It has always interested me to watch the background area of a competition, and all that is involved to bring it to life. Formula D has so many people working, moving, going… There is a full TV show being produced, professional race event taking place, thousands of fans… And yet, it seems like most things move at a different pace in Las Vegas. The cars are still in a rush, but everyone else, everyone behind the scenes…
Once I started editing to this song (Sundriped), I felt the pace change from some of the other videos I have done more recently, so I countered with a different choice of footage out of my stash.
In the last video, I featured Justin Shreeve, Joe Ayala and Yoshi Shindo. In this video, I threw in a quick clip of Abbitt Wilkerson, another Northwest videographer. His older brother, Walker Wilkerson, acquired an FD license at the final Formula D event in Irwindale. Keep an eye out for what Abbitt, Shreeve, myself and the rest of YAER Productions will do for Walker’s upcoming 2011 driver package.
Ian Dillon, of Factory 83, also collaborated with YAER Productions, providing graphics for this and other upcoming edits.
This past weekend, the Formula Drift Season Finale at Irwindale Speedway went by quicker than I could ever have planned. Whether it was the severe lack of sleep, being on the move at all times, nonstop action, or the three hour time difference, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It all started at 5am EST in Atlanta when I woke up to head to the airport in hopes that I could catch a flight to LA.
Flying standby, which may be cheap, is very risky and can be stressful when flights that were empty the night before, are full in the morning. Luckily, only the first flight out of Atlanta that morning was full and I could hop on the second flight to John Wayne at Santa Ana. If time had not been an issue, I could have arrived much later and taken an easier flight, but since I had to be there by 1:30pm PST to make it to the (all-caps) MANDATORY media meeting, I was starting to stress when I noticed the flights starting to fill up. I’m no stranger to the pre-Formula D stress syndrome though. I almost didn’t make it to this point after all.
Media passes are a hot commodity, and the MotorMavens Crew rolls pretty deep, so actually getting a pass to cover the event for the site was an episode in itself. Even though we're an official Formula D Media Partner, and we have a legitimate high traffic automotive site, Formula D's PR agency didn't want to approve all our media pass requests. I didn't really understand the thinking behind that, but I suppose we did have a lot of photo and video shooters asking for passes!
This being the last round of the year for Formula D, and me traveling all the way out to Irwindale CA from Atlanta GA, I had to do it big. I always like to say ‘go big or go home.’ It’s corny but it’s a great way of seeing things - try it and see where it gets you. Read more...
The very first Bigfoot Bash was held over this past weekend. A two day event that started with action at the Evergreen Speedway for the first day, followed by an overnight camp at Pacific Grand Prix to wake up for more drifting action the next day! Rob Primozich is the guy to thank for this awesome weekend. Because of him, everyone who attended had a great time! The drivers had tons of runs and Ray Stonehocker even brought out his tire machine to change tires. Ryan Davis made the drive from Oregon to attend this event, as well as our boys Justin Shreeve and Joe Ayala.
Ryan Davis is an up and coming videographer who has been making a big impact on the Northwest scene. After watching this video, I noticed that his style of video is far different from most videos that I see I simply had to ask him “What made you make your video the way you did?” This is what he told me:
I wanted to make this film a representation of the vibe and feel I got from each stage of the event. I have had so much fun at both of these tracks before: Formula D at Evergreen and the crazy tandem events at PGP. I knew that, whatever happened, it was going to interest people, so I edited accordingly. Justin Shreeve was singing the Tom Petty song on the ride back and that fell in so easily with the Evergreen section. The PGP portion was so high-energy and I knew Supernova by Loyale, an up-and-coming artist, was going to not only show the difference in pace, but also stick in peoples’ heads leaving them wanting more.
Honestly, I think this video is one of Ryan’s best yet! It’s great to see different videographic visions of the same event. It’s amazing to me how diverse these videographers’ artistic perspectives can be. Great job Ryan!
