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With many of the biggest names in the country in Comp Eliminator on hand for the NHRA JEGS CajunNationals held recently in Belle Rose, Louisiana, it's no wonder it ended up being one very quick field with drivers needing to run more than .542 under their index to make the show.
David Rampy and his 1932 Bantam in NHRA Comp Eliminator
All the ingredients were in place for a stellar field from the get go, with the event not only being an important one for so many, but the added $25,000.00 in total bonus funds to be paid out for the class put up by Attitude Apparel.
David Rampy usually has a very special way of putting himself right where he wants to be on the qualifying ladder for eliminations; after all going into this event he was number six on the NHRA all-time win list. For this event, the Piedmont, Alabama resident placed his K&N 1932 Bantam at number six in the field and set himself up for a first round match up with the 2010 NHRA Comp Eliminator World Champion, Al Ackerman.
Not one to fold to any type of pressure, Rampy easily took the win light in round one with a much better reaction time and plenty of room to keep it safe at the stripe, when Ackerman had some apparent mechanical difficulties, his car running well off its usual pace.
That would set up Rampy for a heads-up race in round two, with fellow A/EA class competitor Michael Johnson. Rampy was nothing but stellar on the tree with a .007 light and would have made it really tough for Johnson who qualified almost a full tenth of a second slower than Rampy. Johnson gave it up on the line with a red-light and sent Rampy on to the quarter-finals and allowing him to keep his index safe for the time being.
Things can change pretty quick from one round to the next in drag racing and for NHRA's Comp Eliminator drivers, those changes can make things rather tough on them if those changes are big hits to their index.
In round three, Rampy managed to get a little better light over fellow heavy-hitter Arnie Martel and caught him before the stripe. Martel stayed in it hard and made Rampy work for the round victory, causing the multi-time champ to carry a .06 CIC into the semi-finals.
Rampy pulled out his second near perfect reaction time eliminations, giving him a whopping six-hundredths starting line advantage over Steve Szupka and he needed every last bit of it. The semi's proved to be another exciting round for Rampy, taking as little of the stripe as he could for the win, but unfortunately taking another CIC hit by adding another .03 to his index for the final.
On the other side of the ladder was the Cinderella story of the class, Russell Joly who had only made his way into this very quick field by making it in as, not first or second but third alternate.
For the final round, both Rampy and Joly both were down .09 on their index. Over the last two rounds, Joly seemed to have been able to step up his program from qualifying as his car posted his best numbers of the weekend. Unfortunately, his day came to an end before the race could be run as his car refused to start and a great story came to an abrupt end.
At this point all Rampy needed to do was to stage under power with his K&N Bantam and take the green for the win in his 124th career final round appearance.
Rampy made a nice pass down the quarter, getting out of it early and coasting across the finish line for his seventy-fifth NHRA National Event victory. The most recent win now ties him with Pat Austin at number five on NHRA's All-Time win list.
The milestone of just the 124th final round is also quite notable in itself. In the history of NHRA Drag Racing, only John Force and Warren Johnson have competed in more finals than David Rampy.
"It was a heck of a race to win, but I hated to see Joly have problems in the final," said Rampy. "The way he was running the last couple of laps, I knew it was going to be a tough final round, heck every round we had today was tough. I can't say thanks enough though for the opportunity to take home the $10,000.00 winner's check from Attitude Apparel. Their support of the race weekend brought some of the best in the country together. To be able to leave with the Wally and the check means a lot."
David Rampy uses both K&N air filters and oil filters on not only his Comp Eliminator car, but also his new for the 2011 season 1989 Chevy Camaro he competes with in Super Stock.
After working his way into second, Halbert said he put his head down and went after Jake Johnson. Photo by Dave Hoenig.
In winning the opening round of the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Flat Track Championship, contested on Daytona International Speedway's demanding flat track quarter-mile, Sammy Halbert earned 56 points in just two days of racing. Earlier in the evening the K&N backed rider supersized his points total by also winning the Cometic Gaskets Dash for Cash.
In order to prepare for his extreme sideways riding style, Sammy Halbert says he practices riding a unicycle to improve his balance. Photo by Dave Hoenig.
"It feels amazing to start the season off like this," commented the Graham, Washington, resident. "I gained the maximum points over the double-header, I don't think anyone in the history of the sport has earned 56 points in just two days."
Asked why he felt Daytona suited his riding style so well Halbert said, "I don't really know, in the past I have struggled riding the DTX style bikes on slippery short tracks, and Daytona is the slickest one we come to, but there is something about the way I am able to ride that track that allows me to go just a little faster than the next guy. It takes a lot of balance so I practiced riding a unicycle before this event more that I practiced riding my dirt bike. I am always the type of rider that likes to get really sideways and I am able to make that work for me very well at Daytona."
