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K&N supports stunt riders like Randy Callicoat who finished 13th in XDL round 3
Bill Dixon accepts first place plaque for Individual Freestyle at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California
K&N air and oil filter helps “Krazy” Kyle Rapport finish 8th in Individual Freestyle at XDL round 3
Stunt Rider Bill Dixon wins the Individual Freestyle contest at XDL Round 3
K&N Circle Challenge champion Luke Emmons
Eric Whitcomb said he receives more power when using K&N Air Filters
Started in 2005, the XDL Sportbike Freestyle Championship was created to give sportbike riders a means in which to connect the growing stunt riding culture with mainstream sports fans. Randy Grub, an event promoter, saw potential in stunt riding and created a series. According to Grub, XDL is a “culture first and a sport second. The XDL Freestyle Championship combines urban culture, music and style more akin to skateboarding competition than an AMA Superbike race.”
Grub said “XDL has doubled in size each year.” The number of professional level freestyle athletes is growing and the competition is becoming fierce. Grub would eventually like to see sportbike freestyle competition make it into the X-Games. “I look for strong brand names like K&N; which align with the XDL image,” he said, “Corporate sponsorship is really important to the series.”
XDL competition consists of several events. Most notably is the individual freestyle contest; which decides the national championship. During this event, athletes are given three minutes to piece together a run that covers all the required competitive elements. Other events include the Sickest Trick, Freestyle Burnout, and Circle Challenge competitions. For round three at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA K&N was the title sponsor of the Circle Challenge. The K&N Circle Challenge is a head-to-head event in which riders compete to be the first to finish 10 circle wheelie rotations.
K&N caught up with several of its sponsored sportbike freestyle athletes during qualifying. “Krazy” Kyle Rapport, a 24-year old hailing from Santa Ana, California, qualified well and had a strong finish in the Individual Freestyle event. Kyle finished eighth in round three and currently sits 12th overall in XDL Championship FMF Cup Points standings.
Krazy Kyle rides a 2003 Kawasaki ZX6R 636 with stunt modifications; which include: a rear handbrake, cages to protect the engine, and K&N products. Kyle protects his valuable engine with K&N air filter part number
KA-6003 and wrench-off oil filter part number
KN-204. “My bike runs awesome,” said Rapport “K&N is awesome!”
Also in attendance at XDL round three was K&N sponsored athlete Randy Callicoat. Callicoat drove to Irwindale,
California from Arizona. Randy said he picked K&N high-flow air and oil filters for high-performance bikes because they cover the two biggest maintenance products found on his stunt bike. Callicoat had a strong finish in round three, managing 13th place and is 17th overall in points. Randy said “I would like to thank K&N for supporting stunt riders and for helping to make stunting mainstream.”
Eric Whitcomb, a K&N supported Corona, California athlete, made a strong showing in the Aprilia All-Star Challenge. Whitcomb runs K&N products both in his competition bike and the truck that he uses for traveling to events. “With K&N air and oil filters my stunt bike gets more power in the low end," said Whitcomb. "I can also feel the increased horsepower I received when I installed a K&N air intake system on my truck. You can’t go wrong with K&N.”
Follow Rapport, Callicoat, Whitcomb and the whole XDL Freestyle Championship throughout the season at the K&N news site.
The Ford powered K&N Black Stallion and Ford powered K&N Iron Warrior were part of the Monster Truck Invasion in Winchester, Virginia. Driver Michael Vaters organized the motorsports event and brought in a lot of the Monster Truck heavy hitters.
Trey Myers in the Ford powered K&N Iron Warrior took the racing win in Winchester, Virginia
Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion launched skyward and demonstrated Michael Vaters driving skills
Avenger, driven by Steve Koehler, Chris Bergeron drove Brutus, Jay Snyder was behind the wheel of the Screamin’ Demon, Tim Bee in the Killer Bee and Tim Mente drove Storm Damage played in front of the crowd.
Michael Vaters in the Ford powered K&N Black Stallion took the Freestyle win with his wild and crazy exhibition
The Avenger Monster Truck flips over during Freestyle Action in Winchester, Virginia
Rain and dangerous thunder storms moving through the area cancelled Friday night’s event, but the system passed through and the Saturday event held a full house of Monster Truck fans.
The evening started out with the Wheelie contest. Each driver put big air under the trucks but Michael Vaters in the Ford powered K&N Black Stallion took the wheelie win.
