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Colten Moore eyes the future as he works to get back to top form (photo ESPN / X Games)

It can’t be easy for a seven-time X Games medalist to sit by as other athletes compete in the sport he loves. However, K&N-sponsored snowmobile competitor Colten Moore is making the best of his new, temporary role as an X Games judge. Being a two-time Snowmobile Freestyle gold medalist, Colten is clearly qualified to assess the runs of his fellow extreme athletes.

Moore is itching to again 'catch the sky'

After emergency surgery to repair the spinal damage, Colten regained feeling in his legs and even walked out of the hospital under his own power two weeks later. 2017 was a year filled with rehab, setbacks, and recovery, but Colten has remained positive.

Moore is tirelessly rehabilitating his surgically repaired spine

After the loss of his brother, Colten penned an inspirational autobiography entitled “Catching the Sky,” which reflects on his relationship with his brother and his return to competition after the grieving process. The book was released in 2016.

Colten's insights struck a chord with readers and critics alike. "Catching the Sky" became a finalist for the prestigious PEN America / ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. Clearly, Colten is not one to let tragedy and setbacks derail his goals and aspirations.

Don’t count on Colten being a judge for long. His recovery from the 2017 crash has been painstaking and grueling, but the competitor is determined to get back to his former glory. While his goal of competing in the 2018 X Games was stymied by doctor's orders, his sights are now squarely set on the 2019 games.

K&N is proud to be a part of Colten Moore’s team and we have no doubt that he will soon be ‘catching the sky’ again aboard his K&N equipped sled.

The low profile of the ECI spacer plate adds very little height under the hood

Imagine going out to your 1969 Camaro with its carbureted 350 early on a Saturday morning before your local vehicles and morning beverage meet. You hop in and flip the ignition over and the engine roars to life without as much as a hiccup in the process. To most of you out there, this is a dream come true - no priming, no choke, no flooding.

Traditionally, the only way to achieve this type of easy cold start was switching to an aftermarket electronic fuel injection system. But these systems can cost thousands of dollars, be a nightmare to install, and be impossible to tune if you don’t know what you are doing. Well now there is another solution that can be installed in your driveway in a matter of hours, not days. And after setting 5 simple parameters, it can tune itself.

The Carb spacer plate and injector, ECU unit, and Oxygen sensor are the main components of the ECI

In a way, the ECI system works like an EFI system that reads the air/fuel ratio fed to it from an included O2 sensor that you install in your exhaust. Where this differs from EFI, is that it is used in conjunction with the carburetor. Any time the system detects a lean condition, the injector will kick on to bring the AFR back to spec, but the engine is still fed primarily by the carb.

The brain of the ECI system though, is the ECU. It constantly reads input from the included O2 sensor and monitors the air/fuel ratio. Before you fire the engine for the first time, you answer a few simple questions and set parameters for the system to follow. One of those parameters is AFR. If the system detects an AFR higher than the user-defined limit, the weatherproof ECU tells the injector to fire.

After these basic parameters like AFR have been set, your system should run smoothly even in changing conditions. However, users have the option to dive even deeper into the ECU and set more parameters for the system to follow. Some of these include injector pulse width, shot volume, progressive injector firing, and minimum/maximum RPM range in which to operate. This makes the K&N ECI extremely versatile.

The ECI carb spacer plate is easy to install under your carburetor with the provided studs

Despite K&N’s Electronic Carburetor Injection being such an advanced system, installation can be accomplished in only a matter of hours. Meanwhile some EFI kits take days to install. The three major components of ECI are the spacer plate with injector, the ECU with wiring harness, and the wideband O2 sensor. The kit includes everything needed to perform the install and can be completed in your driveway with common hand tools. No need to run a return line back to your tank. ECI also eliminates the need for 3D mapping software and vehicle tuning like is required to install electronic fuel injection kits.

In addition to being easy to install, ECI addresses another common problem that many vehicle owners face. High horsepower engines naturally require higher fuel flow rates to run efficiently. K&N’s ECI is the solution that keeps your engine running extremely efficiently. This system can help where your carb falls flat. Whether it is at the strip, on the street, or on the road course, if you experience hesitation or power delays with your carburetor, K&N’s ECI will feed your engine that additional fuel it is lacking.

If you are running Holley’s Dominator carb, your engine likely falls into the category of higher fuel flow rates that we mentioned. K&N knows this and with the ECI system for Dominator carbs, K&N includes a second fuel injector and fuel block that can be mounted on the opposite side of the spacer plate. The wiring harness also includes a provision for a second injector, so installation is still a breeze.

