A great weekend at Golden Gate Drift saw another young gun perform very well and take home a win in his second competition ever. While it isn’t the first Subaru we have seen drifting ever we sure do think it is the first wagon and first Pro Am victory by a Subaru in American drift history. Here is how the podium finished up this weekend:
1st. Dave Forman
2nd. Chris mills
3rd. Nick Bayatti
The Evergreen Drift Pro Am series but Round 2 in the books after quite a dramatic Round 1 earlier this drift season. From some sources at the track we hear this round went much smoother thanks to the great staff present at Evergreen. Here is how the Pro Am results finished up yesterday and the grassroots round happens today.
1. Ian Fournier
2. Cameron Moore
3. Erich Hagen
One of the original founders of the Pro Am series with Drift Association back in 2005 are returning to hold an Am series in the north east. The 2013 schedule is four events and kicks off this month at Englishtown with the guys over at Clubloose. The USDrift crew helped run XDC for a while but officially split ways with the sanctioning body at the beginning of 2013.
The USDrift Pro Am series will feature five judges who include Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg, Matt Petty, Mike Schneider, Dan Summers, and Formula Drift judge Brian Eggert. Two sets of judges will watch the same criteria during qualifying and their scores will be averaged. For example, Judge 1 and 2 are line, Judge 3 and 4 are angle, and Judge 5 is style. The idea is to eventually have 9 judges, with 3 judges for each criteria and then dropping the outlier scores (highest and lowest). Tandem format will remain the same and still be majority rules. What do drivers think of this new judging format USDrift is bringing to the table? Below is the schedule for the 2013 season:
May 18th Round 1- Englishtown, New Jersey (Clubloose)
June 14/15th Round 2- Summit Point, West Virginia (Hyperfest)
July 26/27th Round 3- New Jersey Motorsports Park (ARCA)
August 18th Round 4- Summit Point, West Virginia (Drift Nirvana)
The guys at Evergreen Drift announced that some errors were made at Round 1/Nissan Fest weekend which we reported on and removed a third place finisher after some heavy debate in the comments and no exact answer yet from Evergreen. Well they have released quite a book of information on what happened and how they are fixing the situation in Evergreen. Read up if you are interested below:
1. Communication.
a. it had come to our attention only after the event that Pro-Am drivers were unaware that the first two runs during qualifying were practice runs.
b. some drivers and pit crew were given wrong times to suit up and bring their cars to staging.
c. some drivers and pit crew were not notified of second drivers meeting.
d. drivers and pit crew were not notified specifics on judging criteria, specifically the ruling on one or two tires off.
A lot of simple fixes to take place with communication. A Less congested day with only Pro-Am cars will help with the juggling as well.
2. Brackets.
a. Both grassroots and Pro-Am fell victim to right side brackets being setup backwards, making the lower qualifying go first.
**** 3. Judging and Event Procession.****
During the Top 8 Battle: Michael Klingele VS Matt Vankirk, judges ended up basing their decision on the drivers leading runs. On Michaels Chase run he spun out and on Matts chase run he shut down and stopped drifting (both 0 runs); So based on just the lead runs the Judges did award MATT VANKIRK the win, however; since his car was broken, WE made the mistake of defaulting to the only running car (Michael) on to top 4.
This was a HUGE MISTAKE on our part. Matt Vankirk should have been progressed into top 4, with him out to technicalities; it would have meant a By-Run for Erich Hagen into 2nd place. Since this was completely our fault we have decided to leave no driver at penalty.
- Erich Hagen will now also be awarded 2nd place in a “tie” with Michael Klingele, and both will receive 88 points.
- Matt Vankirk is moved up to 4th place and will receive 69 points.
- Michael Klingele will keep his 2nd place position and points.
Evergreen Drift recognizes our errors and that none of the drivers or pit crew are at fault in any way. These mistakes are purely on Evergreen Drift and we apologize to the drivers, pit crews, and fans for any issues this may have caused.
