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NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Racer Alex Bowman

Jul 12, 2011

18-year-old Alex Bowman is leading the K&N Pro Series East rookie standings

Alex Bowman is part of a young trio of drivers for the newly formed X Team Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. All three drivers are in the top 10 in the East Series standings after seven races.

Alex Bowman's #16 X Team Racing Toyota

Bowman's teammate, Matt DiBenedetto, has already won a race and is second in the East Series standings. His other teammate, Coleman Pressley, has won two poles and has three top-five finishes in seven races.

Bowman hasn't quite experienced the same success as his teammates. He is seventh in the East Series standings and has four top 10s. But he has been making strides in his rookie season in the K&N Pro Series East and is one of the Next 9 drivers chosen by NASCAR.

The 18-year-old Bowman, who is leading the K&N Pro Series East rookie standings, started his auto racing career in quarter midgets racing in Arizona and California. He rose through the ranks of USAC before making the switch to stock cars last year. He admits he is still learning how to race stocks cars and that is part of the reason he is a bit behind his teammates at X Team Racing.

Alex Bowman started out the season with three top 10s in a row.

He said he felt like he had a chance to win the K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway, which pitted drivers from the East and West Series. He also said his qualifying runs have improved as the season unfolded. In the most recent K&N Pro Series East race at Langley Speedway in Virginia, he started on the front row, next to Pressley who won the pole, and led the first lap of the race.

"It's tough. I think Iowa we had a really good shot," Bowman said. "Qualifying I've definitely improved on. I led a lap at Langley, that was the first time I've led a lap. I cleared Coleman on the outside after he was on pole. I overdrove turn one as soon I cleared him and he dove right underneath me."

He ended up in sixth place at the Langley Speedway race. At Iowa Speedway, he finished 27th in the 40-car field after running in the top 10 for a portion of the race.

"There's definitely the pressure for myself to go out and set a pole or go win some races," Bowman said. "I think that pressure would be there even if Matt and Coleman hadn't won any races. There's defintely no pressure from the team. They all really want to win no matter who's driving the cars. I put more pressure on myself than anybody could ever put on me."

Bowman started out the season with three top 10s in a row. He opened with a third-place finish after working his way through the field from 16th at the start in the season opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina.

"It was different. That was probably the perfect race car," Bowman said. "That car made life easy. It was honestly the perfect race car. We actually struggled a little bit throughout the day and got it dialed in really well. We started so far back that coming forward was definitely a learning experience."

But he hit a bit of a speed bump in the middle of the season. He was able to put his season back on track after the race at Langley Speedway. The races at Iowa Speedway, Bowman Gray Stadium and Gresham Motorsports Park didn't produce the results he anticipated. Still, he said he learned the most about racing stock cars at Iowa Speedway.

"I feel like the race that's been the best for me was Iowa," Bowman said. "I think there were 60 cars and we qualified 17th, so it wasn't too bad. We were up to sixth and we blew a tire. We went three laps down. That was only 70 laps into the race. I ran basically 100 laps with no right front fender in traffic around cars. That was a huge learning experience for me. We actually drove up to sixth on the race track with no right front fender. We were just laps down. That was a big learning experience. I still feel like myself and Matt DiBenedetto were the two cars to beat. We both were really fast and both blew right front tires."

Bowman said he is looking forward to racing at a couple tracks, mainly because they are bigger speedways that suit his driving style. He might have the biggest advantage at Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio only because he is the only driver from the East Series who has raced there previously. He competed at Columbus in USAC Midgets.

"Honestly, I'm not a very big short track person," Bowman said. "I've been there before and I don't think that anybody that runs the East Series has ever been there. I'm really looking forward to Dover because that's my type of race track. I think we'll run really well there. Obviously looking forward to going back to Greenville because we were so good there."

The K&N Pro Series East returns to Greenville Pickens Speedway over Labor Day weekend on Sept. 5. The K&N Pro Series East finale is at Dover International Speedway in Delaware on Sept. 30.

"I always was better on the bigger race tracks. I don't know why that is. I'm just more comfortable I guess," Bowman said. "I go to every race to win. I went into this year expecting to win races and contend for a championship. These last couple of races have hurt our shot for a championship. Probably our biggest goal is to win the rookie of the year and we're leading that right now. I just want to win races at this point. That's probably the biggest goal I need to accomplish by the end of the year: to win a race."

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.

2011 Great Lakes Pro Series Racer's Dan and Harry Alden

Jul 12, 2011

The next event for the team will be the CES Championship at Gratton Raceway on July 16-17

Shifter Kart Racers and Bothers, Dan and Harry Alden, started racing in 1976 in the Reed Lite 100cc class. The team used a Bug & Margay kart with a 100cc McCullough chain saw engine to power the kart. Top speed was about 70 mph. He raced karts with his brother Glen (Yamaha & 125cc Unlimited class) till the early 80's traveling the Midwest racing at World Karting Association (WKA) events. Early karting action took place at their home track at East Lansing, MI, with the Mid-Michgan Karters Club.

