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Dan Sheridan's Huge Win at Santa Maria's Bud Stanfield Memorial

Nov 15, 2011

Danny "Showtime" Sheridan of Santa Maria, Calif. won the September 17th "Bud Stanfield Memorial" This race is part of the West Coast 360 Sprint Car Series that has grown to become a part of the United States Auto Club (USAC). "It's always nice to come home and win a race in front of my hometown. I have family, friends and sponsors who can't always take time off work or have other plans that limit the amount of travel they can do so whenever I have a chance to come home and race I Love it!" said Sheridan after coming off his first main event win of the season where he overtook Bud Keading on the 27th lap for the first position which he held onto for the win.

Danny Sheridan at Santa Maria's "Bud Stanfield Memorial"

As the 2011 season comes to a close and this article goes to press Dan has had 2 heat race wins, 1 main event win and 3 top five finishes. Every year Sheridan and his team Kittle Motorsports seem to be looking for a USAC championship. This year was no exception "Our season got off to a rough start," Sheridan told K&N news, "we changed chassis this year and it took a few races to figure out the new cars. Once we figured out what makes our new cars work we have been very tough every night. I really like the new Sherman Chassis and wish we made the change sooner cause these cars suit my driving style."

When we asked if there was one race this year that he didn't win that really bothered him he said "Any race I don't win bothers me! The biggest one this year was Calistoga. We had a strong car both nights, leading the Friday night feature with a big lead until a lap car had issues in front of me while leading. Then Saturday night we had a car to beat but had a failure... Every time we are at Calistoga we are FAST it just seems like we can't seal the deal...THAT BOTHERS ME."

Where does your motivation to win come from?
"My motivation to win is simple, be the best you can every time you hit the track and the rest will fall into place. I'm very hard on myself and I'm very competitive so at the end of the day if I give 110% I expect to get 110%."

If you had the opportunity to meet someone famous who would it be?
"I'm a huge St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, I would love to meet Albert Pujols he's an amazing athlete!!! 3 homeruns in one game, who does that?"

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Andy Forsberg Wins Second Championship of 2011 at the Civil War Series Championship

Nov 15, 2011

Andy Forsberg and the F&F Racing team rolled into Placerville, California, anxious to get the Civil War Finale underway, and for good reason. Having already earned a championship in the Placerville 360 Sprint series, the team was leading the points race in the 360 Civil War Series by an impressive margin going into the final event of the season. That said, all the driver had to do to cinch his second 2011 championship was start the thirty-lap feature. Once the green flag waved, Forsberg and the F&F X1 were officially the champions.

After recently rolling his car and sustaining a dislocated shoulder, the driver rolled into Placerville, California two weeks later, where he won the Civil War Series Championship.

Although the driver pretty well had the championship wrapped up prior to the beginning of the race, however small the odds might have been, there was always a slight chance that the car could have malfunctioned prior to the start. That said, Andy and his team were still somewhat nervous until the waving of the green flag and he began forward progress.

"I always am a bit nervous," explained Forsberg. "I've been around racing my whole life, and have seen some real crazy and heartbreaking things happen to drivers, so I know the same can always happen to me. The F&F X1team does everything they can to prepare the car for every race, so there wasn't anything more they could do to prepare for the final points show."

Forsberg continued, "Having a great team is everything, and this year is proof of that. You can do well with an incomplete team, but in order to have the kind of season we had, all aspects of the team have to be working at one-hundred percent. Getting hooked up with F&F X1 was the most important part of 2011,"he continued. "We were fast immediately, and things with the A&A Motorsport #92 410 sprint, and my family-owned #92 sprint just seemed to follow suit. All three teams were able to bounce things off of each other, and it helped us to improve through the season."

Although Andy Forsberg obviously experienced his fair share of success this season, there were tense moments throughout 2011 as well, the most memorable, more than .likely being a scare at the USAC portion of the Cold Cup in Chico, California. Upon making a slight miscalculation coming off of the third turn of the final lap of his heat, Forsberg flipped his car. Not only was the car destroyed, but Forsberg suffered a dislocated shoulder as well.

Fortunately, the driver had a short break prior to his next race. "Having a week off was probably good for me just to re-cupe a little," explained Forsberg. I raced the two nights after I hurt my shoulder, so I definitely could have raced the following week if I needed to. I wasn't at one-hundred percent, but once I get in the car, I don't even think about the pain. I just get out there and try to get the job done."

