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The Monster Jam driver line-up read like the credits on a Hollywood movie at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Black Stallion flies the K&N Flag at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio
Major air and carnage were part of the tough competition at Monster Jam in Ohio
Michael Vaters and the Black Stallion, Vaters teammate Trey Myers driven by Iron Warrior, Grave Digger driven by Pablo Huffaker, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with Aaron Basl, Bounty Hunter with Darren Migues
were part of the pack. The competition also included Rap Attack driven by Dave Rappach, Martial Law with Paul Strong and Bad Habit with Joe Sylvester.
Iron Warrior had problems with a faulty starter in Cleveland, Ohio
Monster Jam continues at the Wachovia Arena in Barre, Pennsylvania
The pit party was packed with fans so officials extended the opening time so the crowd could meet the drivers and get pictures taken with the monster trucks.
A wheelie contest was the first event on Friday evening. Grave Digger took the win with a 29 and Black Stallion tied with Bounty Hunter for second place. Racing continued to be close all weekend and photo replays were used to determine winners.
Michael Vaters worked his way through the freestyle field by defeating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in round one. He also defeated Grave Digger in round two. Each truck was pushed to the limit. “The competition was so fierce I pulled out the reverser,” he said. “I did a backwards jump over the van stack.”
Black Stallion and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle broke rear axle parts. “The race of the day was in the pits between both teams with wrenches and parts,” said Vaters. “The crew guys were flying to get everything done at break neck speed.”
The repairs were done and Vaters made it back to racing. Unfortunately, a faulty starter plagued Iron Warrior and Trey Myers was unable to make it for the race. Vaters was narrowly defeated in the semi-finals against Martial Law. Vaters uses K&N Engineering products. “We use K&N’s injector 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 Saturday, Vaters was off to a raging start at the beginning of the show and took the win in the wheelie contest. “Rap Attack broke a rear axle and Martial Law lost a motor,” said Vaters. “With drivers out of the competition all of the remaining drivers turned up the heat to make sure the crowd got their money’s worth. The racing was very close and freestyle included some major air and more
carnage.
The Black Stallion and Iron Warrior will be in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania at the Wachovia Arena this weekend.
An annual racing tradition takes place in Glenco, Alabama at Green Valley Speedway. It is named the Bama Bash and hosted racers from all over the country
for 12 years.
Dirt Track Racer Ray Cook will drive his D&R Motorsports No. 53 with K&N air and oil filters in the Bama Bash, courtesy of Thomas Hendrickson Photos
Ray Cook, also known as the Tarheel Tiger around race tracks, is contending for a $7,500 top prize in the Super Late Model Division. He will also compete in the Crate Late Model portion of the Bama Bash where a $3,000 winner’s check is on the line.
K&N sponsored racer Ray Cook will compete in the Crate Late Model and the Super Late Model Divisions at Green Valley Speedway in Alabama, courtesy of Thomas Hendrickson Photos
Cook won once last year at Green Valley Speedway and ran fourth in last year’s Bama Bash. The Brasstown, North Carolina native will drive his D&R Motorsports No. 53 with K&N air and oil filters 75 laps around the dirt track in the Super Late Model Division. In Crate Late Model he will drive 50 laps.
Qualifying for starting positions at the Bama Bash in heat races will be 15 laps and drivers earn starting positions depending on their finish in heat races. “Our K&N filters protect our engines from flying mud and debris,” said Cook. “K&N also gives us additional horsepower and filtration. I’ve used K&N for a decade and would not use anything else on the race track, my race shop and on my personal vehicles.”
Cook’s last race was at the East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Florida. He entered six shows during their Winternationals and transferred his MasterSbilt race car into the feature event twice. Cook finished eighteenth in a $10,000 to-win Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and passed fifteen cars to run eighth in a rain postponed $5,000 to win event.
Cook will also race at Boyd’s Speedway in Georgia at the end of February in an unsanctioned $3,000 to win event.
Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California is virgin territory for James Buescher. The 18-year-old Sheridan, Texas native is scheduled to compete in Fontana for the first time in his third career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver James Buescher will compete at Auto Club Speedway, photo by Ronda Greer
“I’ve never seen the place,” said Buescher. “You can’t really prepare for a track until you’ve driven on it. But you show up, you go practice and figure it out by lap two.”
The International MaxxForce Diesel team will use an updated chassis in Fontana. Crew chief Jamie Jones expects it to be the team’s primary truck at the intermediate tracks throughout the season. Buescher will drive the MaxxForce Diesel Ford F-150 equipped with K&N filters. “K&N gives us the maximum horsepower we need in our Roush-Yates engines,” said Buescher. “We can depend on K&N for its reliability.”
“I’ve played the NASCAR video games, but they only give you an idea of track mapping,” said Buescher. “They don’t’ tell you what the truck is going to do at certain points on the track. Every track that we visit is going to be new for me this year because I haven’t been in a truck at too many of them.”
Buescher captured his second career ARCA RE/MAX Series victory in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway. The Circle Bar Truck Corral Racer’s first series win put him in the record books as the youngest winner in the ARCA RE/MAX Series history.
Buescher is competing for Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year honors this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is currently fifth in the Rookie of the Year standings following a 26th place finish last weekend at Daytona.
The San Bernardino County 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is at noon on Saturday, followed by the Stater Bros. 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series Race around 4:30 p.m. The Auto Club 500 starts Sunday at 3 p.m.
Former NHRA Pro Stock World Champion Greg Anderson broke track records with his 2009 Summit Pontiac at Pomona, California
Dan Fletcher drove Rick Braun's Chevy Cobalt to his 57th National Event Win at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California
Warren Johnson raced his K&N Pontiac to the No. 5 spot in Pro Stock at the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals
Dan Fletcher has winning on his mind in Super Stock at the NHRA Lucas Oil Slick Mist Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona
Thomas Fletcher, will drive the family 1969 Camaro in NHRA Stock at Phoenix, Arizona
Mike Ferderer's K&N Filters car with its K&N Hood Scoop and air filter will compete in Super Gas in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Phoenix, Arizona
The NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series continues in Phoenix, Arizona. It will be a welcome relief for the racers after days of rain at the Winternationals in Pomona, California.
Racers there faced changing track and air conditions as well as changes to their tune-ups at the season opener for the NHRA at the Auto Club Raceway. Despite the heavy downpours several K&N sponsored racers left Pomona with bragging rights.
Former Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson set the national ET record using a K&N Hood Scoop (100-8508) on his Summit Racing Equipment 2009 Pontiac GXP. He broke both ends of his own 6.615 at 209.39 mph track records with a 6.58 at 209.50 mph. By the end of the week Anderson reset the track and national ET record at 6.528. Anderson’s teammate Jason Line almost set the speed record. Line also has a K&N hood scoop on top of his Summit Racing 2008 Pontiac GXP.
“The K&N hood scoops are great,” said Greg Anderson. “Jason and I had them on our cars all weekend. Our track records using the K&N hood scoops speak for themselves. The hardest part was keeping it together for six days at Pomona while the rain came down. I only got one run until Tuesday, then on Wednesday I was able to make three runs and Jason made four.” Anderson said he is excited about Phoenix and looking forward to dry weather.
Warren Johnson raced his K&N Pontiac to the No. 5 qualifying spot in Pro Stock with a 6.629 at 208.62 mph. His son Kurt Johnson qualified seventh. He is also looking forward to Phoenix.
Dan Fletcher, the NHRA Lucas Oil Competition Eliminator World Champion, continued from where he left off in 2008 and beat Doug Lambeck in the final round at Pomona. Fletcher drove Rick Braun’s Chevy Cobalt with an 8.03 on the 8.66 index to his 57th national event win.
