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Shea Holbrook's race team will field three Hondas in the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge

While there are still club racers competing, it’s the factory-backed efforts that are leading the field. In 2016, the Flying Lizards team, which has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times, won the Thunderhill 25 for the second year in row in an Audi R8 LMS. The Lizards covered 751 laps with a fastest lap of 104.641.

K&N-supported racer Shea Holbrook was invited to park her K&N equipped Pirelli World Challenge Honda Accord Touring Car and join the Honda Performance Development team at the Thunderhill 25 Hours. We sat down with the 11 time World Challenge race winner after the event and here’s what she had to say:

Honda is now offering to racers the 2017 Civic Hatchback as a 'body-in-white' to ease construction

Shea: We raced the all-new 2017 Honda Civic Coupe Turbo at Thunderhill, which weighed just 2,200 pounds, largely because it was built from Honda Racing/HPD's new body in white. You can't really compare the Accord to the new Civic based on wheelbase, power-to-weight ratio and the "how you drive application" is significantly different. The Accord has so much power and much heavier. It's difficult to drive that car at 10/10 all the time. The new Civic has a great balance and is more of a momentum car. Also, we need to take into consideration that we ran the 25 Hour car lighter than we normally would in PWC TCA because the 25 Hour was a true development test.

K&N: Who did you share the car with?

It's all business inside the 2017 Honda Civic turbo hatchback at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill

K&N: How much seat time do you get on a typical PWC weekend? How much seat time at the 25? How did you handle all the extra driving?

Shea: For World Challenge we typically have an hour for the promoter test day, about an hour of official practice, 15 minutes for qualifying and two 60 minute races. So, call it just over 4 hours of total on track time. Whereas at the 25 Hour we get two full days of open track testing then the 25 hour race itself. But that's also divided up between four drivers. I drove 7 1/2 hours of the 25 and the grueling 2:00 am to 5:30 am stint. I love the extra time on track, especially night stints.

K&N: Speaking about racing at night, I would imagine it presents some special challenges to the driver

Having plenty of lights on the front of your car is key as there's no lighting at the track

K&N: Have you raced at night before?

Shea: I raced the 25 Hours in 2008 but that felt like a lifetime ago. So, I do not have much night driving under my belt, although, I ran some of my fast laps at night. Maybe because you can't see and just hope for the best, haha! The biggest challenges were the high-speed, blind, very dark corners. If you're the only car going through it's just your headlights lighting up that part of the track. Plus, we had an incident at 10:30 pm which took out our right side lights. It made the rest of the night driving, interesting at times.

Racing at night is challenging, but not without its advantages, according to Shea Holbrook

Shea: Staying hydrated and properly fueled up is important. We snack, a lot. Light eating is uber import. Don't eat waffles right before you get in the car, ask one of the HPD engineers! Hydration, energy, sleep, and mental focus are must haves for a grueling race like this one.

K&N: So are you happy with the outcome of the 25 Hours?

Shea: Our 2017 Honda Racing/HPD Civic finished the 25 Hours of Thunderhill! Not a single mechanical failure, I’m always impressed with the Honda brand. Completely flawless thanks to the extensive development HPD put in. We were the fastest front wheel drive car and the third fastest car in our class. Thank you to the crew, my co-drivers, Eibach, MOMO Motorsport, Replay XD and HPD for the opportunity!

The 1969 T-100 basks in the SoCal sun at the Ventura Chopper Fest

Robinson spends the lion’s share of his time providing for his family by running his successful company in Palmdale, California. Bike building is a passion that he fits in the limited time he can muster between home and business. In fact, the T-100 is only his second completed custom build. “I don’t build bikes to make money. I have just always loved motorcycles,” Robison said.

Anthony Robinson reaps the fruits of his labor at the Long Beach IMS

“I wanted to build a flat-tracker with a wood theme,” Robinson said. As dichotomous as that may seem, the end result shows the wisdom of his vision. We have to start with arguably the coolest part on the bike; the rear fender. “The wooden rear fender took me three tries, and I was beginning to doubt myself,” Robinson said. “But the third time was the charm. It took a month to build, but it was worth it.” Indeed it was.

The low-slung profile of Robinson’s Triumph is the result of some frame-building magic. “The frame is Triumph, but the front fork is an original Harley-Davidson 45 springer that I bought from an old guy at a swap meet,” Robinson reveals. That mating of the Triumph frame and the springer fork makes for a supreme level of retro-cool.

The 1969 flat track build and Robinson's first project, a 1961

The paint job transitions the wood motif into the tank in a masterful way. It’s as if there is an evolution from the organic to the metallic that flows from the rear fender to the headlight. The paint-matched, down-turned handle bars complete the flat track look of the build. Every detail is pristine. “My goal is to bring a bike back to life as if it’s new. I know other builders like to leave their bikes sweaty, that’s just not my thing,” said Robinson.

