The day started out with open practice as usual and lucky for us the weather decided to cooperate and didn’t rain, a dry track is always a good track when it comes to competition, no matter how fun wet drifting can be.

Every event seems to have at least one crash, and shortly after the event started one of the drivers slammed sideways into a pile of tires, throwing a slur of mud and goop toward the way of us media. I was lucky enough to be out of the way of the flying dirt.

Kristian Watkins above coming around turn two, Only just saw this car this season, but im digging the paintjob.

The only thing about grassroots is they keep spawning up like a free for all deathmatch, too many names to keep track of, but this guy J.R. Miller has been at it for quite a while and kills.

Another new car that I hadn’t seen, I dont know why this angle makes him look like he’s 60, but I can assure you he’s not, however badass that might be.

I met this guy recently, André Escalante, great guy. No window, no windshield, and drives his car like a beast. He was throwing crazy angles all over the place.

Joey Portelli above coming around the 3/8th during competition.

Julia OConnell, one of our few female drivers around here taking a high line on the 3/8th and throwing up some dirt for show.

PROAM! and if you took a double take at that image above like a few other have, check again. Thats a camera on a tiny metal pole, secured to the car by 3 straps. Loren Haleston is the man behind the camera, risking his Canon 7D for some of the most interesting angles in drifting. Click his name and link up to his vimeo and watch the video.

Mike Philips drank some BeastMode soda that day or something, he was full of nonstop action the entire day. Just wait. Or scroll now.

Roland Gallagher entering the 5/8th

Chris Jeanneret back in action again after a few minor incidents, also did excellent that day.

Kory Keezer, I would call him the Mat Powers of Washington, crazy guy doing all kinds of crazy stuff like the above.

Drift Safari’s Ian Fournier was down from Canada yet again to compete,

Erich Hagen, Doing his thing in his BMW, another of my favorite cars on the track.

Mike and Chris going at it HARD, Chris is known for taking the upper line and going way high on the bank and Mike keeps a close trail.

And again when he went against Ian.

Rob Primo above.

The highlight of the event was these two, Roland and Ian. Judges must have called ONE MORE TIME at least 80 times before the winner was deciced.

Their execution of eash run was nearly identical and made for calling it hard.

It was close but Roland placed first followed by Ian and Mike

Grassroots:

• Champion – Rickey Henderson
• 2nd – Anthony Carreon
• 3rd – Marc Andre-Tatto

ProAm

• Champion – Mike Phillips
• 2nd – Chris Jeanneret
• 3rd – Andrew Coomes
• 4th – Kory Keezer

Keep an eye out for these guys next year as they compete with the pros, Cant wait.

Peep the full gallery on my website and be sure to follow me on FaceBook for other updates.

www.GwagDesigns.com/proam2011round5

www.facebook.com/GDPhoto

Well the infamous Bigfoot never made an appearance at Pacific Grand Prix (the heat must have been too much for all that fur), but the driving that went down in Kent, Washington this past weekend was equally as legendary. For the second year in a row, drivers from all around the Pacific Northwest came out to PGP’s Go-Kart track to slay tires and play bumper cars at Biggerfoot Bash.

After last years successful Bigfoot Bash, Rob Primo (above) took it upon himself to make sure the bro-down happened again. While this years event didn’t span two days and two tracks, it didn’t feel like any driving was missed out on. With the drivers list being invite only, and having PGP’s technical Go-Kart track as the battlefield, the action on the tarmac was electric right from the get-go.

Formula D driver Kyle Pollard brought out the Portland Speed Industries JDM Silvia and was tearing the track apart. After being bumped out of the top 32 by Darren McNamara at Formula D Las Vegas, it’s obvious that Kyle is hungry for a good finish at Irwindale next month. So I’m sure he was looking to make the best of any track time he could get.

Unfortunately, (what appeared to be) his rear differential had other plans. It looked like it broke and locked up as it had to be pushed off track while the rear end was jacked into the air. Hopefully everything will be back together and competitive for Round 7 of Formula D in a few weeks time.

Speaking of Formula D, Kory Keezer (along with 3 other Washington boys) picked up his Formula D license for the 2012 season. The roster for next year is going to be awfully crowded with Pacific Northwest Drivers, they’re taking over! Maybe they should pitch in together and rent a semi to haul all their cars to the events?

If there’s one thing the PNW is good for (besides pumping out Formula D drivers, and hosting killer events) it’s building unique and clean cars. There was no shortage of them this weekend either, and unlike a lot of trailer queens and garage beauties, these cars were being driven like they should be. Lucas Perez pulled his Nissan Skyline onto the track, slightly reminiscent of the Drift Tengoku R32.