Mike Skudlarek out of Plymouth, Michigan has been drifting since 2006. At the age of 16, he came out hard to local Michigan events and started traveling to several Drift Indy events before realizing that this is what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
We had the pleasure to sit down with Mike Skudlarek during a trip to Detroit and find out what’s going on with the Skud Missile in 2013.
Edgar Sarmiento: Hey Mike, seems like we missed you at Long Beach this year. Are you driving
Formula D in 2013?
Mike Skudlarek: After the 2012 season, my team and I evaluated our program options and decided to
take a step back from competing at the pro level. With that said, we do intend to be back
there to mix it up in the near future!
Edgar: What series are you running this year?
MS: Part of our program evaluation included where the team would be based. I lived out
in LA for about 4 months following Round 7 at Irwindale, where I was able to experience
everything that Southern California had to offer, including the chance to drive in the
2012 JustDrift All Star Bash. My intention was to stay in LA until April for Round 1 at
Long Beach in order to get as much seat time as I could during the off-season. By the
time January rolled around, we decided that FD just wasn’t in the cards for 2013. I was
faced with the decision to try to move everything and struggle to make things work in
California, or head back home to the Midwest. I decided that the time wasn’t right for me
to be on the west coast, and that back home in Detroit with my family from the Midwest
Drift Union, was where I wanted to be.
Edgar: I’m sure a lot of our readers can relate to your ups and downs over the past
couple years. How does that make you feel as a driver?
MS: I think most people would look at being in FD for only two years then dropping out
as a failure or something. I see it as anything but a failure! Sure, it was a lot of money
and time… But more importantly, it was a ton of fun, and an experience that I’ll use to
motivate myself to continue the path I’m on.
Edgar: What would you say you learned while your two years in Formula D?
MS: I won’t say I learned everything there is to know about running a championship-
winning program. However, I learned a great deal about what goes on behind the scenes,
and what makes those big name teams work (and no, it’s not just a MM dollars). Most of
it just has to do with being prepared. Prepared to drive when it’s time, prepared to fix the
car when something breaks, having the car prepped before you even think about loading
it onto the trailer to leave for an event, etc. I also learned how important seat time is, a ton
about car setup and the proper build methods, how to act and be professional on and off
track, and I also learned how little I knew coming in to FD as a rookie. I think the most
important thing I learned was that if you aren’t enjoying yourself; it’s not worth doing at all.
Edgar: What would be the best advice you can give to your fellow ProAm drivers
around the World?
MS: It’s great to have goals and dreams, but don’t let those things consume you. Also,
don’t think you’re ready to jump in the shark tank after just one year of Pro-Am,
especially if you barely have the means to even compete in a local/regional series. FD is
expensive, and drifting is here to stay. Take a year, or two, or three. Get your car set up
as if you were in Formula D and practice with it for AT LEAST a season. I wish someone
had made me do that! Talk to current or past FD participants. At the end of the day,
they’re all normal people and are usually super cool and more than willing to help. I think
the most important piece of advice I could give would be to keep a level head- never get
cocky, and let your driving speak for itself.
Edgar: On the lighter side of things Mike, what are some of your hobbies outside of
drifting?
MS: When I’m not at the track, I’m usually working on building a roll cages, putting a
project car together, or putting parts orders together for my company, Mike Skudlarek
Motorsports. I also work for a really cool home theater company called The Sound
Vision, installing integrated home audio/video systems. When I actually do have “free
time”, I like to bicycle around downtown Detroit on my ’73 Fuji and check out different
historical locations and architecture. It’s pretty crazy to imagine what the city would have
looked like 70 years ago compared to today! I played AAA hockey between the ages of 6
and 16, so I like to get back out on the ice every once in a while as well!
Edgar: If there was one car you could have a joy ride on what would it be and why?
