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K&N Supported Team Aon Keeps Championships Hopes Alive

Oct 6, 2010

Onslow-Cole avenged his first race finish by winning the second race in convincing form.

By recording a solid set of results at Donington Park Racing circuit in England, including a victory for driver Tom Onslow-Cole in the penultimate, Team Aon managed to keep their championship hopes very much alive. Team Aon competes in the 2010 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, running a pair of Ford Focus ST's, powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). LPG is considerably cheaper than the normal racing fuel that other teams use, perhaps as much as 50 percent cheaper, yet Team Aon hasn't felt much love for their highly successful efforts at reducing not only racing expenditures, but also for reducing their carbon footprint. They have in fact had their knuckles whacked for it repeatedly it would appear.

Team Aon's Onslow-Cole was leading the first race at Donington Park before a nudge from behind resulted in a spectacular six car incident. Tom Chilton did finish second.

Early in the season the race organizers felt that their LPG powered, turbocharged Ford Focuses had an excessive advantage over everyone else with regard to acceleration and straight line speed. They therefore ruled that the team had to fit a smaller air restrictor to their engine, limiting the amount of fuel/air mixture we can get into the engine at any time.

Onslow-Cole currently sits in fourth place overall in the BTCC point standings, with Chilton right behind him in fifth.

The team was also required to add "success ballast" in order to even their cars overall weight (the BTCC requires success ballast of other teams as well, based on their success). Still here they are, right in the thick of things. Team Aon refuses to be deterred, even by a spectacular six car incident at the tight chicane at the end of the Donington Park circuit. Championship points leader Jason Plato's race was over on the spot with his car wedged into the barrier. Team Aon's Onslow-Cole sustained heavy damage, but was able to continue. Onslow-Cole was leading the race at the time.

"The first race was a struggle, one nudge and we went backwards from P1," commented Onslow-Cole. "In the end I was quite happy to get the car home as we sustained quite a lot of damage. Race two was a fantastic result, one of my wins coming through from eighth. Sadly we couldn't end the day on another high as the success ballast meant we struggled with the car in race three. We're 24 points behind Jason (Plato) now going into the final, which is do-able, but as always it will be very tough."

Race two of the day saw a spectacular drive from Onslow-Cole, following his frustrating race one. Coming from eighth on the grid, Onslow-Cole perfectly balanced aggression and speed to cross the line in third at the end of the first lap, and then winning the race.

Tom Chilton struggled with the handling of his car, after having to carry an additional 36 kilos (78 lbs) of success ballast following his second place finish in race one, he still managed to bring the car home in fourth to add to his championship tally.

"Three points finishes for me today, but I had hoped for more after securing pole position yesterday," said Chilton. "I struggled with the car on the brakes all day and so didn't gain as many points as we would have liked. That is the way it goes sometimes though, the BTCC is an ultra-competitive series and today proved that."

Mike Earle, Team Principal summed it up this way, "It was a weekend of mixed fortunes and we are slightly disappointed. Having had both cars on the front of the grid from qualifying, we didn't quite get the points haul we had hoped for. Onslow-Cole's win was obviously the highlight of the day. This weekend has demonstrated that we still have some work to do on the set-up of the car when it is carrying success ballast. The Brands Hatch finale will be what it will be, we'll go there and give it our best shot, the car was strong there at the start of the season and so fingers crossed we can push Jason all the way to the end."

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Tommy Phillips Wins Super Gas Wally in Front of Hometown Crowd at NHRA National in Dallas

Oct 6, 2010

Phillips took his 1957 Corvette Roadster all the way to the Super Gas victory during the 23rd annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals

Like many other successful sportsman racers, Tommy Phillips of Forney, Texas competes in several classes and has numerous victories under his belt in each. But one could almost call 2010 "The Year of the Super Gas" car for Phillips, especially when looking at his accomplishments at just the Texas NHRA National events alone.

