The 2012 AWD Competition Series hosted by Extreme Speed Track Events proved to be an extremely competitive series this year.  More than fifty drivers showed up in their Evos, STI’s, WRXs, GT-R’s, and RalliArts to test their driving ability and car against other turbo charged all-wheel drive vehicles.   The series championship was a best six of nine events, and was held at Willow Springs International Raceway, Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and Streets of Willow Springs on various dates throughout 2012.  The series was sponsored by Eibach Springs, Road Race Engineering, Infamous Performance & Tuning, as well as South Coast Subaru.

The series has two main classes, Modified Class and Street Class.  Street Class vehicles must have less than 400 WHP verified by a dyno, and run a tire no softer than 140 tread wear.  Additionally, modifications cannot tally up to more than five points.  Points are added for various modifications. For example, E85 tuning adds 1 point, and 2 way adjustable coil-over suspensions add two points (2013 will only be an adder of 1.5 points for two ways).   Modified Class vehicles are restricted to 500 whp or less, and can run a tire no softer than 100 tread wear.  Modified is allowed a modification total of up to 10 points.  Dyno verification was done by Road Race Engineering in Sante Fe Springs, CA.  This was a strict requirement for podium finishers in order for to be eligible for year-end championship prizes and points. 

The rules brought on some very close battles.  For example, Round 3 in June at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Kevin Fairley narrowly defeated Zhong Cheung with a 1:58.70 vs. a 1:58.71 which made up first and second place in Modified.   For Street, 2^nd place was a 2:03.66 by Gevorg  Kalantaryan, and 3^rd place was a 2:03.67 by Ben Siu.  John Carson managed to win street class that round with a 2:02.00 despite the sweltering 90 degree heat.  This round had ten cars in street class, while seven cars rounded out modified.

For Round 2 at Streets of Willow in April, Ben Siu narrowly defeated Nate Graham in his Evo X MR in the last session of the day with a 1:26.06, to Nate’s 1:26.10 for first and second place in Street Class.  At Round Six at Willow Springs International Raceway, Kevin Fairley barely clenched first place with a 1:29.86, to Zhong Cheung’s 1:29.87.  Every single round had competitors going back and forth throughout the day, attempting to one up one another.

Above is a shot of Jaime Gonzalez’s super sexy Evo IX that competed in Modified.  

Here is Garry Mendez’s Street Class WRX. Look at those rotors!

Zhong Cheung took first place overall honors for Modified Class with four first place finishes and two second place finishes giving him a total of 170 championship points.  Can you beleive this car is still daily driven?!? Now that is dedication to Attacking the Track!

Kevin Fairley took home second place overall in Modified Class with three first place finishes, and two second place finishes to give him 140 championship points.  The car may look extreme, but it still has a stock bottom end putting out about 475 WHP on top of a very heavy 13 point roll cage.

Ramon Ornelas took third place overall  in Modified with one first place finish, four third place finishes, and one sixth place finish totaling 124 championship points.

Ben Siu took first place overall in Street Class with three first place finishes, and three 2^nd place finishes for a championship points total of 165. Photo courtesy of: Timscribbles.com 

Gevorg Kalantaryan took home second place in Street Class with two first place finishes, three second place finishes, and one third place finishes giving him a total of 155 championship points.

 John Carson took 3^rd place overall in Street Class with three First Place finishes, and three Third Place finishes for a total of 150 championship points.

Here are some more images courtesy of timscribbles.com

Ken Kasitz is shown above, who notably had a 1st place finish in Modified. He was kicked up a class due to NT01 tires during the Twilight Round.  He took advantage of Zhong’s mechanical issues, and ended up taking home the win in an otherwise Street Class car minus his NT01’s. He then later switched to Hankook RS-3’s and was able to finish 6^th overall in Street Class.  He was one of the few subies this year that really proved their might against the fleet of dominating Evos.  His car is a 2003 WRX with a JDM STI Spec C motor, with STI Brembo brakes amongst other things.

Here is a great shot of Mark “Jagermeister” Jager who ended up finishing 4^th overall in Street Class.  He was able to pull some respectable lap times despite only being on Race Comp Engineering springs.  He tells us next year he will be on a full coil-over suspension. 

Here is Nathan Hall who finished 9^th  overall  in Street Class.  It looks like wagons can play too!

Here is Justin Lee and his very sexy Evo X. Justin ended up finishing 6^th overall in Modified Class.

All in all, the eXtremeSpeed AWD Competition series proved to be one of the most successful Grass Roots Competitions in Southern California for 2012. Thirty-three drivers competed in Street Class, while twenty-two drivers competed in Modified Class.  This series demonstrated that it is a great platform for drivers to develop and hone their car control skills. Practically all the competitors showed drastic improvements in their lap times over the course of the year, even when factoring changing weather conditions.  The competition really tested people’s resilience and fortitude.  If you are looking to push your driving in a fun and friendly atmosphere, the AWD Competition is a great platform for driver development, and to have some fun while doing it. Word on the street is a lot of the top guys from this series will be competing in Redline Time Attack next year, opening the door for some new blood to come in and make a name for themselves.  It will be interesting to see the event results for 2013.   Rules and the Schedule for the 2013 AWD Competition schedule can be found here: http://www.extremespeedtrackevents.com/awd-competition-class