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David Vizard's seminar will be held at UTI's Rancho Cucamonga, CA facility.
Engines are very complex, intricate pieces of machinery that contain hundreds of individual parts. In order for an engine to make good power and performance, you need to select the right combination of parts that will work well together. In fact, it can take an engine builder many years (and usually thousands of dollars) to gain knowledge and experience to identify which combinations work, and which ones do not.
David Vizard has more than 50 years of experience in engine design and development, with one goal in mind - finding the right combinations of parts that deliver peak power and performance.
David Vizard has more than 50 years of experience in engine design and development, with one goal in mind - finding the right combinations of parts that deliver peak power and performance. And now, David and K&N are excited to offer both seasoned and amateur engine builders the opportunity to learn new, unique skills to take their engines to the next performance level. On April 20-22, 2012 David will present his acclaimed lecture series "How to Build Horsepower" at Universal Technical Institute in Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
This weekend-long, 16 hour lecture focuses on finding additional power output from an engine in areas that may have gone overlooked, or were misunderstood by the engine builder. David has the unique gift of explaining very complex, technical concepts by breaking them down into smaller chunks of knowledge that will make you wonder why you never thought of that before! Follow along in David's 144 page book as he explains the technical side of camshaft specs, the valve event, compression ratios, and more.
The David Vizard "How to Build Horsepower" seminar will be held at Universal Technical Institute, 9494 Haven Ave., Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730. The weekend will begin Friday evening at K&N, with a social event planned for conference attendees. K&N is located at 1455 Citrus St., Riverside, CA 92507. Please join us for a weekend full of knowledge transfer, technical insights, and plenty of bench racing. To register for this seminar, or to receive more information, please visit davidvizardseminars.com or look at the How to build Horsepower Ad.
Scott Burton's Stock Eliminator at Firebird represented a perfect execution in his dial soft strategy.
A couple of weeks ago when we spoke with Burton Racing it was regarding Brad Burton claiming the Stock Wally at the 2012 Winternationals in Pomona, California. This time we talked with Brad's dad, Scott. The father-son team has been competing at NHRA National and Divisional events together since 2005, and so far this season they are spreading the wealth squarely.
"The Arizona Division 7 win was a big win for our team," acknowledged Scott. "Brad and I are off to a great start to the 2012 season. We are hopeful that our early success will carry through the rest of the year."
In Stock Eliminator at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Pacific Division event at Firebird International Raceway, a 0.004 difference in reaction times is all that stood between Scott and Michael Brand II. However, Scott ran 0.001 to his dial, giving him a three-foot squeaker of a win. Scott earned the 2012 LODRS 7-2 Stock Eliminator title with a 10.371 ET at 122.11 mph, piloting his 1971 Formula Firebird.
It appears as though you were dialed in just a bit better. Give us few insights about the race from your perspective and about your dialing wisdom.
"Regarding dial-ins, my son Brad and I do a lot of weekend bracket racing, we race almost every weekend. To be good at this sport you need a lot of repetition, or as we call it - seat time. The more you do anything the better you are going to get at it. Good knowledge of your car and paying close attention to the ever changing weather conditions allows you to get very close on dial-in predictions."
"In the final round and throughout most of the race, I would dial the car .02 slower than I thought it would run knowing that if I ran it out, I would break-out. This technique is known as being soft, holding or sand bagging on your dial-in. The key to being successful in a dialing soft strategy is knowing that you must slow down on the other end of the track, to kill, or scrub a little ET off."
Scott has been competing in Stock Eliminator since 1998, his 1971 Pontiac Formula Firebird continues to get-it-done thanks in part to solid car preparation and using K&N products.
"Having a faster car makes it easier to use a dial soft strategy. If you stand at the finish line at any drag race you will see many racers racing this way. Most drivers will catch their opponent, get inches ahead of them, and then use the throttle or drag the brakes to maintain a tight margin at the finish line. There are many pro's and con's to a dialing soft strategy, and I like to change it up and dial very honest at times, so my opponents don't know exactly how I will race each round. In the final round race against Michael Brand, I caught him early enough in the race to blip the throttle three or four times knowing that I had killed some ET at the other end, and I hoped it was enough to keep from breaking out. At the end of the day, a little luck is important in going 7 rounds and winning a race."
