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Tyler Clem, the checkered flag lap is becoming increasingly more familiar.
"2010 was a great season, I won the national USAC Jr. Animal Championship and finished third in the Jr. Honda division, remarked eight-year-old CRI driver Tyler Clem. "We will be competing one last year in 2011, in the same two divisions, along with running Bandos in Florida. The highlight of 2010 was my two A-main wins in my dad's home state of Indiana, at the Kokomo Jr. Honda and the Lakeville Jr. Animal." And the low-lights were early in the season, when I got taken out two different times by lapped cars, with only a few laps to go while leading. But, we regrouped and overcame those setbacks to finish strong."
CRI drivers Tyler Clem and Michael Atwell are developmental drivers for Stewart-Haas Racing, the NASCAR racing team owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas.
Tyler's dad is Bubba Clem, team owner of K&N sponsored Clem Racing, Inc. (CRI). CRI is a Florida-based .25 Midget Race Team owned by Bubba Clem with Dan Atwell and car chief Mike Tidwell.
"CRI clinched five championships last season and we were in serious contention for a sixth," announced Clem on his national Bubba the Love Sponge radio show. "To be able to pick up five and possibly six points series championships in one year with two drivers is a very rare accomplishment," added Clem on his radio program. "Crew chief Dan Atwell and I are very proud, and I'm sure that 'the Big Man,' Tony Stewart, is too."
The CRI drivers Tyler Clem and ten-year old Michael Atwell have both been selected as developmental drivers for Stewart-Haas Racing, the NASCAR racing team owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas.
According to Bubba, after speaking with Stewart on the phone, he and Stewart will go over 2011 racing plans for the Stewart-Haas developmental driver when they see each other in Homestead, Florida in a few weeks.
"I'm so thankful, and I know Michael and Tyler are thankful as well, to have Tony's endorsement. He was the first owner to endorse a .25 Midget driver in a developmental program, and now Dale Earnhardt, Jr. may be following suit, as well. Tony is always on the leading edge of finding great talent, as evidenced by his USAC open wheel guys, who are the best in the business," added Bubba.
CRI has plans to branch out in 2011, racing in USAC's National Series, and perhaps they will even start testing some bigger, full-size cars on asphalt and dirt, along with picking up another driver in the Florida area.
Bubba also announced that nine-year-old Trevor Taylor from Zellwood, Florida will drive the number 7 CRI car next year.
"I couldn't be happier with both of CRI's drivers," said Bubba. "So much so that we added Trevor here in Florida, and he will be joining Tyler in Bandos, and Michael will be competing in full-sized trucks in the rookie division at Punta Gorda (Florida). All three kids will run the USAC generation next national .25 series as well."
Bubba is also currently scouting a female teenage driver, located in the Midwest, to possibly drive a few races for CRI in some of the USAC National events.
"We start Saturday February 26th in Punta Gorda," said Bubba. "Trevor and Tyler in Bandos, and Michael in rookie trucks..."
NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown Winner Jason Bowles
Jason Bowles survived more than he won the first NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown race of his career, a crash-filled affair that was red-flagged three times and took nearly three hours to complete.
Jason Bowles Wins at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale
Bowles was in a four-driver dog fight at the end of the race that included Derek Thorn, Paulie Harraka and Greg Pursley.
Thorn, the surprise pole winner, and Harraka crashed in the final 25 laps of the race. On the final restart, with Bowles and Pursley fighting for the lead, Pursley's car got a flat tire and he faded out of contention.
Bowles led the last eight laps of the race and took the checkered flag. It was his fourth win for Bowles at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The three previous wins came in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
"I think the 44 (Thorn) probably had one of the best cars, but he was using his equipment up pretty good," said Bowles, driver of the No. 75 Toyota for Rusty Wallace Racing Experience. "I think it's probably due to a little bit of his lack of experience. He just got into Paulie. He was going to hit the wall if Paulie wasn't there. He was in a little bit over his head on that one. It's racing.
Everybody's going for that big win. I can understand it. It was unfortunate for those guys. It's fortunate for me. I put myself in that position. If you're not that position to win the race then you're never gonna."
Bowles started the race in ninth and ran conservatively through the first 200 laps. The drivers had to make mandatory pit stops on laps 100 and 200. Thorn led the first 100 laps of the race. Andrew Myers was out front for most of the second 100 laps of the race before running into tire trouble on lap 190 and dropping back. Harraka took over the lead just before the second break in the race.
Thorn, Harraka, Pursley and Bowles battled for the lead over the last 25 laps of the race. Thorn and Harraka crashed on lap 206 and both drivers dropped out of contention. The race was red-flagged for the second time to clean up the mess. Eight laps later, the race was red flagged again when Dale Quarterley was involved in a three-car crash in turn 2. When the race resumed, Bowles and Pursley ran 1-2, but Pursley cut a tire on the restart and had to pit.