Sammy Halbert, Johnny Lewis, and Jake Johnson, three K&N backed riders, filled the podium in the opening race at the Daytona Short Track Championship. Photo by Dave Hoenig.
Halbert also kicked-off the 2010 season with a win at the opener in Daytona, however, a crash and a mechanical issue prevented him from doubling-up in that event. He went on to finish last year with six podium finishes and fourth overall in the Grand National Championship.
After winning the race this year and leading the final five laps on his Woody Kyle Racing/Fredericktown Yamaha-backed YZ 450F, Halbert remarked, "Wow what a race. I didn't get that good of a start and kind of had to come from behind. I got hung up behind Johnny (Lewis), and Jake (Johnson) was getting away, but after I was able to get into second I just put my head down and went after Jake."
The three K&N backed riders in fact packed the podium the first night at the Daytona Short Track Championship races, as Lewis went on to finish second behind Halbert and Johnson held on for third.
Halbert says that during the off season he changed a few things in his personal life in order to properly focus one-hundred percent on his job without distractions.
"I have also been working on my technique and focusing on staying patient and racing smart," added Halbert. "And I will definitely carry this momentum throughout the rest of the season, being able to draw on my experiences of how I won the Overall Grand National championship in 2009, and learning from the mistakes I made in 2010, is going to make the difference for me this year. I am confident in my abilities and we're going to keep things fun this year at Halbert Bros Racing."
Even with the added momentum his goals for the 2011 season remain pretty much as they always have explains Halbert – "its one race at a time."
"For the last few years the goal has been to be Grand National champion, that doesn't change, but do I have a couple new personal goals, first being to ride mistake free races. I always give it one-hundred percent effort so that's not an issue, but when I attempt to give it even more than that, that's when there's problems. So, my goal is to do my best without pushing beyond that limit, and to always be happy and content with my results."
Replacement Air Filter for 2011 to 2015 Honda CR-Z 1.5L
Honda's CR-Z 1.5L hybrid is not only great to look at with its sleek lines and sporty exterior. This vehicle is also technologically savvy sporting many of the modern features that new car drivers demand. This sophisticated compact car combines hybrid engine technology with an optional constant variable transmission. These features provide drivers with a very quiet engine and when combined with seamless shifting can translate into consistent daily enjoyment.
Restriction Chart for 33-2459 Air Filter
In order to enhance this enjoyment K&N has recently introduced a
replacement high-flow air filter for this incredible machine. Air filter 33-2459 has been designed to replace the original factory air filter.
K&N's design uses thick ridges along the outer edge to help ensure a proper air box sealing surface and incorporates a wire screen on the outside of the four layered cotton gauze media that aids in smoothing and straightening airflow.
Installing K&N part 33-2459 into the 2011 to 2015 Honda CR-Z is a great way to protect your car's engine while helping to save money over time. This premium performance air filter features service intervals
up to the 50,000 mile range when driven primarily on paved roads and it is
designed to add more power to the 1.5 liter engine.
Like all K&N air filters this air filter is washable/reusable, can be easily cleaned using cleaning kit number 99-5000 and protected by our industry leading million mile
limited warranty.
Winning Pro-Import class in his 1400 horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder Chevrolet Cobalt, stretched the Massel’s winning streak to four consecutive races and 19 successive round wins.
K&N sponsored, Bruno Massel, fired-up his 2011 race season in grand fashion. After first unveiling his new primary sponsor to the one million plus weekly viewers of "TruckU" on SPEED TV, he headed south from Tampa to compete in the Inaugural Shakedown at the newly renovated Palm Beach International Raceway. It was a "run what ya brung and hope ya brought enough" outlaw event, and clearly Massel brought plenty, setting the low ET and top-speed as he qualified number one, and then winning the Pro-Import class in his 1400 horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder Chevrolet Cobalt.
Massel set the low ET and top-speed as he qualified number one on the newly renovated Palm Beach International Raceway.
With that victory the Chicago-area native and one-time University of Iowa football player, DePaul University law-school student, and Ralph Lauren underwear model, extended his winning streak from last season, to four consecutive races and 19 successive round wins.
"Winning the Shakedown at Palm Beach was a great way to not only start the year, but my new relationship with Autogeek.net," stated Massel. "It was the first time we raced the car in heads-up competition and it really was a lot of fun. Not having to worry about our comp-index was such a luxury, and it allowed us to just focus on going fast, rather than how the ladder was falling, or if I could get by the next round clean or not. We are actually looking at running some more heads-up stuff this summer if time allows."