Did you do anything in particular to your car or program during the off season to account for your terrific start to 2012?
"Car preparation is extremely important in being successful in any type of racing. This year my car got a new Pontiac 400 short-block, and new front shocks. Generally, with a NHRA Stock eliminator car you start the season with a fresh overhauled engine, transmission and rear-end. You can run a whole season with nothing more than general maintenance. Oil and K&N filter changes every 50 runs. I like to do as much of my maintenance as I can at home in my garage, and I do very little at the track. Brad and I will go down the ¼-mile around 300 times a year, if we are going rounds and winning races."
What's the rest of the season schedule look like for the Burton Racing team?
"As for the rest of the year, Brad and I plan on running a full NHRA schedule, as well bracket racing at our local home tracks. My next race will be the Division 7 Lucas Oil Points race in Las Vegas. Brad, my wife Diane, and daughter Alyssa will join me the following weekend in Las Vegas for the SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas (March 30 - April 1). I can't predict how well we will do in the coming months, but I do know we will have a lot of fun with family and friends."
With the second generation driver at the wheel, the 1969 Chevy Camaro that is a part of the Herem family's racing stable found its way to the final round of Super Street during the 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway after Ryan Herem battled his way through the rounds by showing some fantastic driving skills.
Herem is no stranger to NHRA National event finals after successfully duking it out in 2011 at the most prestigious event each season on the NHRA schedule, the U.S. Nationals, where he slipped behind the wheel of Craig Anderson's K&N Corvette to take the Super Gas victory. Herem currently competes in Super Gas in a Corvette of his own, as well as the 10.90 Super Street class in the 1969 Camaro equipped with a 555ci BBC that is more than capable of sliding into the 9.90 category itself.
I used to run the Camaro in Super Gas before I started running the roadster.
"I used to run the Camaro in Super Gas before I started running the roadster," said the K&N racer from Quartz Hills, California. "At Phoenix, the Camaro has about 146 MPH on the stop and there are only maybe five or six guys during that event that had a little mile-per-hour on me. So most of the time, I was doing the chasing and I'm really happy where the car is at right now."
During Herem's most recent NHRA National event, he was very pleased during qualifying or time trials for his Super Street car. "I had changed a bunch of stuff around on the car, so when I went out for the very first pass, everything was a really lucky guess," he explained. "So having a 10.915 and .015 on the tree, I was really happy with starting off there and having that close of a run to start with. When I came back for the second pass, I had a better light and was .915 again. Everything just seemed to be working really good actually all weekend, the only hiccup I had with that car was in the final, where it really threw a curveball at me."
Both time runs for Super Street were held during Friday's festivities and first round wouldn't come until Saturday morning, where Ryan was able to get by and begin to prepare for round two much later in the evening. Now on a ladder for round two, Herem would be paired with Chad Barclay in his 1970 Ford Maverick, who had the starting line advantage and just never seemed to look over his shoulder and took a huge chunk of the stripe for a 10.846 on the 10.90 index to send Herem safely on to round three with his 10.915.
Next came Kyle Lawrence who managed to hold .013 from hit of the tree, but was unable to run the number on an extremely consistent Herem and his 1969 Camaro. Herem just three thousandths of a second difference from his day before reaction time and a nice 10.908 during round three sent him to a very pivotal quarter-final round and a chance to earn a bye into the championship round.
The car had been incredible all weekend, very dial-able.
"That was a big round," he admitted. "Especially moneywise when you think about it, going from a possible four hundred to four thousand real quick, just if you can earn the bye to the final. Winning that round and knowing that I was already going to the final was definitely easier on the nerves."
It was quickly over and decided in the semifinals as to who would get the all-important bye when Steve Parsons turned it the wrong color on the tree by .008 and that fast, Herem was going to another NHRA National Event final round, this time a little closer to home.
After a normal semi-final bye, with a good light paired with a time that Herem was shooting for, how the car acted in the final round still leaves Herem baffled to this day. "Man, the car just really picked up quite a bit," he explained. "I don't know why, I'm actually still trying to figure it all out. The car had been incredible all weekend, very dial-able. Because of that, I just totally put my trust in it and it really picked up. It was just a major brain malfunction at both ends of the track. Having that bad of a round in the final round and it's not my first, in all honesty I didn't deserve to win driving like that."
