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Kevin Yoder clinched the Sportsman Class Championship in the final round of the 2009 VORRA Series. It’s the first time a Rock Buggy competed in an entire desert series and walked away with the title.
The King of the Hammers will kick off the 2010 racing season for 2009 VORRA Sportsman Champion Kevin Yoder
Yoder started the 2009 season with his eyes on the grand prize. “I knew I had a shot at the title through consistency, but I didn’t think I would win races,” said Yoder. “I chose this series because it involved a mix of short course racing and desert racing. I was also looking for the next challenge.”
The VORRA Series combines desert racing and short course off road racing
The veteran off road racer, rock crawler and open desert racer took two first place finishes in the long 250 mile desert races and was only two minutes shy of a third win. “VORRA has a long history of great racing and competitiveness and it remains a family type event,” said Yoder. “I look forward to participating in VORRA again this year.”
The final round of racing was a short course race in Prairie City, California. Yoder began the race and rolled the rock buggy 1 ½ times in the 3rd turn. It took place right in front of the grandstand crowd. On the restart Yoder choose the more conservative throttle control option. He did not need to race to win the championship, but his competitive spirit took over and managed to maintain the lead for about half a lap. He finished mid-pack and clinched the season championship by 101 points.
“The rock buggy has less top speeds than most desert cars, but he 4WD allows me the ability to drive harder out of the corners and through the rough courses,” said Yoder. “We’re looking forward competing this year and sport our new fast red color.”
Yoder’s first race will begin with the King of Hammers Off-Road Race in February. He is anticipating another 20 plus race season after the Hammers with VORRA, Nor Cal Rock Racing, CalRocs and the Grand Slam Off-Road Series.
“I’ve used K&N products for at least 20 years,” said Yoder. “I use K&N because I come up with the specs I need for my vehicles and go through the K&N catalog and find the K&N filters I need. K&N is also cost effective and gives me great filtration as it protects my engines from course debris in off-road racing.”
2009 NHRA Lucas Oil Super Gas Champion Ray Connolly has been a feared competitor in the NHRA Super Classes for the last decade, racking up over a dozen national event victories in Super Comp and Super Gas.
K&N sponsored racer Ray Connolly is the 2009 NHRA Super Gas Lucas Oil World Champion
The K&N sponsored racer has been a consistent top ten finisher in the NHRA national standings. His 2009 Super Gas World Championship comes on the heels of back-to-back top ten finishes in that category. He was seventh in 2008 and fourth in 2007. Connolly earned the 2009 title on the strength of a dominating campaign in Lucas Oil Divisional events, where he claimed victory on four occasions.
Ray Connolly plans to start the 2010 NHRA racing season around the end of February
“I don’t really have an explanation for my 2009 success at divisional events. I’ve been chasing the NHRA tour since 2002,” said Connolly. “I don’t think I did anything differently, it just fell that way last year.”
Connolly needed every bit of his outstanding 699 point total, (the highest Super Gas total
last decade) to fend off K&N sponsored racer
Mike Ferderer, whose score was 689 points. The two racers engaged in a back and forth battle for most of the season, with each posting consecutive victories on their respective coasts throughout the 2009 campaign.
Early on, Ferderer looked to be the runaway 2009 champion, but Connolly overtook him in the standings in August on the strength of back-to back LODRS wins in Stanton, Michigan and Cordova, Illinois.
Connolly then scored his national event conquest of the season, at the JEGS SportsNationals in Columbus, Ohio. That win came after his allotted points in national events had been completed, and did not count toward his final tally.
Connolly’s national event triumph was bitter sweet. Ferderer claimed a third LODRS victory of his own that same weekend, and won the Division 6 finale at Champion Raceway. That put Ferderer back in the lead for the championship chase
with only one more event to win for both drivers.
Connolly entered the NHRA Division 2 finale in Reynolds, Georgia will a tall order. Win the event and surpass Ferderer in the points chase or settle for second place. Connolly did the unthinkable and won the Super Gas category. He also doubled with a victory in Super Comp. Connolly also posted a perfect 9.900 elapsed time to cap his perfect day.
“This is a great accomplishment, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to pursue the title and come out atop a great group of competitors,” he said. “My hat is off to Mike Ferderer, Mike Sawyer, Val Torres, Jr., and the rest of the top ten, along with all of the NHRA Super Gas racers. If this class was not so tough, this accomplishment would not mean so much. I also want to thank my sponsors including K&N Filters. K&N filters protect my engines from track debris and help me get to the podium.”
Connolly plans to start the racing season by the middle of February. “I slipped on some ice in Ohio and broke my ankle,” he said. I’m going to pass on racing
at the start in Florida, but I should have almost the same schedule as last year.”
Until then, Connolly has plans to attend a NHRA Division 3 awards banquet in Indianapolis. “I’m going to hobble up to the podium,” he said. “But I’ll be back in my cars soon enough.”
Chico, California’s Jonathan Allard raced to his third victory in four starts at Western Springs Speedway in Aukland, New Zealand. Allard is driving the Kevin McGreal owned Hydraulink, Porter Hire No. 0 sprinter with K&N products.
On New Year’s Day K&N supported racer Jonathan Allard took a third place finish in the feature at Robertson Holder Speedway in New Zealand
On New Year’s Day Allard took a third place finish in the feature at Robertson Holder Speedway in New Zealand. There, he closed in on winner Sammy Swindell and second place Ricky Logan but ran out of laps.
