The day consisted of fast entries, massive angle, and door to door tandems. The drivers really showed what the Pacific Northwest had to offer.

Coming out of Portland, Formula Drift driver Kyle Pollard took the time out of his pro schedule to participate in the event. Unfortunately his differential blew during practice and he was unable to compete.

After a few hours of hot lapping the Team tandem competition started.

The teams were judged on style, angle, and how synchronized they were with each other.

At the end of the day Canadian based team Drift Union showed why they were the reigning champions and won the Team Tandem Competition for the 2nd time in a row.

This event was a great way to end the season and just makes me that much more excited for next season.

12►

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

12►

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.

1st Place: Cyrus Martinez
2nd Place: Victor Moore
3rd Place: Ian Fournier
4th Place: Roland Gallagher

The final results were:
1st Place Chris Forsberg
2nd Place Eric O’Sullivan
3rd Place Tyler McQuarrie

Here are the long awaited pictures, more will surface as time goes on. I have been processing since yesterday.

12►

I will be posting the proam pictures and results later. If you were at the event and took pictures, feel free to post them on the boards, I have created a ‘Photo Aftermath’ thread. Also be sure to check out Matt Galantuomini’s pictures from the event, they are located at his website Kanokus Photography, he has some truly amazing pictures.

Here is some background information for you:

Entering its sixth season, Formula DRIFT is recognized as the North American professional drifting championship series. As the first official series in North America, Formula DRIFT has taken competitive motorsports to the extreme attracting fans and car enthusiasts from all walks of life. This high-skilled, high-powered motor sport where drivers intentionally maneuver their cars into well executed, controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course, has more than 60 professional drivers competing in all seven competitions this year.

Evergreen Speedway is the oldest track on the circuit and was originally built as a horse-racing track. Located in Monroe, WA, Evergreen Speedway, is only a short distance from Seattle. The Northwest fans are some of the most die-hard drift fans in the nation. The energy and excitement is often compared to that of Irwindale and the original “House of Drift.” The event’s headline moniker, “Breaking Point,” lives up to it’s name with many cars have been casualties to the track’s banking and tight transitions through the course. Last year’s event was historic as it was Formula DRIFT’s first rain event in history and the action did not fail to disappoint.

Directions to Evergreen Speedway
Buy Tickets Here
Coupon Code: PRPASS will get you $5 off!

Evergreen Drift – April
Evergreen Speedway – Monroe, WA

A Premier Drifting Championship based in the Pacific Northwest, Evergreen Drift is the only series that you’ll see locals and pros tackle Evergreen Speedway’s 5/8ths course. This year our Top 4 ProAm (TBA) finalists will be invited to FD Pro Am Nationals.

The Month of April 2009
April 5th, and 19th – Open Drift!
April 29th – Evergreen Drift Championship Round #1

[ Read More Information In This Thread Here ]

This is a Rain or Shine event, hopefully it is dry, as there is more smoke.

Driver fee is $55.00, Pit Passes are $10.00, Spectating is $5.00.

Drivers must be at tech by 8:15am, and the drivers meeting at 9:30am, otherwise they do not drive. No More Exceptions. Preregistration and a deposit are required, payment can be made via the PayPal link on completing the registration. We will not accept any drivers at the door, and registration closes 1 week before the event. The deposit is $30.00, and is not refundable for any reason. We have had too many problems with the way it had worked before. If you can not paypal the fee, please contact me to arrange payment. The remainder of the fee will be paid at the door. Your driver fee will include 1 pit pass.

With this event we are having vendors and sponsor booths available in the pits. If you are wanting to setup a booth, contact us for details. Spread the word.

CellBlock D is 100% based on the help of others. If you can help out at the track, whether it is flagging or crowd control, be at the track for the tech time. We will assign a place for you to help. Thanks.