THE NORTHWEST DRIFTING CARNIVAL.

Big Drifting, Bigger Energy! 

Washington drifting enthusiasts are fortunate to have a multitude of grassroots drifting venues they can frequent across the state. Nearly every weekend of the year, you can find an open drift or organized competition happening at one of the many Washington State tracks, including Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Villain’s Sportsland in Walla Walla, or Spirit Peaks Raceway in Toutle. 

The drifting community is alive and well in the Evergreen State, and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon. This is why DriftCon’s annual drifting circuit at Evergreen Speedway grows bigger and better every year. The DriftCon season brings out many different types of fans from all over the state and draws in the best drivers from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. 

“2021 was a year of just recovering from COVID and the lack of events, and 2022 was a year of growth and building new experiences, with DriftCon Afterdark 2022 being our largest event ever,” shared DriftCon organizer Matt Haugness, noting 2023 is on track to keep this trend going. “It's really encouraging to see spectator growth in the local drift scene.”

All season - from the long-anticipated Big Bounty opening event in April, to June’s Team Tandem and PRO-AM shootout licensing competition, then onto the Afterdark finale competition in September - the energy of DriftCon is simply electric!

You can feel the vibrant energy in the paddocks, on the track, and in the stands, adding a palpable level of excitement to what is already one of the best local drifting circuits in the United States.

Action-Packed Drifting Events Throughout The PNW Season. 

We’ve covered DriftCon’s previous Big Bounty and Team Tandem/PRO-AM events in former articles, so if you missed them, it’s definitely worth the look back. Here’s a thumbnail of how the circuit works. 

In short, DriftCon’s April event is designed to get everyone ‘in the mood’ for a new competitive season that runs throughout the drier months of the year. 

Augmenting DriftCon’s signature competitive events, Evergreen Speedway also hosts several ‘open drift’ track days from late Winter into the Autumn months (they also plan to host a ProAm Shootout event this October). 

Then, after everyone is dialed back into the drifting mood, and all the gears have been oiled, DriftCon leads into the Summer with a fun Saturday Team Tandem competition. 

It’s one of the only true Team Tandem competitive events in the country, so if June ever brings you to the Seattle area and you’re looking for some wild drifting action, it’s worth the trek north to Monroe to see these teams compete on style, form, and overall synchronicity.

Team Tandem, the DriftCon way, in 2023. 

The 2023 Team Tandem event was a little different from past years. Especially for us!

First off, we should talk about the Goon Squad NW group. These guys are legendary drivers in the Northwest, and they’ve earned themselves quite a few wins and trophies, including first place honors at almost every DriftCon Team Tandem event in recent years. 

“Anything these guys do is GOLD on track,” said Ben Whyte (@666drifter), longtime DriftCon announcer and local driver. “I’m a big fan of them as a team, and specifically this year, Junior Chhuon (@idontknowjunior). His driving in the solo comps took a huge leap and it made every run involving him on track exciting to watch.”

This year, instead of competing in the Team Tandem event, the DriftCon admins gave the Goon Squad boys the keys to the kingdom.

“Goon Squad NW (Jon, John, Junior, and Julio) reached out to see if they could help make the event a little better with a custom layout and using them as judges. I was happy to have them on board, as they are well-respected as one of the top teams in the Northwest for drifting,” Haugness stated. “This allowed them to step away from competition, but still drive for fun, while creating the layout and practice.”

They did a great job on all of the above and ended up awarding the first place Team Tandem position to drivers Tyler Mayer (@tyler_mayer), Joseph Lin (@dspecautojoe), and Simeon McKinley (@simsmckin) of Team Proximity Third. The drivers of Team Ratchet Slayers nabbed second place and Team Ride The Wall clutched third. 

Another first at this event was the presence of Team Drift Enthusiast, a group of cars and drivers sponsored by yours truly. Like many others, the team consisted of a mix of chassis and horsepower output. However, unlike most of the other teams, Team Drift Enthusiast featured four cars and drivers, including Jared Bradfield (@j_rodsgarage), Sean Moore (@projectarudaracing), Alex Chavez (@alexchavezzzzz), and Jayce Habich (@ls13coupe).

They didn’t place, but all of them had tons of fun, and they’re already talking about driving together in future competitions. Hats off to ‘DEM boys! (Thank you so much for repping us at this event.)

Regardless of whether you’re a driver, crew member, or spectator, DriftCon’s Team Tandem events are an absolute treat. If you’ve never had the chance to see how this type of competition works, we hope our description here, as well as our 2022 feature article describing the competition in detail, will pique your imagination enough to bring you out for DriftCon’s future Team Tandem events.

DriftCon’s Competitions and Drifting Challenges Abound. 

As if watching all the Team Tandem drivers battle is not enough entertainment and excitement for one day, DriftCon also features a June shootout competition. This event was rebranded as the Hiline Shootout in 2023 and it was the intent of event organizers to also introduce a new track layout. However, driver feedback following the practice day ultimately changed the plan. Come Saturday morning, the competition course was back to the former layout that most of the competing drivers had driven in previous events.

“It has been a long time since we have done the mini-Irwindale layout, so many drivers were rusty, or didn't have the power to do it properly,” explained Haugness. “We put it up for a vote in the drivers meeting on Saturday to give them the option of going to a standard 3/8 round, and the majority decided on doing that, but we hope to potentially try it again next year.”