The wood and metal theme of the custom flat tracker works on many levels

K&N congratulates Anthony Robinson on his masterful Triumph custom. We all look forward to the next build. You can find Robinson on social media under his bike-building tag – Gasoline and Coffee.

Eric Norris prepares for the SRL Southwest Tour Series race at Kern County Raceway in Bakersfield.

Norris, the son of martial arts expert and actor Chuck Norris, was a veteran in the NASCAR Winston West Series, the predecessor of the K&N Pro Series West. He won his first West Series race in Bakersfield, at Mesa Marin Raceway.

Eric Norris continues to race, off-road trucks and open wheel cars mostly, and has been trying to put a deal together with Dave Reed Racing and his driving partner, Matt Stowe, for some time.

“I always do a couple races a year, maybe a road race somewhere,” Eric Norris said. “I’ve gone out to Cleveland, Mid-Ohio, a few times. Last year Matt and I did like three off-road races. I’m always doing something. I love racing so much, I don’t ever want to step away from it completely. I am always trying to find something to do.”

Eric Norris finished in 20th place in the Bulwark 150 by 51 Fifty Energy Drink at Kern County Raceway. Derek Thorn won the SRL Southwest Tour race. Twenty-six cars entered the race.

Eric Norris (14) races during the SRL Southwest Tour Series event at Kern County Raceway.

Fitting a stock car race into his schedule is tricky. Eric Norris works as a stunt coordinator. He has been working on the TV show “24” in Atlanta, Georgia, and finding time to take away from the show has been difficult.

“It’s hard for me to commit to anything,” Eric Norris said. “We have tried to do a couple of different things with Dave earlier in the year. It’s just hard for me to sit there are say I need this Saturday night off. Then I go and work somewhere and I can’t get away.”

When he put together the deal to race in the SRL Southwest Tour Series in Bakersfield, he had to ask the producers of the show to give him time off. He wanted to leave on Thursday and the race was on Saturday night.

“They were super cool about it,” Eric Norris said. “Everything just kind of worked out. The timing was right. Dave had his car available. I know Dave is going to do everything he can to give me the best equipment and the best people.”

As for his expectations for the race, Eric Norris said he was not sure how it would play out. He was not so concerned about winning the race, but wanted to be competitive.

Eric Norris entered the SRL Southwest Tour Series race in Bakersfield in a car backed by K&N.

Even though Eric Norris works as a stuntman and stunt coordinator in movies and television shows, and races off-road trucks and cars, he insists he is not looking for an adrenaline rush. Racing cars is how he gets his competitive juices flowing. It is a way for him to challenge himself in a competitive forum.

“I’m not a super big adrenaline junky that I like to go out and jump out of airplanes,” Eric Norris said. “Racing cars is a more competitive thing for me than adrenaline junky thing for me. I get the adrenaline obviously when you're sitting there getting ready to get the green flag, and you got those big butterflies. It’s all about passing the next guy," explained Norris.

"I’ve never been a huge adrenaline junky. That being said, I have done some big stunts, and I still do big stunts. I get those big butterflies and all that. But it’s more about doing a good job and doing something cool than, oh my God, I am going to jump out of this building.”

His goals for the race were pretty realistic, stay on the lead lap and hang with the race leaders.

“I don’t know what my goals are really,” Eric Norris said. “I’d love to sit there and run every lap and finish on the lead lap with everybody and be competitive. I want to go out and be competitive and race hard, be up there with the leaders.”

Eric Norris finished in 20th place in the SRL Southwest Tour Series race at Kern County Raceway.

“I haven’t been in a car in 10 years,” Eric Norris said. “I have to get acclimated in two days of practice. Dave is going to give me a good car and if everything works out, there’s no reason I can’t go run up front with the leaders.”

Eric Norris had plenty of top-notch support for the race. Three-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion Eric Holmes was his spotter. Plus K&N provided support for Eric Norris and his team in the race.

“K&N brings a big company to the series. It is exciting to have K&N as part of the series and part of this whole program as a sponsor,” Eric Norris said. “It brings legitimacy, especially with the Southwest Tour, to have a such a great company as part of it. I am excited to be a part of it.”

The K&N PS-7037 cartridge oil filter has a pleated high-flow media that traps 99% of contaminants

Whether you have the 2016 Lincoln MKX with the 3.7-liter V6 engine or the 2015 Ford F-150 with the 3.5L Ecoboost, your engine deserves to be protected from hamrful foreign matter that can be floating around in your oil.

As mentioned, the K&N PS-7037 Pro Series cartridge oil filter is designed and engineered for 2015-2016 Ford F-150, 2015-2016 Ford Edge, and the 2016 Lincoln MKX.

