Earchphoto - James Deane at Formula Drift Seattle.

James Deane at Formula Drift Seattle.

Sliding into the second half of the season – Formula Drift Round 5 “Throwdown” at Evergreen Speedway.

In late July, Evergreen Speedway in Monroe hosted Round 5 of the Formula DRIFT Black Magic Pro Championship – the Autozone “Throwdown”. With two home drivers expected to be the crowd favorites and several former champions, it was set to be a heated weekend.

Unfortunately for Forrest Wang and Austin Meeks, mechanical problems brought their competition to an early end, as they both failed to qualify for the Saturday battle, giving top 32 bye runs to the top two qualifiers Piotr Wiecek and Kristaps Bluss.

Earchphoto - Forrest Wang at Formula Drift Seattle.
Forrest Wang at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Forrest Wang at Formula Drift Seattle.
Forrest Wang at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Austin Meeks at Formula Drift Seattle.
Austin Meeks at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Piotr Wiecek at Formula Drift Seatle.
Piotr Wiecek at Formula Drift Seatle.

 

Earchphoto - Piotr Wiecek at Formula Drift Seatle.
Piotr Wiecek at Formula Drift Seatle.

 

Earchphoto - Kristap Bluss at Formula Drift Seattle
Kristaps Bluss at Formula Drift Seattle

 

Earchphoto - Kristap Bluss at Formula Drift Seattle
Kristaps Bluss at Formula Drift Seattle

 

Earchphoto - Kristap Bluss at Formula Drift Seattle
Kristaps Bluss at Formula Drift Seattle

Completing the top 5 qualifiers list were Justin Pawlak, James Deane, and Fredric Aasbo.

 

Earchphoto - Justin Pawlak at Formula Drift Seattle.
Justin Pawlak at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - James Deane at Formula Drift Seatle.
James Deane at Formula Drift Seatle.

 

Earchphoto - Fredric Aasbo at Formula Drift Seatle.
Fredric Aasbo at Formula Drift Seatle.

 

The two Evergreen Drift local drivers – Cameron Moore and Matt Vankirk – were of course the crowd favorites, as well as Matt Coffman who had a good crowd of supporters coming from his home State of Oregon.

Earchphoto - Cameron Moore during the Formula Drift Seattle autograph session.
Cameron Moore during the Formula Drift Seattle autograph session.

 

Earchphoto - Matt Vankirk during the Formula Drift Seattle autograph session.
Matt Vankirk during the Formula Drift Seattle autograph session.

 

Earchphoto - Matt Coffman on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Matt Coffman on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

While Vankirk lost his battle with Odi Bakchis in the top32, Cameron Moore had a heated battle with Jhonnattan Castro with two repeats and finally won and moved on to face Kristaps Bluss. Bluss, in the end, got the best of that battle, but the Evergreen Speedway crowd loved cheering on ‘The Butcher’ over several runs.

 

Earchphoto - Matt Vankirk on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Matt Vankirk on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Matt Vankirk on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Matt Vankirk on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Cameron Moore on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Cameron Moore on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Cameron Moore on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Cameron Moore on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Jhonnattan Castro on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Jhonnattan Castro on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

After an eventful qualifying day where he made the field on the first run and kissed the wall on the second run, Matt FIeld got the best of Aasbo and made it to the great 8 where he lost a battle to James Deane. Always a fan favorite, Field and his Corvette were indeed one of the most acclaimed competitors during the presentations. Deane went on to face Piotr Wiecek and won the battle to enter the final.

Earchphoto - Matt Field on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Matt Field on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Matt Field on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Matt Field on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

On the other half of the bracket, Ryan Tuerck won the battle with Dai Yoshihara and then eliminated both Bluss and Pawlak to make it to the final and face James Deane, who would eventually win. For Tuerck this was the first podium in a long time, and he seemed very happy with 2nd place.

 

Earchphoto - Ryan Tuerck on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Ryan Tuerck on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Ryan Tuerck on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Ryan Tuerck on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Ryan Tuerck battling Dai Yoshihara on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Ryan Tuerck battling Dai Yoshihara on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Dai Yoshihara on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Dai Yoshihara on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Dai Yoshihara at Formula Drift Seattle.
Dai Yoshihara at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Dai Yoshihara at Formula Drift Seattle.
Dai Yoshihara at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Dai Yoshihara on track at Formula Drift Seattle.
Dai Yoshihara on track at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

After the Seattle round, the standings have James Deane on top, with Aasbo 85 points behind and Wiecek 120 points behind.

 

Earchphoto - James Deane in the final at Formula Drift Seattle.
James Deane in the final at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - James Deane vs Ryan Tuerck in the final at Formula Drift Seattle.
James Deane vs Ryan Tuerck in the final at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - James Deane at Formula Drift Seattle.
James Deane at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Podium ceremony at Formula Drift Seattle.
Podium ceremony at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

Earchphoto - Podium ceremony at Formula Drift Seattle.
Podium ceremony at Formula Drift Seattle.

 

The fight for the championship is still open, with three more rounds to go: St. Louis, Texas Motor Speedway, and Irwindale. Round six in St. Louis is coming up next weekend, and it’s poised to be a hot battle once again.

 

 

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