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Carter knows how to win championships - winning in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009
In a world that measures racing prowess a quarter-mile at a time, where a single FIA Championship often suffices in defining a winning career, four-time FIA European Top Fuel Champion Andy Carter is indeed - The drag racing king of Europe.
Cater is a fierce and focused competitor and he's gunning for at least two more FIA European Championships
Carter got his start racing in the sportsman ranks, then switched to supercharged, nitro burning racing in his seven second Ford Popular, running it in the Outlaw Anglia Class. In the mid-90's Carter toggled up one more time, to the top-tier of the sport - Top Fuel Drag Racing. Carter's early years in Top Fuel didn't come as easy as his early successes, but his fierce competitiveness and focus refused to be hampered for long.
We caught up with Carter to see what future challenges sizzled within him.
K&N. We see from your schedule that you divide you time racing here in the states and in England, what are there some of the race differences worth noting? Also, do you actually ship your car back and forth?
Carter. The biggest difference in the FIA European Championships and the NHRA Championships is the money and sponsorships involved, but having said that, drag racing in Europe is seeing enormous growth. Although, compared to the USA, companies in Europe still don't seem to understand that you can get a great return for your money in drag racing. Performance wise, we are about 2/10ths behind the top NHRA teams. And I don't actually ship my dragster to the USA, it is more cost effective to hire a USA teams' Top Fuel Dragster and drive that.
K&N. If all goes according plan, what are your ultimate racing goals for the near future, and how did your last race go?
Carter. My ultimate racing goal is to win six FIA European Top Fuel Championships, having won them in 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2009, I know how to win, I've just got to keep doing it. My last race was in the USA at the NHRA Phoenix event, it didn't go great, I qualified 16th and lost in the first round to Tony Schumacher, but it was a great experience.
K&N. How do you see your relationship with K&N going?
Carter. The relationship with K&N is fantastic both here in Europe and the USA. K&N are great supporters of drag racing and I'm lucky enough to have been supported since 2003. And, I've never had one issue with any products we have used on the Top Fuel Dragster. We currently use K&N oil filters and specially made K&N filters on our five disc clutch system. We also use K&N oil and air filters on our support vehicles.
K&N. Any other plans for the coming season that you'd care to discuss, and where do you race next?
Carter. No new plans for 2010, same as normal. I would like to win the FIA Championship and do the best to get exposure for Lucas Oil, K&N and all my associate sponsors. Our next race is the first round of the FIA Championships, at Santa Pod Raceway (Northamptonshire, England), that's in May. I can't wait for that one. But, before that, we still have four static shows to do first.
The entire JJR team celebrates Johnson's victory - (From left) Junior Jenkins, Brad Puryear, Dustin Pope, Bobbi Johnson, Jason Johnson, Tim Courmier, Bob Simmons, and Scott Holder
Dreams, the realistic ones anyway, come true incrementally, a series of goals, little steps one at the time until one day - bam - there it is.
"For the 2010 racing season, my goal was to build my own racing team, Jason Johnson Racing (JJR) along with my wife Bobbi," reflects Jason Johnson, the Greenville, Texas native.
"Now that we have accomplished this goal, we will focus on showcasing all our marketing partners to the fullest potential on the track by winning races, and off the track promotions. Our on the track goals are to win as many races possible, and then capture the 2010 American Sprint Car Series National Championship. Off the track, we would like to promote everyone involved with JJR with great satisfaction."
Johnson has already taken one large step towards seeing the next piece of his racing dreams come to fruition, in only their second event out, Jason Johnson Racing placed first on the podium at Houston Raceway Park in Houston, Texas, competing in the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) Gulf South Region.
"For us to win in only our second night out was a great accomplishment. JJR would have to attribute our success to all the marketing partners like K&N, for becoming part of this newly formed team, and allowing us to utilize the best products on the market," comments a modest Johnson, deflecting the credit away from himself.
Johnson comes from a racing family, his father Craig raced all throughout his childhood, passing along all the ins-and-outs of the sport as he was growing up. At the young age of four, his mother Debra and his father gave him the green light to start racing go-karts. Johnson continued to move up, one step at a time, into different racing formats and styles of racecars, until in 2000, when Johnson earned his first fulltime ride opportunity driving Sprint Cars.
Johnson says the relationship between K&N and JJR has been a great win-win relationship. "It is definitely an honor for us to be associated with such a great and inspiring company, and to promote the best filtration system on the market," adds Johnson.
