Trent Stromkins

Evergreen ProAm Round #4 - Results

Congratulations to the winners of ProAm Round #4!

1. Trent Stromkins - $300 and $25 Longacre Racing Certificate
2. Peter Funatake - $200
3. Walker Wilkerson - $150

• Top Qualifier - Walker Wilkerson - Longacre Racing Tire Pressure Gauge

The lineup featured ProAm drivers from Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia:

• Andrew Coomes
• Peter Funatake
• Mike Phillips
• Nik Jimenez
• Kyle Pollard
• Trent Stromkins
• Walker Wilkerson

Walker has jumped into ProAm mid-season and made the podium in his 2nd showing. He took top qualifier honors for round 4 and has proven to be a tough adversary straight out of the gate.

Trent is a 5/8ths OG and 2009 FD ProAm Nationals veteran. This is is first Evergreen event this season due to engine rebuilding woes. With is car back together he drove down from BC by himself to compete just for fun.

The final battle took 2 one more time rounds to settle as both drivers made errors due to mechanical difficulties. Peter Funatake lost power steering and Trent had a loose downpipe that caused him to lose power if he let the engine drop below 4000 rpm. Both drivers had to use all their skill to drive around these problems.

It was a tough decision but the judges chose Trent for his consistent wall riding high speed lines on the bank.

The season standings have been updated and with one more round to go Peter Funatake’s second place finish keeps him in first place overall ahead of Mike Phillips by 41 points. With the drivers all gunning to finish in the top 5 to earn the invitations to ProAm nationals anything could happen at the final round on September 3rd. Sunset is starting earlier and it will be a showdown under the Friday night lights that drift fans won’t want to miss.

Evergreen Drift would like to thank all the dedicated fans, volunteers, sponsors, and drivers that make these events so great!

Trent Stromkins

Dead Pirate Video - All Guns Blazing ProAm

Ross Fairfield of Dead Pirate Production has released his four minute epic heavy metal tribute to the destruction and power drifting from the ProAm National Championship event.

The video opens with a bang showing the heavy hits from the event including Victor’s shunt at 0:07 and Nikolay’s tail slide at 0:15.

Max out the volume and let the video assault you full throttle.

Trent Stromkins

2009 ProAm Nationals - The Saga

The Evergreen Drift teams arrived as a very confident bunch with good reason. The drivers had already competed against the best at the Evergreen Drift, Vegas Drift Pro-Am, and other events such as All Star Bash.

This seasoned group of drivers hit the track on Friday afternoon for practice and it was clear from the start that they would not be intimidated by the Irwindale bank.  Everyone was upbeat as all the drivers grew comfortable and figured out how to tackle this challenging course that was put together by Formula Drift chief judge Andy Yen.

All was going well until what looked to be an event ending hit on the inner bank wall for Roland Gallagher. A number of people had counted Roland out after seeing the damage. However, the Evergreen Drift crew was not going to let the weekend end for him. All the teams pitched in parts and labor to get the car rolling again. This allowed Roland’s team to get the car to Justin Pawlak’s shop where the team worked until 1 AM leaving only a few items to finish up at the track on Saturday morning.

As the sun rose on the practice grid at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale California the confidence that all teams had on Friday was shaken. Victor Moore went out for his first practice run and crashed hard into the wall on the big bank leaving his mark on the famed House of Drift. It was immediately clear after the hit that this would end Victor’s weekend. The news didn’t get any better in practice as shortly after Victor’s trouble Trent Stromkins lost his engine ending his weekend as well.

The remaining drivers had to shake off these incidents and focus on the task at hand as qualifying started immediately after practice. After completely missing practice Roland Gallagher’s car the “Teal Tiger” appeared from behind the wall and took its spot in the qualifying lineup. Roland knew that qualifying would be difficult as the car still had major damage.

Drivers from all across the country began laying down some really impressive runs. The two drivers that really stood out were Ian Fournier and Nikolay “Molatov” Konstantinov. It was clear that after their runs they would make the top 16. Andrew Coomes qualifying runs were good but contained a few corrections that would place him on the bubble.

As drivers, crew, and FD staff gathered for the Top 16 announcement Formula Drift Co-Founder Ryan Sage put on his chef’s hat to cook lunch for the masses. After the BBQ JRod announced the results to the large crowd that was eager to find out who would be receiving their Formula Drift professional licenses. The results were good for Evergreen Drift with Nikolay Konstantinov qualifying third just behind Ian Fournier who took the second spot. Immediately after the announcement of the top 16, JRod had another surprise in store. Formula Drift had made the decision to recognize the efforts of three additional drivers with licenses. The fortunes for Victor Moore and Roland Gallagher instantly changed as their names were announced as license recipients.