Herem missed this tree to the eventual winner, Ray Drew and while trying to hold him off came out on the wrong side of a double breakout time slip, but with a good handful of both NHRA National and Divisional wins already to the young driver's credit, it's shouldn't be long before we see him acquire his next.
While Herem takes good care of the engines in both his winning race cars, he's also very particular about the motorhome that gets him to the events. "Both cars have K&N air and oil filters and I know K&N has their new fuel filter available and I've been reading and hearing a lot about it. That will be the very next item to get installed on both cars," he pointed out. "Anything that I can protect with a K&N filter is a major plus as each of their products that I have used, have always been second to none. I also just installed a new K&N Heavy Duty air filter on my motorhome and it really made a difference in fuel mileage. It all adds up and the trip to Phoenix was the first trip with it installed. Over past trips to the same track, just as a comparison, the new K&N Heavy Duty air filter seemed to give my motorhome a drastic pick up in fuel mileage. I am so very happy with being able to pick up such great advantage like that by making such a small, simple change."
I am so lucky to have this many quality people around me to be able to go to with questions, either on or off the track.
Austin Reed is off to a strong start in 2012. The 18 year-old high school senior picked up a victory in his #14 Approved Memory/K&N Legends Car at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, California in the middle of February. He followed that up with a solid showing in Las Vegas last weekend during the Sprint Cup weekend.
The Bakersfield, California native took the checkered flag in his first ever appearance on the 2.5-mile world famous road course. He followed that up with a runner-up the next day while running the course counterclockwise. It was a great start to what is supposed to be a busy season for Reed.
"The ability to go out and win the first race of the year is a huge confidence boost not only for me but for my entire crew too," the honors student said. "We are running as many road courses as we can in hopes of racing at the invitational at Infineon (Sonoma, California) Raceway as part of the combination weekend with the Sprint Cup cars and the K&N Pro Series West."
Reed and his crew chief, Ryan Sebek, learned early in the weekend that Legend Cars could be a handful on road courses.
The opportunity to run full-bodied cars at some very fast short tracks throughout the Southwest is one Reed is looking forward to, and the talent around him doesn't hurt.
"We found that (weight) ballast is the biggest adjustment with these cars (on road courses)," Reed said. "Ryan (Sebek) and I have learned that keeping a level race car can change the entire drive of the car."
Reed is going to have to learn to keep his driving style level this season. Along with the various road course races, Reed plans on running in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour on a limited basis. He will run five races for his fathers Dave Reed Racing Team and Dave Reed Racing Driver Development Program.
The opportunity to run full-bodied cars at some very fast short tracks throughout the Southwest is one Reed is looking forward to, and the talent around him doesn't hurt.
"I need to work around Craig Raudman and Ron Copeland," Reed said. "They will be heading up my program while also managing Jonathan Gomez's effort in both the SRL and the K&N Pro Series."
The ability to go out and win the first race of the year is a huge confidence boost not only for me but for my entire crew too.
Raudman has a long history as a driver and crew chief, leading Gomez to several fast time awards and victories in the SRL Southwest Tour. Reed plans on taking advantage of the talent around him while building for a full-time effort in 2013.
"I am so lucky to have this many quality people around me to be able to go to with questions, either on or off the track," Reed said.
Reed also plans on taking a graduation trip to the East Coast over summer, but it won't be a vacation. Reed plans on running in the Legends Million race and the Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He will also take advantage of being in the hotbed of NASCAR, running in some Pro Late Model races in both the Championship Racing Association (CRA) Super Series and the Pro All Stars Series (PASS). He will also test the team's K&N Pro Series entry at tracks like Gresham Motorsports Park and Rockingham Speedway Park.
Reed was quick to thank K&N for their support, noting that it would be much more difficult to run this ambitious of a schedule without their support.
