Formula Drift Finals Review

Written by: Wilson L Bor
Photos by: Wilson L Bor


Formula Drift 2011 Finals took place at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA. I had the chance to cover this event. All I got to say is, as my first experience to attend and cover this event I had a lot of fun. Being that it was Formula D’s last event of the season I was lucky to go to it.  I’m not going to sit here and bore you with all this gibberish and blah blah so I will get to the photos and try my best to explain to you a little about the photo and my day. HERE WE GO!

Here we have the early birds because right in the early morning these enthusiasts were already lined up and ready for the show at the SLAMMED SOCIETY show that also took place that day. The crowd was fairly large for being that early too.  A sign of how big this event was going to be.

Slammed Honda Accord lookin fresh. This makes me want to get the one my friends is selling. 

                          A slammed BMW, might hear me use the word “SLAMMED” a lot, hints the name of the show.

                                                      Another angle shot of the cars lined up to enter the event area.

                                            Meanwhile, as we waited in the beating sun, this guy had the right idea.

                                                                 Check out this  2^nd gen Scion xB looking fresh.

            There were quite a few Mazda Miata’s representing that day.  This red one caught my eye.  Simple and clean.

                                  Another Miata but just a little more wild. They say WHITE IS RIGHT, you be the judge.

                                         I liked the interior of this Miata's just clean. Can you guess what he uses to shift?

                                                                                     Talk about camber….  Wow!

                                                       Here’s another red Miata from a lower angel. Looks clean.

                                                              Toyota Supra owner giving his ride a little more color.

                                           This sweet ride was just standing a lot, well for me. Just low low low low..

                                                           First Drift car spotted going to the track for a practice run.

                                                                     SCION EVOLUTION representing their team.

                              A BMW standing out with its bright yellow paint job. You can’t miss him in the road or space.

                                 Here is the NOS team that attended the event gorgeous girls always makes the day better.

Here’s some shots of them making silly poses for the guys behind the cameras.  Still hot!

                                                                      2 models from Falken Tires..(also gorgeous)

                                                     I’m not sure what kind of car this was, but man it was slammed.

                                                                                 Another camber shot for ya.

                                                             Showing off their new wheel line-up for 2012 i believe

 Ok here are some drift shots. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get media passes so I did my best to get good shots with what I had from where I was.

 After having some fun shooting some cars and drifting, I decided to take a break and head back to the show.  I snapped a few more shots of the show.

    More shots of the NOS models and a few others.  Also got the HANKOOK TIRES models, and other random models that were there.

                                                                             I just loved this car.  Can you tell?

                                                                              A drift car going through the crowd.

 At the end of the day, I can honestly say I was beat!  This event was at capacity from what I overheard and was a huge success stated by others after the event.  Thank you Scion VIP for fun filled day.   Providing King Taco and goodie bags for all the Scion VIP guests.  

If you ever have the time to attend a Formula Drift event, I can assure you that you will have a great time.  You will see a lot of amazing cars, beautiful models, giveaways, and some bad ass drifting.  Until next time.  I’M OUT!!!!

Photos by: Wilson L Bor

Links

www.formuladrift.com

www.scion.com

www.scionvip.com

The Tribute to 9/11

Written by:  Kirby Quinto
Photos provided by: Christina Chacon, Trisha Banks, and Tim Baxter

I remember the day of 9/11 like it was yesterday.  A lot of mixed emotions went through all Americans that day.  It tested our patience as a country to act on and try to get back to our everyday lives.  For this feature I am not about to bring bad memories back or raise a reactions from people.  I am not about that.  I have dedicated the write up about the following friends that have served overseas and dedicated a huge portion of their lives to keep us safe from harm’s way.  These guys are special to me and I’m very grateful I have the privilege to be called their friend. 

Darwin Chacon was a proud serviceman from the US Marine Corp.  During his tour of duties, Corporal Chacon put his life behind him including his then girlfriend Christina to serve his country in time of need.  Darwin’s first tour of duty was on Aug 2004 to March 2005 in Iraq.  Then deployed again on Feb 2006 to complete his tours of Iraq on Sept 2006.  Darwin stated to me that it was a sad sight to see.  How people could live in those conditions and still go about their day with no government system of any kind.  Also on the flip side of things, the very people they try to save and restore some sort of government try to inflict harm on them.  Patrolling the streets of Iraq was no fun as stated by Darwin.  Working extreme hours patrolling and with extreme weather conditions made things worse.  During his return everything in life started to put itself together.  Now discharged from the Marine Corp, Corporal Chacon ended up marrying his girlfriend Christina and giving birth to their daughter Athena.  I asked Darwin a few weeks ago if he would do it again and without any hesitation he states, “hell yeah”. 

Darwin & Christina at the Marine Corp Ball

Getting ready to leave for duty

The Chacon Family

I met Chris Banks a few years back from local car meets and became a team mate in the car club.  Corporal Christopher Banks another member of the US Marine Corp also an Iraq War Veteran.  Chris served in the Marine Corp from July 2000 to July 2004.  Chris served in combat from Feb 2003 to June 2003 in the Middle East.  Chris was a member of the 1st Maintenance Battalion.  Since his discharge from the Marine Corp he has settled in Sunny San Diego (Escondido) with his wife Trisha and I would like to add that my wife and I were a part of that amazing wedding ceremony.  Chris and Trish are now living the American dream.  The newlywed couple just bought their first home together and hopefully soon a young Miss or Mr Banks will be gracing us.  Thank you Sir for your services and look forward to seeing you soon. 

Chris and Trisha

Out of all my friends, only 1 is left in active duty.  Matt Baxter is still in active duty with the US Army.  As a member of Eco 2-4 Mountain Infantry Division, he was in the front lines every day and night in Iraq.  Every day in Iraq it was something different good and bad.  Some of the things no one would like to see in real life happen there, but things are changing for the better we hope.  Matt served in Iraq from November 2007 to December 2008.  When he first enlisted he was signed on as a cook, but then later to be a gunner on a Hummer.  One of the most memorable times in the Middle east was going on patrol 50 times in 30 days.  That's a lot!  Luckily safe to say he is in the best safe zone now.  Matt is now finishing his term in Hawaii.  The Baxter’s are a very close knit family and whenever Matt came home for some much needed R and R, the family made his home time a priority.  When Matt first left for his tour, I had a chat with his pop Dave and mom Graciela.  They told me how proud they were of him and for Matt to come home soon and stay safe out there.   His brother Tim just rode in a motorcycle rally on Memorial Day and did a tribute ride for his brother.  I asked Tim what the first thing they were going to do when Matt got home.  Tim states, “we’re gonna go on a long ride to Laughlin”.  Hopefully Dave will get to join that too since he just got his “M” license.  Soon enough the 3 Baxter boys will be riding the weekends out.  Matt, thank you for your service bro and be easy with the remainder of your term.  

Ready to start his day

Doin work!

I would like to thank all the military personnel that served or currently serving this country.  We wouldn’t be standing how we are without you.  Thank you to our Fireman, Policemen, Border Patrol, and National Guard as well.  You guys are the home front that protect our interior border and takes care of us.  Please take the time to shake the hand of any servicemen and servicewomen that laid their lives on the line for our freedom.  With that said God Bless America and a huge thank you to our Armed Forces and we’ll see you all home soon!