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Joey Mancari talks about his role as NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Director and shares some insight from behind the scenes. NASCAR officials Butch Schaefer and Bob Jacobs explain the technical requirements that all race teams must comply to in order to race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. Jonathon Gomez, a Pro Series driver, tells us about himself and his racing team, Heritage Motorsports.
A Close Look at NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Racing with Director Joey Mancari Video
Justin Johnson, Dusty Davis and Luis Martinez Jr., three professional NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Drivers, explain how they began their racing careers and what challenges they confront while on the race track.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Drivers Prepare for Race at Irwindale Speedway, California Video
The peristyle and triple-jump took a toll on Cruse's rehabbing vertebrae.
Team K&N Rider/Suzuki City's Sherri Cruse's first return to racing after a back injury was X Games 16, her first X Games and according to Cruse, it wasn't her best showing. And for good reason, during the first outdoor race of the season Cruse fractured her T7 and T8 vertebrae, along with severely spraining her wrist.
Team K&N Rider/Suzuki City's Sherri Cruse's first race back after her injury was the physically daunting 2010 X Games.
"Rehab has taken longer then I really wanted," says Cruse. "The hardest part was not being active, or on the bike. I am just now getting back to my full training schedule and it's the end of August, but things are going great."
The first X Game practice was on Wednesday at the Los Angeles Coliseum and it went well enough. But, there are two triple-jumps right after the start, which comes right after a long runway down the peristyle, and it has an extreme steep face and landing, and that took a toll on Cruse.
The peristyle and triple-jump took a toll on Cruse's rehabbing vertebrae.
The peristyle jump takes riders 120 feet from the floor to the top of the stadium, between the infamous arched columns (hence the name peristyle), where riders then make a U-turn and launch back onto the stadium floor. It's an impressive feature and unique in Supercross racing, and it can be brutal to riders even in the peak of conditioning.
The second practice was cut short due to a delay in the schedule, and the third was a timed-qualifier.
"I had some issues with my back hurting and just was not feeling like myself during the timed qualifier," said Cruse. "I used the time to try to learn some of the rest of the track, but I was not doing the triples. My qualifying time was off from where it really should have been."
The race was held on Thursday and was carried live on ESPN. Cruse had the outside gate, which was a disadvantage in her opinion. And because of the live television coverage there wasn't time for a sight lap though, but the track hadn't been ridden much so it was fine. Cruse says she was pumped for the race, much more then she had been for practice.
"I got a good jump off the gate and a decent start, running in third or fourth. Right after the first rhythm section I was high in the berm, and another racer came in and slammed into me. We both crashed. My throttle was stuck in the other bike's rear spokes. Her bike kept running, mine died, and I was in dead last. I got going again, but the main event was only six laps (a little over six minutes), and I finished a disappointing eighth."
"The X Games really put me in check - I thought I was ready," remarked Cruse. "Although I struggled in some of the practices, when it came to race time, my adrenaline really kicked in. I was still stoked to be a part of the event though."
Cruse grew up racing motocross and then switched to the World of Off Road Championship Series (WORCS) for a while. She won the Women's Pro WORCS in 2006.
"I went pro in the outdoors after that and focused again on riding moto-cross. I had ridden a lot of arenacross style tracks growing up, so I was pretty excited for the X Games. I rode the Women's Super X the first year they ran it, which was 2008, and I took home a Silver medal. That was one of the biggest moments for me."
There are three races left in the WMX Nationals that Cruse plans on racing in next. "I might do a few WORCS races in the fall too," adds Cruse. "I just started riding and training with Destry Abbott (professional motorcycle racer with successful clinic in Glendale, Arizona) and I think that will end up being really helpful."
It was another unplanned occurrence that put Brown behind the wheel of a vintage 1971 Alfa Romeo T33 at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
"Actually it was quite a ride. I had just finished doing the season prep on the car and upgraded it with a new sequential transmission. I wasn't scheduled to race the Morgan that weekend and I just happened to get thrown into the car about ten minutes before the Sunday morning warm-up.
Shaking down a steering issue in the LS7 powered Morgan Aero 8 GTR is how Paul Brown got seated in the car. A first in class and fourth overall at the Road America road race was the result.
Those were my first laps in the car since last year, not to mention the new combination, and holy crap, what a difference! It's such a well balanced car that is just a joy to drive... good power, great breaks, awesome handling and the light weight makes it a real contender."
That's K&N sponsored Paul Brown commenting about piloting his LS7 powered Morgan Aero 8 GTR to a first in class and fourth overall at the Road America road race run at Elkhart lake, Wisconsin, all the while battling against the big dogs.