Matt Panic, an OG in the Washington Drift scene, brought out his 1973 Toyota Celica. Definitely one of the raddest cars I’ve ever seen going sideways.

Matt’s brother, Mark Panic, is no stranger to Pacific Grand Prix either. He was tossing around his Jz powerd X8 Toyota Cressida.

And who could forget David Nedelcu’s foxbody coupe. With Mustangs being more famous for going fast in a straight line  it’s a nice change to see one hanging loose around corners. I like David’s pony, with the quad headlights, bolt-on over fenders, and the attack stripes on the fender it stands out from the millions of average foxbodies you see eveyday.

The caretakers at Pacific Raceways do an unreal job on upkeep at their tracks and work hard to keep them looking pretty,  so they always ask nicely for drivers to avoid doing dirt drops. While PGP’s go-kart track is big enough for full sized cars, it wasn’t built with them in mind and the track is tight and technical. So when drivers push harder and harder the odd tire dropping off track is inevitable, as Rob Primo  shows here.

…and Jon Jaffe shows here….

…and Erich Hagen shows here…

…and Shawn Browne gives an example on how to do it wrong. With all the dirt that gets thrown around at these events it’s amazing that PGP keeps letting us come back. They deserve a huge thank-you from everybody in the scene for putting up with us hooligans, I hope I get the opportunity to drive there when my car is finally track ready!

As time slid into the late afternoon (pun intended),  Teams were made for a Team Tandem Competition. Rob Primo enlisted Nathan Feigion, and Erich Hagen to his team: Hot Mess. Definitely the most consistant team of the day in my opinion.

The V8′s banded together to form ‘The Flying V’, which I’m hoping is a throwback to the Disney Classic “The Mighty Ducks”…though wouldn’t you need 5 to make the Flying V? Regaurdless, David Nedelcu in the mustang, David Wheaton in the 425 Motorsports S13.5, Nikolay Konstantinov in his newly unveiled Formula D competition S13 , and another new Forumla D licensee; Andrew Coombs in his Rocket Bunny kitted S13 took the approach of strength in numbers and held their own on track all day.

When PGP hosted their first Team Tandem Competition, PGP Wars: The Tandem Menace, Steven Thompson was Drift Union’s 3rd driver when his Toyota Soarer was still white. Now clad in the authentic DU Purple and a full fledged member of the team, Steve wasn’t afraid to trade some paint. As you can see from his door when he caught up to Shawn Browne’s rear end to quickly.

At PGP Wars, Steve’s car suffered some major issues and he had to borrow Matt Do’s S13 to finish the competition. A similar story occurred at Biggerfoot when Logan Noel’s Subaru Legacy snapped an axle twice during the day, leaving him with no spares. Luckily, fellow Canadian Chris Scremin was kind enough to lend him his S13.

After all the teams laid down their runs, all the cars were brought on track for a non-stop, tandem ti’l your tires pop, skid frenzy.

A better look at the 425 Motorsports s13.5. Very clean car and a rad colour.

Brandon Franulovic takes a moment to point out to David that he is missing the fact that Bigfoot is creeping behind him.

Nathan, Rob, and Nikolay put down a solid 240 tandem entry into corner one.

When the last car had pulled off track the drivers were gathered to announce the winners of the Team Tandem. Hot Mess took home second place with their on point driving, followed by Flying V and their 32 cylinders of fury. A fully surprised Drift Union was crowned as the top tandem-ers, not being ones to turn down free champagne though, Shawn and Steve hopped onto the podium (Logan had already started loading his trailer he was so certain they hadn’t made podium). Though placement and prizes aren’t what Biggerfoot Bash is about, it’s about bringing together the bros, the fans, and the fun in search of season ending good times, and to that I say: We didn’t find Bigfoot, but we did get what we came for.

David Hintze spent a most of the day filming and got a LOT of footage. Here’s what he put together in the form of motion pictures!

Photos: Cole Chalmers & David Hintze
Video: David Hintze
Words: Cole Chalmers

It’s Formula Drift superstar Matt Powers turn this week. What would Matt Powers do? Throw it in backwards at full attack, that’s what. Click your resolution below and either save the full size image or set it as your desktop from your browser.

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XDC was new to me and had no idea what to expect. The fancy fliers promoted cars and girls, and that was enough to get any guy to attend. It was a combination drift event and car show, both being hosted on track and the more popular than ever Pacific Grand Prix Motorsports Park. Once again this million dollar go kart track sees more than just karts, turning this turn filled course into a rubber burning playpen for drifters local, and out of state.