When comparing all of these benefits of K&N’s Electronic Carburetor Injection to those of a full electronic fuel injection system, the advantages of ECI are clear. At a fraction of the cost and being much easier to install, K&N ECI is the smart choice for all of your carbureted needs.

Thanks to its supplemental and adaptive design, the K&N ECI system is the perfect middle ground between a straight carburetor and a full EFI system. Whether you have a Holley 4150 (part no. 20-0001), a Holley Dominator (part no. 20-0003), or a Quadrajet style carburetor (part no. 20-0002), the K&N ECI system is designed to solve the fuel delivery issues you may be experiencing. Get yours today!

The hardware in the ECI system consists of the Carb spacer plate, injector, and Oxygen sensor

The ECI software comes ready to install and all wiring needed to connect the necessary components

The ECI is available for many of the most common carburetors on the market

Gold tastes so good for Turcotte at the Aspen, Colorado X Games (photo X Games)

Turcotte was born into the competitive snowmobile culture and the sport has become the life work and the driving force for the racer.

“Snowmobiling for me has been a lifelong passion,” Turcotte says. “It’s been something that I was just kind of born and raised doing. My dad raced snowmobiles for many years as I was a young kid and owned a snowmobile dealership. I just kind of naturally evolved into the athlete that I am now.”

Veteran snowmobiler Brett Turcotte wins the X Games Speed and Style event

“I took a couple year hiatus there once I retired from snowcross racing,” he says. “Now I’m back full-swing as a freestyle athlete.”

Clearly, that shift to freestyle was a fantastic career decision for Turcotte. With a few previous medals under his belt in the discipline, the gold in the 2018 X Games is a crown jewel in the racer’s helmet.

"I just busted my butt to get here," Turcotte said after the finals. "I'm speechless. All this time and effort and dragging the family across the world.”

Turcotte has a healthy set of long-term goals in his cross hairs. He wants to develop his own business over the next decade. This will enable him to share his knowledge and mentor aspiring racers. He also wants to give back to the sport that has served as his lifeblood for years.

“(I’d like to) grow the sport. I grew up in the snowmobile industry and I don’t want to see that go away. I’d like to open up some doors for some up-and-coming riders.”

Brett Turcotte has found new life in competitive freestyle

Team K&N from Burton Art & Tech in Salem, Virginia hard at work on their Small Block Chevy

Now while this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, teams of high school students from across the country competed in the 2017 Hot Rodders of Tomorrow (HROT) Engine Challenge, disassembling and then rebuilding an engine from running engine to bare block to running motor in as little as 17 minutes.

The program is simultaneously educating and empowering students as they compete. The competition is designed to provide students access and experience in the automotive industry by way of a team-building challenge.

HROT has been growing steadily since its inception in 2008. In a nutshell, the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge is a timed competition where teams of five high-school students go head to head to disassemble and reassemble a small-block Chevy 350. During the competition rounds, each five-student team is presented with a Chevrolet small-block engine. The team is tasked with disassembling the engine down to its camshaft.

When the disassembly has been completed, a judge verifies that the work had been done correctly. After receiving approval from the judge, the team reassembles the engine back to its original and completed form. The process is timed, and the teams with the best scores advance to the next round.

The 2017 competition features 158 teams, with a total of 790 students. Teams compete at 15 nationwide events that are held throughout the country. The teams that win the various qualifying events go on to participate in the dual championship finals. The final two events take place at the SEMA Show, in Las Vegas, and conclude at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Trade Show.

Scoring is a composite of three parts. First, the average time to assemble the engine for each of the three times the teams competed. Second, the penalty minutes added for mistakes made during disassembly and reassembly, and the third part is a 50-question written test on component and tool identification along with general engine and rules knowledge.

2017 was the tenth year of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competition

The Elite Eight pits the top four SEMA Show seeds against the top four PRI Trade Show seeds.

Two teams were entered by the Burton Center for Arts & Tech in Salem, Virginia, and both reached the Elite Eight. Team Two is sponsored by K&N Filters and took on the name Team K&N. At the PRI Trade Show, Team K&N finished in fourth place with an average time of 20:59. Its companion Burton Center Team One, now Team Meziere, won the PRI qualifier with a best average time of 17:51.

In the National Championship, only three seconds separated the first- and second-place teams, and just 17 seconds between first and third place. But in the end, Team Fel-Pro from the Tulsa Technology Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, came out on top with an average time of 17:06.0, with Burton Center for Arts & Tech Team Meziere in second at 17:09.0. Team K&N from Burton finished an impressive sixth overall at 19:45.3.

Team K&N was comprised of instructor Steven Hoback and students Carter Lawrence, Ethan Muncy, Mackenzie Powell, Allen Slaydon, and Landon Wood.