Nikolay Konstaninov took his place on the grid waiting for the opportunity to thrill the crowd with his take no prisoners style which earned him a new nickname from Formula Drift announcer Jrod. “Molatov” Konstaninov hit the track just as he had done all weekend long, accelerator to the floor and angles that were so steep one could only wonder how any human being wouldn’t spin the car.

Spinning is not what cost him. A second run attempt to step up the speed into the infield resulted in a well executed fifteen foot tail slide along the wall with enough force to lift both rear wheels off the ground. Yet, even with that hit Nikolay was without a doubt a crowd favorite and he earned himself some fans that will be waiting to cheer him on at Long Beach in April.

That left Ian Fournier to carry the fortunes of Evergreen Drift, and he did not disappoint. Run after solid run Ian started marching his way through the brackets until he found himself at the final bracket contending for the win against Mike Pollard from Minnesota.

Ian was chasing on his first run and perhaps made his only mistake of the day when he let the lead car open up a gap that he was not able to close while still maintaining solid line and angle. It left Ian with work to do as the lead car in the second run if he wanted to seal the deal on this trip down from Canada.

Ian ripped through the big bank in the lead while Mike Pollard stayed right on his door. Ian floated up the bank to the first critical outer clipping point not letting up through the switch back. The crowd tensed as the drivers rocketed together into the inner bank and charged headlong at the wall in a terminal trajectory. Ian committed the angle, executed a textbook wall tap, and accelerated through the final turns, but Pollard was was no longer on his door.

Pollard and Fournier were equally matched, but that fateful run at the wall was enough for Ian to shake the Minnesotan and take home the title of 2009 Formula Drift Pro Am Champion.

When asked if he thought he had the advantage going into the last run of the day, Ian replied “Absolutely not”. “I knew I had to go after the inner wall and tap it with my bumper while at the same time drawing Pollard in with me. I was hoping I could take him to the wall and maybe he would make that one mistake he hadn’t made all day”.

As the two drivers made their way into Toyota Speedway’s victory circle it was clear these competitors had a blast out on the track and developed a lot of respect for each other. Chelesa DeNofa filled out the 3rd place spot and these three collected quite a haul from the many events sponsors: AEM, Brian Cower, Exedy, Eibach springs, High Pro Speed, Motovicity Distribution, Tokico Performance Shocks, Turbonetics, and Wilwood Brakes. After the champagne shower Ian got his first taste of professional stardom as several new fans young and old came up and asked to take a picture with him and his car.

The weekend was a huge success for Formula Drift and the Pro Am program with a strong field of competitors and 19 new licensed drivers. Formula Drift’s genuine dedication to assisting grassroots drifting organizations and drivers succeed through the Pro Am program is a great benefit to the sport of drifting. Evergreen Drift thanks Jim Liaw, Andy Luk, Ryan Sage, Andy Yen, Ernie Fiximer, and the rest of the team for their work on the 2009 Pro Am Championship series. Props to the many Formula Drift drivers that were on hand to offer advice and support to the ProAm drivers: Justin Pawlak, Joon Maeng, Alex Pfeiffer, Ross Petty, Stephan Verdier, Ken Gushi, and Taka Aono. Thanks to Wrecked Magazine for the great ProAm coverage and the pictures for this story.

Drifting fans can look forward to more exceptional drifting in 2010 from the likes of Ian Fournier and Mike Pollard, stars of the Pro Am class of 2009. Watch out Long Beach, there are some new drifters coming to town.

Trent Stromkins

Evergreen Drift Drivers Results Flash

The results are in from the 2009 Formula Drift ProAm National Championship.

Evergreen Drift drivers left their mark.

Invited to the party:

• Ian Fournier
• Nikolay Konstantinov
• Andrew Coomes
• Victor Moore
• Trent Stromkins

Totaled Chassis:

• Roland Gallagher
• Victor Moore

Blown Engine:

• Trent Stromkins

Qualified like champs:

• Ian Fournier - 2nd
• Nikolay Konstantinov - 3rd
• Andrew Coomes - 17th

Got the licenses:

• Ian Fournier
• Niklolay Konstantinov
• Victor Moore
• Rolland Gallagher

WON THE WHOLE THING!

• Ian Fournier

Hail Canada!

