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Martin's Polaris Outlaw 450 MXR has been dialed into near perfection by mechanic Dave Porter and it's powered by a Baldwin Motorsports motor, with suspension expertise from Fox Shox.
Daryl Rath from Hutchinson, Minnesota, has been racing quads and winning for over 24 years, he's become an icon of the sport. Through his dedication and hard work he took a hobby and his passion for racing and built a company around it. Since 1992 Rath Racing has been designing, engineering and manufacturing some of the industries finest high quality components for ATV's and UTV's. The fruits of his labor are plentiful, not only with the success and popularity of his products, but also with his results on the racetrack.
Mechanic Dave Porter says that Martin works very hard at every event and he is perhaps the best rider he has ever worked with.
Casey Martin, aboard his Factory Polaris Rath Outlaw 450 MXR continued his relentless assault so far this year at the AMA ATV Motocross ATV National, at Pleasure Valley, in Armagh, Pennsylvania. Martin earned to two first place motos, winning the Pro Am Production class. The momentum that this team is building is undeniable this season, and with this latest victory by Martin, they find themselves making a little history as well. This was the first AMA Pro Am MX win for the Factory Polaris/Rath Team.
When asked about his stellar performance this weekend Martin stated, "It was awesome to be able to put this Polaris on top, I knew what I had to do this weekend and as the race went on I knew my chances of winning were there and I didn't want to get over excited. I just kept reminding myself to ride smart until the checkers flew. We have done all the right things to this Polaris Outlaw; I know I will finish out the year strong."
Dave Porter who has been Martin's mechanic all season added, "In talking with Daryl Rath I told him I had some really good ideas that would put some more power to the ground, we agreed and it turned out my ideas were spot on. I am excited for
Martin, Polaris, Rath Racing and myself for being able to be part of something like this. Martin works so hard and has always had the best attitude, he is one of the best if not the best rider I have ever worked with."
Rath went on to add, "Casey has continued to get extremely comfortable on the Outlaw. He feels the bike is a contender and the changes we are making now are really just small adjustments to keep him out front."
Rath explains that he started up a relationship with K&N back in 2008, at the same time his team resumed racing for Polaris. "We use quite a few K&N Filters and cleaners in all our race vehicles,from the Polaris Outlaw 450 , the MX and TT , the Polaris Sportsman 850XP, and our RZR's. We also utilize K&N products in all our tow vehicles."
Says Rath, "We are going to continue to focus on both the GNCC Utility Class and the AMA Motocross in Pro Am for 2010. We are excited to add the RZR portion to our program and feel that there should be some good new opportunities there as well."
The big $1500 pay check was all the incentive Mike Faccinto needed to earn his first win of the season.
Team Faccinto from Hanford, California runs two drivers, brothers Michael and Mitchell Faccinto. Mike at age 20 is the oldest and has been racing 11 years. Mitchell at 18 has been racing for nine years. They both race in the very spirited Micro-Sprints class and it comes as no surprise that the two brothers push each other competitively, yet we understand that they never lose sight of the fact that family is always top priority. It's an ideal race environment that fosters going fast, with an accelerated learning curve.
Team Faccinto brothers made it a first and second sweep at the Tachi Nationals Micro-Sprints event at Lemoore Raceway.
Mike has been consistent all year, hovering near the front of the pack, but had yet to make it into victory lane. At the Tachi Nationals, hosted by Tachi Palace and Casino at Lemoore Raceway, with a 1,500 dollars purse on the line, Mike picked the right time to put it all together and win.
Lemoore Raceway is a 1/6 mile dirt oval located near Lemoore, California. The track is specifically designed to be used for micro-sprints, midgets, and other small cars. After managing only one lap of qualifying due to motor issues on the second lap, Mike still qualified sixth. With an extraordinary effort from Team Faccinto and Gordon Seros, the team was able to swap motors in time to make it for Mike's heat.
Mike went on to win his heat which set him up for the eight-lap trophy dash. All the team's hard work paid off as Mike finished second in the trophy dash, which positioned him along the outside front row of the main event. With a 50-lap main event Mike understood that patience would indeed stand to be a virtue. His fortitude was rewarded, as countless yellows waved, the race leader ran out of fuel with only five laps left to go. Mike reaped the advantage from that mistake and led the race to the checked flag. Mitchell, who started sixth in the event, was not far behind making it a Faccinto first and second sweep.
