Summer 2012 Wrap Up: Formula Drift Seattle and NSX2K

azntaijiNo CommentsEvents, Lifestyle, Performance, Stanced

Photos by Joe Glockner, Vinnie Nguyen, Andrew Kolstad, and Zach Taiji / Words by Joe Glockner, Ryan Kemper, and Zach Taiji

The Summer of the Pacific Northwest this year was quite a warm one – with temperatures reaching almost record highs of a scorching 90 degrees and above on the west sound. This created the perfect opportunity to host some great events, including some new like NSX2K and others for their annual showing like StanceWars, The Old School Reunion, and Formula Drift Seattle.

Contrastingly, the weather of Formula Drift Seattle (Round 5) didn’t start out too well which took place from July 20-21st, 2012. But even the early morning rain storm couldn’t dampen the energy of Friday’s qualifying rounds at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA. Crews worked undercover getting their cars ready for qualifying after Thursday’s paid practice. Even the NOS girls struggled to stay dry in their booth until the rain let up.


The next day (Saturday), started off cool and overcast as participants for the State of Stance car show had already begun rolling in and spiffing up their vehicles upon arrival at 7:15am.


Eventually,the temperature quickly began heating up as the sun started burning off the cloud layer as the Formula Drift drivers started their first round of practice. From here on out, the rest of the day was filled full of smoke, crowds, and fun.

Winners from the day included Vaughn Gittin for First Place, Ryan Tuerck for Second, and Rhys Millen coming in for a close third. Our very own Walker Wilkerson got a chance to compete and made it to the 2nd round for a great try at the event. We’re looking forward to more locals competing in the national level next year, with the increasing popularity of grassroots drifting in the Pacific Northwest.

On another note, Honda motor company is arguably the foundation of the import scene in the US. Cheap, reliable and easily buildable for the track or show scene, they were everywhere in the 1990s as Civics and Integras ruled the day.

Thankfully, HMC had something more to offer than front-wheel drive: The NSX, and a decade after the birth of the import scene: the S2000.  Wildly popular from the start, both the NSX and S2000 were something Honda could really be proud of, with beauty, track prowess AND reliability.

On August 4th, nw-built teamed up with ZahnTech Import Automotive to hold NSX2K, an event celebrating these two beloved Hondas at 60 Acres Park in Redmond, WA. With the pavement scorching as the temp pushed into the 90s, many pristine examples rolled in to show off their NW flavor.

With clean makes and models of all kinds welcome, it made for a laid back event that brought out about 120 cars. The S2000s had the strongest showing, with many you should check out in the pics below.  A few cars did stand out, including Dan Nguyen’s perfect NSX-R replica and Tony Dau’s monster offset S2K.

Cruising up and down the aisles there were plenty of different kinds of rides and chill owners to talk with. We even had something for those who came hungry with The Box food truck providing some super bomb hum-bao and karage, along with energy drinks from the lovely ladies at NOS.

NSX2K turned out to be a great event that we look forward to making bigger next year. Overall, the summer of 2012 was great in the Pacific Northwest and car enthusiasts throughout the region had a variety of fun events to attend. We can’t wait to see what next year’s show season has to offer!

Check out all of the Formula D photos below:

 

Check out all of the NSX2K photos below: