Latest News

Holland's Saker Sportscars Now Exclusively Utilize K&N Filters

Oct 5, 2011

Saker Sportscars have been described as a true sports car of the modern era.

Holland's Saker Sportscars aptly derives their name from the large Saker Falcon, an extraordinarily quick and astonishingly maneuverable bird of prey. The Dutch race car manufacturer creates race ready, circuit performance cars, bent on reliability and affordability, and backs them with an equally impressive customer support program. Those that have driven a Saker describe them as a true sports car of the modern era, with design concerns based on outright performance, rather than following trends or automotive fashion. A sports car dedicated to the driver's art.

Saker Sportscars were on full display this year at the 2011 Professional Motorsport World Show Expo in Cologne, Germany, and that's where K&N's Marcel Blom, European Motorsports Sponsorship Coordinator fortuitously crossed paths with Herbert Boender, Managing Director for Saker Sportscars.

Herbert Boender, Managing Director Saker Sportscars, and K&N's Marcel Blom at Saker factory in Holland (left to right).

The two spoke about getting the proper filter on the Saker cars, and Boender was open to the conversation, as he was having a problem with the original fitted filter.

Blom next met with Boender in the south Netherlands, in Eindhoven, where they conducted dynamometer tests of various air filters on Saker cars, and at the end of the day the K&N air filter clearly produced the best test results. The following week the Saker Sportscars team raced in Belgium sporting the K&N filter and Saker finished third in class - a very positive result for all concerned. In short, there is now a very close cooperation between Saker and K&N, the team is already fitted with the filters and so will all cars produced from here out.

"Actually I didn't think it would make any difference," Boender told K&N Race News, referring to fitting his cars with K&N. "Normally I don't believe in horsepower for 'free.' Getting more power out of our engines wasn't even the goal, as we are running a spec series at maximum 275 bhp. However, durability of the engine and affordable maintenance and running costs of the car is one of the most important things for Saker. But having even better output of the engine means being able to give less turbo boost, which saves the turbo, lowers temperatures of basically everything, saves fuel and thus makes the car even more reliable, durable and affordable."

The 24 Hour Race of Barcelona was the first time ever that a standard cup Saker came out in a 24 hour race, and Saker Sportscars won their class.

Saker Sportscars started in 2003, after acquiring rights from a New Zealand company to manufacture and develop the Saker further. "So, as an engineer, that's what I did," said Boender. "Over the years I redesigned the car, set up the production process and part logistics, and since 2009 I have been the Managing Director. We now manufacturer four models (Saker GT, Saker Sprint, Saker Sniper and RapX)."

Saker Sportscars are designed as an affordable racecar completely setup to compete against much more expensive cars. "What we offer is the best performance, fun and cost balance available in racing," explains Boender. "These are very quick, serious sports cars, without any driver assist systems; so it's very pure and fun to race. Part of the fun in racing includes spare parts availability at all times; we have everything in stock, to maximize the available track time."

The Saker Sportscars race team was fitted with K&N filters halfway into the race season, competing in the Dutch Supercar Challenge. "Racing against cars with much more power, we got on the podium in the first race," Boender said. "Last weekend we made our debut in a 24 hour race; the 24 Hour Race of Barcelona. It was the first time ever that a standard cup Saker came out in a 24 hour race, and we won our class! Next we are running a Saker Sportscars challenge in the Netherlands and another challenge in the United Kingdom. After the victory in the 24 hour race in Barcelona, we are planning to compete in the 24 Hours of Dubai in January as well."

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 Sponsored Go-Kart Race Draws Hundreds to Win $50,000 - The Insane One

Oct 5, 2011

$50,000 was the largest karting purse to date.

"The Insane One." Go-Karting's biggest purse to date - $50,000. Word spread like wildfire about this race, leading over 600 go-karters to converge on the small town of Clay City, Kentucky, to compete for riches and fame, the likes of which had never been seen before in go-kart racing history. Locals wouldn't have recognized Clay City Speedway over the weekend as it looked more like a NASCAR track with the huge crowd and large number of teams that showed up for the three days of racing.

Racers screaming around a sweeping left-hand turn.

"The Insane One" was the concoction of Ed "Crazy Ed" Hasty, a promoter who has been involved in various aspects and types of racing his entire life. "I've been nicknamed 'Crazy Ed' all of my life," Hasty said. "When I came up with this idea, they just skipped the crazy and went straight to insane; that's how the race got its name." The largest previous purse for a single go-kart race was $20,000, and Hasty thought he could get more karters to the track if he upped the payout.

Kurt Burris, one of the event sponsors, said, "It was great having K&N's involvement. We fully believe in K&N. They have a quality product that's much better than other filters out there and a lot of the drivers were running K&N air filters."

Fans stood atop pickup trucks and RVs to see the exciting karting action.