Dan and Harry Alden's team is racing in the 2011 Great Lakes Pro Series.

The brothers also raced at Spartan Speedway Flatrock Speedway, Portland Ind., Camden Raceway, Batavia Raceway, Adkins Raceway, Dousman Raceway, as well as many others around the Midwest. Results were good for the team with a few wins and many top-5 finishes.

After taking a 5-year hiatus from racing, Dan designed and built a new 100cc & 125cc non-shifter chassis in 1988 and started racing again in 1990 WKA Manufacturer Cup Series in the 100cc stock & 125cc Unlimited class. Dan Finished 2nd in the 1990 125cc Unlimited WKA class championship. He enjoyed success with many top finishes between 1990-1994. In 1993 Alden designed and built his first new style kart called a "Shifter Kart" to compete in the 1994 Superkarts USA (SKUSA) Pro Series tour with his brother Harry. The machines used a 125cc liquid cooled, 6 speed gearbox, Honda CR125 dirt bike engine mounted to the chassis. It also featured 4 wheel hydraulic disc brakes, and bodywork, and could reach speeds near 120 mph on the larger road race tracks. The team raced in the midwest at tracks including Gratton Raceway, Mid Ohio Raceway, Gingerman Raceway, Circleville Raceway, South Bend Raceway, as well as street races at Commercial Point G.P, Union City G.P , Muncie G.P Portage G.P , Richmond G.P.

The team's first championship came in 1998 with Harry's win in the SKUSA 80cc Pro Division driving an Alden Enterprise built chassis.

The team's first championship came in 1998 with Harry's win in the SKUSA 80cc Pro Division driving an Alden Enterprise built chassis. The team consistently ran in the top 10 for the first few years, before Harry's first 125cc race win in 1999 at Gratton Raceway. Harry won the 2002 SKUSA Great Lakes Pro Tour 125cc championship in the G1 Division, with top ten results from 2003-2010. He won another SKUSA Great Lakes Pro Tour championship in the 125cc G1 Division in 2006. Other team results include top 5 championship finishes in the years to follow. The team raced about 20 event weekends each year till the mid 00's in the 125cc S1 Pro Division and the 80cc Pro Division. They also raced a 250cc Shifter kart for 2 years. Shifter kart racing was just starting to get popular in the late 90's, with many races having between 30-40 karts in each class, and larger tracks like Mid- Ohio having over 100 karts in the 125cc class. The Alden Brothers have continued to upgrade through the years running machines from Switzerland, Italy, and Australia. They do all of their own work in house including a dyno testing and complete machine shop.

Currently the team is racing in the 2011 Great Lakes Pro Series. The racing schedule has been cut back to 8 races for the championship. The racing season started off at New Castle Raceway in Indiana. The team is racing the 125cc Masters Division again this year. The team had mixed results finishing Saturdays 20 lap main event with a 2nd place finish. Sunday's 20 lap main event was also good for the team with a 3rd place finish.

The Mayors Cup Grand Prix in Anderson Indiana was the next race for team. Rain was in the forecast for race day so the team had the rain setup on the machines. With limited practice the team had strong finishes in the 20 lap main event with a 3rd & 4th overall in the 125cc Masters Division.

The next event for the team will be the CES Championship at Gratton Raceway on July 16-17, followed by the Great Lakes Pro Tour double race weekend New Castle event on July 23-24.

The team currently represents many fine companies, promoting and using their products including Maxima Racing Oils, K&N Filters, NGK Spark Plugs, Alden Enterprise Racing Components.

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.

Robby Woods Earns Another LOORRS Podium Finish at Speedworld

Jul 12, 2011

Woods' crew performed a herculean effort in the pits to keep to keep him racing both days.

The K&N sponsored Robby Woods Racing team spent a good deal of time fine tuning their Lucas Slick Mist/Superchips Chevrolet in the month between races, changing the gearing and revising the front suspension geometry. Woods had pulled off a third place finish in Round 1 and he was sitting in the top-ten in points, so going into Rounds 3 and 4 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) at Speedworld Off Road Park in Surprise, Arizona, expectations were high.

After a tough weekend of LOORS racing Robby Woods pulled-out a third place podium finish at Speedworld.

As a result of the team's meticulous preparation and Wood's natural skills, the Pahrump, Nevada resident qualified second in Pro-2 for Round 3, positioning him on the second row at the start in his No. 99 truck

Saturday's race was a wild one, which saw the veteran Woods having to focus as much on avoiding lap traffic and rookie drivers, as chasing down the leaders. Half way through the race a wheel came off the truck in front of Woods, leaving him no place to go but over it. Woods raced into the pits for a quick tire change, but unfortunately officials found the tire change a bit too quick for their liking, as they penalized him 30 seconds for speeding on pit road. This put Woods a full lap down on the leaders, but still managed to collect enough points to keep him in the running for the overall Pro-2 Championships.