Pacific Grand Prix is a 0.82 mile asphalt track with a main straight approaching 800 feet in length and 30 feet in width. With up to 15 turns the track was sliced in half with the main event taking place on the first 3 turns, and the car show being parked on the oposite end of the track, also where the staging area was moved.

Limited media access to the track itself was something new, but with all the dirt drops, spins, etc, track officials decided last minute to keep media on the outskirts of the track, creating these media clumps at the best locations. You can see though how the design of the track allows for spectators to sit on the hillside overlooking the track. Part of what makes this track fun is how close to the cars you can get, just as a spectator.

Local Pacific Northwest drivers had the upper hand as they’ve practiced on this track for over a year, while the other competitors were left with practice runs to get used to the track.

Erich Hagen making last minute tweets before his practice run. A quick turn around from his crash at Formula Drift Round 5 at Evergreen Speedway, apart from a few scratches his car is looking clean again.

Local legend Walker Wilkerson was competing as well, getting as much track time as he could before round 6 of Formula Drift at Las Vegas MotorSpeedway.

Northwest driver Victor Moore during one of his practice runs. His initial runs were solid and on point, leading his well into the competition. Unfortunately, a problem with his tranny meant he was done.

Victore Moore playing in the sand on the last part of turn 3, I was standing right behind that barrier at the last event.

Another NW driver Kory Keezer. The popularity of this guy jumped after putting out this video.

12 foot tall driver Rob Primo at the drivers meeting. He is seriously at least 19 feet tall, and towers above his car.

Drivers were told who they would be going up against, the start of what would lead up to the final battle.

Chris Forsberg was in attendance supporting NOS and also being an active judge during the day. This event in general was not as strict as the standards seen in Formula Drift, and drivers got more applause for dirt drops and crazy angles. XDC also had Jarod DeAnda as their announcer, who is known as the voice of Formula Drift. Send it! #LTGTR (@JarodCapitalA on Twitter)

And what’s a drift event without one of the best tasting energy drinks, NOS!

There was a chance between the practise runs and the main event to catch the rest of the event, plenty of booths, models, and other car related awesomry to check out. That lolly-pop didn’t stand a chance. *Shudder*.

NOS has a few sweet cars at their booth, while the rest of the car show resided on the unused portion of the track. Check out the photos from that at NWMotiv.com

CooperTires brough their huge stage semi truck, and was the location of several dance competitions. This is the way to get a huge crowd.

Kyle Zalud in his custom drift cart. It’s surprisingly easy to get these things sideways as I found out for myself later when I tried my hand with some of the regular karts, the one above is a special shifter kart.

Walker Wilkerson during the main competition. He qualified first in the event, and made it all the way to the very end and took second place.

Kory Keezer and Drift Union‘s Logan Noël coming around turn 1 getting a super close line worked out.

Mike Philips, another driver out of the northwest also did very well, taking 3rd place.

Nate Hamilton in one of his final runs. He ended up taking first after Walker Wilkerson had a failure of his rear differential.

Countless dirt drops = drift shovel!

1.Nate Hamilton

2.Walker Wilkerson

3.Mike Phillips

Full Gallery:
www.GwagDesigns.com/xdcseattle2011

Car Show Photos @NWMotiv

Local driver Walker Wilkerson and his much talked about Nissan S13, one of my favorite cars at FD this year.

After a long day of shooting day 1, I spent the night with friends, at the house of Driver Roland Gallagher and Nikki Miguel, both great drivers and Nikki being the only other girl competing in the upcoming XDC Extreme Drift Circuit coming to the local Pacific Grand Prix track. Coffee was a must that morning.

Drivers Erich Hagen and Kyle Pollard also spent the night with some of their pit crews, and spent the morning with some good conversation before heading out to the track.

This is the scene in the early morning, before the crowds rolled in. Everything is silent and empty except for the sound of practice sessions tire burning continuing on before the main event. What was thought to be a rainy forecast turned into a fantastic weekend

Day 2 started out with more practice, and I was able to get to this sweet spot looking down from the entry point to the 5/8th bank. Matt Powers and his Team Need for Speed Nitto Tires S14 and Cyrus Martinez in his Megan Racing 240SX.

Dean Kearney and his 2008, VLEDs Federal Tire Dodge Viper SRT-10 knows how to bring the smoke, as he shows here coming down toward the end of the run.