What’s equally impressive is that the top 15 teams all completed their tear-down and reassembly in 30 minutes or less.

Each student earned scholarship opportunities ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 from Ohio Technical College, School of Automotive Machinists & Technology, and Universal Technical Institute. That scholarship money doubly helps the industry by giving young people with an automotive passion a chance to get a higher education. It also allows them to be that much more educated should they enter automotive careers.

Congraulations to Ethan, Mackenzie, Allen, Carter, and Landon for their 6th place finish

For more information about either of these programs, check out the HotRoddersofTomorrow website.

K&N Engineering would like to offer our congratulations to all participants in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow competition, and to the HROT crew for their expert coordination and management of the events.

K&N Pro Series driver Julia Landauer, at Tucson Speedway, was seventh in the 2017 standings

The K&N Pro Series West season starts on March 15 at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California. The series returns to Kern County for the season finale on Oct. 27. The 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick said he will race in the season opener in Kern County. He won the K&N Pro Series West race at Sonoma Raceway in California last year.

“It’s a really cool opportunity. You are able to have such a very obvious learning experience,” said K&N Pro Series West driver Julia Landauer. “There were quite a few laps at Sonoma last year where I was behind Kevin Harvick. I was able to see how he took the lines, see where he was conserving and where he wasn’t. That’s really cool to learn. From a confidence perspective, if you’re able to hang with the top level pros, then it gives you as a driver a big boost to think, all right, I can make it.”

Harvick won the K&N Pro Series West championship in 1998 and drives for Stewart-Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

In September, the K&N Pro Series West will race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. The dirt track race on Sept. 13 coincides with the start of the playoffs for the three national NASCAR touring series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It will be my first time on dirt ever,” said K&N Pro Series driver Derek Kraus. “It will be a big learning experience, learning what the car will do on the dirt, how the track changes. So it definitely will be a big learning experience.”

Derek Kraus won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Kern County Raceway Park in November

“I think it’s really cool to incorporate dirt,” said Landauer, a two-year veteran of the K&N Pro Series West who was seventh in the K&N Pro Series West standings in 2017. “I’ve never driven on dirt. It would definitely be a learning curve if I was to race it.”

In July, the drivers and teams from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East will race against each other at Iowa Speedway. Two-time K&N Pro Series Todd Gilliland won the K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway last year. Kraus, Gilliland’s Bill McAnally Racing teammate, won the pole for the race at Iowa Speedway. This year’s race is on July 27.

The teams from the K&N Pro Series West and East will meet again at Gateway Motorsports Park, in Illinois on Aug. 24.

The K&N Pro Series West will race at Sonoma Raceway in California on June 23. It is the only road course race on the schedule. The K&N Pro Series West will race on the same weekend as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Sonoma.

“I really loved the road courses,” Landauer said. “I have a road course background, that’s how I started. That was always really cool. I really like Kern quite a bit, I thought you could do a lot of really cool racing, lots of different lines. I had a lot of success on the short tracks. Meridian and Douglas were my favorites.”

The K&N Pro Series West will make plenty of familiar stops. The race at Tucson Speedway in Arizona on May 5 will be a twin 100-lap event.

“I am really looking forward to Kern, I really like Kern,” Kraus said. “I really like Tucson. It fits my driving style with all it is.”

The K&N Pro Series West will also visit Orange Show Speedway in California, Colorado National Speedway, Douglas County Speedway in Oregon, and All American Speedway, in California.

“The NASCAR K&N Pro Series features a strong roster of race tracks designed to bring out the best in the drivers and teams,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Operations. “Many of the tracks have historic ties to the West Series, and we’re excited about the new venues that have been added to the schedule. The fans are going to get a fantastic opportunity to watch these drivers battle it out over the season.”

2018 K&N Pro Series West Schedule

March 15

Kern County Raceway Park

Bakersfield, California

May 5

Tucson Speedway

Tucson, Arizona

May 19

Orange Show Speedway

San Bernardino, California

June 9

Colorado National Speedway

Dacona, Colorado

June 23

Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, California

June 30

Douglas County Speedway

Roseburg, Oregon

July 15

Spokane County Raceway

Airway Heights, Washington

July 27

Iowa Speedway

Newtown, Iowa

Aug. 11

Evergreen Speedway

Monroe, Washington

Aug. 24

Gateway Motorsports Park

Madison, Illinois

Sept. 13

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track

Las Vegas, Nevada

Sept. 29

Meridian Speedway

Meridian, Idaho

Oct. 13

All American Speedway

Roseville, California

Oct. 27

Kern County Raceway Park

Bakersfield, California