Each year at the end of August, Monroe, WA plays host to the annual Evergreen State Fair. Bringing thousands to the small Washington town over the course of a week and a half, the Evergreen State Fair is a perennial attraction every year.  However last Sunday, amid all the farm animals, screams from roller coasters, and smells of elephant ears, the roar of drift cars and smell of smoke easily took over the consciousness of everyone at the fairgrounds.  It was the final round for both the Evergreen Drift and Grassroots Championships, with the top four points leaders for Evergreen Drift being awarded a Formula DRIFT license for 2013.

Photos by Armin Ausejo and Erich Breitkreutz – Text by Armin Ausejo

The warm, but comfortable temps and slight breeze made it a perfect day for drifting and it seemed like all of the drivers fed off of the natural energy. Evergreen Drift points leader Nik Jimenez looked strong from the start, making very few if any mistakes and qualifying in the top spot.  The Midnighters from across the border in Canada brought everything they had, with Gaelen Norman surprising just about everyone with his first place qualifying run in Grassroots. Mike Phillips wowed the crowd in his Formula DRIFT S13, giving Kory Keezer’s car a run for its money in a competition for loudest exhaust.

A few crashes here and there delayed the schedule slightly, but if anything it showed that everyone was all in for this final round. All of the drivers involved in crashes thankfully walked away just fine, but a few cars looked like they were down for the count until next season.  As each head-to-head battle whittled down the field, the season’s top drivers remained above the rest, leading to some epic battles at the end of the day. Joey Portelli took home the top spot in Grassroots, but ultimately Chris Goldie-Wells prevailed to win the overall Grassroots Championship.  Nik Jimenez fended off Kory Keezer in a crazy finish for the top spot in Evergreen Drift, securing both his 2013 Formula DRIFT license and his position as the 2012 Evergreen Drift Champion. Also receiving 2013 Formula DRIFT licenses were past Formula DRIFT license-holder Victor Moore, Evergreen Drift rookie Jeremy Richter, and fan favorite Rob Primo.

NWMotiv certainly looks forward to seeing each of these four drivers on the Formula DRIFT circuit next year. The Northwest continues to produce great drivers for Formula DRIFT and if their performance at last Sunday is any indication of what we’ll all see at inMotion next month, everyone should really start getting excited.  Congratulations to each of the drivers and we look forward to seeing what next year has to offer!

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