Sportsman racer Tommy Phillips

Earlier this season, Phillips took his 1957 Corvette Roadster all the way to the Super Gas victory during the 23rd annual O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park and while all wins are special in their own way for Phillips, it was his most recent that may always be a little more special.

"I don't know why it's just worked out that way at the nationals this year and not the divisionals," Phillips said of his wins in Texas. "I just love that Corvette and this is the third season racing it."

Unlike his win at Houston, where Phillips caught a lucky break here and there, during the 25th annual O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals it was one tough round after another, with not a single bye or even redlight round win.

Phillips started competing at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas back when the then "State-of-the-Art" facility opened as just a teenager and began running the NHRA National events held their on a regular basis in the mid-nineties.

Certain rounds stick out more during an event for a driver than others and that also rang true for Phillips as he reflected on the weekend's event.

"Well the third round I guess I was a little more concerned about, since that guy [Jim Cappiello] is the defending event champ and he best me there last year," he explained. "Not that last year means anything or everything, but he did well and he's in the third round and he beat me the year before, so you're a little keyed up for that trying not to make mistake and get by that round."

Phillips mental preparation paid off in that round as his .009 reaction time to Cappiello's .027 gave him the ammunition he needed to force his competition farther under the 9.90 index and a 9.895 to 9.878 round win.

Phillips notes that he had a "hard seven rounds" during the Fall Nationals, although one wouldn't know it based on his seemingly machinelike ability to put together time slip packages anyone would be proud to call their own.

"It was just one of those weekends, you know how it is," he said. "You'd like to drive that well all the time, but you usually don't. The car was perfect and I was really good and it all kind of just fell in place."

Changing weather throughout the weekend, again, played a big role for Phillips and the other racers.

"On Saturday morning, even though it was cooler, oh my gosh the humidity and water grains were through the roof," he exclaimed. "The conditions were just, I mean it was all but raining. The water grains were in the high 120's and low 130's. It was just considerable slow out there before the front came through."

"Sunday, there was a drastic change," noted Phillips. "The cars were close to a tenth quicker with the cooler weather and the lower humidity. That was a little bit of a task when it came to predicting the best you could and get through that first round on Sunday.

"It really helps that I've been to a lot of races and raced a lot," he continued. "Unfortunately, most everything about getting older I don't like, but that's one thing that helps a little, you get more experience and that helps a lot in those types of situations."

Phillips continued to master both the tuning and the driving as he made his way deeper into the rounds, even doing so with the extra added pressure of numerous family members and friends in attendance.

"Ennis is my home track and it makes it a little difficult because of the amount of folks who want to be there," he said. "I think I came up with twenty-eight tickets and still had another dozen people who wanted them. So everybody you know is there and they come by to visit and it makes it a little harder to stay focused and in your race mode than it normally would."

"That was the first race that my wife and daughter were at, that I actually won and I know that's hard to believe," he smiled. "I was really happy about that and of course my parents were there and my grandfather and wow that was a lot of people to have around and that kind of stresses me out, but at the end of the day, it was all worth it."

But before the family celebration would commence, Phillips had one last win light to turn on and had this to say of his final round and his opponent, Charlie Stewart.

"I felt like I was on pretty good, but the thing I've always said is, you have people and you think you're really on and he's struggling, but you can't look at it that way," he said. "That guy is in the finals just like I am and he went through six people just like I did and that's how I look at it."

"He had a good run," Phillips continued. "He got the lane he wanted, I would have rather been in the right lane and I certainly didn't back down at all. I felt like I was going to need a really good run to win."

Phillips did have a really good run in the final, putting together a .014 package to Stewart's .052 and easily taking the Super Gas win.

To achieve and maintain success on this level is no easy feat and Phillips is quick to point out that having products such as those manufactured by K&N, and used widely on all his race entries, is a key element.

"You know you pick your product, whoever it may be and I can't even imagine being successful racing without a pretty good relationship with a handful of key people," he said. "And with K&N, that's really a special deal."

