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K&N has has long supported desert racing, here at the UTV World Championship in Laughin

The rugged and varied path that the beautiful Colorado River has traced through the desert Southwest has proven irresistible for racers, event organizers, and fans. A number of the communities that hug the banks of the Colorado have embraced the racing with open arms, and are working hard to balance environmental concerns with responsible race organization. Here is a look at the three river communities that play host to the range of events that the area has to offer annually.

Parker, Arizona

Parker, Arizona has one of the longest and richest legacies in desert racing. For over four decades, Parker has hosted a number of marquee off-road competitions. In fact, racing in the area dates back to at least 1911, when a local businessman hosted a promotional cross country competition. Parker sits on banks of the Colorado at a point where the river has carved some of the most spectacular red rock cliffs in the Southwest. That vibrant skyline is the backdrop for both water and land-based racing.

The BlueWater Resort plays host to several of the Parker race events

BlueWater Parker 425: This is the granddaddy of the Colorado River race events. The late winter BITD race boasts some of the most exciting and brutal racing on the desert schedule. This is a fan-friendly race with a number of entertaining satellite events throughout the race weekend.

Where to Stay: This is a no-brainer. The BlueWater Resort and Casino is the driving force of much of the area’s racing action. The resort, which serves as a title sponsor for the BlueWater Parker 425, rests on the banks of the Colorado. The BlueWater has its own marina, a beautiful beach, and an indoor water park.

Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Desert terrain along the Colorado River is challenging, treacherous, and thoroughly entertaining

WORCS Racing - Crazy Horse: Lake Havasu’s Crazy Horse Campground is the site of two separate rounds of the World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS). Both rounds are held in the early spring. One round is typically staged for UTV and ATV competition and the other features motorcycles.

Havasu 95 Speedway: Okay, so this is not a desert racing facility. However, it is pretty cool that the Colorado River region has a race track that features both road and dirt oval racing. The speedway hosts sprints, midgets, outlaws, vintage, and late model races.

Where to Stay: There are a number of hotels within walking distance of the famed London Bridge. For the WORCS racing fans, there is good camping at Crazy Horse and the area’s state parks.

The WORCS course in Lake Havasu City often features entertaining water jumps

Sitting 90 miles south of Las Vegas, Laughin, Nevada is a small, friendly casino and resort center. Laughlin is located on the Nevada side of the Colorado River across from Bullhead City, Arizona, and a mere handful of miles from California. It has become a gaming and recreation center for thousands of visitors each year. The bustling town swells even more when the several annual race events are staged.

Polaris RZR UTV World Championship: Each spring, UTVs, motorcycles, and ATVs take over the Laughlin strip. The casino parking lots become vendor villages, and the desert west of Laughlin roars with fantastic BITD desert racing.

Laughlin Desert Classic: This BITD race is a newcomer to the schedule but seems destined to become a centerpiece of the fall racing season. The Laughlin Desert Classic features car, truck, and UTV classes running on a technical and challenging 16-mile course.

K&N-sponsored WORCS champion Davi Haagsma flying high in Lake Havasu

K&N’s Desert Racing Connection

K&N sponsors many of the top racers and teams that compete in every segment of desert racing including WORCS and BITD. You can also find the K&N semi truck and knowledgeable representatives at many of the major desert race events.

Originally intended to showcase fuel efficiency it was decide to build the Mustang as a race car

For starters, the Mustang was not initially intended to be a race car at all. The original plan was to install an EcoBoost engine tuned to run on E85, keep the car as light as possible, and have a celebrity drive the car from K&N HQ in Riverside, California to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. But the challenges were insurmountable, according to K&N R&D Manager Dave Martis.

After a year gathering dust, Martis convinced senior management to allow him and his team to build the Mustang into a road racer. Martis spent the next few months collecting all the needed parts, some donated, some purchased. All fabrication and installation work was accomplished by the R&D team. The only work done outside the building was the paint.

Delivered in a digusting-looking color of undercoat, the Mustang was truly just a bare shell

Power runs through a Tremec Magnum XL six-speed gearbox and a custom Curry rear housing hung with Cortex linkages. At the front, the stock strut setup was replaced by a Cortex double A-arm set-up. Shocks are from JRi wrapped by Eibach springs. Brakes are Baer monoblocks with Hawk pads. Other K&N components include a K&N HP-1018 oil filter and K&N 81-1001 and 81-1003 fuel filters.

In the 2014 season, Walton nearly won the Western States American Iron title in the K&N Mustang, save for a single missed shift that dropped him to second. Walton earned the ride earlier in the season after he’d blown the engine in his own car and was asked by Martis to sub for him on Sunday. When Walton was fastest in Sunday morning practice, Martis, nursing a bad back, decided K&N would be better off with the experienced American Iron racer driving the company’s Mustang.