“I’m going to Phoenix to win Super Stock in my K&N sponsored 1969 Chevy Camaro,” said Fletcher. “My son Thomas will drive our matching K&N sponsored 1969 Chevy Camaro in Stock Eliminator.” Fletcher will also drive the Chevy Cobalt in Competition Eliminator.
K&N sponsored racers Mark Faul will also compete in Super Stock and Stock Eliminator. Rock Haas and Gary Stinnett will
also compete in Stock Eliminator. In Super Comp K&N sponsored racers at Phoenix include Aaron Kinard, Jonathan Fiello, Sheldon Gecker Sr., Max Tafoya Jr., Andrew Madrid and Thomas Bayer.
K&N sponsored racer Shawn Langdon will compete in Top Fuel in the Lucas Oil Top Fuel Dragster along with Del Cox Junior who will drive the L.A. King’s RG Industries Dragster. Langdon and Cox have championships in Sportsman Class competition, but they are both rookies in Top Fuel. Langdon and Cox use K&N oil filter HP-5001.
Mike Ferderer will compete in Super Gas in Phoenix. “My K&N Filters car
is deadly on the track,” he said. “K&N is the reason for some of my best speeds and consistency.” Other K&N sponsored racers in Super Gas at Phoenix include Sheldon Gecker Sr., Max Tafoya Jr., Jim Momjian and Thomas Bayer.
In Competition Eliminator, other K&N sponsored racers in Phoenix include Brian Browell.
K&N is very proud of its relationship with the top racers in the world of drag racing and is looking forward to the 2009 season. The Lucas Oil Slick Mist NHRA Nationals take place from February 20-22.
Dirt and gravel can turn off road travel into a really rough ride in just a split second. The crews that took the Ultimate Adventure Four Wheeling Road Trip from the Black Hills of South Dakota to Rangely, Colorado saw and felt the geography change every day.
K&N sponsored vehicle negotiates the Ultimate Adventure Four Wheeling Road Trip
Caravan of off-road vehicles make it through tough off-road terrain in the Ultimate Adventure
For seven full days off-road rigs drove and four wheeled to the next adventure in the next state. “One day we’d four-wheel across a back road,” said Ryan Hagel, co-driver of the K&N sponsored vehicle. “The next day we’d drive on a main road on the way to our next destination.”
600 miles of travel was a typical day on the Ultimate Adventure Four Wheeling Road Trip
Off the beaten path, the Ultimate Adventure Four Wheeling Road Trip drivers met different types of terrain
The caravan of vehicles was similar to the
Hot Rod Power Tour and attracted a lot of attention at each stop. “Imagine dozens of decked out rigs and you get the picture. There was a lot of comradery on the invitation only annual event,” said Hagel. “Everyone worked together as a team. We kept break-downs to a minimum. We helped each other and no one got hurt. It was a success.”
Keith Bailey represented K&N and drove through the terrain with his 5.7 liter Hemi-powered engine with a Bruiser chassis. The vehicle was equipped with K&N air and oil filters. “K&N took us through the dirt and kept our engine safe,” said Hagel. “We got the extra filtration and power we needed under extreme off-road conditions.”
Other modifications included:
Engine: 5.7 liter Hemi
Transmission: 545RFE
Transfer case: Dana 300, Low Max 4:1, and STaK replacement case
Front axle: Solid high-pinion Dana 60, spool, 5:13 gears
Rear axle: Solid high-pinion Dana 60, spool, 5:13 gears
Steering PSC full hydraulic
Suspension: 14 inch Fox coilovers with air bumps
Tires and Wheels: 39-inch BFG Krawlers on 17-inch Poison Spyder bead locks
Other: Warn 9.5i winch
From the plains, to steep hills and rocks the caravan was treated to spectacular sights and intense trail action. “I hope to do it again,” said Hagel. “It was an awesome experience.”
