I have to start this post by saying that the Wolfpack has the biggest and most supportive backbone of a family. Nick and his dad, Big Bill, of the Wolfpack Drift Club share birthdays that are just one day apart - and when Mama 'Pack and Big Bill came up with the awesome idea to rent out Shenandoah Speedway for a Birthday Bash, my jaw dropped. Nick surprised everyone by inviting them to the 'zero-entry-fee' event on Facebook, to come out and have one last awesome day filled with drifting (and some other surprises) before the season's end.
Well a whole grip of people showed, and it was a seriously awesome time. As if this place couldn't get much better anyway, given its charm and vibe - This was the perfect opportunity for anyone to get out on the track and have a little fun without worrying about messing up or judgement.
And then for others, like Adam, it was a great chance to test out newly swapped parts and set-ups.
Although I didn't get any snaps of him in action, the Woobaru was out testing the new V8 swap. This thing sounds seriously mean and looks cool as hell.
Here comes Kyle, manji'ing through the in-field!
F O C U S E D !
And swangin' that purple hatch around like it's his job. There was a couple times he scared me throughout the day with his proximity to the bank walls, and I thought for sure he was going to get sucked into the barrier.
The Swedish Meatball doing its thing!
At some points I had to laugh, cuz he had the wagon filled with 4 passengers and it just looked so hilarious and awesome. I know he (and his passengers) definitely had a great time at the Bash!
And then there's one of the Birthday Boys. . .
Nick laid down solid runs all day long, and man it's cool to hear that SR scream from behind the Tomei ARMS turbo.
And the TE37V / VSKF combo sure do make for some cool blurred wheels shots!
2 EVL with that 3 2 6 Power goodness.
The TerrorDome dudes were out of course, and G was killing that poor KA!
But his driving sure did look good, and he was linking the whole course flawlessly.
I don't know why, but for some reason his glove is the first thing I see in this photo. HA!
Billy's FC, fully equipped with V8 powerhouse.
He had some killer passes out on the track, and it's definitely a change to hear a growling V8 in place of a buzzy rotary coming from this RX-7.
Another TerrorDome'r, Ivan, had his hatch out. I'm just now starting to realize that this event was filled with mostly S13 hatches and coupes. . .
An SR20 backed with some Tomei Powered goodies, Ivan is always pretty solid with his passes!
He sure did his fair share of killing tires during the Bash!
Juan has been nailing it since I first saw him drive at Drift Valley back in October. It's a really promising and reassuring feeling for me to see his skills increase drastically in just a few events.
AND he has some sort of ability to. . .
. . .make his passengers do strange things with their hands!
Even Felix showed up, with his recently completed coupe! There were some small issues to work through mid-day, but they sure did make for cool flame-shots in the meantime!
And I'm starting to find it funny how cool some of these cars can look, even unfinished and with raw body panels. Just imagine when the car is one color and smooth! . . .
Ha-Ha! No words needed.
At the last Drift Valley event, Adam might have had a bit too close of an encounter with the wall. . .
. . .And well, he showed up to the Bash with a whole new shell, with his old motor and parts all transplanted in!
I don't know if in the process of moving everything over to the new hatch, some bugs were found and worked out or what, but his car sounded better than ever and he was looking on-point!
I ended up getting some really awesome video of Adam, and I'll have to post that up later!
Save the best for last, right?
Radar: Search. . . Target Acquried: Cone. . . Lock On
The expression on his face really says it all.
Nick's runs were looking INCREDIBLE that day, and I think he ended his driving for the day at the perfect time. It almost seemed planned. . . everyone was up at the entrance to the track watching his run, and when he came around the final corner, just pinned the throttle and laid on the tire smoke. . .slid to a stop in front of the crowd and everyone just went NUTS!
Onto some of the surprises. . . (and I don't mean Richard peaking out from behind)
I had the awesome opportunity and pleasure of getting to help with the party favors. . . Once arriving to the track, everyone was greeted with a Wolfpack Drift Club foam hand!! Nick's mom, dad, and I had to secretly plan this, and I was so stoked to help with the design. The original plan was to not spill-the-beans until we got to the track on the day of the event. But once the order arrived and we saw the hands, we just couldn't keep it to ourselves.
The Wolfpack Fam!
We had planned this shot since the moment Nick saw the foam hands, and it couldn't have come out better. It's pretty clear that everyone was stoked to be part of this and come out to the Bash. I can't wait to see what this year's Bash is gonna be like! That's Big Bill's birthday present on the left there, by the way. Yup. . . an S14 Kouki, Ganadors, WORK Euroline SL's and all. . .
Another piece to the puzzle! A Wolfpack Birthday Cake!
There were also some Wolfpack Birthday Cupcakes at the event that I didn't get a chance to take any photos of, but they were awesome and the little 'pack logo chips on top were edible. NOM!
G, headed out, with the indication that he had a rad day!
Of course, I had to squeeze my car up there for a quick shot! Another cool part of the Birthday Bash is that a bunch of us all have birthdays around the same time (November/December), so it was kind of like one giant birthday present for all of us too!
And a quick roller of Big Bill's Kouki that Mike was able to snap from the passenger seat of my car during the drive home. 495 never looked so much like a Wangan Midnight.
I can only imagine how awesome of a Birthday, let alone an entire event, this must have been for Nick and Bill. They've got a great group of friends and family now in the game with 'em, for the long run! Really proud and honored to be part of something so awesome.
武士道 - B U S H I D O!
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