The filter is specially designed to deal with conventional, synthetic, and blended oils and provides superior filtration that traps 99% of contaminants. The special design of the filter encourages high flow because oil filter restrictions have been reduced. It includes a pleated high flow media that offers higher capacity and reduced oil filter restriction and a nitrile rubber gasket.

Besides Pro Series cartridge oil filters, K&N also offers wrench-off and wrench-off heavy duty oil filters, motorcycle and ATV canister oil filters, marine oil filters, diesel oil filters, and reusable billet aluminum spin-on oil filters. Use the K&N application search tool to find the right products for your needs.

The K&N PS-7037 Pro Series cartridge oil filter is designed to fit the following vehicles:

2016 LINCOLN MKX 2.7L V6 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 FORD F150 2.7L V6 Fuel Injection - All Models
2016 FORD EDGE 2.7L V6 Fuel Injection - All Models
2015 FORD F150 2.7L V6 Fuel Injection - All Models
2015 FORD EDGE 2.7L V6 Fuel Injection - All Models

One of four 2,500 hp aluminum Hemis that power the Git R Done pulling tractor

Now imagine four of these monster motors hitched together with the sole purpose of dragging a sled weighing nearly a quarter of a ton about the length of the football field. Welcome to the world of competitive tractor pulling.

The routes of tractor pulling go back to when farm implements were pulled by horses, and farmers would compete against one another to prove who had the most powerful animals. In some horse teams competed by pulling laden carts loads over a set distance. Eventually the competition evolved and horses would pull a weighted skid, with more weight added as competitors were eliminated. These events continue to this day with specially bred draft horses bred to have high strength for pulling heavy loads.

While horses continue to pull, motorized tractor competition began in 1929 at events at sites like Bowling Green, Ohio, which continues to be the site of the NTPA National Championship. Not unlike short track dirt racing during the period into the 1960s rules varied from state to state, and even county to county. The lack of ability for a team to compete less than 50 miles from home severely limited the growth of the sport.

Recognizing this limitation, representatives from eight states created a common set of rules and established the National Tractor Pullers Association (NTPA). In the early 1970s, most competitors used standard farm vehicles, with the motto, "Pull on Sunday, plow on Monday". There were two classes: stock tractors, which were commercially-available tractors as produced by manufacturer and modified tractors, which were basic tractor chassis powered by a virtually unlimited choice of engines.

Each pair of engines is connected at the crankshaft, but still fires as two V-8s

Besides the multiple engine configurations that the Correia family runs, motors as diverse as Russian helicopter and torpedo boat engines, Continental AV1790 M103 tank engines, or an Allison V-1710 V-12 aircraft engine from a WW II P-38 or P-41.

The father and son Git R Done team of Clarence and Jeremy Correia run their four-engine machine as two separate banks of V-8 engines, connected crank to crank. Power is then feed to an Engler Cross Box, whose function is to couple the left and right pairs of engines together.

The goal of a Tractor Pull is to overcome the weight that the tractor is dragging, and in doing so pulling it farther than any of your competitors. The diabolical part is that the sled isn’t static weight - it contains a a heavy box filled that is mechanically winched forward as the sled progresses down the course. Pulling this ever-increasing load overcomes the power of the tractor and it stops short, although on occasion one will reach the end of the course, which is known as a “full pull.” The distance from start to finish is measured in thousandths of an inch and the tractor that pulls the sled the farthest distance is declared the winner. If more than one competitor reaches the full pull mark, a pull-off is held to determine a winner. Sort of like drag racing with each car connected to a powerful spring back at the start line.

So what’s it like to make a run in a four-engine, 8000-lb., Unlimited Class tractor? Let’s have Jeremy walk us through it. “Since this isn’t a speed sport, you don’t need to jump on the gas. Instead you apply a light throttle for the first five to 10 feet and make sure your tires have sufficient grip.” Side note here. The tires are Firestone Puller 2000 and they’re designed especially for tractor pulls. Should you see one you’ll notice that they don’t have much of a tread as a farm tractor tire. This was done to reduce the amount of dirt thrown back against the skid, which would build up and add resistance. Back to Jeremy:

Power is transfered to the Earth through specially-designed Firestone pulling tires

“Weight transfer is another important factor, and I know that I’ve balanced the tractor just right when the front wheels are one foot off the ground. Higher and too much weight is being transferred, down on the ground is not enough.”

“In traveling the course of the run, even though my forward speed is only about 30 – 40 mph, the tires are spinning at 98 mph,” Jeremy added. “You put it all together like that and you’ve earned yourself a full pull.”

If you’re a fan of motorsports you owe it to yourself to check out a Tractor Pull at least once. Where other forms of racing have limited the horsepower of cars or the length of the venue, this is still the Wild West, where if you have a better idea, build it and come take on the rest.