"K&N has been a part of all of my racing, dating back to my short course racing days in CORR (Championship Off-Road Racing)," Reed said. "They have proven products and the technical support has been so valuable to us over the years on all of the race cars we have run, not to mention all of our tow rigs and personal cars. We run every product K&N has for all of our race and personal cars, and we really feel like K&N is family."
My heads still weren't back to me from Brodix for my 598 so I was still using Wayne Silva's motor.
After an uncharacteristic first round departure during the NHRA season opener in Pomona just week prior, K&N's veteran racer Greg Boutté came back with a vengeance for the 28th annual NHRA Arizona Nationals to take all the marbles in Super Comp and acquire his third NHRA National Event win in the process.
Boutté is a Product Specialist for K&N and during the first few events of the season has been using a friend's 565 BBC in his 2002 Worthy dragster. "My heads still weren't back to me from Brodix for my 598 so I was still using Wayne Silva's motor, who won Top Sportsman, by the way, and Hughes was gracious enough to lend me an 8" converter," he said. "After giving it back by three thou first round at Pomona, I went to Phoenix, unloaded the car, left the same numbers in [throttle stop settings] from Pomona and I go 8.891 for the first time run."
It was a good thing that Boutté has such a good first time run, as he would need that one to dial off of come eliminations. His second time run was a complete toss out thanks to a bad ground wire that cost him gaining any type of valuable information. A little luck would come his way in round one, and although he was ultimately dialed pretty close, his competitor went red and that allowed Boutté to make a flat out run with no consequences for whatever number he may put up on the board, thus giving him good information for round two. Although Boutté had won the make-up race for this event the year it finished at Sonoma, historically he had never gone more than three to four rounds at the facility, but that was all changing with this year's event for the Loma Linda, California racer.
Everything I own from my dragster to my daily driver to my rig is protected by K&N filters.
Boutté came back second round and laid down a run that most driver's would take for their time slip all day-everyday, a .002 reaction time and a near perfect 8.902 E.T and with the feat, sent Matt Hartzell and his .027 light to go under the index. Next Boutté would move on to shut down Ohio's Jim Howe by taking a .026 starting line advantage and when the numbers came up on the board, it was really easy to see the story of where the race started and ended after both driver's posted identical 8.909 runs.
That moved Boutté onto the day all racers want to be present and still in the running- Sunday. For round four, Boutté's years of driving experience came into play when he met up with Robert Naber, who had been very good on the tree throughout the event. Naber managed to get the head start, but Boutté kept it close and let Naber go at the finish line to stay on the good side of a double breakout and on to the quarter-finals to meet up with Justin Lamb.
Much like the round before, Boutté may have been behind at the hit, but his consistency and sharp driving skills paid off when he took the win light over Lamb, 8.910 to 8.929.
Seeing your little driver's win light come on in a NHRA National event final round can be one of the most indescribable feelings.
Luck continued to shine down on Boutté and his borrowed power plant in the semi-finals when his competitor Bobby Mirizio just couldn't wait on the green and turned it .005 red. Boutté shot on down the quarter mile with a nice 8.892, letting his next round competition know that he could not only get there but was more than ready to battle it out for the Wally.
"I had a lot of tough racers to get by to get to the final round, Lamb, Naber, Hartzell," Boutté noted. "Every Super Comp racer, no matter who you are, we're all capable of 'double-oh' on the tree and 'oh' at the other end, but I just made fewer mistakes than my opponents. I guess that's just the best way to put it."
Seeing your little driver's win light come on in a NHRA National event final round can be one of the most indescribable feelings, but when you get to look at it the big one near the scoreboards all the way down the quarter-mile, well that is just too much fun and Boutté got to enjoy all 8.898 seconds of it after Steve Whitfield left .004 too early.
"You know it was pretty interesting," he confessed. "I borrow a motor, I put a wider wheel on the car but everything else was pretty much the same, same transmission, yes a different converter and the car was just right there. But I have to say that it's twenty years of experience that allowed me to be able to know what to do with this combination and it worked. My sixty foot only moved three-thousandths all day on Sunday until the final."
"Even though I wasn't using my motor, it was still protected with the brand new K&N reusable, washable oil filter and I have K&N air filters on everything I own and drive, right down to the rig that gets me to and from the events. I wouldn't have it any other way," he added.