When asked if his success will have a positive impact on the 2012 season, Forsberg said, "I sure hope so. I know you can go out and dominate year after year, but reality will eventually set in and you may take two steps backward. We are going to work hard, and try to win even more races next year, and hope we can repeat the championships as well."

An experienced driver, Andy Forsberg is acutely aware that proper maintenance also played a huge roll in his success. In fact, according to the driver, a portion of their checkered flags was a result of maintaining their vehicle better than other teams. "You have to win these races if you want to run for a championship," explained Forsberg. "There were a few times this year when we gained positions because other drivers had issues with their cars. They say you win races in the shop."

"I started driving sprint cars in 1994, when I took over driving from my dad, Richard. He used K&N air filters, and I didn't change a thing. We also use the (K&N) filter oil, filter cleaning solution, and oil filters. I could not ask for anything more. We absolutely have no problems with our engines as far as K&N products are concerned, and when we don't have motor problems, it keeps us on the track to compete for more wins."

When asked if there was a message that he would like to relay to his sponsors and fans, Andy Forsberg was quick to say, "A big thank you!" We don't have one big sponsor that foots the bills for us to race, but we do have a large group of local businesses and friends that do what they can to keep all three cars on the track. If not for all of those people, I know we couldn't have been as successful as we were this year. And to all of the fans; as a racer, I understand it's not cheap to take your family to watch a sprint car race, and I appreciate them spending their hard-earned money to come watch me and others race. We need every last one of them to support these venues. Without the fans, there is no racing. It's our jobs as racers to put on good shows, so they want to come back and support the sport."

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K&N's Brian Browell Continues Strong NHRA Season with Another Final at National Open in Indy

Nov 15, 2011

Maybe it's because the facility is close to his home or maybe it's because he's just that good, but for the second time during the 2011 season, Brian Browell of Lafayette, Indiana drove his D/D V6-powered McKinney dragster to the Competition Eliminator final at Lucas Oil Raceway. His first final coming during the U.S. Nationals over Labor Day weekend and his latest during his most recent event and the NHRA Fall Classic National Open.

Brian Browell's Competition Eliminator D/D V6-powered McKinney dragster

Unlike the hot weather for the U.S. Nationals, most drivers were glad to put their fire suits on during the Fall Classic as it was not only cooler but also fairly windy, with the latter affecting the cars down track. "Driving in the right lane definitely got a little creative with the wind coming from the west side of the track," he explained. "It really made it interesting but other than that, it wasn't too bad. The track was as good as it was going to get. Saturday it was in the low sixties, but Sunday it made it into the low seventies."

Since the event was an "Open" and not a points meet of any kind, drivers in Comp Eliminator did not have to worry about taking any kind of permanent index hit, or CIC. They did, however, still need to watch their time slips on a per-round basis as to not go too far under their index, since that part of the class rules still remained in effect.

"I was number three in qualifying with fifty-five under," he said. "You know, could we have gone a little better, probably. Conditions weren't really all that great."

For Browell's first round pairing, he would meet up with Jeffery Townsend. "He had trouble with his altered, so that allowed me to just shut off early and move on to round two with Mike Farrell," he noted. "I ended up taking a little index hit to win over Mike." Browell had a pretty nice starting line advantage over Farrell and his A/EA '32 Bantam, when he posted a .025 reaction time to Farrell's .084. Both drivers gave it their all at the finish line, each taking a CIC hit, but it would be Browell who would take the win light and on to the semi-finals.

"You know I just took a little too much win-stripe, but I took the win," confessed Browell.

In the semis, Browell didn't have to worry about the hefty .09 CIC that he was carrying, as his competitor Mark Kirkman was unable to make the call. It would be a different story in the final and Browell knew he needed every ounce of starting line advantage he could muster as his opponent had managed to stay clean [no CIC] throughout eliminations.

It would be a round where Browell might have wished he would have been the quicker car of the pair, and therefore left the line last as both drivers turned on the redlight. "He had the advantage because of the index," he said of his final round match-up with Robert Bailey.

Even though Bailey was technically "more-red" than Browell [-.057 to -.044,] the handicap start went to Browell and therefore he went red first. "It appears by looking at the timeslip, that the wheels popped up out of the beams," he explained. "It started the clock early because everything on the slip is off by ten. Normally when you see a timeslip like that, that is more than likely what happened on the launch."

While his most recent achievement wouldn't add any points to his score, due to the nature of the event, it's still a great feeling to make it to a final at any type of NHRA event in the highly competitive Comp Eliminator Class. Browell currently sits in the number five spot in the NHRA Div. 3 standings with one event left to claim and he hopes to make a trip out west and improve his tally.

