Evergreen Drift Pro Am Round 1

It's spring time in the Northwest and the sweet smell of burnt rubber and tire slaying smoke is in the air. April 19th marked Round 1 of the Pro Am Drift series, which saw as drivers compete for points towards a coveted license into the Formula Drift Pro 2 series.

The final battle came down to grassroots driver, Tyler Campbell, and Pro Am driver, Brandon Schmidt. Tyler had been the favorite all day having placed 1st  in qualifying with his V8 powered Toyota Corolla AE86. Brandon's minor bobble in his V8 powered Nissan 240sx during qualifying landed him in 7th for the start of the competition. Undeterred, Brandon fought hard climbing the ranks back up to the final battle for 1st.

In the end, Tyler came out on top after laying down an impressive leading run. With his 2nd place podium at his first Pro Am Drift event, Brandon now sits as points leader in the chase for the Formula Drift Pro 2 license. 

I caught up with Brandon after the event. He had this to say about how Round 1 unfolded. 

"It was a great start to the season absolutely! I came into things hoping to go as far as I could in the competition with my sights set on a podium finish. And that ended up being exactly what I got. I finished second with a close battle keeping me from first. Overall, I am pleased with the day and the result. It was a fun day with a ton of great battles and great driving from all the drivers. It's a long season but it's definitely a great start to it. I'm excited to try to carry this momentum and see where it goes!" - Brandon

There was amazing talent on display for this sunny first round of the Pro Am season. Best of luck to Tyler, Brandon and  all the drivers!

Click through the gallery below for photos of all the action. Video coverage will be up shortly.