This is a fun spot for photographers, the concrete box that juts out into the track, only part of the track you cant see too well is the 5/8th bank, and thats quite a walk, EXACTLY why I left halfway through the event to buy a scooter at the store down the street from the track, just to get around on!

Vaughn Gittin Jr. and his Monster Energy Falken Tire Ford Mustang pulling ahead during one of many great runs he put down.

As the afternoon started turning into dusk, the sun setting behind the grandstands lit of the track in this fantastic warm light.

Rhys Millen and his Redbull/Hankok Tires Hyundai Genesis going against Kyle Mohan and his Nexen Tire Mazdatrix KMR, and tapping just a bit.

Kyle Mohan showing the crowd how to put out some smoke, Notice that last strip of sun still showing.

One of the final battles between Chris Forsberg and Rhys before the RedBull Genesis was knocked out.

Fredric Aasbo and his Team Need for Speed Scion Tc took third place after a fantastic run, and that left Forsberg and Dai to battle it out to the finish.

It was close, both drivers putting out their best and getting the most bumper to bumper id seen all day.

Props to Chris and his new NOS Energy Drink Nissan 370Z, you looked awesome out there taking 2nd place, but in the end Dai took first place.

Chris Forsberg, Daijiro Yoshihara, and Fredric Aasbo posing after taking the podium standings.

Look at all dem girls!

Photos: Cole Chalmers & David Hintze
Words: David Hintze

Check out the full galleries by myself and Cole:

Cole:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/photograptor

David:

http://www.GwagDesigns.com/Sports/Drifting

I swear I’m still picking bits of rubber out of my hair and ears after Round 5 of Formula D in Monroe, Washington. The stands at Evergreen Speedway were packed, and rightfully so, having a few Washington locals in the Pro line-up and of course the hella talented field of Pro-Am drivers also competing. With a combination of beautiful weather and a sellout crowd, the drivers had an opportunity to put on an amazing show and they did not disappoint. Some of the best driving I’ve seen all season from a large portion of the field.

Two Washington locals and Team Instant Party Bros, Roland Gallagher and Walker Wilkerson, brought the heat to their hometown track, throwing down for their friends, family, and fans.

Both Roland and Walker made it to top 32. Unfortunately, even with the crowds behind them and their home track advantage, Roland was bumped out by Dean Kearney after kissing a wall and Walker fell to the hands of Darren McNamara. Both these guys are still winners in my mind though, being two of the few guys not hopping on the V8 train and I’m always impressed by their driving. On top of that, they are both super chill and should be getting way more attention and sponsors. I want to see both these guys on the podium real soon!

I was stoked to see fellow Canadian and four-door enthusiast, Alex Lee,  qualify for top 32. I was bummed that he didn’t do to well at Long Beach due to car issues, so seeing him qualify top32, and then go on to beat out Alex Pfeiffer for a spot in the top16 in his Toyota Cresta. I’m pretty sure Alex is the only driver rocking 4 doors in Formula D currently, and if you know me, big cars are a big plus in my mind. Big things are on the way for Canada’s ‘Wonderkid’, so watch out!

Kyle Mohan was killing it all weekend in the Nexen Tire Mazda Rx8. The guy was unstoppable. There was multiple times where cars made contact that looked like they were going to end in carnage, but Mohan would stay in it and keep it cool. That fearless driving put him into the top16 with ease.

Speaking of getting close, Matt Powers car was showing signs of some intense battle action!

…And it would only get worse. Evergreen Speedway is notorious for its cement walls that just beg for wall tap….

…after wall tap…

…after wall tap…

You know the final race in Fast in The Furious: Tokyo Drift? The Mustang/350z Battle down gangster mountain? And everyone on each corner has their cellphone out filming the race? Well the line of fans along the fence were very reminiscent  of that scene. I had a nice laugh to myself about it.

Team Fatlace driver, Matt Field, fought hard in his highlighter S14 to try and qualify for top 16 against Vaughn Gitten Jr. in the Falken Ford Mustang.

On his leading run, though, Matt pushed too hard and spun out and Jr. narrowly avoided what could have been a gnarly collision.

Otto Graven had some of the most impressive driving I saw all weekend. He stepped up huge at Evergreen! Otto’s battles against Chris Forsberg were intense! It was run after run of door on door drifting.

Despite Otto Graven’s hard charging, Chris Forsberg was given the win after a One More Time battle and moved on to top 16.

I was hoping to see Ross Petty take the BOSO S15 into the top 16 but Team Need For Speed Driver, Fredic Aasbo sent him packing.