"It feels amazing to get the first win at the biggest race of year," exclaimed Mike. With this win Mike is currently the solid points leader at Lemoore Raceway.
"My win total is now at six" explains Mitchell, "and we're hoping to better the ten races we won last year." Mitchell is the current points leader at Plaza Park Raceway in Visalia, California.
Team Faccinto is making every effort to defend both track titles this year as the competition level is increasingly on the rise. On average 25 to 30 Micro-Sprint cars compete on any given race night at this time.
The Faccinto brothers extend a special thank you to K&N for their continuing support. "We have had a strong four year relationship with K&N, using air filters and oil filters, and they are key to our success."
Jeremiah was all smiles as he crawled into his new custom built side-x-side for the first time.
To anyone that has ever raced, be it a mountain bike over rolling grassy hills for the sheer joy, or an SR-71 at Mach-three through hostile skies for freedom - there exists a very astute reality on the extreme opposite end of victory. The racer's edge is thinly honed and the laws of probability declare that some shall fall. On any starting line, of any race ever, that truth plays into the entire adrenalized, competitive equation. It compresses time and crystallizes our focus so we can temporarily find balance with speed. It is that very relationship which makes racing so formidably addictive.
The wide stance of the Lone Star components and the Fox shocks deliver the perfect fit for Jeremiah's riding comfort.
Jeremiah Jones was one of the leading Quad racers in the country, until a crash caused him paralysis in 2006. Still extremely passionate about racing, and well respected in the ATV community, Jeremiah Jones now runs Team MUSHIN racing as Team Manager.
"Yeah, it's always different with every rider - understanding how they get themselves to going fast, and how they find the drive to compete. For me personally it was just the way I was raised. My mom and dad were such a big reason for the way I raced. My calmness came from my mom, and my determination came from my dad. It's all in what you believe that makes all the difference," states Jones.
The RZR is specifically outfitted with a gull wing driver's door and hand controls.
During Round six of the AMA ATV Motocross Series in Millville, Minnesota, Jeremiah Jones was presented with a new race ready Polaris RZR. Jeremiah was ushered to the announcer's stage for an interview right before the first pro moto. In a surprise move, Jeremiah was then presented with the RZR. The custom side-by-side was specifically outfitted with a gull wing driver's door and hand controls.
Wes Miller at H-Bomb Films built the custom Polaris RZR for Jeremiah to show gratitude for all he has done for the sport, and to give him something he can get back out onto the track with.
Jones took the RZR back home to Kentucky and has been putting it through the rounds on his practice track. After a lap on his track, Jeremiah said, "It blows me away that I have something like this! All I can say is that the machine handles like a dream. The wide stance of the Lone Star components and the Fox shocks are amazing. It rides so nice, and it doesn't beat up my back."
"The best thing is that I have my freedom. It is like I have my legs all over again. Oh, and I get to jump the heck out of it! My family and I greatly appreciate everyone that contributed to the RZR. It's time to go play and kick some butt. Thanks again to all the sponsors, such as K&N, and to Wes Miller for making this possible."
"My plans are to race again someday. Now that I have this RZR, its returned a great deal of inspiration to have some fun again. I have built a new shop and plan on opening a business soon."
"I don't know what I want to be, but college is going to be in my future, and I hope racing will always be a part of my life." That's a quote from eleven year old Elizabeth Pyles from East Prospect, Pennsylvania, one of K&N's youngest sponsored drag racers.
Elizabeth Pyles at Maple Grove Raceway
Elizabeth and her family traveled to Maple Grove Raceway last week, where she lost a close race on Saturday in the second round, and followed that up with a trip to the finals on Sunday. In the final she was runner-up to none other than the current points leader. An overall terrific showing for the soon to be sixth grader. With the journey being the thing, Elizabeth thoroughly enjoyed her trip to the finals, beating the last two winners of the event, and the previous week's runner-up - indeed a highly competitive group. Elizabeth currently sits in seventh place in track points.
Elizabeth's interest in racing came as a total shock to the family explains John her father. John says he can however pin it down to the day when the racing bug triggered her genetic imprinting. It was a fall day in 2007, Elizabeth and her mother Tonya, and her sister Jordan, went to Maple Grove to watch her grandfather, Dave Leonard race Pro-Eliminator. The exploding horsepower - the roar of the crowd - and Elizabeth was in.