"With any luck we are hoping to head out to the Las Vegas points meet and then the World Finals national meet in Pomona," he said. "I've been bumped down to nineteenth in the national points and if we can get lucky enough to the last two races, we can finish in the top ten."

Browell has been a constant top ten NHRA National finisher for numerous years and the same goes for how long he has chosen K&N products to protect his very high dollar 265 CI V6 Chevy motor. Using K&N is just a given for the multi-business owner. "I only use the best when it comes to my engines," he said. "That's why you'll find nothing but K&N oil and air filters on them. They work and with K&N quality is never an issue from one filter to the next, no matter which part number it is. That's everything they develop and manufacturer right down to the carbon fiber scoop on my dragster."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

K&N Backed Speedtec Racing Team Wins 2011 Dutch Supercar Challenge

Nov 15, 2011

The BMW driven by Nico and Peter van Vliet finished the season at Assen with a second and third place finish.

Dutch Supercar Challenge team, Speedtec Racing, competed in 16 races over the course of eight weekends, on historic tracks such as Hockenheim, Donington Park, Assen, Zolder and Spa. At the completion of their highly competitive season the team has marked an impressive nine podiums, four of which were wins, without a single DNF.

In the last race of the season at Assen the Dodge Viper GT3 driven by Diederik Sijthoff set the Dutch Supercar Challenge lap record.

"We are very happy to win the championship after developing the Viper from a standard GT3 to a GT1 worthy car over the last few years," Speedtec Team Manager, Robert Bleijenberg told K&N News. "We are also very very satisfied to have a 100% finish rate, as that is fundamental for winning this championship."

The K&N sponsored team ran two cars in the Supercar Challenge, the Dodge Viper GT3 driven by Diederik Sijthoff, and a BMW E46, driven by the team owner's sons, Nico and Peter van Vliet. For Speedtec Racing the championship battle came down to the last race weekend at TT Circuit Assen, located in Assen, Netherlands.

In the last race on Sunday Sijthoff only needed to cruise to a third place finish to lock up the championship over his closest rival a Corvette C5R.

"We started the weekend with two free practice sessions to set-up the car and try to find a good balance for the races and for the qualifying session on Friday afternoon," explained Bleijenberg. "After a few long runs we were very satisfied with the handling of the car. It improved a lot from the last time we were at Assen circuit.

Driving on a new set of soft tires Sijthoff posted a 1:37:50, nearly a second quicker than the car had ever rounded on the circuit. "We were feeling really good after qualifying," added Bleijenberg. "We got a 1:35:8 out of the car, which was a lap record for the Dutch Supercar Challenge, and 1.5 seconds in front of the second place qualifier."

Although the BMW team experienced engine problems mid-season, and they raced in a borrowed car the last two races, they still finished the year with five podiums and sixth place in the championship.

In the first race on Saturday Speedtec grabbed the lead after only a few laps, holding on to the lead until the pitstop. The series awards penalty seconds in the pitstops based on results from previous races, and since Speedtec won the previous weekend at Spa they spent 15 extra second in the pits. There's a penalty of 10 seconds for second place, five for third, and so on.

"Because of our penalty seconds from the Spa race we came back on the track in P2 after the pitstop, our main rivals also had some penalty seconds and were behind us," said Bleijenberg. "We were catching up with the leader again when we found out that we received a drive through penalty for too short pitstop. It wasn't a big problem, as we came back in third position just behind P2. And because our main rivals for the championship were in P5 we didn't push too hard and finished in third. For Sunday we could now finish three places behind the Corvette C5R and still be champion."

"The Sunday race was in the afteroon as well and it was nice and sunny, but with a temperature of 14 degrees it was quite cold. So a very quick track," said Bleijenberg. "We started at P3 and were able to take the lead at the end of the first lap." Yet, as on Saturday, the Viper came back on the track in third after more penalty seconds during the pitstop. However with about ten minutes to go the corvette suffered a suspension failure and it all became a moot point. "We slowed down some more to not risk to breaking anything and finished P3 again," continued Bleijenberg . That made us champion with a 100% finish over the 16 races. So a brillant season. And we would like to thank K&N and all our sponsors, suppliers, mechanics, drivers and everyone else that contributed to this championship.

The BMW driven by the Nico and Peter van Vliet had a good weekend as well. The brothers were driving the same borrowed car they used in Spa. "The car qualifyied well with P4 and the drivers were still getting to know the car," said Bleijenberg. "The races went very good as well, with P2 on Saturday and P3 on Sunday. A shame we had some engine issues in the middle of the year, so we had to retire in a couple of races. In the end the brothers took five podium finishes and sixth overall in the championship. So still a very satisfying season in the end."