MS: That’s a really tough question, but I think it’d be Chris Forsberg’s 370z. That thing
sounds so wild and manly. It looks like it drives really well, not to mention looks pretty
awesome too! I’d love to romp around town in it for a night! I know that would never
happen, so I guess I’d settle for one of those 4wd TORC trucks haha. Seems like it’d be
pretty fun to jump them, floor it, then do a backwards entry to slow down enough to go
around the corners!
Edgar: Favorite color?
MS: Gray
Edgar: One last question, what’s your favorite movie?
MS: Inglorious Basters or Inception
Edgar: Thanks for your time Mike, this would be a good time for any shout outs you
might have.
MS:
First, I’d like to give a huge thank you to my parents. Without them, none of this
would have been possible! Second, I’d like to thank my friends who helped out at events,
lent a hand whenever I needed it, or provided moral support: Ben Kramp, Ryan Nalezyty,
Jake Maturen, Aaron Bledsoe, Brett Kabana, Paul Beiswenger, Alex Lenane, JTP, Jerry
Lint, Jason Schumer, Frank Fardell, Chris Conley, Ryan Clemens, Nick
Swann, Pat Goodin, BG, Geoff Stoneback, Dan Popowich, Mark Lenardon, Brian Casse.
Also, Thanks everybody that came to talk to us and supported or efforts at any of the
events! It really means a lot! I’d also like to thank our sponsors for helping us get a great
program together for 2013! Falken Tire, Exedy Racing Clutch, Canton Racing Products,
Wiseco Pistons, K1 Technologies, Stance Suspension, SPL Parts. Also, a big thanks to
Drift Indy, Midwest Drift Union, Smashed Clothing, MotorCity Drift, and ClubFR for
making drifting happen in the Midwest!
Vegas Drift Round 2 took place over the Easter holiday weekend at LVMS drawing another huge crowd and tons of drivers from the southwest. Round 2 also saw a completely fresh podium compared to Round 1 recently. Here is how the podium finished up:
1. Spike Chen
2. Mike Fulkerson
3. Christopher Soehren
The Golden Gate Drift series kicked off the 2013 season as a new Formula Drift Pro Am sanctioned series in Northern California. Round 1 took place over the weekend with some great competition and super good looking trophies. Here is how the podium ended up:
1.Chris Mills
2. Jeff Wolfson
3. Joe Amies
Kevin Phillips is a southern Florida native who loves surfing and skateboarding. His 350z has a big hole in the hood and he is shooting for a Formula Drift license in 2013. This volume is kicking of a great video series for the 2013 season starting off with a shake down day at Desoto. We will keep an eye out for Kevin during the 2013 season!
Watch the video: http://vimeo.com/59783636
As the cold weather set in on Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this February Round 1 event it looked like Jim Guthrie was going to dominate the weekend taking his Ford Mustang to first place in qualifying without an issue. Jim Guthrie spun however in his tandem battle against Daniel Kuo which was the 16th qualifier.
Tanner Baer impressed us in his Mazda Miata but was knocked out in the Top 4 against Garrett Nikolich. Joe Haven on the other side of the ladder including long time Vegas Drift driver Joshua Guild. Joshua Guild then defeated Tanner to take home third place. Garrett was then given the victory since Joe Haven had a vehicle malfunction just as the final tandem round kicked off. Here is how they finished:
1st- Garrett Nikolich
2nd- Joe Haven
3rd- Tanner Baer
4th- Joshua Guild
Many of our readers may remember that Ian Fournier’s 4-door R32 drift car was stolen in November, then found crashed in a ditch a few miles later. Ian is working to rebuild the car to be better than ever, now sporting an authentic BN Sport 4-door kit as opposed to the hacked together custom 2-door kit he had previously. The car will still be a supercharged VK56 V8 motor, and Ian is looking to attack the Pro-Am circuit at Evergreen Speedway again in 2013 and hopefully earn his FD license again.