Fans packed the grand stands and stood atop RVs to see the exciting racing action and this wasn't the go-kart racing you typically see at amusement parks. These karts cost upwards of $4,500 and many travel at speeds of 80-90 miles per hour! Jerry Welch of Welch Performance Racing Engines in Knoxville, where they build high-performance go-kart racing engines, was on hand over the weekend to support the teams. He commented, "Karting is closer to NASCAR than it is to the rudimentary go-karts people used 20 years ago. The technology has come a long way and go-karts are now built with such sophistication and precision as laser alignment."

Event champion Shay Chavous.

The action was so intense and close that the top 32 times were within 0.2 seconds of each other! At the end of the weekend Shay Chavous, 19, of Georgia walked away with the fame and fortune. Chavous, who has been racing since the age of 6, said some of the money would go back into racing, but, "hopefully, I can do something fun with some of it."

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 Sponsored Paul Wiechman Gets PSCA Super Street Win at Fontana

Oct 4, 2011

Wiechman's Cutlass Ciera was formerly owned and driven by the late "Dyno Don" Nicholson.

At the last Pacific Street Car Association (PSCA) event held at Fontana Auto Club Dragway wily veteran, Paul Wiechman, took the Super Street win. "You can call the class the geezer class since the average age is 60 plus. We're never in a big hurry and take naps at the track between rounds," Wiechman joked with K&N Race News. The Torrance, California resident likes to play the senior card, but make no mistake about it, there's a heap of fast left in Wiechman.

Paul Wiechman won at Fontana driving his 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.

Wiechman has been racing with PSCA and the West Coast Hot Rod Association for the past two years. "I run in the 8.60 class," says Wiechman "Door cars and no electronics are the basic rules; you are allowed a starting line rpm chip is all."

The K&N sponsored driver started racing in 1967 at Lions Drag Strip, winning his first event there. "I got paid by the late Steve Evan, track manager at the time. When Lions closed we all moved over to Irwindale Raceway, which was later sold to the Miller Brewing Company for $1. After Irwindale closed it was on to Orange County International Raceway, until it too closed in '83. Back then my wife worked there as the time-slip girl, so we spent most every weekend at the track both working and racing."

Wiechman sent a special thank you to his wife for all her support, Jeannie is holding the family mascot, Frankie.

Then it was Carlsbad, Ontario, Riverside, and Los Angeles County Raceway, which is located in Palmdale, California and was running until 2007. "They are all closed now," says Wiechman. "I also run the NHRA Div. 7 National and Divisional events at times, and have for many years. I still run Southern Cal. Pro Gas, Super Street, and Super Comp Associations too."

Wiechman drives a 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, with a small-block Chevy 427 engine and Powerglide transmission. The car was formerly owned and driven by the late "Dyno Don" Nicholson, as a Pro-Stock car back in the '80's (The NHRA estimates that Nicholson won 90 percent of his match races). "The car has one carburetor," adds Wiechman, "My best E.T. so far has been 8.49 at 159 mph."

"We still have three events left to race this year with the PSCA, two in Las Vegas and one in Fontana. Hopefully the weather will accommodate us. I would like to thank Steve Williams for giving me the opportunity to race on the K&N team. He has a real tough group of racers onboard, including himself. Good luck to the rest of the K&N team for the rest of their racing this year. Win lights and Wallys for everyone. P.S. - special thanks to my wife Jeannie for all her support."

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.

Drag Racer Tommy Phillips Spends Time Giving Back to the Community at Children's Hospital

Oct 4, 2011

Tommy Phillips spent his Monday giving back to the community by spending time with children.

K&N sponsored racer Tommy Phillips spent his Monday giving back to the community by spending time with sick children at Children's Hospital in Plano, Texas. Children's Hospital provides patient care for kids from birth to age 18 ranging from simple eye exams to specialized treatment in areas such as heart disease, hematology-oncology and cystic fibrosis.

Tommy Phillips at the Children's Hospital in Plano, Texas

In addition, Children's Hospital is a major pediatric kidney, liver, intestine, heart and bone marrow transplant center.

Events like this can make all the difference in a child's life. Many of these children are fighting for their very survival and a small glimpse of hope from an inspiring racer like Tommy Phillips can give a child a break from an otherwise difficult daily routine. This event had over 100 kids, parents, and medical staff in attendance where Tommy delivered a speech. During his speech he talked about the dreams we have and about being dedicated to our passions. Tommy also held a Q&A session where he answered questions the kids had about how fast the cars are and how he started in racing.

Tommy Phillips bringing a smile to a child's life.

During the visit Tommy made sure to visit all 3 floors of children so that children who could not leave their rooms weren't left out.

Throughout the event K&N hats were handed out and over 150 hero cards were signed in just 4 hours.

Tommy Phillips gives a child a break from an otherwise difficult daily routine.

This heartwarming experience was really rewarding for the children and Tommy who said "I must say that it was a reminder to me that losing in the first round of a race or blowing up an engine really isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of life."

K&N enjoys and looks forward to sponsoring racers like Tommy who know how important it is to give back to the community. More information on Children's Hospital and ways you can volunteer can be found on their official website at http://www.childrens.com/volunteer.

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.

