On June 4, 2022 DriftCon returns to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA. This event is held in conjunction with the Evergreen Drift Shootout.

Team Tandem is one of the fastest-growing drifting competitions nationwide and as we continue to develop this type of competition structure, we look forward to seeing more teams competing and developing their skills. We are extremely excited for the return of Team Tandem Competition at DriftCon this year! Teams of 3-4 will battle for a large cash prize.

The introduction of the CAGELESS tandem layouts at Evergreen Speedway have given us a big opportunity to bring more cars into the field. So now is the time to TEAM UP and prepare for battle!

Prize money will be determined by the number of teams competing.

Prize Payout:

1st: $2000
2nd: $1000
3rd: $600

In addition, the top team will be crowned the 2022 DriftCon Team Tandem Champions. Their team name will also be etched onto the DriftCon Team Tandem Cup on display at Evergreen Speedway. Coming up with a unique team name is encouraged. Team members are expected to visually coordinate with each other in some way.

EVENT SCHEDULE

SATURDAY – JUNE 4, 2022 – MAIN GATES OPEN 1PM

9:00 – Back Gate Open for ProAm / Team Tandem / Tech Inspection
11:00 – MANDATORY ProAm Shootout Driver’s Meeting
11:30 – MEDIA Meeting
11:45 – TEAM TANDEM Driver’s Meeting (at least one driver present)
12:00 to 1:00– ProAm Practice
11:00 to 12:45 – Car Show Roll-in
1:00 – Main Gates Open
1:00 to 1:45 – Team Tandem Group 1 Practice (ProAm drivers doing both comps.)
1:45 to 2:30 – Team Tandem Group 2 Practice
2:30 to 3:00 – Open Drift
3:00 to 4:30 – Opening Ceremony / ProAm Top 16 Competition to Finish
4:30 to 5:00 – Intermission (Track Cold – Possible Open Drift)
5:00 to 5:15 – Hoon-Off Burnout Competition
5:15 to 6:15 – Team Tandem Qualifying
6:15 to 6:30 – Team Tandem Scoring Break (Track Cold)
6:30 to 7:45 – Team Tandem Competition
7:45 to 8:00 – Drifting & Car Show Awards Ceremony
8:00 to 9:00 – Open Drift (After Event Winds Down)

TEAM TANDEM COMPETITION

Team Tandem will take place immediately AFTER the ProAm main competition. Schedule will remain flexible – please be attentive and follow instructions by track officials.  It is up to you to know where we are in the show.  We will not wait for you.

Qualifying and bracket placement will be determined but overall performance and impressions during the final practice. It is essentially a judged practice session that will be used to determine qualifying ranking.

Qualifying results and brackets will then be posted for easy viewing to create the structure for the rest of the competition. We will then create a Top 16 competition bracket.

Within each “battle” each team will get 2 runs to put on their best show. The better of the two teams will advance on in the bracket. In the event this is taking too long we reserve the right to adjust to one run for each team per battle. This adjustment would only be made after each main group of the bracket changes. Top 16, Great 8, Final 4, etc.

TRACK LAYOUT

This layout received mixed reviews from drivers in the past, but we think the big entry initiation paired with technical transitions should make for some exciting driving and tight tandems.  Teams will leave the staging area together and pace together on the 3/8ths towards the infield.  Judges will want to see a choreographed acceleration and swing towards the first corner – a high speed big energy initiation around the first light pole.  What follows is a series of tight transitions that form the shape of a peanut (see map below).  Once the run is complete teams will slow down a re-stage amongst the other teams in wait. 

Team Tandem is NOT judged like normal drifting competition.  Judges will be focusing on Proximity and overall Teams Awesomeness. Teams should be trying to drive within arm’s reach of one another. Drivers should be on the same line, with matching style and form. While line, style, angle and excitement will all continue to be judged factors, what we really want to see is synchronized style and performance. The lead driver is responsible for laying down the best line and the follow cars are to follow the lead driver and keep in as close proximity and uniformly as possible.

  1. * Passing is discouraged- Teams should stay in order from start to finish.
  2.  Drivers should not straighten up or make severe corrections.
  3.  If a team member loses control or spins out/stops drifting and starts over this is considered a severe correction.
  4.  Other points can be taken away / or added depending on a judge’s discretion.
  5.  There will be no “restart” or “do-overs” for teams.
  6.  No disputes. All judges’ decisions are final.

*Specifics regarding passing, and other judging criteria will be clarified during the mandatory team tandem drivers meeting.

The Team Tandem competition judges will be judging the teams based on how well each team drifts together.  A minimum of 3 cars will be required on each team.  The goal is for all of the team members to be synchronized with one another so that the team looks uniform – as opposed to one driver trying to outrun the other. Judges will be focusing on proximity and overall style. 

To do well in team drift competition, it is best if all the cars within the team have similar drifting characteristics (hp level, grip level, etc.). Each driver must know how others drift so he can better anticipate what they are going to do and drift comfortably with each other.

JUDGES

Patrick Heald
Nikolay Konstantinov
TBD