When I was still playing around with my skateboards and dirt bikes, guys like Nikolay Konstantinov and Chris Crisostomo were setting up Nissan 240SXs for drifting - in fact they were the very first guys that I had ever met who built cars for drifting. I had no idea that something called "drifting" even existed. I remember, when I was about 14 or 15, wandering by my neighbor's house (which happened to be Chris') and seeing both of their cars for the first time. They had mostly stock bodies but were low to the ground with aggressive wheels. I was instantly hooked.
In fact, the first nice-stanced car I ever saw; the first SR swapped 240SX I ever saw; the first time I rode in a car that was drifting; and the first minor crash I experienced while drifting... all of these experiences came from hanging out with Nikolay. I guess you can say he popped my cherry in the drifting scene. LOL! So, when Nikolay asked if i wanted to do a quick photoshoot with his car while on break from drifting at Pacific Grand Prix, you know I had no choice but to take him up on his offer! Read more...
Building a car from the ground up isn't an easy task to do - physically or mentally. Some might already know exactly what they want to do, while others may have a general idea and focus on one thing at a time. Plans always change (which is the exact reason why my S14 has been sitting for over a year) but one thing that all these owners have in common is...Dedication.
This Datsun 510 project was started 13 years (and three owners) ago. The original owner (Joe Smith - sounds like an alias), had the body and paint done. He also accumulated a lot of NOS (new old stock) parts though the Nissan dealer he worked for but the car was never finished. Eventually the car ended up seeing two other owners before Dom Stokes bought it. Read more...
If you are at all a drift fan, you have probably watched old Option videos on VHS or you have seen videos on YouTube or posted around the Internet. At some point you and your friends have dropped your jaws and yelled at the screen after witnessing truly epic driving. Unreal angle, physics-defying early entries, and team tandems that looked like they were choreographed in a dance studio - all things you would scream at the top of your lungs for. Well, if you were one of the many spectators in attendance at PGP (Pacific Grand Prix), then you witnessed some of the same electrifying driving that you would expect from one of those videos from way back when. Read more...
Pacific Grand Prix in Washington state has only been holding drift events this year, but they been doing so well that everyone in the Pacific Northwest looks forward to these events now. This past weekend, was the very first Team Tandem event that PGP held. Many of the regular familiar faces showed up, as well as a lot of new drivers that I hadn’t seen before.
Drift Union was one of the crews from out-of-town that showed up for this event. They came all the way from Canada (I don’t know the exact city) and even though they were new to the PGP course, they were killin it out on track. Their super ridiculously early entries and close-following tandem runs wowed the crowd and the judges enough to ensure that they took top honors!
Congratulations, boys! Stay tuned to MotorMavens for more photos from the PGP event very soon… but right now I have an appointment to buy some super wide wheels for my S14! Now I need overfenders! =D
I can't imagine that, back in the mid 80s to early 90s, anyone thought of Toyota Cressidas as performance cars - after all, they were stuffed to the gills with power options and a plush interior. They were pseudo luxury cars that were made for taking trips to the grocery store and picking up the kids from school.
That perception of these four-door beauties changed when engines like the 1JZGTE and 2JZGTE started to become more accessible with the spike in JDM import parts coming into the US within the last decade. With minimal work, and a good knowledge of cars, one could have a powerful car with less investment than, say... a 240SX or AE86. Opting for the straight six turbo 1/2JZ engines was a no-brainer if you had a Cressida. Read more...
Since Formula D Seattle, all the members of the crew have all been super incredibly busy handling all sorts of things related to the website and promotions, so we decided to hold off on our normal "event coverage" stories so that I could write different type of story - something more of a perspective piece. Normally, we always have Antonio write the event stories, because he seems to have the most experience, and he knows all the details of the drivers and everything. However, this time, the guys asked ME to write about my own personal experiences at FD Seattle.