"This is the biggest win of my career for sure," Bowles said. "I've been trying to win the Showdown in 2007, 2008, 2009. I'm came close in 2008, got third, but it's definitely the biggest win of my career. Race wins are huge right now for me, trying to put my name on the map and get a job doing this for a living. The more name-recognition I can get, the more I can go out there and put the car in victory lane, the better it's going to be."
DJ Kennington, the NASCAR Canadian Series champion, rallied late in the race and finished second.
"It was awesome for us," said Kennington, driver of the No. 17 Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing. "We knew we had a pretty good car in practice. I wasn't sure if it was going to be that good. We avoided the wrecks, and we were able to be there at the end."
Jonathon Gomez finished third. He was followed Luis Martinez in fourth and Johnny Borneman in fifth.
"It's the best way to start off the beginning of a new year," Gomez said. "The best is with a win, but a top-three, you can't complain. It's a good confidence builder for the whole team. Get everybody motivated to head to Phoenix and try to get our win."
Travis Pastrana, the action sports and X Games star making his NASCAR debut, finished sixth.
"I just had an ear-to-ear grin. I'll tell you that last green, it was just chaotic," said Pastrana, driving the No. 99 Toyota for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing. "We were four-wide, three-wide. I just really want to thank (spotter) Matt (Crafton) for keeping me out of most of the trouble. We started pushing on people there at the end and I was getting pushed on. I'll tell you what, I couldn't say enough about the Waltrip Racing team, Boost mobile, all the guys that helped me get here."
Bowles won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 2009. He spent 2010 piecing together a NASCAR schedule that included races in the Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series and K&N Pro Series West and East.
He will be in the ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway in February. He will be racing with the Rusty Wallace team in select K&N Pro Series events in 2010. He said after the race, his team had to use a back-up car because he crashed the primary car in testing.
"We had this one in the trailer as a back-up," Bowles said. "We pulled it out and went to work on it. I knew we had a good car (Friday) in practice. It's the best car I've had here at the Showdown in race trim. I was real happy. We just bided our time. I've been here four times and I've seen guys wreck on lap 50, lap 25, lap 100 and they never make it to the end. I know you got to make it to that lap 225. We just kind of kept our nose clean and when the green came out for that last 25, it was time to go."
Travis Pastrana's first venture in NASCAR can be deemed a success. He finished the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown in sixth place on Saturday night. He started the race in 20th and ran into only one little scrape through the 225 laps of the Showdown, that puts the top drivers from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Travis Pastrada finished 6th at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown
The race was filled with crashes and red flagged three times. Pastrana was almost collected in one of those crashes, but he maneuvered his way through the carnage with minimal damage to his right-side door and front fender.
He had to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix the front fender and keep it from rubbing on the front right tire on his car. Aside from that, Pastrana had an incident-free race and made up several spots in the final 25 laps.
There were two more red flag caution periods in the final 25 laps of the race. Pastrana avoided trouble in both of those and brought his car to the checkered flag in one piece.
He made modest strides throughout the weekend, between his first practice laps and qualifying on Friday to the race on Saturday night. He even gave his reputation a boost by meeting with fans in the stands after the race, which ended near midnight.
Pastrana made a huge improvement between his first practice session and his second for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.
He went from 17th fastest in the first practice session to seventh fastest in the final one.
When he made his qualifying run, Pastrana posted the fifth fastest time. He was in the mix of the first half of the 45 drivers who made qualifying runs for the Showdown.
When the last driver qualified for the race, Pastrana was the 20th quickest. He wasn't as fast as the top drivers who race regularly in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East, but his time was respectable for a driver making his NASCAR debut.
"I didn't expect to be on top," said Pastrana, who was driving the No. 99 Toyota for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in the Showdown. "I just hope we're not a road block."
Pastrana embraced the underdog role all weekend at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, site of the All Star Showdown. He downplayed his talent as a race car driver and emphasized his inexperience in NASCAR and racing stock cars.
"I definitely just need seat time, as much seat time as possible," Pastrana said. "I feel really comfortable in the car, but there's a huge difference between driving and racing. In motocross I was always better at racing, but I had experience. I started racing when I was 4 years old. That's all I've ever known - racing every weekend."
He had plenty of help preparing for the Showdown. Michael Waltrip was able to provide Pastrana with tips and strategies during test sessions. Matt Crafton, who raced late models at Irwindale earlier in his career and is a veteran of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, was been at the track and working with Pastrana as spotter and driving coach.
"Honestly, our lap times have been fairly good here," Pastrana said. "For me to get all the laps, the position on this race isn't so crucial. You want to do as good as possible. I'm just pumped to be out here and get as many laps as possible."
The car he's driving is a good one too. It's one of the cars Ryan Truex drove to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship last year. Pastrana said it's been a little bit of an adjustment in the new car.
"When I do what I'm supposed to do, the car works amazing," Pastrana said.
After the Showdown, Pastrana will return to his freestyle motocross ventures, touring with his Nitro Circus show and preparing for X Games in Los Angeles in July. He will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Indianapolis in July.
Before the Showdown, Pastrana said his first goal was to qualify for the race. He accomplished that.