Stay tuned for more video, recaps, and pictures.

Congratulations to all the Evergreen Drift drivers and teams for a great effort and showing at Nationals.

Trent Stromkins

Evergreen Drift ProAm Nats Spotters Guide

The biggest event of the year for the up and coming drifters is happening this weekend.

The best drivers from all over the country who qualified at the various Pro-Am events will converge on Toyota Speedway in Irwindale California this Saturday (11/21). Everyone will be gunning for glory and dogfighting for the golden tickets to compete in the Formula Drift pro series next year.

The Evergreen Drift drivers will represent the Northwest in force with 6 drivers from Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. These guys have had tons of seat time on Evergreen Speedways huge 5/8th mile oval which should give them confidence when charging into the House Of Drift’s famous high speed 1/2 mile bank.

Here is a run down and spotters guide for the Evergreen Drift crew (in no particular order).

Victor Moore

• From - Port Orchard, WA
• Car - KP Race S14
• Bio - Victor is a Pro-Am nationals veteran having been lucky enough to compete at the Pro-Am held during the 2008 Red Bull World Drift Championship event. Victor didn’t earn a license that day but he is back stronger than ever and ready to earn his license. He is backed by KP Race Engineering, the same team that has tuned and run Tommy Suell’s rocket ship of an AE86 this season in FD. His S14 is professionally set up, has tons of steering angle, and his support team is FD experienced.
• Stats - 2008 Evergreen Drift Champion. 2009 Evergreen Drift #2. 2009 Evergreen Drift Pro-Am #2
• Sponsors - KP Race Engineering, Advanced Street Performance, Hankook Tires, Maaco, Racetech

Ian Fournier

• From - Abbotsford,  B.C. CANADA!
• Car - R32 Nissan Skyline (4 Door Family Sedan)
• Bio - Everyone loves Ian’s car, the smoke it makes, and his aggressive driving. He always is on the high line with the throttle pinned. He and Trent make up the Drift Safari duo and what we like to call ‘Team Canada’. The Drift Safari boys are super dedicated and traveled 3 hours and a boarder crossing 1 way down to practically Evergreen Drift event this season. They were the first ones putting in the practice laps on the 5/8ths this season and have the most practice of all the drivers. The work payed off for Ian with a podium finish at the Evergreen Drift ProAm event. Look for Ian to put in a good showing on the Irwindale bank.
• Stats - 2008 Evergreen Drift #6. 2009 Evergreen Drift #6. 2009 Evergreen Drift Pro-Am #3
• Sponsors - The Skyline Shop, Wheels West, Drivers Edge Autosports

Trent Stromkins

• From - Chilliwack, B.C., CANADA!
• Car - Toyota Corolla - AE86 Hatch with S14 SR20DET
• Bio - Trent Is the other half of the Drift Safari crew. This tight team has what it takes to go pro and make it to events and deliver results. Trent’s long time yellow AE86 coupe met with some trouble mid season and so he did a chassis swap in 9 days including a new cage to his current burgundy hatch. The S14 SR20DET under the hood is lightly tuned and set up for reliability to ensure the car lasts to the final round.
• Stats - 2008 Evergreen Drift #8. 2009 Evergreen Drift #3. 2009 Evergreen Drift Pro-Am Top 8
• Sponsors - Wheels West, Work Wheels Japan, Drivers Edge Autosports, ShowStoppers USA

Andrew Coomes

• From - Portland, OR
• Car - Nissan 240SX - S13 with SR20DET
• Bio - Andrew get the ‘Most Improved’ award for 2009. His first season of drift competition was ‘08 in a ratty Corolla coupe. He was bitten by the bug and traded up to a well built S13 in ‘09 and it was just what he needed to show his rapidly developing talent. Andrew has a great pit crew of friends and family that support him at every event. He went down to the Vegas Drift ProAm and got 4th place while battling overheating issues and earning an invite to the Nationals. Back at the ranch he got knocked out in the great 8 at the Evergreen ProAm. Andrew is focused and with a great team behind him has what he needs to do well at the Nationals.
• Stats - 2008 Evergreen Drift #82. 2009 Evergreen Drift #4. 2009 Vegas Drift Pro-Am #4. 2009 Evergreen Drift Pro-Am Great 8
• Sponsors - Photo Finish Media, F Records, K&N Filters, Unnatural Inc