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TORC Rookies Menzies Motorsports - Earn Most Wins in 1 Season & 2 Championships

Nov 15, 2011

In dramatic fan pleasing fashion veteran off-road racer Ricky Johnson drove the No. 48 Menzies built PRO-4 to a 2011 championship in the last race of TORC season.

Cycle Ranch Motocross Park in Floresville, Texas was the venue for the final round of the 2011 Traxxas TORC (The Off Road Racing Championship) series. This was a brand new track with even more challenging obstacles, and a full-house packed with off-road savvy fans looking for action, and the racers didn't let them down. After the last checkered flag ended the tumultuous season, Menzies Motorsports had amassed the most wins in a single year for the team to date, and two championships. Ricky Johnson locked up his PRO-4 title with his sixth victory of the season, and Bryce Menzies concluded his championship run in PRO-2 by winning his seventh race of the year.

Rookie Bryce Menzies continued to gain the respect of drivers as he repeatedly found the top of the podium all season in PRO-2.

Menzies Motorsports entered the 2011 TORC season as rookies to the series, yet they clearly left an indelible mark on the race year. Bryce Menzies continued to gain the respect of drivers as he repeatedly made it to the top of the podium all season in PRO-2. In his first race on Saturday Bryce found himself in a two truck battle with Jeff Kincaid. The two separated themselves from the pack leaving everyone else to battle for third. As Jeff and Bryce made their way down the straight into the last turn, Bryce got around Jeff and closed the door coming out of the last turn. Bryce held the lead coming down the front stretch, where thrilled fans lined the fence and cheered him on. It was Bryce's second win in a row and it sealed his 2011 PRO-2 title.

In his inaugural TORC season Bryce Menzies earned the title with seven race wins.

Sunday's race came a little easier, as Bryce rolled the bright yellow wheels of the championship winning truck from his sixth place starting position, all the way to first in just one lap, and that's where he remained all the way to the checkered. "This was an incredible year! I have to give it up to my crew; I would not have been able to pull this off without them. This was a year I will never forget and I also want to thank Rob, Chad and all the drivers out there for giving it their all too. I am proud to share the podium with some of the best off-road drivers out there," said the K&N sponsored driver.

Ricky Johnson claimed the 2011 PRO-4 title with six total wins.

Veteran off-road racer Ricky Johnson drove the No. 48 Menzies built PRO-4 to many wins throughout the 2011 season, but it all boiled down to this weekend between rival Johnny Greaves. Ricky put the Menzies/Red Bull PRO-4 on the pole for the start of Saturday's race, and when the green flag dropped it was a drag race between Ricky and Johnny going into turn-one. Much to the delight of the fans the two knocked fenders and bumpers the entire race.

With only a few laps to go, and Ricky understanding how much he needed this win, the veteran put the pedal down. Setting up his lines perfectly Ricky waited for Johnny to make a mistake, which he did when he over-rotated going into the last turn, handing Ricky the final lead to the checkered. With that win the two were now tied in the series and Sunday, the last race of the season, would now determine the champion.

Bryce locked up the PRO-2 championship on Saturday with his thrilling come from behind victory.

Ricky and Johnny showed up at staging on Sunday with their game faces on, both ready to leave it all out on the track. It all came down to this. The 2010 defending PRO-4 champ ready to defend his title and Ricky Johnson, new to the PRO-4 class, ready to take title for himself and the Menzies Motorsports team.

Starting side-by-side, but towards the back of the pack, were the Red Bull and Monster Pro-4 trucks exploding towards the start and as soon as the flag dropped. Scott Douglas hit turn one first with Johnny and Ricky right on his rear tires. Johnny lost control barreling for the lead and nearly took Scott with him, leaving the lead wide open for Ricky. The K&N sponsored driver took hold of the race and never looked back. Ricky claimed the 2011 TORC series PRO-4 Champion before the race even ended, as Johnny had to retire with a broken truck. Ricky walked away with the title and he also swept the PRO-4 class.

After winning the final round against his chief rival, Johnny Greaves, in a fan pleasing, door-banging race that was indicative of how the entire season rolled, Johnson said, "This is one of those moments that I'll remember for my entire life."

Next up for Menzies is conquering their first ever SCORE Baja 1000, where Bryce Menzies will have one more shoot at another 2011 championship.

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