"It's good to be not completely sucking at this point," Pastrana said.
"I feel pretty comfortable in the Toyota. Racing with Waltrip, they've lined me up with some great guys. I feel like I couldn't ask for a better system. If I need a change, they'll help me out and make it better, no matter what."
After a fantastic 2010 season for the family drag racing team based in Eugene, Oregon, where father Ron, daughter Rochelle and son Jim all found successes on the track in their respective classes, Pappel Racing prepares for a few new ventures in 2011.
Rochelle Pappel of Papple Family Racing
Rochelle remained a force to be reckoned throughout her numerous seasons competing in the JDRL (Junior Drag Racing League), so it was no surprise when, during the latter part of 2010, she began making the move out of the scale cars to the "big cars". She even competed in not one but three classes during the NHRA Division 6 E.T. Finals, which included Junior Dragster, High School and Sport Compact.
"Historically this year may be a little different due to Rochelle's other activities," said Ron Pappel who also races his own 1927 Ford Roadster. "She is very involved in track and trying to land some scholarships for college. So we may or may not run the full points circuit this season, like in year's past."
"We have finished putting together a preliminary schedule for 2011," he continued. "Right now we are looking at racing some of the bracket races at Woodburn [Oregon], Medford [Oregon], the National Open in Portland and the Lucas Oil race in Medford. There is even a possibility of going to the big Night of Fire event held in Boise."
There has been a lot going on behind the scenes for Pappel Racing as they prepare not only for the upcoming season, but also the changes to the cars in their stable.
"There is a deposit on selling the Jr. Dragster and we are looking for a third car [full size door car]. We have also been negotiating on a new stacker trailer that will hold two to three cars," he pointed out.
Ron Pappel of Papple Family Racing
"It will be a different type of season for us," Ron confessed. "With Rochelle's activities and my son, Jim getting married, it's just going to be really different. Plus after running the Jr. Dragster for nine seasons and having numerous track championships, two divisionals and one national, we will be approaching things quite different."
With a very busy schedule planned for Pappel Racing in 2011 and not just one, but three cars to keep in shape for competition, Ron Pappel knows from past experiences how important the parts they choose to use in each car can be.
"Our engine builders are so picky," Pappel noted. "When we tell them we are using all K&N products for our air and oil filters, boy are they happy."
"We run air filtration on all our motors, no matter what car," he continued. "K&N products are absolutely the best there are. You never have to worry about the quality of the product or the consistency of the product. We make a lot of runs in a weekend, we change our oil a lot and there is just never a question putting a new K&N oil filter back on."
Pappel is really looking forward to the 2011 season along with their new plans and feels that compared to season's past it will be almost, "relaxing" since he won't be "working constantly on that Jr. Dragster."
"We have never gone to a race without worrying about our position in points and this year for us to just be able to go race and not worry about that part, will just be a blast," he added. "To be able to go to events and tracks that we have never gone to, it's going to be great. We are just going to go and play hard."
Watch for Rochelle to be ‘playing hard' in both the High School and Pro Classes in Division Six, while Ron will continue to do so in his 1927 Roadster competing in both Super Pro and Super Gas at select events in 2011.
Dirt bike, ATV and Off-road truck racer Marty Hart
Dirt is in Marty Hart's blood. For 20 years, the veteran dirt bike, ATV and off-road truck racer has been spinning the tires with some of the best off-road racers alive. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that Hart dominated the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series' Pro Lite division. Hart captured 11 podiums in the 15 round season, his first with the Lucas Oil series.
Marty Hart dominated the Pro Lite division at the 2010 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
"Winning Championships never gets old," Hart stated. "Each one just keeps getting sweeter. Our team did a phenomenal job all season, and it paid off with another championship."
Hart has built quite a resume in his two-decade long career. In 1984, he broke records in the SCORE Baja 1000 by becoming the first three-wheel team to defeat all other vehicles. Hart would go on to ride a factory ATV for American Honda, capturing three championships in six seasons. Hart continued to succeed in the dirt racing ranks when he was crowned the 1990 SCORE Class 5 Champion.
"I started in motocross, and went to ATV racing because I loved the dirt. If it throws dirt, I'll drive or ride it!" Hart added.
2010 Pro Lite Champion Marty Hart
In 2005 Hart won an ESPN Outdoor Games Gold Medal. In 2007, he burst onto the short-course truck scene with a Rookie of the Year season in the WSORP. He then captured the CORR Pro-Lite Championship in 2008. This season, Hart battled with off-road superstars like fellow K&N racer Chris Brandt and freestyle motocross legend Brian Deegan.
"Racing with Chris was great, he is a solid racer. Deegan, well lets just say we had our differences," Hart said.
Hart is already hard at work gearing up for the 2011 season, and K&N Filters is right there helping to ensure that 2011 is just as successful as 2010. "We have a huge desire to win, and so does K&N. Their filters help maintain engine life in a class that is brutal on engines. I've used K&N my entire life, and there is no better competition filter. K&N helps me race at my best."