Rolland Gallagher

• From - Bothell, WA
• Car - Nissan 240SX - S13 Newport Green with SR20DET
• Bio - Roland and his super style car are already well known and have achieved some internet stardom. The cool thing is that he has the skill to back up the style.  Roland has only has one mode - Maximum Attack. His tandem battles always bring the crowd to their feet as he trails his opponent with mere feet to spare from initiation to to finish line. Don’t miss a single one of Roland’s runs if you want to see some awesome action.
• Stats - 2008 Evergreen Drift #2. 2009 Evergreen Drift #5. 2009 Vegas Drift Pro-Am #3, 2009 Evergreen Drift Pro-Am Top 4
• Sponsors - Garage Autohero, K&N Filters

Nikolay Konstantinov

• From - Lynnwood, WA
• Car - Nissan 240SX - S13 with RB25DETT
• Bio - Nikolay is one of the drifting godfathers of the Northwest. He was part of the original group of drifters that organized events in Washington. He went on a hiatus as his car went through a 2 year rebuild into it’s present state. His 180sx with a UP Garage special recipe RB25 and RB26DETT twin turbos setup puts down over 400HP with no lag. With the new whip finished he has jumped back in the the game with the goal of playing with the Pros.  His motto is “Go for speed” and his super smooth style and aggressive door to door tandem car control skills make him a crowd favorite and podium contender.
• Stats - 2009 Evergreen Drift #10. 2009 Evergreen Drift Pro-Am
• Sponsors - UP GARAGE, DISCOUNT TIRE CO., Cascade Wheel, KIZO GRAPHICS, FALKEN,  DOWN TOWN BANYA, JMI MOTORING

And one more honorable mention. While Cyrus Martinez is a SoCal guy he did earn his invite at the Evergreen Drift Pro-Am by winning. He overcame competitors with a huge home course advantage and a big crash in practice to beat the Evergreen Drift boys in their own house. Cyrus is a great guy and we loved having him compete with us but there are a few drivers looking for redemption and a chance for a re-match!

Good luck to all the competitors from across the country.

Be sure to stop by our pits and say hi.

Trent Stromkins

Behind The Scenes w. Eddi Hughes

If you haven’t caught the Twitter bug, I’d advise you to stay away. But if you feel like following me on Twitter, by all means.

Saturday April 4th, I decided to buy an iPhone. Now I’ll be eating Ramen and rice for a while, as I save up for my coilovers. I figured out that the App TwitterFon enables users to take photos with the camera and tweet them out. The announcers, Matt Risher and Ross Churlin were up in the booth getting live updates as I posted photos. If you were spectating in the grand stands, you probably heard me giving interviews and live commentary mid-drift. I apologies in advanced if I slurred my words, I couldn’t keep my breath.

This here is Ian Fournier, he’s 21, drives for Team Canada (Drift Safari), TheSkylineShop.com and DriversEdgeAutosport.com - As you can tell, he’s passionate about this sport.

Give credit to Walker Wilkerson, Mark and Gleb Antonav keep giving it their all. Team Instant Party is here to stay.

Nick, aka “Kiwi Killer” qualifies for Hellaflush, the problem is trying to get him on the site. Fail

Who’s this!? AngryEarl Smith in an S13!?

Gleb “Smoke for Days” Antonav rocking the widebody 180sx, waiting on paint.

This here is Trent Stromkins of Drift Safari, he drives for ShowStoppersUSA.com WheelsWest.ca TechnoToyTuning.com DriversEdgeAutosport.com - in the SR-Rolla, believe me: it’s fast!

The Drivers Meeting, 10:45AM Sharp!

If your serious, and you want in at ProAm, you’ll want to learn how to drift the “Big Boys Bank” aka 4th gear on the 5/8ths. Dress code strictly enforced.

Roland Gallagher of Team Instant Party not drifting, he’s just mean muggin.

Trent’s tire after 4 runs on the 5/8ths. These tires are totaled out.

Gaelen Norman from GaelenNorman.ca and covering the event.

Earl Smith from Drift Office and Tire Dogs locked & loaded!

WHOA! NO HE’S NOT!

Here’s the Mad JDM Solution.

How do you like the BN Sport Ferrari Hatch on a true 180SX? According to BN Sports Japan, there were only 10 Ferrari Hatch’s imported into the U.S.

Matt Risher, Ross Churlin, Tristan and Nicolai up in the announcers booth enjoying the view.

Well, lets just say this. April 19th is the next Open Drift event, April 26th is Round 1 of the Evergreen Drift Championship. To all the spectators, drivers, sponsors and Johnson Productions, thank you!