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The Race and Performance Expo is the largest trade show of its type in the Midwestern United States. One of the exhibitions in 2009 will be the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Championship.
Race and Performance Expo hosts Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Championship
On February 14 and 15 eight high school teams will compete on Saturday and six community college teams will compete on Sunday for the championship. The different teams are made up of invited students from auto technology classes.
High School and Junior College Teams will compete at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois
K&N is sponsoring Joliet Junior College and will send K&N shirts, hats and banners for the group. Each team consists of five students and one instructor. The groups tear down identically prepared small block Chevy engines the way pit crews do at drag races.
Students have to disassemble engines using hand tools. Air cleaner, carb, distributor wires, spark plugs, manifold, headers, heads, lifters, rocker arms, push rods, timing chains and covers, along with K&N oil filters, oil pans, oil pumps and all eight pistons come off. The cams and cranks remain in the engine blocks.
The teams then reassemble under correct assembly procedures and torque specs under the watchful eyes of judges and spectators. There are penalties for dropped components, improper tear downs, rebuilds and improper sportsmanship. After the engine reassembly is complete they must fire up and run.
The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge will take place at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois.
NHRA Sportsman Class racer Lindsey Wood begins her 2009 season in February at a Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Bradenton Motorsport Park in Bradenton, Florida.
1957 Corvette driven by Lindsey Wood
The McAlpin, Florida resident said she is excited about her 2009 season because she will be participating in Super Comp and Super Gas races. Her first National event will be at Gainesville, Florida.
Bradenton Motorsports Park's NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event will take place in February for Lindsey Wood
Lindsey Wood's first NHRA national race of 2009 will take place in Gainesville, Florida
“I’m going to win this year,” said Wood. “We put together a new motor and I’m really excited.” Her Super Comp car is a 2006 Undercover Dragster built by Matt Driskell with a 632 cubic inch big block. Her 1957 Don Davis Corvette is powered by a Jeff Taylor 509 cubic inch big block.
Wood has used K&N products for years. “K&N works every time we take it on the track,” she said. “K&N keeps the dirt out of our engines.”
Ryan Kaplan of Corey Tucker/Bryan Clauson Racing drove the K&N Filters midget at the 23rd Annual Chili Bowl Nationals.
K&N Sponsored racer Ryan Kaplan with his K&N Filters Midget at the Chili Bowl Nationals
Brake problems hurt Ryan Kaplan at the Chili Bowl Nationals
Kaplan had a rough qualifying night due to brake problems. “We were having trouble with the brakes gripping and letting go inconsistently in the C main,” he said. “I transferred out of that race and we put new brake pads in the rear caliper because they were glazed over.”
Ryan Kaplan will run the K&N Filters car during USAC Midget Week
Quick Trip Center's Tulsa Expo Raceway in Oklahoma hosted the 23rd Annual Chili Bowl Nationals
Kaplan pushed out to try and make it to the B main his brakes caused problems again. “I ended up missing the transfer from the B to the A main and that set me up to start in the F main on Saturday,” he said. “We
eventually figured out my trick titanium brake rotor was actually causing my problem.”
The light weight rotor was glazing up the pads instead of working properly. The
crew switched it out with a standard steel rotor and new pads. Kaplan’s brakes worked perfectly after that.
At the start of the F main, Kaplan jumped from fifth to third and was in a good position to transfer. “I decided to run the bottom and that is where I stayed for the remainder of the race,” he said. “I ended up slipping off the bottom
on the track and missing out on the third place spot. I was in fourth place unchallenged until I hit turn three on the white flag lap.”
Kaplan then saw a car on the top side making its move to pass. At the same time the car in front of him checked. He
made a last chance bid to stay in the top four but ended up getting bounced into sixth place.
Kaplan will be driving the K&N Filters midget at USAC Midget Week, the Belleville Midget Nationals, Knoxville Midget Nationals and a number of other events.
Kaplan has worked with K&N for more than three years. “K&N makes the best and most reliable air and oil filters on the market,” he said. “K&N keeps our motors running great.”