This year's Formula D Seattle marks my first anniversary as a part of the Motor Mavens Crew. At last year's event, I didn't even know Antonio yet. In fact, I only met him at the end of the event, when he was out in the parking lot, chillin with our friends Ian Dillon and Raymond Vazquez.
I gotta say... this year has been one hell of a ride! Just in this past year, I've attended three other Formula D events, done multiple local drift event coverages, car features, cruises, meets, and everything else in between. As a local Seattle-based contributor for MotorMavens, my main goal was to blow up the Pacific Northwest scene since I know it has some of the sickest cars around! We also have some highly skilled drifters up here - such as Formula D drivers Roland Gallagher, Nikolay Konstantinov, Ian Fournier, and Victor Moore. Since this event was local, there was no doubt that all these guys would be attending. I knew this was going to be a great event! Read more...
Abbitt Wilkerson needs no introduction. You know who he is. 18 and famous. Haha! Anyway, check out his new cut from Formula Drift Round 4 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. Better late than never and definitely worth the wait. This video has great energy and had me excited from beginning to end. With plenty of creative shots and a surprisingly appropriate song choice, I couldn’t be happier with this video. Good work, Abbitt!
I remember four years ago when Formula Drift first came to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. It was like we had won the lottery because, for the previous years, the closest FD ever came was California. If you have ever attended the Seattle FD event, you know how nuts it can get. I have heard that the crowd is among the loudest if not the loudest of all the stops on the tour. I'd like to attribute that to the large group of local drifters who sat right under the Judges booth that first year and got the crowd pumped up - even doing the wave! The next year they gave us cow bells - Big Mistake.
What I am getting at is simply that Formula D is a big thing here in the North West. This year FD has formally made the event a two day spectacle where you can come on Friday and witness the practice and qualifying - But, really, we've been going to the track on Friday to watch these pros rip it up on our home track for about three years now. Did they start the Friday thing this year because of us? Probably not, but it's awesome for the fans to get the full picture of the field of drivers that so desperately want to make it in the big Saturday show.
Now, for the first time since Seattle has been a stop on the pro drift series, we have our home team: Nikolay Konstantinov, Ian Fournier, Victor Moore and last, but certainly not least, Roland Gallagher. Four local guys we can cheer on and share in their glory and accomplishments. It's hard to believe these guys are stepping up to a national stage - ready to make their dreams come true and, whatever the outcome, the NW is proud of them. Read more...
I always feel a strong sense of pride when I go to a hot rod show. Hot rodding is as American as you can get - home grown and originating fully here in the States. Starting with young servicemen after World War II, restless and full of testosterone, the whole sub-culture that has emerged from it has even influenced styles for clothing, current cars, and music. So, I'm pretty sure you would be hard pressed to find a car enthusiast who didn't like old American rods - there is just an appreciation for the whole lifestyle.
Yoshi Shindo and I were able to make the trek down to Chehalis, WA on June 26th to attend the third annual Billetproof Hotrod and Custom Car Show, which bills itself as the "World's Least Important Car Show!". Sounds a bit self-deprecating to me as it is one of my favorite hot rod shows and, since this marks the second year I have attended, it's clearly important to me.
The show is a bit different from most current hotrod shows, as you can guess by its name, because no cars with billet are allowed to participate. You might ask why, since so many parts are now being produced with this technology specifically for the custom car industry, but it's because the technology didn't exist back in the classic days of hotrodding. Only cars that are traditionally modified and those that precede 1964 are allowed to attend. Read more...
Summer is late this year in Washington state. Usually, around this time, the sickness of the overcast weather breaks and June is quite nice. However, this year the clouds are sticking around longer than expected - make that wanted. But the weather can be beaten - by those with enough motivation to attempt it.
Through the mountain pass where it looks the gloomiest and down the other side; hope shines through. The clouds break away slowly as you come down Stevens Pass and the rays warm you through the windows. As you get closer to the end of the mountains, the river next to the highway rushes and you can hear it now that you've rolled down your windows. There, nestled at the bottom of the east side of the Cascade Mountains, lies a small and amazing little town called Leavenworth - where every year, for the last 10 years, hordes of Euro cars descend from the mountains to disturb its unsuspecting calm. Read more...
