HONDAFESTNW 2023
WORDS - VINNIE NGUYEN
PHOTOS - MICHAEL ERICSON, ERNIE VENTENILLA, SEAN MCBROOM, KAT KONG, AND BRANDAN MANGKORNKEO
HondafestNW 2023 was a special event this year and even if you didn’t own an Acura or Honda, you felt the energy while you were there. As the wife and I walked around the event, we overhead knowledge being shared, laughter, and new bonds being made. I can’t even tell you how many conversations I had, making new connections myself! It was a welcoming sight to see so many familiar faces and so many new faces at the event. HondafestNW has always been a great event, but this year just felt different. A good different. This makes us excited for next year, HondafestNW’s 10 year.
This year’s HondafestNW was a little different as we brought back AutoX with the help of our friend Stefan and his company PNW Race. It was exciting as we haven’t had AutoX since 2016 and we could tell that we weren’t the only ones that were excited. Evidently, you guys were on the same page because AutoX slots filled up fast! With AutoX in the mix, our usual morning check in process was a little different as we had to check in AutoX folks at their staging area and the team had to check in vendors and show cars at a separate area. It took a lot of coordination, but the team killed it! We were able to get 200+ show cars and vendors in and AutoX started right when the gates opened at 9AM.
Due to safety reasons, we had the AutoX course at the end of the drag strip away from the main show area. This allowed the cars to move freely and go all out without the worry of someone randomly walking onto the course. Initially we had planned for all the cars to get at least 3 runs, but with how efficiently the team was running things, everyone managed to get at least 5 runs! We heard from many people that though the course was tight, it was fun to run through and it definitely challenged their driving abilities. Our goal was to simply get more people out on the track and enjoying their cars. I must say that we accomplished that goal as many people who signed up for AutoX was tracking their cars for the very first time! You could see the smile on everyone’s faces. Time results are at the bottom of the article!
While AutoX was running, the car show was in full swing. Cars were parked and cleaned, vendors were all set up, and spectators were making their way into the venue. With over 200 cars competing, our judges had a full day ahead of them. When it comes to judging, it is encouraged that the show car competitors talk to the judges. This gives the competitors a chance to talk about their build, the direction they’re going in, and provide an overall insight on their vision.
What separates HondafestNW from all other shows is that we allow anyone with an Acura or Honda to enter. This means we see builds of all calibers, from daily drivers to complete showers. And why do we do that? Why don’t we weed out stock cars or “sub-par” cars? We get those questions all the time. The answer is simple, we all start somewhere. This is especially true with the import scene. A lot of us most likely started our automotive interests with an Acura or Honda. From there, we either stay faithful to the Honda brand or move to other makes.
With HondafestNW, we wanted to make showing your car accessible. This means that whatever stage your build is at, you can enter it. This allows you to experience how it is to actually compete in an actual car show. To waking up early, to getting your car staged and parked, then having to stay all day at the show, getting your car judged, and possibly winning an award. It’s all part of the experience of showing your car. For those with early builds, this is truly beneficial because when you’re at a show like HondafestNW, the next stage of your build could be parked right next to you, or even the final stage could be a few cars down. You’re able to have a side by side comparison to see what you can do to get your car to its next stage. You get to pick the brains of the owner and learn. Maybe getting new wheels or aero isn’t the move, but cleaning up small details about the car gets you to that next stage. You get to see what goes into a fully dedicated show car. The ability to learn from one another and share knowledge is priceless.
As the morning went by, everyone was having a great time and everyone’s favorite DJ, DJ Lil Shonn was keeping the crowd entertained and involved with various games and giveaways. We had many vendors come out to HondafestNW and you guys were showing love to all of them! We had many returning ones and some new ones to the event.
Shout out to Group 6ix for coming out this year to live print our HondafestNW event shirts!
Make sure you guys visit their pages and show them some love!
The morning went by so fast and before we knew it, it was already past noon, AutoX had completed their morning session and drag racing was starting up! Many attendees made their way over to the grand stands to see all of the drag racers make their passes.
Official judging was set to wrap up at 2pm, so our judges made their final rounds to find any cars that might’ve been missed. Once that finishes up, we start tallying up the points and as a collective, our judges take a final walk around the show area to pick out the top awards like the coveted Judge’s Choice and Best of Show.
As the day was winding down, we started setting up awards in front of the DJ and everyone eagerly made their way over. Before we did the awards though, we had some prizes that we brought ourselves, which included some Mugen goodies and plenty of prizes donated from our vendors to raffle off! Winners were announced and that marked the end to a perfect day. We had a successful event thanks to you all and a huge shout out goes to all of the winners!
We can’t wait to see you all at the next event and we’re excited to see what year 10 of HondafestNW will bring us!