"I have had at length conversations with Steve [Williams], where you are talking about air flow and how does this affect a throttle stop. You are actually able to bounce off engineering type information off of a guy that's at the race track, and wow, how much help is that," he continued.

"To have that type of product knowledge and information available from K&N right there at the track is a very big deal to me and not to mention K&N's products for the street vehicles, actually are so superior and advantageous to any OEM vehicle parts," stated Phillips. "We run them on both our diesel and gas vehicles."

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's Dave Connolly Wins NHRA SportsNationals Race at National Trail Raceway

Oct 6, 2010

Propelling dragsters down the quarter mile well before he was even licensed for the street, Elyria, Ohio resident Dave Connolly seemed destined to become a winner from an early age. And at the ripe old age of 27, he's already accomplished more than many folks can only dream of in a lifetime.

Dave Connolly wins Super Gas during the NHRA SportsNationals held at National Trail Raceway

With numerous victories during the 2010 season in the NHRA sportsman ranks, spread over several categories, Connolly has also been able to dabble in what could be his true love, NHRA Pro Stock, last month during the Concord, North Carolina race and two more appearances planned for Reading and Pomona.

His most recent victory came in Super Gas during the NHRA SportsNationals held at National Trail Raceway just outside of Columbus, Ohio.

"I've always been a drag racer at heart," Connolly said of his drag racing experiences. "Jumping back and forth is something I have kind of always done. With jumping back and forth between Super Comp and Super Gas and then being fortunate enough to get to spend a lot of time behind the wheel of a Pro Stocker has been great, but it's been a huge learning curve as well."

"The key is, you make so many runs inside your head, that is just comes natural to you when you get into the car," remarks Connolly of all the different cars and classes he competes in.

Another important facet to Connolly's drag racing career, and maybe even helps add to his multitude of successes, is that continues to race right alongside his dad, Ray Connolly, who was also competing at the Columbus event.

"It's definitely a family sport and you see that a lot at the track," he said. "It's like anything, I'm probably more excited to see when he wins and he more excited when I win. We have been very fortunate to get out there and get to race together."

"From the time I was ten years old, we were just the typical father-son going to the race track," he continued. "Even when I was fifteen-sixteen years old, he kind of took a step back to let me race and we bought a dragster and kind of jumpstarted my career. So I owe everything to him and now for us to be able to go out there and do this together, week-in and week-out is definitely a lot of fun." While the father-son duo take turns driving their various team cars, it was a borrow car that Connolly took to the winner's circle during the NHRA SportsNationals.

"Ron Erks has been pretty busy with his family lately and instead of letting his Vette sit, he told me to come out and race it," noted Connolly. "It's worked out well. I've got to race that pretty much all year and he comes out when he can, like for Reading when I'm running Pro Stock he's going to bring his car and my dragster and compete in them."

Connolly was competing in both Top Dragster and Super Gas during the event and although a serious racer anytime he lines up, his mind seemed to be more wrapped up in the dragster during the Columbus race.

"I was really concentrating on Top Dragster," he admitted. "We had that Jeg's shootout Saturday night and it was my last race to claim in Top Dragster to try and take over the division lead again. That's kind of what I went there to do and I drove that car extremely well, I just didn't have any luck on my side."

Connolly's Top Dragster day ended in a real close match-up with eventual event winner, Jeff Brown.

"That's how racing goes and I was kind of like, well it's something you never want to do in racing, but going through the motions in the Vette," he said. "After I lost in Top Dragster, I was down to eight cars in Super Gas and I thought, ‘Man, I could win this thing if I get my head outta my butt and start driving.'"

"Drag Racing is such a mental sport and it was all on me," he continued. "And I finally got focused in on the tree in the later rounds."

Connolly came on strong in the Super Gas car just in time for his semi-final match up with Rock Haas and one of the closest pairings of eliminations, where the margin at the stripe was just mere .0004, or less than an inch.