"We run K&N HP-3002 oil filters on all of our Don Ott Racing Engines. We also utilize the K&N Sprint Air Box to produce maxim power in the dirty conditions we compete in. With no engine failures during the last four seasons, we have to give credit to K&N for keeping our motors clean."
The next race for JJR is April, 9th, with the American Sprint Car Series National tour in Kilgore, Texas, then again Saturday the 10th in Little Rock, Arkansas. JJR's 2010 race schedule consists of 75 events in 14 states, from March to November.
PA Motorsport driver Darren Burke took his K&N Macon MR8 to a very convincing round one win in the HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship at Silverstone. The famous Silverstone National Circuit located half in Northamptoshire and half in Buckinghamshire, England, is best known as the home of the British Grand Prix.
Darren Burke piloting his PA Motorsport/K&N Filters Macon MR8 to a dominating first round victory in the HSCC Historic Formula Ford Championship at Silverstone. (Photo by Bear Media)
Burke in fact won the race from the pole position, having qualified with an impressive time of 1.04.824. "I was pleased with the time but it wasn't a perfect lap by any means," commented Burke.
Burke navigated a nearly flawless race around the 3.7 mile track in his 1970 Macon MR8 prepared by the PA Motorsport Team. Burke impressively increased his lead on all but one of the 20 laps (slowed once by backmarkers) to end up 26 seconds ahead of second place.
"It's particularly satisfying taking the pole position by 8 tenths of a second as we have had to add over 12kg (14lbs) of ballast to the car to meet the new car and driver minimum weight limit. We have gone a tenth under our own lap record so far which was set last season before the car and driver weight limit was introduced. It shows that despite the additional weight we have made other improvements to the car," explains team owner Peter Alexander. "It's wonderful to kick off the 2010 Championship campaign in style with a dominant win."
A few years ago, after purchasing, rebuilding and racing his first Macon MR8, Alexander was so impressed with the 1970 car that when the opportunity arose, he bought Macon Race Cars, complete with all of the original drawings, jigs and moulds, making them the Macon Works Team.
During the race Burke also managed to find that elusive perfect lap he felt he'd missed during qualifying - he lowered his own lap record to 1.04.619. However, one of the most satisfying moments for the PA Motorsport team came after the race at the weigh-bridge. Some of the other competitors had been convinced that with such an amazing pace, Burkes K&N Macon must be underweight. All eyes fell to the weigh-bridge as Burkes Macon was wheeled on. Burke then stepped onto the scales with the car and it came to rest at precisely 500Kg. The new minimum car and driver weight is just that - 500kg or 1102.31 pounds.
"To see the look on the other competitor's faces was great," recounts Alexander. "Some of them were convinced we must have been running underweight to enable such lap times, but we have improved various areas of the car over the winter, one of those being the K&N air filter, and every area counts."
Round two of the Championship takes place at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire on April 11th.
Forsberg led every lap in route to grabbing the early points lead in the Silver Cup
360 Sprint Car Driver of the Decade Andy Forsberg's quest to dominate the next 10 years of open wheel dirt racing is off to a great start. Forsberg picked up his first feature win of the year on March 26th when his Brian Cannon Motorsports entry dominated the A main at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA. Forsberg, who was also named the fifth best 410 Sprint Car Driver of the Decade, led every lap in route to grabbing the early points lead in the Silver Cup.
Forsberg is looking for his record 5th Civil War Championship while trying to bring awareness to Autism
"The team was real excited for this race. The K&N Filters, Coors Light, Autism Awareness car has been good early [in the season], but the finishes just haven't been there…this week the car just kept getting stronger, and we started on the front row in the main. The track was in great shape, and we really had no problem negotiating lapped traffic. I could drive the car anywhere," said Forsberg.
The team followed up their first 360 win of the season with a fifth place run at Placerville Speedway in the first 360 Spints point race of the year.
The ride with Brian Cannon Motorsports is a new one for Forsberg, but he said the team was full of confidence, and it was just a matter of time before they picked up win number one. "With a new team, you always wonder how everything is going to pull together, but it has. We had a winning car at all three races so far, and everything finally fell in line last week," said Forsberg, winner of four Civil War Championships.