The track was wet from all the rain but the track crew did its best to keep it in shape. Round one racing paired the Ford powered K&N Iron Warrior, driven by Trey Myers against Killer Bee. Myers moved on to the next round. Brutus beat Screamin’ Demon and the Ford powered K&N Black Stallion beat Avenger. In the end it was Black Stallion paired against team mate Trey Myers in Iron Warrior. The wet track worked out well for Myers in the Iron Warrior. His gears allowed the truck’s tires to dig into the dirt and he beat Black Stallion in the finals.
In the freestyle competition Monster Trucks skated across the track and went high in the air. The 700 pound tires slid the trucks in circles for the cyclone donuts. Michael Vaters won the freestyle event in the Ford powered K&N Black Stallion.
Vaters uses K&N products. “We use K&N air and oil filters,” he said. “We’re hard on motors at every race and K&N protects our engines. K&N can handle the Monster Truck scene.”
On Sunday, the wheelie contest was the first event of the day. Each truck launched off the cars and went high into the air. Freestyle action was high and tight as the drivers maneuvered the huge trucks and demonstrated their driving skills. The Avenger flipped over his truck toward the end of his exhibition and Vaters took the second freestyle win of the weekend.
The Black Stallion Team next heads out to the West End Fair in Gilbert, Pennsylvania.
Australian rider Jason Crump increased his lead in the World Championship Grand Prix Series at Vojens Stadium in Denmark. He remains in the points lead despite missing out on the Grand Prix final for the first time in eight rounds.
Australian Jason Crump has a 36 point lead in the World Speedway Grand Prix with only three rounds left in the series
Jason Crump missed out on the Grand Prix final for the first time in eight rounds at Vojens in Denmark after losing to Poland's Sebastian Ulamek
Crump was squeezed out of the semi-finals of the FIM Dansk Metal Nordic SGP after losing out to Poland’s Sebastian Ulamek in Heat 18.
Australian Jason Crump, Sweden's Niels Kristian Iversen and Poland's Grzegorz Walasek at Vojens Stadium in Denmark
Jason Crump and Russian Emil Sayfutdinov in the FIM Dansk Metal Nordic SGP at Vojens
“It was not a good day at the office,” said Crump. “I was too slow letting the clutch out and couldn’t get to the first corner quick enough. I have to work out what I did wrong and make sure I don’t do it again for the next GP.
Crump could only manage eight points from his five rides and thought his lead in the championship would be whittled away. But his main challengers also had problems. Poland’s Tomasz Gollob only picked up seven points and may have fractured two ribs in the race. American Greg Hancock only picked up ten points despite reaching the semi finals. As a result, Crump’s 35 point cushion before the meeting became 36 points after the race.
“The bikes were fine,” said Crump. “It was me that was out of tune. It’s amazing that I increased my lead in the championship so I’m happy about that.”
There are three rounds left in the World Speedway Grand Prix and Crump hopes to become a three time world champion. “In my sport filtration is the most important thing for reliability,” said Crump. “Reliability wins
me races and World Championships and that is why I rely on K&N bike filters. I race on the dirt and keeping the dirt out of the engine is critical along with letting my engines breathe for maximum performance. K&N works every time.”
Round eight of the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship takes place at Krsko in Slovenia on September 12.
“The weekend was one of ups and downs” according to Del Rougeux Jr. of Rougeux Motorsports. The Frenchville, Pennsylvania racer drives his Chevy powered race car in the Big Block Dirt Modified Division. According to Rougeux, “Friday night did not start out the way any driver or crew wants it to.” Rougeux was involved in a first lap wreck during his heat race at Lernerville Speedway. Considerable damage to the front suspension ended his night.
Frenchville, Pennsylvania racer drives Chevy powered race car in the Big Block Dirt Modified Division
Realizing that wrecks are part of racing, Rougeux Motorsports kept their noses to the grindstone and managed to rebuild the car in time for Saturday night’s Bill Emig Memorial Race at Mercer Raceway Park. “Mercer Raceway Park has not been one of the kindest tracks to me,” said Del. However, by the end of his 8-lap heat race the car was handling well and Rougeux took third. By the luck of the draw Del pulled a number one and started the main event in the pole position. Rougeux led the first 5 of 25 laps before
a second place competitor made a successful pass for first. The crew made a few adjustments to the car under caution and with 9 laps remaining Del chased down the leader. “On the restart, I took the lead back,” he said. Hardwork and determination paid off for the Rougeux Motorsports team. At the end of 25 laps Rougeux won his first race at Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pennsylvania.
Dirt Modified racer will hit the road with K&N air filters for his next events in central New York
Del Rougeux Jr. won his first race at Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pennsylvania
“The car handled perfectly everywhere I took it on the track,” said Del, whose car was not the only thing that worked perfectly for him. “We race in very dusty conditions. When I pull my K&N air filter off after a race there is absolutely no dirt in my carburetor. The seal on the K&N air filter lid also does a great job of preventing debris from passing by the air filter element.”
