It’s crazy how much just one month can change things. It was that long ago when we were commenting on Top Drift’s season-opening round at Willow Springs’ Balcony track, the volume of cars that turned out and the level of competition presented by some key drivers who we might’ve picked at the time to end up on the podium at the end of the season. Well, as of the champagne toast at Top Drift Round 2 competition at Willow Springs’ Horse Thief Mile track, it seems we may have been a bit quick to judge.
Round 1: The Sequel
First-round SoCal Pro-Am drift competitions (Top Drift, Southwest Drift, Golden Gate Drift, etc.) are notoriously popular, with many drifters traveling to each others’ turf and competing in multiple series to hedge their bets for a good season in whichever series they finish highest. After the dust settles, it’s usually just the top 10 finishers and a handful of locals who come back for each round in a given series.
A full 13 competitors who made it out to Round 1 failed to return for Round 2. Many who did come back are names that are very familiar among Top Drift followers. But true to unpredictable Pro-Am form, some new challengers introduced themselves as real competition threats before the round was out, and there were plenty of upsets to be had.
The Plot Thickens
Horse Thief Mile (HTM) isn’t an easy track to master, unlike the Balcony skidpad where Top Drift’s first round is held. HTM is a true track, with some tight turns and substantial elevation changes. You’ve got to be good with drifting uphill, downhill and initiating left and right to make it here. Traditionally, most Top Drift competitors exercise (or at least err on the side of) caution.
But not this year. We saw more “offs” this round than any other in memory. Maybe it was the big power increases we noted in competing cars at Round 1 this year versus previous years, or maybe it was just a snowball effect of dirt building up on track from all the other offs. Whatever the case, vets and ams alike bit the dust many, many times throughout practice, qualifying and competition, and seemed a little unsure of themselves. A couple even suffered damage from rocks and trackside drop-offs that ended their weekend far too soon.
Round 2: FIGHT!
Shaun Doom has been in the SoCal Pro-Am drifting game for several years now, and steadily progressing all the while. When he advanced all the way to the Top 4 in first-round competition this year, ultimately getting ousted by second-place finisher Dominic Martinez, we began thinking this could be a breakout year for him.
Looking good in practice, and qualifying easily for Top 16 competition, we were excited to see what Round 2 held for him. Maybe it was sheer bad luck, or maybe Doom still needs some seat time before he can start gunning down wins, but when he paired up against Luke Pakula in Top 16 and exited competition earlier than usual, we were surprised. Still, ranked Fifth for the season, Doom’s well within striking distance for a season podium finish.
Pakula, on the other hand, went on to have a hell of a round. Maybe that first-round bout against Doom set the pace for him early on, but after his Top 16 win, he survived a One More Time round against Kyle Cameron...
...and even survived against wild-card Brian Nimmo in his tough-to-drive-against Toyota Tacoma X-Runner, to ultimately take third in the competition and third in championship points now halfway through the season. Unexpected? Maybe. Impressive? Absolutely!
Emerging Champion?
Another Top Drifter we’re eyeing for championship contention in 2017 is Alex Grimm. Like Doom, he seems to get faster and more precise every time out, and lately appears to be equipped with the toughest ingredient to nail — his confidence — in just the right place.
His Round 2 journey began with a win against Noah Nelson in a retired FD FD (get it?) and nearly ended with his fight against Round 1 winner and series leader Sean Adriano.
At least in our mind, this was the match-up of the event — an early-on fight between two of the strongest competitors in the series. Adriano blasted a strong lead run in their first bout, and Grimm held very close proximity and seemed to match him for angle, style and smoke.
Looking forward to another good battle, Grimm led and both initiated strongly. But then something happened no one likes to see. Adriano hit a Go-Pro and vector mount that had fallen off a car in a previous round and somehow made its way onto the track, and suffered irreconcilable damage to his run, forfeiting the advance to Grimm. Both were bummed not to have enjoyed a clean run, but Grimm’s performance was on-point and earned him the win despite Adriano’s misfortune.
Grimm then ousted Pakula, met Tim Cobb in the finals, and ultimately finished the round in second place after a very close match and One More Time battle.
Hard Fought Victory
So — SPOILER ALERT — Tim Cobb won. This deserves an article of its own, because he failed to qualify for Round 1 last year, had a decent Round 2, never made it to Rounds 3 or 4 competition and had a lackluster Round 1 this year. In simple terms: He basically came out of left field for this round.
But regardless of where he came from, he came out swinging. Some might chalk up his advances in the round to encountering comparatively underpowered or more novice competitors, but in tandem competition, that can take just as much talent as battling an advanced driver in a dialed-in machine.
And when Cobb ultimately met Grimm in the finals, an advanced driver in a dialed-in machine was exactly who he battled. And he prevailed.
So, halfway through a very tumultuous season, 2017 Top Drift competition is still anyone’s game. While we may have our suspicions who will ultimately emerge in the podium after Round 4 at the end of August, it’s becoming more and more clear just how hard they’ll have to fight to get there.