Jonathan Allard uses K&N in the United States and when he competes in New Zealand
The two-time King of California came back to the track on Wednesday night and charged from 11th position to third in the second heat race. Allard then picked up a win in the third heat for the pole position in the 30 lap main event.
At the waving of the green flag New Zealand champ Dean Brindle got the jump into the first set of corners. Allard followed along in second. After a pair of cautions, Allard attempted to make an inside move on the lap 11 restart, but could not make it stick. He was forced to settle back into second place. The 33-year-old veteran charged around the outside of Brindle in turns three and four to take the stop spot.
“We’ve been on a roll since we came to Australia in late November,” said Allard. “We use K&N oil and air filters along with K&N’s carbon fiber air box. K&N gives us an edge with power and filtration in sprint car racing and is dependable every time.”
Allard, the former Silver Dollar Speedway track champion will be back in the United States soon for the regular sprint car season. The World of Outlaws kicks off in February in Florida.
K&N supported driver Ray Cook gained momentum from his Ice Bowl triumph in 2009 to have a banner year, which included twelve trips into victory lane.
K&N supported racer Ray Cook hopes to repeat his 2009 Ice Bowl victory this weekend at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Alabama, photo by Thomas Hendrickson Photos
The Brasstown, North Carolina racer hopes to have the same kind of year in 2010. He is geared up to tackle the Ice Bowl this weekend at the Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Alabama.
K&N supported racer Ray Cook hopes to have the same kind of winning year in the New Year, photo by Rick Schwallie
Ray Cook is back in action at the Hornet's Nest hoping to net a $6.000 payday
The Late Model Dirt Series racer will drive his D&R Motorsports No. 53 MasterSbilt House Car with K&N products. “Our K&N air filters protect our engines in this type of dirt racing,” said Cook. “We count on great filtration and additional horsepower for our engines with K&N.”
Cook is slated for qualifications and heat race action at the track dubbed the “Hornet’s Nest,” which is one of the biggest dirt-track races in the country. The consolation races and 50-lap feature event are scheduled for Sunday. The winner of the 2010 Ice Bowl will receive a $6,000 payday.
Cook’s upcoming 2010 schedule includes:
January 9-10 | Talladega (AL) Short Track, Ice Bowl | $6,000 to win
February 1 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $5,000 to win
February 2 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $5,000 to win
February 3 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $5,000 to win
February 4 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $10,000 to win
February 5 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil | $10,000 to win
February 6 | East Bay (FL) Raceway Park, Lucas Oil (TV) | $12,000 to win
Wendy Mathis is driving on dirt for the first time in her racing career at Parramatta Speedway in Australia
Wendy Mathis was amazed at how comfortable she felt driving on dirt for the first time in Craig Skene's car
K&N sponsored racer Wendy Mathis is Down Under for her first dirt wingless sprint car races
Mathis had a top ten finish at TyrePower Parramatta City Raceway in Australia during her third event
K&N helped Wendy Mathis get into the Cory Kruseman Sprint Car and Midget School just before she flew to Australia
K&N is the filter of choice for Wendy Mathis Racing, on and off the track
Wendy Mathis was bitten by the racing bug at only 12-years-old. By the time she was 16, Mathis earned 75 feature wins driving quarter midgets. In 1993, the Floridian became the first female to win her state’s Quarter Midget Championship Series.
Mathis then moved up to Three Quarter Midgets with the Florida Midget Racing Association and picked up three feature victories with the FMRA. She also finished second in overall points for the 2000 season.
Two years later, Mathis name went into the record books when she won her first Tampa Bay Auto Racing Association
Race at the Charlotte County Speedway in Punta Gorda. This race marked the first time a female won a feature event in the history of the TBARA. It was also the first time a female had won a main event race with a major sanctioning body in the state of Florida.
This year, Mathis will continue to compete in the TBARA series and in the O’Reilly Auto Parts United Sprint Car Series Asphalt Thunder Series. In the meantime, she has taken a trip to Australia to drive for Craig Skene and compete at Parramatta Speedway.
“Australia is full of firsts for me,” said Mathis. “I’m here and driving on dirt without a wing. I want to thank K&N Filters for helping me get into the Cory Kruseman Sprint Car and Midget School just before I flew over here. There was a lot of learning in a short amount of time and it really helped me out tremendously.”
Mathis made the A-Main for her first feature race at Parramatta Speedway. “I came home in 18th position,” she said. “I finished on the lead lap and the car was in one piece. Even though our night got off to a rough start it ended up being a successful night overall. I enjoy running on the dirt.”
The weather interfered with racing in Australia and two races were cancelled. “I was really looking forward to racing at Dubbo, but
we were rained out and we went back to the famed TyrePower Parramatta City Raceway
where the weather was better,” said Mathis. “I started 22nd and finished 16th in the A Main, not bad for a girl starting 22nd against guys that have done this for a while now.”
Racing continues to improve for Mathis during her Australian adventure. “The weather was closing in on us again this week,” she said. “Because of this we were only able to run one heat race on January 6. I ran 8th the entire race until the last lap. We had a top ten finish in my third race, not shabby for a pavement girl.”
K&N is the filter of choice for Wendy Mathis Racing. “I’ve used K&N filters for years, so I trust the reliability that they offer,” she said. “When K&N told me that we could get parts shipped over to Australia to put on Craig’s car, my mind was at ease. I knew that the engine would perform and all I have to do is focus on the driving.”
“I was really looking forward to putting the K&N products on the car,” said Craig Skene. “Especially the air box for the V6 engine we have to run over here. I could feel the difference in the throttle response of the car with K&N.”