With 15 years of road racing experience Ryan Walton brought K&N the American Iron title

If you believe in omens, consider that problems started before Walton even arrived at the track, blowing a trailer tire on the tow to Thunderhill. In practice earlier the week prior to the Championships, the car wasn’t working the way that Walton wanted and his results reflected that. Methodically, the K&N team worked to adjust the car to improve its handling through the sections of the course that were causing Walton to lose the most time.

Still, while Walton felt the Mustang had been greatly improved, he wasn’t sure it had what it would take to win. “We struggled the whole week,” Walton said about the qualifying races. “I tore a splitter off twice, went off the track a bunch of times. I finished second to Corey Weber in both qualifying races. I thought we had a second-place car and driver after that.”

Wrapped like a NASA satellite this unique K&N intake helps power a NASA rocketship

Then finally fortune smiled on Walton. “Before our race, a car went off track and caught the grass on fire. It delayed our race three hours” he said. A long delay can sometimes unsettle a driver, but not Walton. “In the race, I got into the lead and got through traffic really well and held on to the lead till the end. There were competitors quicker than us but at the end, we got it together when it counted,” Walton said proudly. “I won my first national championship after racing for 15 years,” he added excitedly.

Congratulations to Ryan Walton, Dave Martis, and the entire K&N Engineering racing team for your 2017 NASA win.

Chelsea Denofa joined the Ford Mustang RTR Drift Team for the 2017 Formula D Season

Chelsea Denofa finished the Formula D season in 13th overall, including earning #1 qualifier twice

Vaughn Gittin Jr. finished in 4th place overall, which marks the eighth time he's finished in top 5

Matt Coffman finished the Formula Drift season in a career-best 10th place overall

Overall, K&N filters is proud of the trio of Formula Drift drivers we worked with over the course of the 2017 season, and congratulate them on their accomplishments. We look forward to continuing to work with them in 2018 and beyond!

Besides K&N, Ashley has shot a national campaign for Monster Energy and many other well known brands

Ashley was born in Batavia, Illinois, and she was raised in Dekalb, Illinois. In her youth, she loved riding horses, dancing, and cheering at football and basketball games. Of course, she was also involved in modeling. She attended Cornerstone Christian High School. The student population was tiny and close-knit. Ashley shares, “My graduating class only had 8 people!”

She went on to attend the Illinois Center for Broadcasting where she majored in Broadcast Journalism. She excelled in this field and was actually voted “most likely to succeed” by her peers.

Follow Ashley on Instagram to keep up with her career

In the future, Ashley plans to continue modeling and focus on TV hosting. As for her personal life, she was just married, and in her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and volunteering at animal charities. Ashley looks forward to more campaigns and a life in modeling.

IG Handle: @ashwilkexo

Wyman (left) achieved his first American Superbike podium finish in 2017

The ambitious K&N-sponsored racer, who has proven relentless in his pursuit of major sponsorship as well as the podium in the highly-competitive American Superbike race circuit, is garnering the respect of race fans as well as fellow competitors. K&N caught up with Wyman after he spent time at the SEMA trade show networking with potential backers for his 2018 race season.

Here are Wyman's thoughts on the just completed Superbike season and his plans for 2018.

The KWR team has worked feverishly to put a competitive bike under Wyman

Kyle Wyman: The highlight of my season was our podium result in race two at New Jersey Motorsports Park. It was my first ever podium in the Superbike category, up against the factory teams. As a private team that I manage and run, it was very rewarding to achieve that result. It's been a very long time since a rider/owner has found the podium in that class.

K&N: What were your biggest obstacles and challenges?

Wyman catches air as his Yamaha breathes clean air through a K&N filter

The other obstacle was my crash at the last round at Barber Motorsports Park, where I had a brake failure. I broke my T6 vertebra and bruised ribs and was banged up pretty good.

K&N: How is the crash recovery going?

KW: So far so good. My back and wrist are still sore but they will just take time to heal. I've already been doing some riding on the track instructing, and have spent some solid time on the bicycle. I'm fortunate to have the time to recover in the offseason and I am sure to be back to 100% in a couple weeks.

K&N looks forward to a continued partnership with the KWR team

KW: Right now I'm spending some time on the road, meeting with sponsors, and working on my plans for next year. I will definitely be staying in the Superbike class, and with our podium finish toward the end of the season, we have high hopes for even better results in 2018. I can't wait to start things back up in March at the pre-season test.

K&N: What else is new in your life?

KW: I moved into a new house two weeks ago, after spending the season on the road. I moved out of a house a week before the 2017 season started and spent the year living out of my race trailer. It feels great to finally be back at a home base and I am hoping to keep this place throughout the 2018 season.

K&N is proud to be a major sponsor of Kyle Wyman and the KWR team.