John also remembers getting the call at work from Elizabeth after that fateful race - "Daddy I want to race." This is her third season and she is still all smiles and loves racing and hanging with all her track friends says John.
"Right from the get-go though she understood that school came first and she does exceptionally well," remarks her justifiably proud father.
She is also involved with band, playing the flute, chorus and a number of additional academic enrichment courses. She has game as a basketball player and was a Girl Scout. All the while she has managed to excel in school, maintaining an A-average and being one of only a rare few in her class to receive the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence.
"Racing has helped provide new challenges and allowed us as a family to experience so much," expressed John. "The opportunity to establish the relationship we have with K&N has been fantastic and rewarding. Everything from the tremendous products, to the amazing support everyone there provides us, and so many others in this sport."
"K&N is our only choice for air, fuel and breather filters to protect the engine in Elizabeth's dragster, along with protecting our tow and support vehicles with intakes and filters. This provides us with the confidence to make trip-after-trip to all the tracks we compete at.
"We look forward to the remainder of this season, and to some of the large races to come at some familiar tracks, and those we have not been to yet. We continue to thank everyone at K&N for being with us, and allowing us to represent such a great product and company."
Kopp's victory marks the first time that a readily available, production engine has won a Grand National Twins race in 29 years
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports welcomes 2000 Grand National Champion, Joe Kopp, to navigate the mile races aboard the team's new Ducati Flat Track Racers in the AMA Pro K&N Filters Grand National Championship in 2010. "Kopp has the option to ride the Ducati or his trusty XR750 Harley on the half-mile tracks, effectively giving him the best of both worlds as he competes for the championship," says David Lloyd of Lloyd Brothers Motorsports, Inc.
Joe Kopp and his Ducati-powered motorcycle
Kopp wasted no time, taking the Ducati-powered motorcycle to its' first ever Grand National Flat Track victory at Yavapai Downs Mile in Arizona in his very first race with the new bike. The victory marks the first time that a readily available, production engine has won a Grand National Twins race in 29 years. "Limited production, flat track race-only Honda RS750 and Harley-Davidson XR750s have won every Twins National since 1981," says Lloyd.
Joe Kopp gains Grand National Flat Track victory at Yavapai Downs Mile in Arizona
In the season opening round, and Ducati's third ever attempt at winning a modern era Grand National, Kopp proved that a modern production engine can win a Grand National Flat Track race. The Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Ducati Flat Track Project began just a year ago, when Ducati Superbike rider Larry Pegram approached friends and flat track team co-owners David and Michael Lloyd about the potential of Ducati's air-cooled engine as an ideal flat track platform. Pegram Racing and Lloyd Brothers Motorsports joined forces to build a stock-framed dirt track bike from a Ducati Sport. "After a quick shakedown by Pegram, the bike entered the 2009 Springfield Mile, where it immediately proved a formidable opponent to the dominant Harley-Davidsons qualifying for the 18 rider main event directly from the heat race," says Lloyd. "It has been close to 50 years since a stock framed motorcycle qualified for a Grand National Twins Mile main event."
In the Twins season opener, Kopp took the lead at the start, drafting past Sammy Halbert on the final lap to take the checkered flag by .025 seconds. The Arizona Mile was also a significant event as the Ducati upset Harley Davidson on the Mile, something no other manufacturer has been able to do for 17 years. In the second Twins race of the year at the famed Springfield Mile, Pegram and Kopp qualified for the main event w/ Kopp finishing fifth, just 3/10 of a second behind second place, with Pegram finishing 9th.
Lloyd Brothers Motorsports is proud to be able to bring new brands of motorcycles to Flat Track racing. "The diversity of the machinery in the class has definitely lead to increased visibility for what many consider the most competitive form of motorcycle racing in the world," says Lloyd. "The Lloyd Brothers team depends heavily on K&N Engineering products. Professional flat track racing is often a very dirty, dusty and brutal environment for equipment. With K&N air filters and oil filters, we know that the inside of our engines stay as clean after the race as they were when we unloaded them from our transporter. Thanks K&N, for your support of our team and the AMA Pro series."