"I started fifth in a really strong and diverse field, with everything on track from a Le Mans winning Audi R8, to Trans Am series tube chassis cars, and Daytona Prototypes."
The ultra lightweight Alfa Romeo with a 3.0L V8 that revs to 9500 rpm, was it's like driving a big shifter cart according to Brown.
"I took the Morgan quickly to the front and proceeded to battle a Trans Am car, and JC France in his Daytona Prototype, lap-after-lap. We all ran very close and clean the whole race. I bobbled late in the race and let JC France get by in his DP car, so I ended up finishing fourth overall and first in class by almost 20 seconds," adds Brown, indicating that if not for his slight driving gaffe, he would have been standing third on the overall podium.
Brown has had an intimate relationship with performance and racing for well over 25 years, he satiates those desires through racing and as General Manager for Tiger Racing. Brown has competed against some of the best drivers in road racing, finishing in the top-ten in over half of the events he's entered.
It was a fortuitous steering problem during the Road America race, however, that not only kept him intensely focused throughout the experience, but it was the very reason he was in the Morgan in the first place.
"Yeah, a problem with the steering rack is how I got put into the car. We had an issue with the power steering rack and it turned out that it was bleeding pressure past one of the seals. This caused the steering to be a little vague. Left was fine, right was a guess for most of the race. I just had to take my time and feel out the steering before I committed to the turns. It was a little unnerving a couple of times, but I quickly adapted to the situation and concentrated on the race."
"K&N has been a fantastic company to work with both on the product side with the superior quality of their filters, but also on the technical side with the depth and knowledge of its staff," articulates Brown.
"I have had many conversations with K&N's technical department on almost all aspects of our race engines, which has helped us work through many issues over the years."
Regarding his schedule for the rest of the season Brown says, "Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Ultimate Track Car Challenge this year. It came down to bad timing... too many events back-to-back, and we just couldn't work out the logistics. This did open up an opportunity for me to race a vintage 1971 Alfa Romeo T33 at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. That little Alfa is a killer car. Ultra lightweight with a 3.0L V8 that revs to 9500 rpm, it's like driving a big, shifter cart."
"As with all "vintage" cars, it seems that you're always chasing glitches," continues Brown.
"This time it was the Lucas mechanical fuel injection. Even with the problems, we managed to put on a hell of a show running from 15th to third, and posting fastest lap by almost two seconds in the '66-70 FIA group. Then we also ran with more modern cars in the '71-76 FIA group, where I piloted the T33 from 25th to seventh. I had a lot of fun sliding the car around in front of the crowd while moving towards the front. They seemed to enjoy it too."
For the last part of the season Brown says he is honored to drive the K&N G35 in the Redline Time Attack Series, plus he will try to fit in the NASA National at Miller Motorsport Park.
We are also finalizing the details on a return to the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge Series for next year with a possible end of the year debut at Miller in October," says a thoroughly booked-up Brown. "I'll keep you posted."
When asked how he got involved in racing Chris had to take a pause and consider. "I guess you could say I was born into it. Dad's been runnin' since he was 17, and I've been around it my whole life. I started in Legend's cars when I turned 14" says Gerchman.
Gerchman says he started in Legend's cars when he turned 14"
A couple years later, he moved into the modified class, and as his successes progressed moved up to a modified where he currently runs with the Lucas Oil series. During the first race of this years' season, he destroyed his car due to what turned out be a pit error. They scrambled to get the car back together before race two, and succeeded. That scramble certainly paid off. He has won the last four out of five races, setting a record in his class for number of wins in a row by the same driver. He is sitting 2nd in points, and is only behind by four points with five more races to go.
When discussing some of his favorite moments, Chris shared that he recently ran in a shootout race that did not include points, just dollars at his first race at the Toyota Speedway. He started at the back of the pack, and with three laps to go, had managed to move into 3rd place against two seasoned heavy hitters. One was racing at his home track, and won had 25 wins behind him. Twice he was close to making a final pass to take the lead, and twice the 1 & 2 leaders made moves that caused caution flags and restarts. He's pretty pumped about what could easily have been.
When discussing what the future holds, Gerchman says "We have bought a Super Late, and are hoping to be ready by the end of the year for a test drive at the showdown race at Irwindale's Toyota Speedway, and maybe then move into some Camping World West type of racing." Long term, his goal is to continue to race professionally, paying his own way until he makes it to the top. Chris' confidence is well founded. He has already made a name for himself in a very short period of time.
He was introduced to Bob Harris of K&N by a friend of a friend, and two years ago they became a product sponsor. "I absolutely love their products," says Chris. "They are the best in the business. I use their air & oil filters, as well as their breathers for the crank case. K&N is a true friend to the racer."
