there they did a tandem style drift and ran eliminations to see who was the TOP driver. Many of the talented drivers of the NW made the top 16, which was to be expected most of them have spent many, many long days out on this tight technical track First place landed in the hands of skilled driver Nate Hamiliton with Walker Wilkerson following up in second place. The rest of the results will follow shortly.

When next year comes around make sure to make it out the XDC for some great vendors, beautiful models, and skilled drivers. XDC will be an event you will NOT want to miss.

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It’s that time of year again out in Oregon. The Deuces Wild Poker and Show N’ Shine has been going on for the past few years now. I personally, have never had the chance to make it out (it’s on the list) to one of their events due to my schedule; however, they are typically very well attended (currently 60 confirmed on their event listing). You can expect to see some highly modified cars if you plan to head out to Cobb Surgeline Tuning in Tigard, Oregon this Sunday August 14th. You can find a Facebook Event listing here with the full details of where to go and when. The great thing about this event is that all the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

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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We had the pleasure of networking with My Life at Speed over the recent RallyCar events in the Pacific Northwest, they seem to show up at anything involving speed. You can find their post on how this video came about on their website. We look forward to working with them in the future and seeing them at upcoming events such as Formula Drift, Xtreme Drift Circuit, and possibly the Idaho Rally.

Anyone driving within a mile of the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington, would have known something was different than a usual Friday night. Loud music and engines rumbling filled the air on a rather surprisingly nice evening in the Pacific Northwest, as car after car rolled up the parking garage ramp to the show. The event, put on by NWMotiv.com and NOS Energy Drinks was to accompany the premiere of Fast Five as well as a VIP show/meet for local automotive clubs and forums. More than 100 of these VIP cars were on display for all to see including a 700 hp Genaddi Ford GSX1, a RB26DET swapped AE86, NSXs, and Andrew Coomes’ LS240 Formula Drift Car. This was an amazing show with free NOS Energy drinks everywhere, NOS girls, gorgeous cars, and great music. Hopefully, the success of the show this year will lead to many more down the road.

Matthew Marker coming down Smith Creek Road into the sun.

Saturday was a full house at the Parc Expose which was located at the Ocean Shores Convention Center for the Olympus Rally, with over 50 cars entered, drivers and fans gathered. David Higgins and Dave Mirra seemed to be of the most crowded around drivers (Who finished first and fourth overall at the conclusion of the rally at Stage 6).

Stage 6 uphill/downhill was full of 3-4 inch gravel. Leaving the few spectators in these areas ducking for cover after cars sprayed them.

Antoine L’Estage has no fear down the mountain and into the sun.

Fans at the Parc Expose.

Dave and Richard Hintz and their 1999 BMW M3.

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More than 60 teams, including top drivers from Europe, Canada and the US, will battle it out over the forest roads from South Bend to Taholah. Leading drivers include 2010 North American champion Antoine L’Estage, former British and US champion David Higgins and Vancouver B.C.’s Pat Richard, a former North American champ.

The rally starts and finishes in Ocean Shores. On Saturday, April 30, the racing will take place on the Oakville-Brooklyn Road. Sunday, May 1, the rally heads north the Quinault Nation for stages near Taholah.

Rally is different from other racing. First, there’s no track, rally racing takes place on “special stages,” unpaved roads that have been closed to traffic. There aren’t any grandstands or concessions, but there’s also no admission charge.

Inside the car you’ll see two helmets. One is the driver who slides the car through the corners, accelerating and braking at the edge of control. That’s not a passenger sitting next to the driver, that’s the co-driver. Rally co-drivers are part of wakes rally unique. While the driver races through the forest, the co-driver calmly provides instructions about the road ahead.

The cars look familiar; they’re all street legal small sedans that have been specially prepared for safety. Take a look inside a rally car and you’ll see a web of steel tubes to make the car stronger and protect the crew. 300 horsepower, all-wheel-drive Mitsubishis and Subarus will compete for the overall title, but you’ll also see Hondas, VWs, Mazdas and Fords battling in the two-wheel drive class.

The top two-wheel drive teams include the BMW M3 driven by Enumclaw’s Dave Hintz with his brother Rick Hintz co-driving; Lynnwood’s Tom Burress and his co-driver brother Don Burress in their turbocharged Volkswagen Golf; and 19-year old supermoto racer Dillon Van Way and his co-driver Jake Blattner in a new Ford Fiesta turbo.

World Rally co-driver Alex Gelsomino will be participating in one of the course opening cars.

Spectator guides are available online at www.olympusrally.com. Printed copies are available at Five Star Ford in Aberdeen and Hanson’s Motors in Olympia. Come out for a race in the woods, the rally takes place rain or shine.

Jim Culp (www.olympusrally.com)

The winners selected to participate in representing NWTuner.com at the VIP car show are:

Ellen’s black 2001 BMW 330i Sedan that is lightly modded with a slight drop and Drag 45 deep dish gold rims with a polished lip. Craig’s 2006 Subaru WRX STI that is the flagship STI Blue, with mud guards, and Axis racing wheels. Tomas’ 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX SE that is heavily modified and Brad’s clean 2008 Nissan 350Z.

Be sure to check the original post for more details.

For additional information visit NWMotiv.com and be sure to RSVP on Facebook.