Detroit Region SCCA was once again on hand to support the Empire Hill Climb this year. DRSCCA has provided sanctioning, event support, volunteers, and equipment for this event for nearly every event since the hill climb’s revival.
The event is held in conjunction with the Village of Empire and the Empire Hill Climb committee, which is comprised of residents of the village that support the event on behalf of the town.
This year’s event saw over 40 competitors take to the hill across five categories including a Vintage class and a pair of drift cars that ran in their own class as an exhibition category.
The fastest overall time this year went to Brian Blaine in his V8-powered 1985 Mazda RX7. Blaine took top honors in Class 3 with a fast time of 19.572 -seconds. Close behind with the second fastest time and taking top honors in the Vintage class was Tony Grace in a beautiful 1970 Chevrolet Camaro. Grace’s best effort was a 19.881-second run. Class 2 winner Evan Weider ran a 20.124 in his 1995 Honda Civic, while Garrett Fisk took the top step in Class 1 in his 1993 KBS MK7 with a time of 21.613-seconds.
First place in the Drift class went to Adam Buchanan and his 2003 Nissan 350z, with a trap speed 77 mph. Adam was judged to have brought the perfect blend of control and style to Wilco Road, earning top “marks” and plenty of cheers along the way.
Detroit Region SCCA would like to thank all the competitors and volunteers from the region who made the trek north to support this event. We would also like to extend a special thanks to Curt Rosenstengel of Furrin Group for the use of their wireless timing system at this year’s hill climb.
If you have not attended this event in the past, we highly recommend doing so for 2026. Empire is a beautiful place to be in mid-September and this event is easily one of the most welcoming and entertaining events that DRSCCA supports. See you on the hill!
Check out the Empire Hill Climb Facebook page for more awesome images and videos: https://www.facebook.com/EmpireHillClimb