That would set him up for the final with Billy "Ice Man" Smith.

"I kind of felt like this was a revenge weekend," laughed Connolly. "Twice this year I've red-lighted to Rock Haas. One was in the later rounds of the divisional at Mid-Michigan and then I ran Billy Smith, who's won everything under then sun, at Norwalk and lost in a close double-breakout. So the last two rounds with Rock and Billy, those guys beat me up all year, so it was nice to get back at them at a National event like that."

The many successes that Connolly has enjoyed comes from not only being a great driver, but utilizing the best equipment and parts available to ensure the car will be ready to make it through the harsh conditions of encountered over a long weekend and making it to the final.

For Connolly one of those he and his dad insist on is the protection provided from K&N Engineering.

"We've used K&N products for many years now and that's all we've ever trusted," said Connolly. "Our oil runs through their filters and the air that goes into our engines goes through their filters. You don't have to worry about that part of the engine maintenance by using K&N, the products are just top-notch and they are a great company to work with."

Even when Connolly steps away from his sportsman racing and back into NHRA Pro Stock, K&N's high performance products follow. "K&N are the ones who put a lot of R&D into their products and of course, the Pro Stock car I'll be running at a couple of NHRA Nationals yet this year has the K&N specially designed Pro Stock scoop," he added.

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.

Brett Moffitt Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race at Dover International Speedway

Oct 5, 2010

Brett Moffitt at NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Dover International Speedway

Brett Moffitt won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Dover International Speedway in Delaware for the second year in a row, taking advantage of an engine failure that took out pole winner Max Gresham in the season finale.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East racer Brett Moffitt

Moffitt, a developmental driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, won his second East Series race of the year and his first since the June 6 race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. It was also the fourth East Series win of his career.

Moffitt took the lead from Gresham on lap 149 and held it for the final seven laps of the race. Moffitt started the race in third and ran with the leaders for most of the race.

Darrell Wallace Jr., Moffitt's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, crashed on lap 36 and brought out the second caution period of the race. When Wallace crashed, it opened the door for Moffitt to pass him and finish second in the East Series standings.

Brett Moffitt wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Dover International Speedway in Delaware

"This is phenomenonal. The win really hasn't set in yet," the 18-year-old Moffitt said following the race on Sept. 24. "When we saw the 6 car (Wallace) up in the wall, we knew that gave us second in points, which is one position higher from last year. When that happened, then that was just time for me to go, dig hard and have fun. Once that happened we just let loose."

Gresham won the pole, but Cole Whitt, who started on the front row next to Gresham, led the first 25 laps of the race. Whitt crashed in the turn 2 wall on lap 25 and fell out of contention. He finished 26th.

Gresham took over the lead in the race and held it for the next 42 laps. He led a race-high 84 laps, but had engine trouble at the end of the race.

During a green-white-checker flag finish, Gresham's engine blew. He was leading, but had to withdraw from the race. Moffitt took the lead and went on to win.

Moffitt became the first driver with multiple East Series wins at Dover in 10 visits to the track.

Corey LaJoie finished second, his best career East Series finish. He was third at Dover in last year's East Series race. "The second is almost a win - besides being the first loser," said the 18-year-old LaJoie. "We made lemonade out of lemons I guess you could say. Overall it was a great day because we didn't have the car and we came home second."

Ryan Truex, a developmental driver for Michael Waltrip Racing, finished third and won the East Series championship for the second year in a row. The East Series championship was decided when Truex took the green flag. He started sixth and made up ground when cars dropped out at the end of the race.

"When you win one, it's pretty tough. To go out and win two in a row with the level of competition this year with the Cup-affiliated teams and all the awesome drivers that have been coming into the series, it's been a lot tougher this year than it was last year," the 18-year-old Truex said. "It was a lot harder-fought battle through the year. Every race was a struggle. You had to be on top of your game every lap, all race, all year."