All my friends know that I stay up really late every day, so when I wake up early for an event, it's usually because I'm motivated to shoot a drift event or some kind of local Japanese car-based meet. However, waking up just to go to a car cruise is a completely new concept for me. I've heard about the Leavenworth Euro Cruise for few years now, and to be honest.. I never really cared to check it out until now! It's a good thing I stepped out of my shell though, because there were a lot of cool cars at the event that I probably wouldn't have ever seen if I didn't go!
It's true what they say - as we get older, things change, our minds open up, and sometimes... we realize what we been missing. This cruise fromBellevue Community Collegeto the touristy city of Leavenworth, with a stop at Washington's famous Steven's Pass was definitely something I've been missing out on for a long time! I attended the cruise with our writer Lucas Perez and photo newcomer Jeff Santiago, and even though we rolled up with Lucas's R32 Skyline and Jeff's Honda S2000, mostly everyone seemed cool with our non-euro cars attending. Well, at least they didn't throw eggs at us or anything. Read more...
Formula D Round 2 Atlanta has been a subject of the past now, but our boy Justin Shreeve had extra footage and decided to make a sequel to his original FD Atlanta video. In my opinion Justin did a great job showing the great experience a Formula D event can have on someone. These events are more than just the cars and drifting to me. It’s about the people, friends, vendors, and of course the girls! I’m not going to lie though, that clip of Daijiro Yoshihara dirt dropping was sick! Great job Justin Michael Shreeve!
Well apparently, our resident sick stanced sticker cutter got bored today, since he is out of high school and has all this free time on his hands now. I suppose boredom sometimes leads to creativity, because Abbitt broke out his Canon 7D and busted out a short film to try out his newest piece of non-Canon glass (FAIL) on a video of his car… the super slammed Subaru STi that’s been scraping driveways and road reflectors all over Snohomoish Washington.
Enjoy the video! (Buy some Canon glass, next time, Eighteen and famous.)
Around this time every year, school is finishing, with the stress from class and tests ready to be let out. For some, it marks a changing point; a time to move on, ready to take on the world... or off to the next phase of school after the summer.
Luckily for us, it was Rob Primo's graduation day on Saturday June 12th, because after several years of school, graduating with an MBA from Western Washington University, he went out with a bang, holding the second drift event at Pacific Grand Prix, inviting about 26 of his drifting friends and even more spectators. I couldn't think of a better way than drifting to celebrate and let loose after learning things like how magnets and rainbows work! Read more...
As with most things in life, there are goals that people set for themselves in whatever they do. Some aspire to be the best in their field and pit themselves against others to see where they stand. For others, just being a part of the camaraderie or community is enough. They participate just for the sheer excitement rather than competition. Luckily, in the North West, we have a huge mix of both ranging from the new Formula Drift Pro and Pro-Am drivers to the guys who keep it strictly fun. Whatever category any of these guys fall under, it's with great pride that I can say all of them are grassroots drivers. Which brings me to Comrades.
For those that don't know, Comrades started from humble beginnings when four local drift teams decided to unite under one banner years ago. Now that banner has grown to include all NW grassroots drifters from Oregon to Canada.
May 15th set a new benchmark for drifting in the NW when the Comrades were invited to tear up the track at Pacific Grand Prix in Kent, WA. New Pros and old schoolers came out to drive on this newly created track, owned and operated by Paul Zalud, that spans a little less than a mile with a layout "that kinda gives you that Bihoku vibe."(Haha, it's a reference to a Japanese race track, Bihoku Highland)
The first Pacific Grand Prix Drift Invitational was a blast! So many good people, live DJ, beer garden, skateboarding, dirt drops, four car tandems. What’s not to love? If you haven’t been to this track, make plans to attend a future event. This thing is beautiful! Super clean grass; I can’t believe dudes were dirt dropping in this shit!