In addition to K&N Air filters, Rougeux uses K&N’s wrench-off oil filter. “The K&N oil filter is great, with all the movement and ruts we deal with on the track, there is never any pressure fluctuation on the gauge,” he said.
Unfortunately, Sunday was another tough night for the Rougeux Motorsports team. During a battle for the lead in his heat race, a broken rear axle forced him to retire from Sunday’s race. Rougeux faced some challenges over the weekend but said the victory Saturday night was one that was much needed.
Another busy weekend of racing is ahead for Rougeux and his team. They’ll be traveling to central New York for two more races in Brewerton and Canandaigua before heading home to the Tri City Speedway for Sunday’s race. Follow the Rougeux Motorsports Team's progress throughout the racing season at the K&N news site.
The starting line of the Best in the Desert 1000 mile Vegas to Reno off-road race
Stuck in one of the most desolate areas in the United States, the Torchmate Ford Ranger crew waits for rescue
Brad Lovell is looking forward to the Primm 300 and the XRRA National Finals in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Two hundred race trucks kick up a blinding amount of silt across the desert floor from Las Vegas to Reno, Nevada, photo by Chad Jock Photography
Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno race is one of the longest and toughest point to point races in the United States, photo by Chad Jock Photography
The Torchmate Racing Team finished 4th in the 7200 class and 63rd overall in the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno 1000 mile race
The 2009 Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno 1000 mile race is raw. The treacherous terrain is full of rocks, silt, whoops and danger.
“It’s also death defying at times,” said racer Brad Lovell. “But we did it to face challenges and test our abilities. We also tasted the freedom of the untamed wild.”
The BITD off highway race began in Nevada north of Pahrump and ran through Beatty, Tonopah and Hawthorne before it ended southeast of Dayton. “We prepared for this race for months,” said Lovell. “After near destruction in the Baja 500, our No. 7231 Torchmate Ford Ranger was completely rebuilt.”
Each day of the three day race covered 330 miles. A moving camp of RV’s repaired the vehicles at night. Bill Kunz and Lovell charged into the dust prepared to win. “Two hundred race trucks kicked a blinding amount of silt in the air and the dust hung around for hours,” said Lovell. “The plumes could be seen across the desert floor miles away.”
Drivers drove into dust storms at 60 mph without being able to see past the hoods of their trucks. “There were times when I could not see the GPS mounted in the dash,” said Lovell. “The danger of speed was real, but the danger of stopping was even greater. If one truck slowed down, the next truck would ram into it. It’s even worse if you have to exit your vehicle.”
Kunz and Lovell went into a dry lakebed and laid into the throttle when a bush came into their view. “I thought we were done,” said Lovell. “The No. 7231 smashed into it and was launched into the air at more than 80 mph. Bill managed to maintain control and 230 miles later we reached our pit, changed driver crews and rehydrated.”
Later, the No. 7231 had a bad accident. The truck struck a series of jumps that cascaded it into a barrel roll and nearly ripped it apart. “The No. 7231 was on its side with an injured driver and frantic navigator,” said Lovell. “Our navigator ran on foot over two miles across the desert back to the pit.”
The cage was heavily damaged above the driver door and parts were scattered across the desert. Medics arrived and brought the driver to the hospital in Reno. “There was nothing else we could do and we formed a plan to push on,” said Lovell. “Our team repaired the truck and we took off.”
Lovell said he was distracted and wondered about the condition of his injured teammate. “As we continued down the course we hit silt beds,” he said. “If you stop in silt, you will never get going again.”
About eight miles from the next camp at Mile 690, Lovell faced a huge silt hill with rough boulders. “Our best efforts failed and the injured truck floundered,” he said. “Despite our best efforts to get out our chase crew rescued us.”
The pit crew started making repairs around 3 am and stayed up all night. In the morning the final leg of the race began.
“After a total of 996 brutal miles we crossed the finish line,” said Lovell. “Our injured teammate rejoined us at the finish line after being discharged from the hospital in good spirits.” The team finished 4th in the 7200 class and 63rd overall.
Lovell is looking forward to the Primm 300 if the No.7231 can be repaired in time. He and his brother Roger will also race for the title in the XRRA National Finals in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Roger Lovell uses K&N products. “There is a lot of silt and fine dust on these courses but our K&N air filters keeps the debris out of our engines and prevents our sensors from clogging up,” he said. “We need K&N air filters on these difficult courses.”
