“SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT!”
Motorsports blood runs thick as oil, and those who feel the love of fast cars know that the bonds formed at the track are the strongest. Long before Team Faruk arrived in Seattle, the Vick family offered support, with father John setting up a public event and meal for the crew and coordinating parts arrivals from our partners all around the world. Older son Jonah, a Formula Drift ProAm driver, got his feet wet as part of the team’s crew. John and younger son Jalen provided tire support services for Nexen Tire drivers throughout the weekend.
Once the team arrived at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington looking forward to Rounds 3 and 4 of the Pro Formula Drift championship, it was under the Northwest Coast’s familiar heavy skies. Thursday’s practice session was rain-soaked, giving Faruk Kugay with his Nuke Performance / ENEOS / Nexen Tire 1997 Nissan 2JZGTE, Razetil, his first chance to drive the car on a wet track. The slick course, layout, and banking added new elements not experienced in St. Louis, and the team successfully perfected the car’s tuning for the variety of conditions. Through Vick family connections, Auto Truck Service welcomed the team to their race garage to do all the necessary checks and fluid changes so they could stay warm and dry between practice and competition. The team would like to thank their new friends, the Bostroms!
Saturday’s event took place on a wet, oily track under a mix of rain and cloudy skies. Round 3’s Top 32 battles pitted Faruk against Michael Essa, and in his first run Faruk collided with him on course. Faruk took a “competition time out” so the team could assess damage to the front end of the car. While his approach was aggressive, he believed the collision was caused by Essa giving an unfollowable lead and filed a protest. The judges ultimately denied the protest, and viewed Faruk’s moves as a sign of his eagerness to maintain the necessary proximity. Faruk’s lead run was much more smooth, but the judges awarded Essa the win. As noted by the judges and commentators, Faruk is absolutely passionate and wears his heart on his sleeve. Essa ultimately finished 3rd on this day.
For Sunday’s Round 4 battle in the sun, Team Faruk worked tirelessly to finish repairs to Razetil’s front end. In Top 32 competition, Faruk was up against Taylor Hull. He massively improved his line, smoothness, and consistency around the course, and gave Hull a fair run for his money. Hull was given the win for this battle, with two judges going toward Hull and the third recognizing the closeness of the competition by voting “one more time.” Hull went on to compete in the Great 8, finishing in 6th place.
Being a new and powerful build, Razetil has not been an easy beast to tame. Faruk and the crew work tirelessly around the clock to improve it. Faruk couldn’t work so hard to achieve his Formula Drift dreams this year without such a dedicated team. Regular crew includes Can Sandel Atasoy (Media / Spotter), Jason Mohon (Assistant Mechanic), and Josh Weidman (Mechanic), and support is provided by a network of others from around the world. They all have their own pit crews of loved ones offering their behind-the-scenes support as well. Recognizing all she does for him, Faruk expressed his love last week by proposing to his girlfriend, Rebeca!
Passion defines Team Faruk and every person puts in their maximum effort. Faruk currently holds 64 championship points in total.
Kugay is running Konig Dekagram in 18×8.5 et 35 front / 18×9.5 et 22 rear in Semi-matte Black. The Konig Dekagram is Flow Formed.
