If anyone doubted that we’ve entered a new era for Drift Indy Street League talent, back-to-back podiums from Cash Staub and Sam Cornewell ought to be enough evidence that we truly have. Cash took the gold, Sam the silver and DISL newcomer Steven Fishel snagged the bronze at the end of two days of shredding from some of the best in the midwest.
In the last weekend of July, DISL traveled up north to USAir Motorsports Raceway in Wisconsin for Round 2 of this season’s series. The facilities and track there are kick-ass, and it was a rad experience to take our special mix of style and skill to a new location. With that new location came a never-before-seen track layout that we developed with Simba from ClubFR.
In addition to the comp layout for Saturday, we ran a longer course for Friday practice just as a little treat for all our shredders.
Similar to our usual DISL layout at Kil-kare, this track featured a tricky initiation and first outer zone that tested everybody’s technical ability. Such a tight decel zone at the end of a long straight saw folks fielding quite a few different techniques. Hitting a long handbrake drag into the turn was a popular one, others loaded up for one big flick at the initiation flags and the rest manjied the straight, starting a hundred yards or so from the turn.
Colten Terrell nicely demonstrates a handbrake initiation.
Practice started off a little shaky while everybody knocked off the cobwebs and figured out a new course, but by the end of the day Friday drivers were dragging the wall and getting some tandems in here and there. In general, though, it felt like people were reluctant to drive with each other. So much so that part of Saturday’s drivers’ meeting included a push to quit being lame and actually drive some tandems. Chalk it up to the pressure of competition or being at a new track, but there were quite a few drivers that were driving a little below the level we know they’re capable of.
Friday night saw some impressive performances off the track, including Isaac Lemley’s first-ever bowling game over 100. Shawano’s not known for its nightlife, but we made the most of it and the hospitality of the townspeople.
Saturday morning started off with quite a few cars on jackstands in the pits. Seth St. Myers blew a turbo Friday, Coy Pendleton broke his transmission and Dylan Lobbestael managed to snap a camshaft. Seth was lucky enough to have a kind fellow car enthusiast from Facebook Marketplace delivered a new turbo 3.5 hours to him, Coy scored a new transmission from Marketplace as well, Dylan made some parts materialize and they and they al managed to get up and running in time for competition.
Through practice Friday and Saturday, a few drivers stood out and looked to really be getting it. Mike Steele, winner of the DK award for the weekend, was putting down heaters lap after lap and just looked like he was having a damn good time. The Fortune Fleet boys were getting after it, Clint Stotts and Cash Staub were on each others’ doors before long and Team Smooth Brain were looking confident.
Mike Steele drove like a kid in a candy shop all weekend.
By the time prelims rolled around, it felt like most drivers were comfortable with the tricky initiation. The outer zone in the hammerhead ended up being one of the biggest problem areas both in prelims and the Top 32.
Our top four qualifiers were Seth St. Myers, Josh Estey, Clint Stotts and Steven Fishel. By the judges’ account, it was one of the closest prelims we’ve ever had in DISL. The margins separating the top 16 qualifiers from those that fell just short were ultra fine, and came down to small mistakes.
Prelims set up a Top 32 chock-full of interesting matchups. Adam Day vs. Roy Outcalt, Clint Stotts vs. Colten Terrell, Justin Medina vs. Brian Peter, Vance Kearns Vs. Cash Staub and Jake Clark vs. Mike Steele all had the potential to be all-time great DISL matchups. And, largely, they didn’t disappoint. Not quite all-time, but a great watch all the same.
Vance and Cash’s battle was especially competitive, and went to a OMT before Cash got the nod. Jake, up against Mike and already at a big power disadvantage, had a mechanical issue that knocked him out of competition. Justin put down a solid chase lap against Brian, and managed to open up enough of a gap in his lead run that saw him advance over the former Midwest Drift Union champ.
BP and "The Cheetah" Medina threw down.
By the time we made it to the Top 16, it became pretty evident that dudes were defeating themselves. It felt like a lot of drivers were in their head or nervous. Uncharacteristic mistakes and unnecessary moves saw quite a few people knocked out. Chalk it up to a new track to a lot of our drivers or nerves after a long break since our last DISL round, but chopped lines and bobbles from otherwise super solid drivers made quite a few appearances. It was still a ton of fun to watch, but from a judged perspective too many people were sacrificing their lines to suck up into closer proximity.
Through Top 16 and Top 8, some of the most exciting battles were between Cash and Josh Estey, Rodney Blankenship and Dylan Lobbestael, and Jordan Tippmann and Leigh Roto.
Rodney and his 'stang were on a heater all weekend and got the dub over Dylan.
Down to the Final 4, Cash was matched up against Adam Day on one side of the bracket and Sam Cornewell was going head-to-head with Steven Fishel on the other. Cash and Adam came into their battle both having been some of the most consistent and exciting drivers of the weekend. It was yet another tight battle for the two of them, but Cash managed to hit all his marks and come out on top. Sam and Steven, both similarly consistent, also had a hell of a battle. By the second half of the course, Sam managed to open up a gap in the lead that paired nicely with his signature proximity in the chase to give him the dub.
It came down to Adam vs. Steven in the third place battle. Despite this being his first experience with DISL, Steven came out and threw down like a veteran of the series. Adam, behind the wheel of his sick, pink Camaro looked like he was on a mission the whole weekend. Despite the absence of his Maxdout Mafia teammates on the weekend’s roster, he had quite a few vocal fans in the crowd. Steven led first, putting down a super solid run that saw him filling the zones but saw Adam coming up a little shallow through the hammerhead and the final outer zone. Adam had a solid lead, but it wasn’t enough to make up for those mistakes in the chase.
Steven Fishel chasing down Adam Day through the hammerhead
Sam Cornewell and Cash Staub, two of the younger drivers in DISL and both having already secured their second podium in a row, found themselves matched up. Watching these guys drive, it’s easy to imagine they’ve always got a smile on their face behind their helmet. They drive like they love drifting, and it makes them both a ton of fun to watch.
Cash and Sam put on a show all weekend.
Sam led first, throwing a big initiation that saw Cash straighten and lock up briefly. Sam put down a characteristically solid run the rest of the lap, but the judges saw a few more small corrections from Cash around outer zone 5. With Sam at an advantage going into the second run, Cash put down a much needed heater of a lead run that saw Sam chopping the line slightly between outer zones one and two and a bigger chop and slight straighten through the hammerhead that almost had him overtake Cash. With minor mistakes and one larger mistake each, the judges called for a One More Time.
Sam again led first, and both drivers had a solid run in the first half of their OMT, but Sam had something break before he could initiate in the second lap, leaving Cash to finish out his lead run solo. It wasn’t how anyone wanted to see it decided, least of all those two shredders, but that’s drifting!
The podium presentation, as always, was a nice, wholesome time. Cash and Sam had a much easier time popping their champagne this time around, and Steven seemed similarly hyped on the weekend’s driving. It’s no easy feat to podium your first time in a comp series, after all. We got our wholesome dad and son moment, too, when Cash’s dad joined him up on the top step for some photos.
Wholesome.
With the dust settled on DISL Round 2, we turn our attention to Round 3 and the series’ return to Kil-kare. The first two rounds have set up a killer potential clash of the titans. Cash Staub has earned 47 points and leads overall, and Sam Cornewell is only a single point behind at 46. They’ll be on opposite sides of the bracket and the chance of them meeting in the final battle again is very real. Justin Medina and Roy Outcalt, third and fourth overall respectively, will be driving their asses off to try to climb their way to the top. With No Star Bash and Round 3 going down one after the other, it’s going to be a can’t-miss weekend of sick driving.