2016 marks the seventh year of the Evergreen Drift ProAm competition. Drivers will be battling it out all season long in hopes of earning their coveted Formula Drift Pro2 license on their way to becoming a Pro driver. Evergreen Speedway has been the home for drifting in the Northwest since the first event in 2005 and since then we’ve seen a number of drivers make a name for themselves and jump directly into the professional drifting ranks.
Story by AfroDrift (Mat Risher). Photos by Matt Nelson and Eddi Hughes.
Last weekend we saw the opening round of the 2016 competition. In the weeks leading up to the event a lot of the drivers were still looking uncertain as their builds were still being wrapped up. Missing one round of points makes it extremely challenging to earn a license at the end of the year so this round is crucial for drivers. As the weekend drew closer we weren’t really sure what to expect for a driver count. Early roll calls online hinted toward a full Top 16 competition on the 5/8ths bank which is the most EVD has seen in over 3 years. The season was shaping up to be the biggest yet.
The morning of the event began with the standard tech inspection and drivers meeting. A total of 14 drivers made it to the event. There have a been quite a few changes behind the scenes at Evergreen in the offseason – all in an effort to make the program even better. Kevin Guthrie, the new drifting director, formally introduced himself to everyone at the drivers meeting. Kevin joined the program earlier in the winter and has been quickly getting up to speed. Using his previous knowledge and experience with running NASCAR, he’s a got a lot of insight that the program will surely benefit from. Another big announcement was the addition of Bardahl and Fortune Auto as contingency sponsors of the series.
With the meeting finished and a full day ahead of the drivers, it was time to get practice started. Round 1 was to be held on the infamous 5/8ths bank, which is a test of both the skills and nerves of unseasoned drivers. While the offseason did offer a handful of days for drivers to get practice on the bank, this would be the first hot, dry day for many of the drivers. The big bank requires a lot horsepower and commitment on the throttle. A large portion of practice was drivers just warming up to the speed required to tackle the turn. The infield game seemed less important during practice, as everyone was focused on being settled on the bank. In the end, it would all come down to two qualifying runs – without a doubt the most stressful moment for some drivers.
Some drivers had not driven the bank in well over a year and others were just trying it for the first time. This season’s first crash on the bank was a hard one. As exciting and tremendous as these accidents can be, we must remind ourselves that the safety of the driver is always the first priority. Peter Taylor has been coming to Evergreen for quite a while and I’m glad to hear that he will be driving again after his crash. All winter for him was spent finishing up his new competition car, an LS powered S14. The car seemed to be getting finished in the pits and made it out at the last minute. Peter showed great determination and willingness to charge into the bank, however something went wrong. I’m not sure if it was car or driver error but the end result was the car straightening and slamming into the wall. Peter was on his feet and in good spirits which says more than enough about him as a driver. I look forward to his return.
The brackets were set. The drivers were ready for the long night ahead. But it was time to socialize before things got too serious. Evergreen Speedway’s Fan Fest invited all the cars and drivers of the night to come down in front of the stands and mingle with the crowd. Around 30-40 drift cars, Pro-4 trucks, Hornet Racers and Outlaw Figure 8, all spread across the front straight. It was a very curious mix of cars but it was awesome to see new fans crowd around the drift cars. It was a fun and unique opportunity for the drivers to meet and connect with the fans.
Game faces were on – it was competition time. Top 8 was set to start and it was all tandem battles for the remainder of the night. It was a pleasant mix of both new and familiar drivers. Brandon Schmidt had taken the number one qualifying spot and had been looking pretty smooth and settled all day. His first victim was Arie Abrams during the Top 8. This was Arie’s first day on the bank and he seemed to be trying to diagnose some engine issues throughout the day. I’m looking forward to a stronger performance from him and the PSI crew at DriftCon/Round 2.
Dio Ortiz faced off with Matt Vankirk in Top 8. Dio was looking comfortable all day but made some unexpected mistakes during this battle. Vankirk was doing the usual Vankirk thing – he showed up during the drivers meeting with the car still on jackstands. It’s still debatable whether or not he should have been competing but he mustered through and was able to beat out Dio running only in 3rd gear. What happened Dio?
Nate Snyder and Tyler Campbell are both seasoned drivers at EVD. Nate had been settling into his new V8 S14 and before the competition he had only driven a handful of dry events. Meanwhile Tyler was fighting gremlins in his newly boosted 1UZ Corolla including a slipping clutch. Nate had been laying solid runs down on the bank all day and was truly looking like the stronger driver, but he got a little to close in chase and spun behind Tyler, giving him the advance.
The best battle in the Top 8 had to be Travis Reeder vs. Tyler Grimsley. Travis is new to Evergreen and Tyler is running an entirely new setup. Both are extremely capable drivers with very will built machines. Tyler had a moment of correction while chasing Travis, and that was enough for the judges to deem Reeder the winner. This battle made the grandstands roar and was the first true battle of the day (IMO). I look forward to seeing both of these drivers compete again!
The day carried on as we worked our way through a plethora of different motorsports events. It was a little different but neat to see a mix of different racing types all rolled into one night. The NASCAR and Figure 8 guys seemed to be taking a liking to all the sideways action though.
After downtime for the other forms of racing, Matt Vankirk and Brandon Schmidt were the first to compete in the Final Four. Their first battle ended with a OMT. Matt was still struggling with his gearbox and was limited to one gear and it showed in his driving. No angle and little style translated into an easy win for Schmidt. Vankirk would hang back and battle for third place.
The next battle in the Final Four 4 was another case of a solid runner versus a slightly handicapped car. Travis Reeder, though new to the bank until today had settled in comfortably and was looking strong all afternoon. However, Tyler was still struggling with a slipping clutch and engine issues. It ended with a stronger performance by the RDE S13 and Travis advanced to the finals.
All was in place for the final two battles. After a five minute timeout call and a failure to show to the line (I believe), Matt Vankirk ended up bowing out to Tyler in the final battle. Tyler took the third place spot and a victory lap around the track. Not the strongest performance I’ve seen by Tyler but he showed determination and muscled through adversity to get a podium spot.
The final Battle of the Night, and hands down most exciting battle of the day was between Brandon Schmidt and Travis Reeder. Brandon led the first run and charged into the infield with Travis right on his heels. Travis was able to keep up and closed the gap and kept the pressure on Brandon. Travis laid down a fairly good line during his lead run but wasn’t quite as high on the bank which might have been the determining factor…
The crowd raged and applauded in excitement after the final battle. For many of the people in the stands they had just witnessed a drifting competition for the very first time. They got a hell of a good show and at the end of the night, it was Brandon Schmidt standing on top of his very first ProAm Podium, well on his way to a Formula Drift Pro2 License.
Round 2 is just around the corner on June 4, 2016. With the promise of a larger car count and epic car show, DriftCon is set to be the next big drift competition this summer. Mark your calendars, RSVP online, and we’ll see you there!
Awesome work Mat!!!