Evergreen Drift Takes Off With a Saturday Night Launch
April 21st 2012 will do gown in Evergreen Drift history as the day everyone showed up. Even the sunshine got its act together and made an appearance which is something those of us in the PNW aren’t entirely accustomed to. 40 Grassroots and 20 ProAM competitors and their accompanying crews poured into the pits, showing that drifting in the Northwest is not only alive and well but still growing!
Evergreen Drift fans are some of the best in the business. They loudly and proudly cheered on their favorite drivers. And the level of excitement they displayed can only be attributed to the fact NOS Energy was in the house dishing out ice cold energy.
Top name vendors including 425 Motorsports, Nissanparts.cc and Radium Engineering were in the house showcasing top level tuning products to take your car from mild to wild. And when the hot afternoon sun was too much to take, fans refreshed with an ice cold brew at the beer garden, soaking up the perfect afternoon weather.
Evergreen Drift Grassroots competition was the best ever in the history of the program – and this is only round 1! The judges were pulling their hair out at some of the close decisions they were forced to make. But in the end only three drivers can come out on top. The third place podium step belonged to Jonathan Raymer. Jonathan had a fantastic afternoon and really impressed the judges with his lines, speed and angle. Second place went to Marc-Andre Tatto. Tatto ran consistently high lines on the bank combined with steady infield transitions, helping him to fight through the field of 40 to claim second place. But the Grassroots night belonged to Thomas Skarshoug. Thomas’s runs were the best all day, and the judges agreed as Marc-Andre and Thomas battled it out for the top step.
One thing that can be said for the Evergreen Drift Formula Drift ProAM drivers is that they came out with their game faces on. The 20 drivers who showed up this year virtually tripled the number of drivers over round 1 of 2011. These drivers were ready to win and their practice runs proved they weren’t holding anything back. As the sun went down the battles heated up and drivers were blowing up the 5/8ths with high speed action. However, the podium only has room for three when the dust settles. Claiming third position for his own was rookie sensation Jeremy Richter. Jeremy had some great battles throughout the day, and his ability to lead with speed and follow with precision helped him lock down the third place spot. The top podium step was fiercely contested between Victor Moore and Nik Jimenez. Both drivers displayed what it means to compete at the ProAM level and Nik put up a fantastic fight. But after careful consideration the judges confirmed that the first round of Evergreen Drift Formula Drift ProAM competition for 2012 belonged to Victor Moore.
Evergreen Drift would like to thank the fans, volunteers, vendors, drivers and their crews for making this event so special and we can’t wait to do it again. So mark May 20th on your calendars for round 2 of Grassroots and ProAM competition and we’ll see you there!
Grassroots Results
ProAm Results