Text and Photos by Armin H. Ausejo

Xtreme Drift Circuit, or “XDC,” is a newcomer to the Pacific Northwest. With Formula D being the single national drift series ruling the Northwest, having another national series making its debut was definitely a welcome addition to such an already thriving drift scene. Instead of taking place at Monroe’s Evergreen Speedway like Formula D, PGP Motorsports Park in Kent was chosen to host the event on its tight and technical kart course.  Unlike Formula D, reverse entries and dirt drops were often seen and rewarded, truly setting XDC apart from the much more strict Formula D standards.

In typical Pacific Northwest fashion, the day began with overcast skies that threatened rain, but didn’t actually drop any wet stuff. Despite staying dry, not much smoke was seen during the morning practices while each driver continued to learn the course. However, once the skies cleared up a bit and qualifying began, tire smoke and the smell of race gas filled the air while crowds slowly started to build up around the course. Northwest favorites including Walker Wilkerson, Victor Moore, Roland Gallagher, and Mike Phillips drew rousing cheers from the crowd, while out-of-state drivers including Nate Hamilton, Chelsea Denofa, Corey Hosford, and Robert Turnbow pushed the local drivers to their limits. PGP’s small venue allowed for the cars and spectators to be much closer to each other than at other local drifting events, with spectators able to pretty much stand right next to their favorite cars in the staging lanes.

Each local driver represented the Northwest very well, with most of them qualifying with relative ease and making it far into the competition. Victor Moore continued to make strong runs in his first time back drifting in awhile, but a transmission problem prevented him from continuing.  Walker Wilkerson showed why he’s in the running for Formula D’s Rookie Points Championship as he qualified in the top spot and made it all the way to the final. He drove strong throughout the day until his rear differential failed during the first run of the finals, resulting in Nate Hamilton colliding into him and causing further damage. Wilkerson’s team hoped for the best, but once they confirmed that it was the differential that had broken, Nate Hamilton took home the XDC Seattle 2011 victory.

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