BEST OF SHOW - DANIEL NGUYEN (1996 ACURA NSX - TEAM MENACE )
JUDGE'S CHOICE - MAI PHAM ( ACURA INTEGRA - BACKYARDBOOGIE)
PACIFIC RACEWAYS FAVORITE - CHRIS RAFANAN (2005 HONDA S2000 )
BEST VENDOR CAR - BIG BEN (1990 HONDA CIVIC - BACKYARD BOOGIE)
BEST ALL GO NO SHOW - RICHARD TODD (1999 HONDA CIVIC - RICHTUNED)
BEST ACURA OTHER - HOWARD CHIANG (2006 ACURA TSX - GARAGE FIVE)
BEST ACURA INTEGRA (94 - 01) - TAI HUA (1996 HONDA INTEGRA TYPE R - TEAM RW)
2ND PLACE ACURA INTEGRA (94 - 01) - IBRAHIM RAUF (1994 ACURA INTEGRA )
BEST ACURA INTEGRA (93 AND OLDER) - BRIAN MILLER (1992 ACURA INTEGRA GSR DAILY)
BEST ACURA NSX - AARON CHAU (1992 ACURA NSX - MEKA GARAGE )
BEST ACURA RSX - DINO EUSEBIO (2006 ACURA RSX TYPE S )
2ND PLACE ACURA RSX - DOUG FOSTER (2003 ACURA RSX )
BEST ACURA TL - DAVID NGUYEN (2008 ACURA TL - UNORTHODOX )
2ND PLACE ACURA TL - KARLOS AVENA (2008 ACURA ACURA TL )
BEST ACURA TLX - THOMAS OEUN (2021 ACURA ACURA TLX TYPE S )
BEST HONDA OTHER - WILLIAM SAWYER (2005 HONDA METRUCXIO ((METRO,RUCKUS,PCX)) UNDERBONE )
BEST HONDA ACCORD - AMEDEO FUNARO (2000 HONDA CL1 EURO R ACCORD )
2ND PLACE HONDA ACCORD - ANDREW QUITUGUA (2022 HONDA ACCORD 2.0T )
BEST HONDA CIVIC TYPE R (17 AND NEWER) - KRAIG VANWIERINGEN (2019 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R - M2 ACENSION)
2ND PLACE HONDA CIVIC TYPE R (17 AND NEWER) - KEN SUGAWARA (2018 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R )
BEST HONDA CIVIC (16 AND NEWER) - RANAY RETZLOFF (2018 HONDA CIVIC SI - DILLYBUILT)
2ND PLACE HONDA CIVIC (16 AND NEWER) - SCOT ATKIN (2018 HONDA CIVIC SI COUPE )
BEST HONDA CIVIC (12 - 15) - ALEJANDRO JIMENEZ (2015 HONDA CIVIC SI )
BEST HONDA CIVIC (01 - 11) - MEL DIEGO (2004 HONDA CIVIC SI - BHM)
2ND PLACE HONDA CIVIC (01 - 11) - ACE ROBIANES (2008 HONDA CIVIC SI COUPE - JADED)
BEST HONDA CIVIC (96 - 00) - OWEN FELTY (1999 HONDA CIVIC DX - FELTYFAB)
2ND PLACE HONDA CIVIC (96 - 00) - MIKE LECKIE (1997 HONDA CIVIC )
BEST HONDA CIVIC (92 - 95) - BRIAN MADAYAG (1995 HONDA CIVIC - BHM)
2ND PLACE HONDA CIVIC (92 - 95) - YEVGENIY GATALA (1994 HONDA CIVIC SI )
BEST HONDA CIVIC (91 AND OLDER) - ERIC ANDERSON (1985 HONDA CIVIC HATCHBACK - HIRO’S HOTRODS)
2ND PLACE HONDA CIVIC (91 AND OLDER) - JOHN BIRDSELL (1990 HONDA CIVIC HATCHBACK )
BEST HONDA CRV - AUSTIN HIRONAKA (1999 HONDA CRV - HIRO’S HOTRODS)
BEST HONDA CRX - AUSTON CORBETT (1991 HONDA CR-X )
BEST HONDA DEL SOL - MARCUS SMITH (1993 HONDA DEL SOL )
BEST HONDA FIT - DANIEL YEH (2008 HONDA FIT (GD3) - AJ RACING)
BEST HONDA PRELUDE - JOSHUA LUQUETTE (2000 HONDA PRELUDE - SPEEDFACTORY)
2ND PLACE HONDA PRELUDE - RILEY HAMILTON-STONE (1991 HONDA PRELUDE )
BEST HONDA S2000 - RANDY OLIVAREZ (2007 HONDA S2000 - TEAM MENACE )
2ND PLACE HONDA S2000 - DON NGUYEN (2005 HONDA S2000 )
AUTOX ACURA/HONDA 1ST PLACE - GABRIEL CHOY (2019 HONDA CIVIC TYPE R - 44.763 SEC)
AUTOX ACURA/HONDA 2ND PLACE - JACK RAIBLE (2008 HONDA FIT - 44.806 SEC)
AUTOX ACURA/HONDA 3RD PLACE - TROY GUNDLE (1990 HONDA CIVIC 45.324 SEC)
AUTOX OTHER 1ST PLACE - JOHAN HOW (2021 PORSCHE 718 BOXSTER GTS 46.101 SEC)