Bruno Massel Celebrates His Second NHRA National Event Comp Eliminator Victory of 2011 at Dallas

Oct 4, 2011

Bruno Massel grabs Wally during the 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals

For the fifth time in his career, Bruno Massel of Woodridge, Illinois took it all the way to the winner's circle during a NHRA National Event, this time grabbing a coveted Wally during the 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals with his Autogeek.net/K&N 2010 Chevy Cobalt in Competition Eliminator, and doing so for the second time this season.

Competition Eliminator Autogeek.net/K&N 2010 Chevy Cobalt

"We had a full field, which was good. A lot of great cars," said Massel of the event in Ennis, Texas. "The weather was kinda cool in opening qualifying and it did just what the forecast said it would. It heated up quite a bit, coming into the weekend."

"I think that was kind of a big part in our win was factoring in the weather, getting the car to where it could leave consistently on a high one-hundred thirty degree track," he said. "But we race a lot of hot summer races and we have kind of taken our lumps here lately on how to get the car down the track. The biggest thing for me was over eight total runs and all those weather and track conditions, the car only varied four thousandths in the sixty foot times."

"For a turbo car, that is almost unheard of," he added. "A couple of weeks ago, we made a four-link change and it's really paid off. It's much more drivable and we've got a little more power since the guys at GM found a little something for us. It was just a matter of tweaking the suspension to get it off the starting line and it worked out pretty well."

While in professional drag racing categories, qualifying number one is what everyone is shoot for, not always so in sportsman classes and especially in Comp Eliminator. "After session number one I was number two and I had actually shut off early," he explained. "I wanted to fall down a little bit with the way the ladder lays out. They say number eight is the best spot when you have a full field in Comp, so I at least wanted to drop down to six to give us a better chance of getting in rounds, without having to use up index [CIC Penalty]."

Massel was a little apprehensive about his first round pairing with Pete Carbery, since it would be one where he would leave first. "I'm always a little nervous when I'm getting chased and I'm holding a bunch in terms of power", he admitted. "We were more than capable of going sixty-five to sixty-eight under with the way the car was sitting and to be quite honest, I couldn't slow the car down anymore."

"He had some issues around mid-track and had to shut off and that allowed us to click it off early and get by unscathed," he added. "So that was a good start to the weekend."

It wasn't just Carbery's troubles that helped put Massel into round two, it was also the massive .083 starting line advantage that gave him plenty to work with right at the hit and off to meet up with Chris McGaha, where things were a little different.

"You know, I've learned that anytime I lay back on the tree, I get burned," he pointed out. "But second round, I got away with one. I was a little nervous, since it was starting to get dark out and when you use a blinder in Comp and it's dark, it's usually trouble. It was one of those things where I didn't know whether to use it or not, and I went without it and flinched on the tree."

While Massel had an uncharacteristic .086 reaction time, there were no worries as he had already bagged the round when McGaha went .034 red. "We dodged a bullet that round," he said of his light. "I think we had enough power to catch him, but it would have cost us some CIC had he not gone red."

Massel pointed out that, like many rounds, winning this one the way he did had huge implications for him. "With the huge swing in temperatures and overall track conditions that we knew was looming for elimination rounds on Sunday, getting past second round clean [no CIC] Saturday evening was a huge thing for me."

For round three on Sunday, it would be another Cobalt sitting in the opposite lane, only a much different configuration than that of Massel. "I was .022 on the tree to his .024," he reflected. "I felt that I did a pretty good job of driving the stripe by taking only a hundredth win light. Even though it cost me, I was able to get by with only using up two [hundredths CIC] and get into the next round."

The semi-final would find Massel matched up with Lou Ficco Jr.. Off the line first with nearly five-hundredths of a second advantage, Massel hung on to that and a little more at the stripe to sail into the championship round.

As luck would have it, it was Massel's day to win. Massel posted another very comfortable .023 light and before he even had a chance to run the final to the stripe, saw his win light due to Clint Neff's .025 too quick off the line.

"My four year old son is the biggest diehard race fan you will ever meet and before I even left the house, he was telling me 'Daddy, you have to win them all, you have to win the final," he noted. "Index wasn't of any consequence going into the final. I didn't care if God was in the other lane, we were going to beat him. So that was kind of the mentality I had. By the time I put it in second gear, I was already at his bumper, but that's when I saw the win light and my dad is screaming on the radio in my ear, so that was just one hell of a feeling."

Of Massel's now five NHRA National event wins, three of those have come for him during the Dallas event and more notably, over the last three years.

The 135ci Chevy Ecotech power plant, which has worked so well for him during the 2011 season, is fully protected by K&N filters and more recently, one of Massel's favorite K&N products is the air filter he added to his diesel pusher motorhome from K&N's new Heavy Duty line.

"We love it," he said when asked about the new HD filter. "Honestly, we are getting more performance out of the rig, in terms of not only fuel mileage but also in terms of power. Any little bit you can get with those things, especially in terms of fuel mileage, is just huge."

Massel will head next to a NHRA Division event in Noble, Oklahoma October 7-9.

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.