There’s no way of knowing if the last-minute updates had any influence on driver performance, but in the end, eight prospective drivers in the shootout ended up with zero-point runs in qualifying that knocked them out.

Either way, everyone knows changes of this nature are a normal part of drift racing, and often, these dynamics are what make high-level, experienced, and cool-headed drivers shine through the rest.

Driver Tyler Mayer from the winning Team Proximity Third Team Tandem group also won the exciting main event competition, proving his driving talents were unmatched in the eyes of two unique judging panels. This win gave Mayer - who is already a decorated local driver - a few more coveted drifting feathers to add to his cap. 

When we asked Mayer how he does it, he didn’t hesitate to share his secret sauce, crediting friends, family, and partners for their constant support throughout his competitive drifting journey. He also said, “Seat time on my drift simulator has helped me in almost every aspect of my driving, from tandem, to managing nerves and confidence.” 

Whyte reflected on the overall vibe of the shootout event. “The Double 8 was WILD, with lots of great battles and driving, but with ‘car-show-style’ judging that generated a desire for some of the drivers to enhance the overall appearance of their vehicles,”  he stated. “Jayce Habich is a prime example of this, because his car went from ‘not the prettiest’ (a classic DeAnda comment from FDATL 2016), to one of the most visually appealing vehicles on track.”

A Drifting Sendoff Like No Other!

The Washington drifting community continues to gather at Evergreen Speedway throughout the Summer months, taking advantage of other events and track days hosted by the facility until September. This is when the next DriftCon circuit competition happens; just a few days following the start of Fall, when the nights begin to get longer. 

The eclectic format of DriftCon’s annual Afterdark Jamboree is the perfect way to send everyone off for the cold days of Winter. It also keeps the drivers, crews, and fans alike, waiting with bated breath until another competitive DriftCon season brings them all back out to the track the following Spring.

To say this event has it ALL is an understatement. Afterdark is typically a huge mishmash of mini events, all in one night, and it literally has something for everyone.

“It's definitely a packed schedule, but the intent is to put on the best show possible for the spectators, without stretching it into a two-day event,” Haugness shared. “We've been hosting this event for a long time, and Kevin Guthrie from Evergreen Speedway has a really good handle on how long things should take, which makes creating the schedule and sticking to it possible.”

As a result, in addition to the widely popular Double 8 Showdown competition, the Afterdark Jamboree features: 

• The Hoon Off exhibition, where every contestant does stylized burnouts until one of their tires actually bursts!

• The second Team Tandem elimination event of the season.

• A 360-entry exhibition, showcasing trickster-style entries, with the goal of transitioning into drift as smoothly as possible.

• A rad Stance Wars event for show-quality rides.

• The Drift Showcase, which is a smaller car show, featuring only drifting vehicles.

• An early entry option to give diehard fans the chance to ‘see it all’ before the driving starts.

The 2022 event also included a BIG-entry exhibition event that demonstrated aggressive entries with faster speed, bigger angle, reverse entries, Manji-style flicks, and overall meticulous driving skills. Unfortunately, this event was cut short because fluids on the track resulting from a crash could not be cleared quickly or safely enough to allow for the remaining runs.

However, Haugness has indicated this entertaining event is back on the 2023 docket, and will take place, “as long as there are no accidents that prevent it from happening.”

Outside of this one hiccup, it couldn’t have been a more perfect day for Afterdark 2022, including temperatures that hovered just under 80 degrees, a nice breeze, and despite the wild myriad of activities, a schedule that literally rolled like clockwork.

“We had a very important memorial for Mat Risher who passed away this year, so that kind of set the tone for the rest of the evening and made sure we started on time,” Haugness recalled, also commending Guthrie and his team of track workers for, “knowing where to be and when to be there.”

Image courtesy of DriftCon.

Northwest Drifters Are Primed To Jam Again!

The 2023 Afterdark Jamboree is set to take place this weekend, and as expected by all, it will not disappoint!

The agenda will be just as lively (if not livelier), and if you haven’t bought your tickets yet, be sure to consider the extra $10 Early Access option, so you can get the full experience in.

As far as what’s in store, champion Northwest drifter Tyler Mayer told us he loves ALL the DriftCon events, because they bring out so many people. “I’ve never driven in front of a crowd as big as Afterdark 2022,” he added.

“It was wild!” Mayer said. “Plus, drifting at night is cool, and the layout is super technical, so it takes quite a bit of skill to do the tracks well.”

As far as his favorite aspect of Afterdark, Mayer said it’s the diversity of the drivers. “You could be battling a PROSPEC driver, a PRO-AM driver, or a Grassroots local legend.”

Fan favorite, Ben Whyte, is scheduled to commentate Afterdark again this year, and in true Whyte style, he told us anything could happen at this year’s event.

“Will we have Big Bounty 2: Cash-Prize Boogaloo? Will Double 8 go to a Triple 16? Will Kory Keezer (@korykeezerracing) build an RX8 and earn a license in that?” Whyte speculated, with a mischievous grin.

“CAN ANYONE DETHRONE THE GOON SQUAD?!” the announcer quipped again (and yes, these ‘Best in the Northwest’ lads will be out on the track competing in the Afterdark Team Tandem Showoff again this year!) 

“I have no clue, but I’m excited for what is possible in 2023,” Whyte concluded. “I know, for sure, we will see a lot of Team Tandem, some great payouts for solo competitions, and tons of excitement happening on track.”