Truex won two races and finished 134 points ahead of Moffitt in the final East Series standings. He had eight top-five finishes in 10 East Series races in 2010.

Mike Greci, the crew chief for Truex, won his fourth East Series championship. He won the past two with Truex and won two with Mike Stefanik in 1997 and 1998.

"The amount of top-three finishes and top-five finishes - with no DNFs - I think is pretty remarkable," Greci said of Truex's performance in 2010. "To win one championship is incredible, and to win one race is incredible, but to come out and win five out of 20 races and I think 14 or 15 top fives is pretty remarkable."

IZOD IndyCar Series Danica Patrick, who is driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in select NASCAR Nationwide Series races, led three laps and finished sixth in her East Series debut.

Eddie McDonald finished fourth, followed by Dale Quarterly in fifth. It was Quarterly's first East Series race of the year and his first top-five finish since 2006.

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Werner-Springsteen Racing's Bryan Smith Gives Kawasaki First K&N Grand National Win

Oct 5, 2010

Bryan Smith has always been a great mile racer according to Werner. Photo by: Yve Assad for TheFastandDirty.com

Before the start of the K&N Filters Grand National Championship race on the legendary Indiana State Fairground mile oval, bets were being taken on which manufacturer would take the coveted Indy Mile prize, when the checked waved race history had been made, when Werner-Springsteen

Indy and Springfield the Kawasaki's simply out powered the competition. Photo by: Yve Assad for TheFastandDirty.com

Racing's number 42 Bryan Smith captured the first AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship aboard a Kawasaki. And, to further punctuate Kawasaki's arrival on the big dirt-track racing stage, Smith repeated his historic performance by winning the following week at Illinois State Fairgrounds.

In both events the second place Harley Davidson's were simply out powered and out ridden, and for Kawasaki's fabled AMA Hall of Fame mechanic Bill Werner, that just has to be extraordinarily satisfying. For nearly 40 years Werner was the wrench on the Harley Davidson's that carried Gary Scott, Scott Parker, and Jay Springsteen to a total of 13 AMA Grand National Championships and 150 total wins.

Smith gave Kawasaki their first K&N Grand National Championship victory and notched a piece of racing history. Photo by: Yve Assad for TheFastandDirty.com

Werner has a vision of two-wheel nirvana that persistently redefines itself through him, it's a vision he continues to share with longtime friend and partner Jay Springsteen.

"Obviously, we had things working very well at Indy and the following week at Springfield. That doesn't mean we don't have more questions to be answered. Every time we race the bike, Bryan, Jay and I learn more about its unique characteristics and apply them to the racetrack. It's still a work in progress," said Werner.

The two wins are huge for the team and for Kawasaki as they prove that there is a viable and inexpensive addition to the lists of brands capable of winning on big stage. Photo by: Yve Assad for TheFastandDirty.com

In regards to Bryan Smiths stellar back-to-back races Werner says, "Bryan has always been a great mile racer having won previously. His real strength is his communication skills, and being able to turn those feelings that happen in a micro second, into intelligible dialog that both Jay and I understand. We then try and come up with solutions to whatever he may be trying to communicate to us to help him succeed. Jay is a great communication link because he has also raced at a high level for many years, and I am very familiar with his terminology, having worked with him in the past."

"Winning Indy was huge for the team for many reasons," commented Werner. "It was viewed by many in the international press because they were there to report on the GP road race the next day. It helped to prove that there was a viable and inexpensive addition to motorcycles capable of winning on the Grand National twins circuit."

Even greater than his ridding skills are Smith’s talent for sharing intelligible feedback regarding the motorcycles nuances on the track. Photo by: Yve Assad for TheFastandDirty.com

Since Werner's first attempt at retirement didn't take, we wondered if he had anything new in the works that he'd care to discuss. "After proving that another alternative to dirt track racing can be built, the next challenge would be to satisfy any demand that those successes may have created. I have plans this winter to try to do just exactly that."

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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