TrialByFire Presents: NICOfest at Firebird – NIGHT DRIFT!

TBF brought night drifting to Phoenix this past weekend! This has been a yearly tradition for a few years now and it’s always a blast. This year was no different, another night full of non-stop action. All were welcomed to hit the track and try their hand at drifting. There was a great mix of beginner, intermediate, and advanced drivers, and all were eager to have fun and destroy a few tires.

Super Street, Grassroots Motorsports, Modified Magazine and Desert Imports were on hand covering the event.

Special THANKS go out to the corporate sponsors of this event (SakuraProject / Toy Box Auto), as well as our good friends and local forums AZ240sx.org and AZ350Z.com, who always pull through and bring a TON of Nissans and draw the biggest crowds!

**Event Features**

NICOfest Phoenix :: After several years of collaboration between NOPI and NICO, Arizona was removed from the tour by NOPI. This appeared to bring the Phoenix Nicofest to a stop for the time being, but officials from Club Racing Arizona thought there was no better way to continue the NICO event than to invite them out with us for what we consider our largest event of the year. That being said, we welcome NICO and hope that they enjoy this event as much as we do.

Modified Magazine Tuner Shootout :: This section of the event puts the top tuner cars in the country up against each other in a head to head battle in auto-x, time attack, drag racing, dyno runs, and more. Participation in this portion of the event is INVITE ONLY. There has been rumors that the 2008 confirmed participants include; Cobb Tuning Nissan R35, Factor X Acura NSX, Full Race Nissan R14 (AWD S14 with RB26 powerplant), World Scion TC, Skunk2 Acura RSX, KSport Acura RSX. Rumors continue to say that several other major tuners; such as AMS, DynoComp, WORK and more; are still considering the event.

Super Street Magazine Super Lap Battle Qualifier :: For the last few years, Super Street magazine has held one of their qualifying rounds for their annual Super Lap Battle here in Phoenix with NASA Pro Racing Arizona Region. The Super Lap Battle final will be held on November 12th at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park in Buttonwillow, CA. Local racer Tage Evanson will be defending his 2007 championship this year along with his track record in the Limited FF class.

UMS Tuning Time Attack :: Created by Tage Evanson for the local road racers, the UMS Tuning sponsored Time Attack has proven to be very popular in the local scene and continues to grow every month.

US Drift by Trial By Fire :: Trial By Fire was one of the first organizations to start its own drifting events for drivers of all skill levels here in Arizona. Hosting their own parking lot style events in Tucson and Phoenix, they have continuously teamed up with NASA Pro Racing to create some of the biggest experiences in drifting that Arizona has to offer. This portion of the event will feature over 30 drivers of all skill levels. A great place for beginners to come out and see what they can do. A great place for professional drivers to come out and have some fun and show the new guys the tricks that made them pros.

Centerforce Clutch Hyper Drive :: The hyper drive program gives an opportunity for normal people to get 15 minutes on track to experience what our drivers experience at a very very low price compared to normal registration costs. We thank Centerforce Clutch for making this possible for those who decide to participate.

NASA Race Groups :: NASA race groups are filled with amazing competition which features several classes. This years 100 minute Enduro should be as exciting as last years with several local Honda Challenge and Spec 944 racers coming to battle it out and prove who is better. Along with them will be the Performance Touring and Super Touring classes which include BMW’s, Porsche’s, Dodge Viper’s, Nissan 240sx’s and more.

NASA Time Trial :: NASA TT is all about your fastest times and not about position on track.

NASA HPDE Groups :: High Performance Drivers Education. HPDE1 through HPDE3, these groups are the stepping stone into NASA Time Trials and NASA Race Groups. HPDE1 is designed for the new driver who may not know about braking zones and track etiquette. HPDE2 is for those who are ready to drive with a larger group of cars and learn the proper ways to drive side by side, make passes, and other vital procedures when driving on a race track.

AZAWD.ORG Meet :: Annually, the AZAWD.org meet brings out about 30 Evo’s and Suby’s. This year will be no different as the popularity of the two cars continue to rise.

Evolution Motorsports/Scottsdale Exotic Car Club Vehicle Display :: Another new portion of the event, we welcome these two groups who will be displaying some of the most expensive cars on the planet.