"They've now established 30 mph as the mandated pit speed, so there won't be any more confusion there," said Woods when asked about the penalty.

The goal for Robby Woods Racing for the rest of the 2011 season is to win at least two rounds and to break into the top-five in points.

Racing being racing, Woods knows that what separates champions from the rest is how they digest adversity and continue to move forward. So, while his crew worked diligently on repairing the damage to his truck, Woods took time to steady himself and prepare for Round 4 on Sunday. After more bad news came in qualifying on Sunday, when the transmission let go, Woods still put together a tremendous effort by qualifying sixth. And again, his talented crew had the transmission replaced before the green flag dropped in the feature race.

After pushing too hard on Saturday and being penalized for it, Woods took a less aggressive approach in Round 4, allowing the competition to succumb to the brutal terrain at Speedworld. Lap after lap, Woods continued to move forward, battling with Jeremy McGrath and Bryce Menzies throughout the second half of the race. The terrific non-stop racing action brought the sold out crowd to their feet, and when the checkers waved, Woods finished less than five seconds behind the winner. This put Woods in third place, on the podium with Rob MacCachren and Jeremy McGrath, distinguished company to say the least.

"Going toe-to-toe battle with Mc (McGrath) and Bryce made it an awesome race," Woods told K&N Race News. "During the middle of the race I watched Mc, and saw a few places he was missing the marks, and I felt I could capitalize on his mistakes. But I was on probation from the series director for driving overly aggressive the previous race and couldn't find a gap where contact would be avoided. I had to hang back and settle for third. As for Bryce, he made a great late race charge. We also guessed wrong on the tire and went with a soft aggressive compound, and by the end of the race I didn't have anything left and had to drive defensively to maintain my position."

Woods is a throwback to the earliest days of auto racing, when racers were self funded and built their own vehicles, and he therefore takes due pride in having been born into a "blue collar working family" that also knows their way around a track. Woods' dad raced ARCA and Winston Cup back in the day, so he was exposed to two keys things early in life - a passion for racing, and an iron willed work ethic.

Says Woods, "Our team is an efficient family that works extremely hard to be competitive on a moderate budget. We take pride in running with the million dollar a year teams, on less than half of that. And competing at the front of the field every weekend. We've come a long way in three short years, from building a truck to race the premiere class, and running at the back of the pack, to multiple podiums nearly every weekend! I take great pride in my family and friends being such a huge part of my racing efforts. I've known every person in my pit for over ten year, racing is our family affair. It's what we do monthly to get together and spend quality time."

"Our team has had an up and down year so far, we've had three podiums and a handful of not so stellar finishes. I'm confident that we've finally figured out consistency and we will be running better both days now. Typically we've had one good day and one bad one. I have given minimizing mistakes and being smarter a lot of thought lately. Our goals for the rest of the year are to finish on the podium every race, we're always fast enough to do it, so minimizing mistakes is key. Our goal is to win at least two rounds, and to break into the top-five in points and to finish there."

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.

Jason Gross and GR Motorsports Are Happy With Their Performance

Jul 11, 2011

GR Motorsports' Jason Gross had started last in the heat and managed to work his way up prior to the final lap and earn the victory.

When the green flag waved at New Richmond, Wisconsin on Thursday night, June 16, Jason Gross, who had started last in the heat, managed to work his way up prior to the final lap and earn the victory. Starting up front in the feature, he had possession of the lead early and never looked back. Racing at what they consider their home track, Jason and the crew were confident going into the race, and anticipated a win. That said, he performed even better than expected. Jason had begun lapping the competition by the eighth of the 20 lap race, and by the competition's end had a comfortable 3/4 lap lead on the second place driver.

Jason Gross had possession of the lead early in the race and never looked back.

Of course, the race was of great importance to Jason and his team, as every victory is a motivator and confidence builder. On the other hand, they were also aware that the weekend was a far cry from over.

With Thursday's victory behind them, Jason Gross and GR Motorsports were on the verge of competing in the race they had been waiting for since the beginning of the 2011 season. The USMTS drivers were scheduled to be at Cedar Lake. Jason and the crew knew that the cars would be fast and the race furious. This was the perfect opportunity for Gross to line up against the "Big Dawgs", and get a good indication of where he stacked up against the USMTS drivers.

Jason started fourth row in his heat and was up against drivers such as Ryan Gustin, Cory Dripps and Kelly Shyrock. Although he didn't make it into the top three during that particular heat, which was required to advance to the "A" Main, Jason performed well in the "B". Starting 12th, throughout the race, the driver muscled his way up to fourth, earning a spot in the show.