In debuting his primary sponsor on an episode of TruckU, Massel also provided welcome exposure to K&N and his other sponsors.
"In 2009 we had some pretty good stretches, but I would have to say that this is probably my longest winning streak. I just hope to keep it alive once we get into points earning events in Competition Eliminator."
Now in his fifth year of co-hosting the TruckU show, Massel's racing has been referenced often on the show, "So I guess it was it was time to show off my new colors to the viewing audience," said Massel about his sponsor introduction on the show. This past off-season was very different from the past for Massel, as he literally did nothing to his car, instead, he spent untold hours putting together sponsorship proposals and presentations.
"My nine year relationship with WyoTech had run its course and I had the daunting task of finding a replacement in this brutal economy," said Massel. "I had a few really big deals fall through that each would have taken us to the 'next level' and it all seemed to come at the last minute. Fortunately, Bob McKee, the CEO of Autogeek.net and I were able to get together in late January, and we put a plan in place that I think will help both of our causes in 2011. So now it's just a matter of freshening our ECOtec engines and go racing."
Since Massel lists underwear modeling on his bio we felt it only fair game to ask whether he ever hears any smack-talk at the track about it.
"I used to get it all the time, but I don't do much of the underwear stuff these days," laughs Massel. "When I was doing the IHRA racing broadcasts, I used to get a lot of ribbing over it. I once showed up in an Alcohol drivers pit to do an interview, and he had taken ads of mine, and had blown them up into posters, and he hung them on the side of his trailer – good times."
Massel may have hung up his skivvy modeling career, but he continues to keep himself busy, having created, produced and hosted a 30 minute show called "Behind the Helmet." The show provides viewers with a behind the scenes glimpse at some of the biggest stars in motorsports.
"The pilot episode features my buddy Jeg Coughlin JR and it looks to be coming to a major cable this fall," adds Massel. "I'm looking forward to a busy, and hopefully successful 2011, both on and off the track!"
When most kids start racing, they envision themselves one day hoisting a Sprint Cup trophy, or taking a swig of milk at the Indianapolis 500. Brooke Kawell is not your typical kid. The 7th grader's plans are a little muddier. Let me explain.
Kawell Currently Runs in the Modified Kart Division
Kawell is an aspiring trophy truck racer. She currently runs in the Modified Kart division at the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series events, often against drivers who are older, with more experience and a larger budget than she has. But just two weeks ago, Kawell made a giant statement when she finished third at the Regional event at Firebird Raceway in Arizona. Kawell started last in the Main Event, but maneuvered her way into a podium position quickly, and held on to become the first female to ever podium in a Modified Kart.
"I did great in that race," said the well-spoken, home-schooled Kawell. "To be the first girl to ever podium in a Modified Kart was pretty exciting."
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Racer Brooke Kawell
Brooke's mother, Stefanie, has guided her daughter through her racing career, and said the moment was a special one. "I couldn't hold back the tears. We were so proud of her. To be the only girl racing in the class and podium is amazing," said an elated mother.
Brooke has a chance to revolutionize Off-Road Racing. The NHRA had Shirley Muldowney and now has drivers like Ashley Force-Hood and Erica Enders. The IRL has Simona De Silverstro and some lady named Danica Patrick. You might have heard of her. Even NASCAR, considered to be far behind the gender curve compared to other American auto sports, has had drivers like Shawna Robinson, Jennifer Jo Cobb, and now Patrick. But the Off-Road scene lacks a household name female to pair with stars like Curt Leduc and Carl Renezeder. Kawell could be that driver one day. She certainly has set her sights high.
"I want to win a championship in the Modified Kart…when I'm sixteen, I'd like to move up to Pro Lite's and eventually Pro 4's (the equivalent of the Sprint Cup in short-course racing). I want to be the first female to win a Pro 4 Championship. I'd also like to compete in the Baja 1000," Kawell declared.
Kawell certainly has some good blood lines. Her grandfather raced Sprint Cars and Off-Road vehicles, and her father was a Motocross racer and a 3-time Baja 1000 winner. Kawell new she wanted to race and her father decided four wheels were better than two. From there, Kawell started running in various karting races, but when she was introduced to the dirt and trophy kart's, she found a home.
Kawell said she looks up to her cousin, professional dirt bike racer Blake Baggett. She enjoys being home schooled, because it allows her to focus on racing and take her school work with her. When asked about her friends, Kawell said they are supportive of her racing. Actually, she said "They think it's sick, especially since I am a girl and can hang with the boys."
Personality? Check. Racing in her blood? Check. If anyone is going to break the gender barrier in Off-Road Racing, Brooke Kawell might just be the one to do it.