The Sno Drift winter rally returns to northern Michigan at the end of January and NOS Energy rally driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard is considered one of the top bets for the win.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X will compete in 2009 Rally America Campaign
ACP will kick off his 2009 Rally America campaign in Michigan on January 30-31. “Growing up on the prairies, I had plenty of opportunity to master winter conditions,” said Comrie-Picard. “I love Sno Drift, dragging the tail through a snow bank
at 130 mph is the essence of winter rally.”
X Games Rally Drive Andrew Comrie Picard kicks off 2009 with Sno Drift Winter Rally in Michigan
Team ACP has developed a reputation as a winter-weather threat. Comrie-Picard took the win at Sno Drift in 2006 and finished second overall at the event last year. “Winter driving is about taking calculated risks,” said Comrie-Picard.
“Success means taking as few chances as possible in conditions that can kick you
really hard if you make a mistake.”
From deep snow to glare ice ACP said he is equipped to face a whole range of
track conditions. Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb will contest Sno Drift in the NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. The team is also developing a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that they debuted last November in Canada.
Team ACP Rally uses K&N Engineering products on their vehicles. “I’ve used K&N since I began Rally racing ten years ago,” said Comrie-Picard. “We compete under tough conditions, with dust, mud and water splashes. We do the most extreme things we can do in a car and K&N is the perfect formula for our turbo charged motors. There is no compromise with K&N.”
The Rally America national championship includs nine events across the country, which begins with Sno Drift and wraps up in October with the Lake Superior Performance Rally.
Brothers Jared and Jeremy Nelson compete in the Pro Pulling League’s Super Modified 2WD Truck Class. Jared drives a 2008 Chevrolet named Midnight Revenger and Jeremy drives a 1941 Dodge Panel Van named the Midnight Gambler.
1941 Dodge Panel Van named The Midnight Gambler in the Pro Pulling League's Super Modified 2WD Truck Class
“In competition we pull a big sled hook-up device that weighs anywhere from 40 to 60 thousand pounds,” said Nelson. “Our tracks are 300 feet and as our trucks pull, the sled transfers more weight from the rear of the sled to the front of the track. We are hooked up to a short chain and as we apply more force on the front of the sled, it gets harder to pull as we go farther and farther down the track.” The box and the pan are the two major components of the sled. The weight comes from multiples of lead blocks inside the box.
2008 Chevrolet named The Midnight Revenger in the Pro Pulling League's Super Modified 2WD Truck Class
In the Pro Pulling League competitors are hooked up to a weight transfer known as a sled.
Jared Nelson was the 2006 Pro Puller of the Year with his 2004 Chevrolet. “We put in a new rear end on our
new 2008 model and a new computer system,” he said. “We hope these modifications help us pull straight
and far.”
In the Super Modified 2WD Truck Class vehicles sit low to the ground in competition. “We push to the edge and
have a tendency to blow up parts,” said Nelson. “It’s easy to tear up a motor in
the Pro Pulling Leage. One thing that saves us every time is our K&N oil filters. K&N stops debris from tearing up our engines. K&N oil filters hold up in the harshest conditions. I’ve been using K&N for almost seven years and won’t use anything else.”
In 2008 the brothers took 2nd and 5th place overall in the Illinois State Pro Pulling League group. The Altamont, Illinois brothers plan to hit all the PPL events in 2009. “We skipped a few events last year because of the price of gas,” said Jared Nelson. “My brother has a farm and I run a trucking company and
it was tough to attend everything. I’ve been pulling for 12 years even though the PPL officially began four years ago.
The bottom line is we’re officially addicted.”
The Nelson’s say it’s a great way to spend time with their families. “We travel together and get to know everyone on the circuit,” said Jared. “It’s like a racing community. When we’re off season
all we talk about is the first PPL competition of the season. It’s a lot of fun.”
Their first Pro Pulling League event in 2009 will be in May at the Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, North Carolina.