Filming, on the other hand, was quite a challenge. With only a 15mm F/2.8 and a 50mm F/1.4, the strict media regulations made it difficult to shoot good footage without breaking the rules. The super bright sun half the day didn’t help either.
Last weekend, the smell of tire smoke penetrated the crisp Evergreen air of the Pacific Northwest. In the state of Washington, the MotorMavens Crew and friends attended the Pacific Grand Prix Drift Invitational, which took place at a go-kart track in the city of Kent. Many of the usual suspects were out there driving at the event, and you can be sure that out crew members Yoshi Shindo, Lucas Perez and Justin Shreeve will be posting up their stories from the event very soon, as they work to expose and blow up the Northwest car scene even further. Before we release the photos that Yoshi’s new Canon 7D captured from the event, we thought we’d post up Abbitt Wilkerson’s video from the event, which was also shot completely with a Canon 7D DSLR.
After watching this video, it makes me even more excited to return to Seattle to hang out with all our friends in the Northwest. I really like the Evergreen drifting scene; it has everything! Clean air, cool people, and stylish cars! Enjoy!
A lot of times when you buy a car, you have a plan. Sometimes it can be just a mild street car build, or full on race car that will never see a day on the streets. In my experience my builds are always unexpected, starting off with just a daily driver that turns into a full blown money eating machine. Either way, planned or not planned we all have the same passion on getting our cars to become what we imagine in our minds. It always amazes me how far we go to do that. (more…)
So yesterday I was sitting at my desk, cleaning up my external hard drive. I realized I’ve got TONS of extra footage of Formula Drift Long Beach and quite a bit of footage from the Fatlace OneOfOne Showcase that didn’t make it into the final edit.
My girl had the car for the day, and I wasn’t getting anything else done… so I decided to make another edit. This one has a much lighter vibe than the first, with no color grading and very little audio work; just lots of familiar faces, pretty cars, and loud engines.
I have a certain soft spot for Datsun 510s, and not because of my affinity for Japanese cars. It stems more from what this car stood for at one point in time; an outcast in a foreign land. The 510 is truly one of the first import tuner cars sold in the US, long before the existence of cars such as the AE86 and RX-7. Released when cars from Japan were thought of as inferior tin cans, it certainly was not expected to become such a classic - being reborn decade after decade.
Before the advent of the Internet, before forums and blogs, these cars were being raced and modded. Now, with technology literally at your fingertips, it's made these cult cars more accessible to a new, younger audience. Parts are available if you need them, despite possibly being scarce in your area. Information is readily available for any trouble shooting or restoration you may choose to embark upon.
As the years go by, the 510 has endured a lot in the changing automotive climate. As with most classics, even with the help of the Internet, these beloved little cars share the same pitfalls as others; NOS parts being near worth their weight in gold, beat up used parts hoarded, and the barnyard finds that the owner may "someday" restore. These cars seem to present a picture in extremes; either restored to immaculate condition, or beat up and oddly modded. After 40 years of being a fan favorite among motor-heads it's harder and harder to find a clean, unmolested dime. Luckily, that's exactly what happened to Steve Keely when he found this natural beauty - a four door bamboo colored 1972 Datsun 510.Read more...
It's hard to believe that it has already been a week since Formula Drift took over the Streets of Long Beach. This weekend, the famous street course is still home to many a race fan. However this time, Long Beach has been taken over with open wheel racing fans that have been going to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for years and years. Since we don't really cover open wheel racing on Motor Mavens, I thought it would be good to post up some more photos from our experiences at Long Beach last weekend. (I know, some of you are thinking, it's about damn time!)
The first photo in our series is from one of the practice sessions. I think the practice sessions were actually a lot cooler and funner to watch at times than some of the tandem bouts, because it felt like freestyle drifting chaos within the confines of the white cement barriers and tire stacks that lined the streets of the LBC. Read more...