Dai Yoshihara’s consistant driving this year has put him in a position to take the points lead in the series. Dai beat out Jeff Jones to solidify his spot in top 16 against Matt Powers.

Here are the top 16 drivers and who they will be facing the following day :

Tyler McQuarrie - Alex Lee

Fredric Aasbo – Dean Kearney

Dai Yoshihara – Matt Powers

Aurimas Bakchis – Vaughn Gitten Jr.

Dennis Mertzanis – Chris Forsberg

Joon Maeng – Ryan Tuerck

Rhys Millan – Darren McNamara

Cyrus Martinez – Kyle Mohan

-Coverage of day two’s intense battles will be posted up soon by David Hintze

Photos: David Hintze and Cole Chalmers

Words: Cole Chalmers

Friday Night Slides Part 2 from David Hintze on Vimeo.

If you enjoyed part one of Pacific Grand Prix’s PGP Friday Night Slides, here’s Part II!

PGP Friday Night Slides from David Hintze on Vimeo.

Pacific Grand Prix motorsports park continues to showcase what it has to offer for the drifting comunity in the pacific northwest on its million dollar go kart track. More and more drivers are becoming used to its technical turns and endless fun as the drifting sport grows in Washington. It was awarded BEST Guys Weekend Destination in the Northwest by a major local news network.

http://www.pacificgp.com/

Evergreen Drift ProAm Round 2 – 2011 from David Hintze on Vimeo.

A few weeks back I was at Evergreen Speedway, covering their Pro Am series. Round 2 to be precise. It was a combination of competition & grassroots events, so a lot of local drivers and pros were there to shred up the track. The weather was beautiful; clear skies, fluffy clouds and a dry track which was smoking all day long.

I think us photographers should start a betting pool for who goes over the 3/8th bank first. There were a few at this event, and you can peep one in the video above. The drivers were ok, but it really just swallows cars!

My favorite shot of the day. Rob Primo in his newly built Garage AutoHero 2JZ-powered S14. It’s a sick little monster but an unfortunate event happened during one of his tandem runs, forcing him to avoid another driver. He spun, causing him to get some substantial damage to his passenger wheel and suspension.

Anthony Carreon was consistent all day, driving with ease on every run. He was victim to the 3/8th bank once, but was able to drive off with no problem.

Kyle Pollard dishing it out on the 5/8th bank. He was also the driver who took first place that day, and 500 bucks! Go get yourself some more tires man!

Below is Andrew Larson, taking home 2nd place.

Here is Peter Funatake, taking 3rd place for the day.

This car is another one of my favorites I’ve seen on the track. I hadn’t seen it before this year, but him and the driver below him were having some sort of smoke building competition amongst themselves:

Kory Keezer on the 5/8th bank, also getting a lot of smoke action.

The winners below from right to left, Andrew Larson, Kyle Pollard, and Peter Funatake.

Special thanks goes out the guys at NOS Energy. They never cease to make the event better with beautiful ladies and free drinks to keep all us media folks awake on the track. THANKS NOS!

Check out the full gallery by clicking the link below:

www.GwagDesigns.com/round2proam2011

I’ve seen my share of wall taps, car crashes and wall plants, but I never thought id “get to experience one”. One of our Pro Am drivers, Wyatt, was out practicing on the track during Evergreen Speedway’s open drift, and towards the end of the event I got a chance to ride along with him.

Up till this point he had been driving fine, and did great at the last event as well. The strange mix of sun and rain on the track made for some sketchy driving and a couple of people before had also spun out quite a bit. Coming off the 3/8th bank for the second time, something went screwy, and we slid into the track wall almost directly at about 40mph. My first crash, and what better place to have it?

Wyatt’s inner rollcage and 5 point safety harnesses did their jobs and left us with minimal injury. Apart from minor lacerations to our necks and my hand we were both able to get out of the car by ourselves. I handed over my camera (yes it survived) to my friend who snapped these crash photos while I was getting a bloody thumb taken care of. The video I shot is at the bottom of this post, check it out, the ending is crazy.

Wyatt has plans for a new build and I have heard word he is picking up a new chassis here soon.

Quick note on in car camera safety, make sure its connected to something! You never expect anything like this to happen while in a car. While the camera strap was around my neck, wrapped around my hand, it still managed to fly off when we hit the wall. Based on the lack of dings, scratches, or any damage to the camera itself, its as if I gently placed it upright on the ground where it came to rest somehow, and that right there is $2k in good news. Canon = Tank

Peep the below video, the impact kills the video.

45MPH Into Wall – Canon 7D Crash Test from David Hintze on Vimeo.