This was a huge year for automotive enthusiasts in the northwest. New events began this year and existing ones continued to improve. I picked my favorite events last year so it only made sense to do the same for 2013.
Forum Fest 2013 – Pacific Raceways – Kent, WA
Every year Forum Fest keeps getting bigger and better. The weather was perfect this year (unlike the monsoon of 2012). Speedfactory Racing set a new world record on the drag strip and ImportMeet.com won Best Club/Forum Representation (thanks to everyone that registered with us!). It was a ton of fun and I can’t wait until June 28, 2014.
Here’s our Forum Fest 2013 coverage.
IMSCC – Import Meet Street Car Competition –WA
2013 was the first year that we held our import street car competition. We opened applications in February and decided on final ten cars in May. Each car was introduced every week throughout the summer up until the three day competition in early August.
The amount of interest we received for this first time event was awesome. Our team learned so many things that we look forward to incorporating into the competition in 2014. Details for next year’s event will be shared in January/February.
Click below for a summary of each of the main events:
IMSCC 2013 Day One – Drag Racing and Retail Price
IMSCC 2013 Day Two Part One – Dyno and Ride Quality
IMSCC 2013 Day Two Part Two – Build/Fabrication Quality and Car Show
IMSCC 2013 Day Three – Autocross and Fuel Economy
Formula DRIFT Seattle – Monroe, WA
Round 5 of Formula Drift was incredibly important to the overall standings of the championship. Looking back, it was most likely the round where the intense rivalry between Chris Forsberg and Michael Essa developed. In terms of spectators this year, both Friday and Saturday appeared to be even busier than 2012.
Check out Part One and Part Two of our Formula Drift Seattle coverage.
Afterdark Car Show & FD Livestream Party – Bellingham, WA
Last year, we held our 2nd annual End of Summer Car Show at VLEDS in Bellingham, WA. I tend to consider this particular event our official launch as most people really hadn’t heard about Import Meet before our first show in 2011. For 2013, I decided that a rebranding of the show was needed which is why the name was changed to Afterdark.
When the date was being determined, the only available date coincided with round 6 of Formula Drift. Not wanting to miss out on FD ourselves, we decided that including the Livestream into the show would be perfect. Incorporating something exciting to watch during the car show was very well-received. I plan on continuing to evolve this event under the Afterdark name and to take it to the next level in 2014.
Here’s our Afterdark 2013 coverage.
AutoCon Seattle – Pacific Raceways – Kent, WA
AutoCon originated in California three years ago and has grown in to one of the biggest automotive events in Southern California. For 2013, the organization decided to expand to Seattle, Washington and Miami, Florida. As someone that organizes events, I can only imagine how difficult it is to organize something when the location is thousands of miles away. Despite the challenge, the group did a good job with what they had available. I’m hoping that they return next year and find a location better suited for their style of event.
Full photo gallery in our AutoCon Seattle 2013 coverage.
What were your favorite events in the northwest for 2013? List them in the comments below.