While winning races and a fifth Civil War Championship is the ultimate goal, the Brian Cannon Motorsports team is extremely excited for the month of April. The #47 car is a strong supporter of Autism awareness, and April is Autism awareness month. Last week the team participated in the Autism Awareness Fair in Chico, and they will fly the colors of www.autismspeaks.org on the car this season while competing at various events.
In the faster 410 cars, Forsberg brought his A&A Motorsports car home in fifth at his home track in Placerville on March 27th.
With the season in full swing now, Forsberg thinks the target on his back could be bigger than ever. "I've been winning races and championships for 10 seasons now, but I want that fifth Civil War trophy bad. The competition is incredible this year, and it's going to take some consistency to win. We have some ground to make up, with one DNF this year, but if anyone can do it [win the Civil War], I think I can."
No stranger to the winner's circle, K&N racer Dave Connolly battled his way through a tough pack of Top Dragster competitors to take the Wally for the first time at an NHRA National Event in Top Dragster this past weekend at the 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dave Connolly gets Wally in NHRA Top Dragster National Event
"The event was just incredible," said Connolly. "I've always been a fan of bracket racing, which Top Dragster is pretty much like, and I have driven a dragster since I was fifteen. Even before I drove a car on the street."
"Always being a fan of speed, Top Dragster is a like a perfect fit for me, "he continued. " You qualify the fastest thirty-two cars and it becomes a bracket race after that."
Being a new class offering at select NHRA National events for the first time in 2010, many who have competed in the class in other sanctioning bodies have been chopping at the bit for their chance to compete on the "Big Stage". And due to the popularity of the class, it almost kept Connolly from being able to enter the event when the entry field was full well before the cut-off date.
"I got real lucky getting in to the Charlotte event on the last entry day," he explained. "The field had been full, but there were a couple of late openings and I'm so happy I was able to squeeze in."
Getting into the event wasn't the only last-minute task for Connolly.
"Early in the week, they were calling for rain on Friday and I was thinking if they have to set the field based on one run, I'm going to be in trouble. I didn't even put the nitrous on the car until Wednesday afternoon," he said. "So with never running the fogger, I made the one run we got and was able to get into the show."
While Connolly looks forward to getting back behind the wheel of an NHRA Pro Stock car, he continues to stay fresh by competing in several different sportsman categories, including Super Comp and Super Gas, in addition to Top Dragster. It's these same classes where he has already struck gold this season including his NHRA Divisional victory at the Gainesville event, when he wheeled his Super Gas entry to the win.
His win this weekend in Top Dragster didn't come quite as quickly. Thanks to Mother Nature's rampage on the event, which was plagued with rain more days than not, there was quite a lot of down time for the sportsman racers including the delay of the final rounds until Monday.
"It's tough to stay concentrated during all the rain delays like we had this weekend and when we got up on Monday morning, it was still wet and drizzling," said Connolly. "NHRA did an incredible job and it didn't take them long to dry the track and the track conditions were really good."
"I don't know what it is," he laughs. "Even when we were racing Pro Stock it seems like every rain delay we ever had and then had to finish the race on Monday, we would find ourselves in the winner's circle."
Connolly averaged a comfortable .016 light though the five tough rounds of competition, finding himself racing cars as much as twenty plus MPH faster, like his first round opponent and number two qualifier, who clicked off a 221.71 pass in his losing efforts to Connolly.
"It's somewhat new to me," Connolly says in reference to the speeds in today's Top Dragster class. "I've raced 7.30 bracket cars for years and you start going 6.70's at almost 200 MPH, that's a little different look for sure at the top end."
"When I ran that guy first round and I didn't see him, I'd give it a rip and look back again and he still wasn't there. I gave it a rip again and I didn't really pick him up until about three-hundred feet before the stripe," he continued. "He was coming on hard, that's for sure and it makes it a little more difficult to drive against cars with that much mile-per-hour."
"To be able to pick up the first ever Top Dragster win at an NHRA National is just something else. I actually didn't think about that part of it until driving up the road from the event," he said. "The whole experience was just incredible."
"We were really happy to get out there and give K&N the exposure we could with the Top Dragster win. Both my dad (Ray Connolly) and I have worked with K&N and used their products for a very long time. We always use their oil filters and air filters and have even helped them do some testing on their K&N Dragster Scoops. K&N is top of the line in all those categories, especially their filters. We really thank them for sticking with us all these years and look forward to our continued relationship."