Starting 27th of twenty-eight cars, Jason and the GR Motorsports team were excited and anxious to get the 40 lap race underway. When the green flag waved, the competition was on, and Jason began making a showing. In fact, by the twentieth lap, Gross had already worked his way up to 14th place and reached tenth by lap 31.

With only nine laps to go, coolant began blowing from the overflow of Jason's car. Watching as the temperature gauge continued to climb, he finally opted to pull over and shut her down. Upon a closer investigation of the engine following the race, a hairline crack was discovered in the head.

Although disappointed that mechanical malfunction demanded that Jason call it quits early, the driver and his team were satisfied with the outcome and the performance of their car. When the dust settled it had been established that they were fast and had the ability to run with a very stiff caliber of competition.

When asked if they were happy with the overall performance of their car and their success throughout the season, GR Motorsports team member, Justin Gross, said, "Overall we're happy with where we're at, but will never be satisfied, as there's always room for improvement. You're never fast enough."

Obviously, each and every driver and their teams are going to be plagued with occasional mechanical problems as Jason was on Friday, June 17, due to the fact that engines are pushed to their limits during every outing on the track. Although such failures are inevitable, the GR Motorsports team is acutely aware of the importance of maintaining clean and well-lubed motors. In fact, according to Justin Gross, they are fans of, and have been using K&N products for the past five years, "I wouldn't use anything else," explained Justin. "I also use them in my personal vehicles; my parents use them in their vehicles, and my brothers use them in their vehicles. I think they're a superior product, and am confident that we wouldn't be where we're at today if not for K&N."

In closing, Justin said, "None of this would be possible without the support of our sponsors and fans, and we'll always go out there and do the best that we can."

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.

Sheldon Gecker Wins Top Dragster for the Second Time This Season

Jul 11, 2011

NHRA/IHRA Racer Sheldon Gecker and son

After competing in the NHRA Divisional, Sheldon Gecker, of Surprise, Arizona, had one more stop to make before returning home. Sheldon rolled in to Salt Lake City on June 26 having already won one race in the Top Dragster class during the 2011 season, with anticipation of experiencing another successful outing. Just as the driver had hoped for, at the end of the weekend, he had managed to win yet again in the Top Dragster class at the IHRA event.

Sheldon Gecker grabs Top Dragster at 2011 IHRA Nitro Jam

According to Sheldon, 25 cars showed up at the event, and the competition was stiff. "For the most part, the competition was more than I expected, considering they don't usually run that category at that track," shared Gecker. "In that area of the country, there aren't a lot of racers competing in the Top Dragster class, but people showed up from different areas of the country. It was a different group of people than we normally see for the most part at the NHRA events. There were some pretty fast cars, cars that ran around 200 miles per hour at altitude. I was impressed," he continued.

When asked the importance of his recent win, Sheldon said, "It was important. With fuel prices around $4.00 per gallon, it's expensive to go down the road, so we're not competing in as many races as we would like.

"It's a good feeling getting caught up and starting to win some rounds. We were feeling pretty good going into this race, and were runner up just last week in Fallon, Nevada." explained Gecker.

Referring to the key to success during his most recent win, Sheldon suggested that regardless of venue, success depended a great deal upon having rapport with your vehicle, and knowing how it will perform under various track and weather conditions.

Sheldon stated that experiencing success throughout the remainder of the season depended partially upon actual time behind the wheel, and keeping your vehicle in one piece. "If you sit out too long, you tend to get a little stale," explained Sheldon. "If you start changing combinations and changing engines, the learning curve becomes too steep in a short season."

Sheldon said that his race car has been performing well throughout the season. According to the driver, of the five races they have competed in, Gecker and his crew have earned a spot in three finals. That said, the driver is aware that properly maintaining the internal components of their engine is of utmost importance. Speaking of K&N products, the driver said, "we use them on the air cleaner and the oil filters. We've been using K&N products for about 15 years, and have had very good luck with them. I think in any scenario, they're hard to beat," he continued. "Their filters are all-around good filters, and we've never had any problems with them. We use them on our support vehicles also."

Sheldon Gecker and his crew are presently in the process of preparing for upcoming divisional and national events to be held in Sonoma, California. According to the driver, the NHRA divisional race is scheduled for July 22-24, and the NHRA national event will take place one week later, beginning on July 29, and continuing through the 31st.

Sheldon Gecker stressed the importance of his team, and was quick to show gratitude toward his sponsors and fans. "Most of the products we run, we've used for the past fifteen or twenty years, because they're the most reliable products out there, and we can depend on them," shared Sheldon. In closing he said, "I'd like to thank our sponsors and fans for all of the support that we have received throughout the years."

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.

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