It Was Anyone's Game at 2016 Top Drift ProAm Round 3

August 3, 2016
Story By
Luke Munnell

SoCal's pro-am ranks got another exciting shake-up in the third round of the Formula Drift licensing series at Willow Springs Raceway's Walt James Stadium.

If you read our previous Top Drift article — Round 2 competition at Willow Springs’ Horse Thief Mile track — you’ll be familiar with the idea that pro-am competition is the place to see the more unpredictable, (almost)-anything-goes side of competitive drifting more so than dumbfounding levels of power, precision and consistency.

Well, in a bid to further that point, Top Drift’s best and brightest re-wrote their season standings in this third round of four competition events for 2016... even going so far as to let a Datsun stand atop the podium!

First, a little info on Top Drift’s strongest (and friendliest) rivalry:

KIM v. KNAPIK: Both experienced and talented drifters, they kicked off last year’s Top Drift season to a strong start by claiming First and Second, respectively, in first-round competition at Willow Springs’ Balcony track, each in a V8-powered, Wisefabbed, Nissan 240SX (Jason Kim at the time piloting his S13 to Adam Knapik’s S14).

Kim then battled mechanical issues in the subsequent three rounds while Knapik finished strong in the first two, before uncharacteristically erring early in the fourth round, narrowly missing his chance to move up to FD Pro 2 competition. Needless to say, both were hungry coming into 2016.

So far, business as usual:

Round 1 of this year’s Top Drift competition saw the pair repeat their 2015 performances, this year with Kim in a new and improved Kouki S14 and Knapik even more comfortable in his venerable Zenki. Kim dropped to Second the following round (painfully allowing the win from friend/teammate Sean Adriano in Kim’s old competition S13) while Knapik claimed Fourth after some very, very close battles with Kim in Top 4. Everyone was looking to Round 3—this round—for the duo to re-establish their rivalry and one of the two to win the event.

Both wheelmen looked right at home coming into competition, their powerful and well-set-up Nissans repeatedly sweeping the two banks and transition area of Willow Springs’ Walt James Stadium oval with gobs of smoke and angle. Kim clinched the First Place qualifying spot, to Knapik’s Fourth, and both drivers won their Top 16 battles amidst a dangerously talented pool of rival drivers.

Then the upset of the century:

But when Alex Grimm and his tan Datsun 240Z also won his Top 16 battle and then knocked out the season points leader in one of the most unexpected Top 8 upsets in memory, attention shifted to Knapik as he toppled Shaun Doom (#213 S13 240SX) in the Top 16...

...ran down Shawn Illingworth (#808 350Z) in Top 8...

...and knocked out Dominic Rotondo ( #806 S13 240SX) in Top 4...

...before meeting Grimm and his 240Z in the finals, who had slain his fair share of adversaries in the process.

Definitely did not see that coming:

Buried deep within the Bushido Code of the Japanese Samurai are instructions that a warrior must hold his most formidable rival in the highest regard, even defending him against lesser foe if it could lead to a more pure, honorable battle.

We'd like to think such was the case in the final-round fight here, when Knapik squared off against the driver who had ousted rival Kim. One run in and vengeance looked to be Knapik’s for the taking, with Grimm making some small errors during Knapik’s flawless lead. But when Knapik mysteriously straightened on initiation in his chase run and Grimm remained free of major errors, the verdict was in and Grimm had won the round, crashing the Kim/Knapik party and securing himself in Sixth Place for season points.

It's still anyone's game:

With 100 points up for grabs for an event win and less than that amount separating the eight highest-ranked Top Drift drivers of 2016, the championship title isn’t guaranteed to one of the two names currently topping the leaderboard separated by only one point (Kim with 277, Knapik with 267). The number of drivers who could potentially grab one of several FD Pro 2 licenses up for grabs? Even greater.

Top Drift returns to Willow Springs on August 27th to wrap up its exciting 2016 season under the Willow Speedway lights and send some lucky and talented drivers off to Pro 2 competition.

Will the Kim/Knapik rivalry continue onto drifting’s biggest stages someday? Will an unexpected underdog once again position himself for glory? You’ll know as soon as we do!