The XXX Import Meet and DriftCon Afterdark mark the beginning and the end of the car show season for us at ImportMeet.com. This was our second DriftCon event at Evergreen Speedway this year with the primary difference being that it was held in the evening to change the overall feel of the event. Ending the season on a high note is always our goal and we couldn’t be happier with how Afterdark turned out. It was one of the largest shows of the season and our most successful event to date.
Photos by Adam Ruiz, Kenny B, Cullen Cheung, and Nick/Melissa Poirier (Wicked-West). Text by Matt Haugness.
For the drifting competition, we elected to stick to a 3/8 track like DriftCon but completely changed the layout from a mini-Irwindale to a modified mini-Jersey. During practice the clipping points were refined based on input from the drivers.
There were 20 drivers in total competing in the 3/8 Tandem Competition so we qualified into a Top 16 bracket. Competition was intense throughout the evening with multiple One More Time battles but ultimately it came down to the EVD Pro Am Champion Matt Vankirk and Marc Ulin. Matt got the win by performing more consistently on both his lead and follow run. Instead of just awarding third place based on the highest qualifying score, we had a battle between Dio Ortiz and Matt Larkin. Dio prevailed and took the win and the podium spot.
A big change this year on the drifting side was that we replaced the Team Tandem Competition with Tandem Mayhem after receiving multiple requests from drivers. This was more like an open drift after the main competition and allowed them to give ride-alongs to friends and family. We couldn’t leave the format completely alone so we added a Reverse Entry, Parking, and Tandem Train events for fun. The crowd loved these “drift games” and we plan on bringing them back in the future with even more prizes for winners.
The car show was held alongside the track but this time we limited it to 80 cars total. Only the best of the best were selected for the Great 80 Car Show and within it a Top 8 was chosen by our staff. These Top 8 cars would not be eligible for any other awards – only Best of Show and Best of Show Runner Up. Unlike the rest of the Great 80 show awards which are voted on by the competitors, these two awards were decided by judges we selected. This year Rob Evo and Andy Nissen-Barber were our Top 8 judges and they did a great job thoroughly judging all eight cars. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see a full list of the cars that won each award.
Thank you to everyone that attended DriftCon Afterdark. The turnout was incredible and we received nothing but positive feedback. We look forward to 2016 and we can’t wait to share our future event plans!
Special thanks to the following sponsors for their support of this event:
StanceWars
Urbn Panda
nissanparts.cc
VLEDS
Meister Werks
Direct Import Parts Shop – DIP Shop
Stickers by Nikki
Ozzy Motors
NWN Motorsports
Other coverage:
Wicked West
Shinchoku
Unleash the Shutters
Teriyaki Media
Nick Foskette
Mazda Life Photography
I-Nertia
DriftCon #Afterdark 2015 || Hamstik MediaSpecial Thanks to ImportMeet.com PantyHeist.Com & Drift Life Magazine ドリフト ライフ マガジン
Posted by Hamstik Media on Friday, September 25, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izP8ZU6UWcY
3/8 Tandem Competition Podium Results
1st: Matt Vankirk
2nd: Marc Ulin
3rd: Dio Ortiz
Hoon-Off (Burnout Competition) Results
1st: Aaron Macomber – 1998 Ford Mustang
2nd: Andrew Long – 1987 Mazda RX-7
3rd: Seth Hunt – 1990 Nissan 240SX
VIP Parking Awards
Best Form
Kyle Tarr – 2004 Subaru Forester XT
Best Function
Kevin O’Rourke – 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution
ImportMeet.com Staff Choice
James Chrosniak – 1986 Toyota Corolla
Great 80 Car Show Results
Best Engine Bay
Travis Wilson – 2007 Infiniti G35 Sedan
Best Interior
Justin Gepner – 2000 Acura TL
Best Exterior Finish
Brian Miles – 2013 Subaru WRX
Best Import
Bilawal Rehman – 1997 Honda Civic
Best Euro
Alex Ng – 2016 Audi S3
Best Domestic
Brian Morisset – 1970 Dodge Challenger
Best Old School
Steven Smith – 1977 Toyota Celica
Best Stance (Judged by StanceWars)
Micah Keochanpheng – 2007 Lexus LS460
Best Lighting (Judged by VLEDS)
Justin Polachek – 2010 Scion xB
People’s Choice / Best Mazda
Justin Kroman – 1992 Mazda Miata
Best Acura
Stanley Yan – 2007 Acura TL
Best Honda
Andrew Louangphakdy – 1996 Honda Civic
Best Subaru
Mallory Tatman – 2011 Subaru STi
Best Nissan
Todd Reed – 1995 Nissan Skyline GTS
Best Lexus
Austin Pennington – 2002 Lexus IS300
Best Scion
Zoe Washington – 2014 Scion FR-S
Best of Show Runner Up
Frank Moreno – 2005 Nissan 350Z