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K&N's Tommy Phillips Locked and Loaded for 2012 Season Kick-Off in Pomona

Feb 10, 2012

Tommy Phillips' Super Gas Corvette roadster

With yet another NHRA Division 4 title under his belt after the 2011 season, Forney, Texas resident Tommy Phillips is set to hit the trail of what should prove to be another fantastic NHRA season with his stable of four K&N Engineering/CBS Arc Safe race cars, three of which he will drive in competition. The 2012 season marks the fourth consecutive year with K&N as the primary sponsor for the veteran racer.

Tommy Phillips' K&N Engineering/CBS Arc Safe Super Comp dragster

"2011 was an odd year," Phillips pointed out. "Certainly we are proud of how we finished, but when I look back at the very beginning of the season, the first few races I just didn't drive that well. I don't know why, but I just wasn't myself. For the first time in a while I was back to racing full-time, so I was really very focused on the business and marketing side of it all and maybe just not as focused on the driving side of things. If you want to know the truth, I just think I wasn't really ready to race and it really showed."

Phillips comes into the new year with twenty-five NHRA National events victories and a total of twenty-eight division wins already to his name and mentions that what he learned over the past season should help him add to that total in the months to come. "If you look at my points at the end of the season, for some reason I have always done well at the National meets and not so well at the points meets [division races]," Phillips explained. "I don't understand why, it's the same racers at all the events. But I think I finally came to the realization that I just don't get as up for the points races as I do the nationals. I mean, let's face it, they take as long to run, cost about the same to go to and don't pay out as much to win as the national events do. It's not all about the money, but it is part of the deal since you have to factor in what it cost to travel and so on. So by putting more focus into my point's races last year, it did pay off and we won four of them."

Tommy Phillips plans to bring his Super Comp dragster and Super Gas Corvette roadster to the 2012 O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals

"So by being more committed to the point's races, I was pretty happy with the outcome," he continued. "But what I really learned is that I need to be more consistent overall and that I needed to look at my season race schedule a little differently. I needed to not be out on the road so many races in a row and even if I had to travel a little more, how could I be home a little more and not have four or five races in a row. I even bit the bullet and hired someone full-time for the race team, someone who could take care of the rig and get it to the events for me, so maybe that would buy me another ten to fifteen days a year to be at home."

In addition to racing full-time, Phillips continues to work alongside his mom at home, overseeing the day-to-day operations of two large bingo halls. "By dividing up my schedule differently for this coming season, not only will it help me to be able to stay on top of things that I need to at home, with payroll and all the items that I take care of, but it will also allow me to go to several races that I normally wouldn't attend. So this season I only have one time where I will have a three races stretch and I think it will help me battle the, whatever you want to call it, being on the road too long at a time, you know burnout and beat down."

Phillips will start his 2012 quest at the NHRA season opener in Pomona, California where he will compete in his K&N Engineering/CBS Arc Safe #5 Super Comp dragster and his #4 Super Gas Corvette roadster during the O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals.

"My focus this season is to win a National Championship and everything else will fall into place," he admitted. "I geared my schedule and my races around that for this year, and the one thing that will mess me up a little is the JEGS races [All-Star]. I really do like those races and it will mess my chances up for that, but at some point, you just have to prioritize your goals and mine is to win a National Championship in 2012."

With the change in Phillips' sponsor line up from last season, it has been a very hectic off-season for he and his crew, making all the changes needed in addition to the normal end of year maintenance. "We have been just crazy getting everything redone, all the cars, the rig even the golf carts and scooters had to be stripped and rewrapped," he chuckled. "That on top of freshening the motors and transmissions. When it's all done and you have it out there, you kind of take it for granted, but man is it a lot of work to get everything to that point."

Phillips points out that he is honored to continue his partnership with K&N Engineering. "Even before I started working with K&N, I used many of their products because I know they are superior in their field," he said. "But I'll tell ya, in the years of being involved with them now, I really have an unbelievable respect for how K&N does business, especially after I had a chance to witness everything that goes into the products that they manufacture. Strictly speaking as a racer, K&N is really behind everything that is right. They not only continue to do everything they can to constantly improve their products by listening to and working with racers of all sorts of motorsports, but in what they really stand for and all of the various projects they are behind."

"I am all K&N all the time," he added. "From using their oil and air filters on every one of my race cars to even adding the new Heavy Duty K&N air filter to my Freightliner motorhome that I use to tow the race trailer. I am really looking forward to the added advantage it will give me in all the miles I intend on putting on it this year."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Mike Ballard's Drag Racing Family Puts Daughters in Junior Dragster

Feb 10, 2012

Ballard family's 1992 Chevy S-10 Blazer

Sometimes racing brings together special people. And other times special people just happen to race. Meet the Ballard's, a drag racing family full of good people. A longtime racer, family patriarch Mike decided to give his daughters a chance at the family hobby at a young age. Oldest daughter Emma started in a junior dragster and younger sister Arley followed when she became of age to do so.

Meet the Ballard family. They are a drag racing family full of good people.

But the amazing thing about the Ballard's isn't the faith that Mike and his wife have in their daughters driving abilities, or even those abilities themselves. Instead, what makes this family special is their dedication to others. It's that dedication to others that made a relationship with K&N such a perfect fit, and that relationship is paying huge dividends for those in need.

"It truly is amazing what we discover just by listening and talking to people," said Ballard, who helps his daughters collect aluminum cans and recycle them. "Before we would donate half the money to those in need or the local food bank, and the other half would go to the racing budget. Now that K&N has increased their involvement with us, we donate one hundred percent of the money."

The Ballard's also volunteer their time to the food bank, helping with the sorting and bagging of food and donating food to help stock the bank. They also keep an ear out for those in need. The family has been known to help shovel snow at elderly people's houses, donate clothes to those in need, and even donate money to those less fortunate.

The family also lends their time and cars to local parades, and last Memorial Day they were able to put a smile on Arley's classmate Noah's face. Noah has Down's Syndrome, but that hasn't kept the youngest Ballard from making a close friend and helping out where she can.

Last year Arley and Emma split time in the family's junior dragster, and Emma made her debut in a full-sized car, or SUV in this case. The family purchased a 1992 Chevy S-10 Blazer and plan on taking it to some Street Eliminator events in Illinois this season.

"Watching Emma learn to drive a big car down the track, and the excitement she had when she learned how fast she went was awesome," Mike said.

Having your two daughters drive cars in excess of 70 mph can be taxing on parents, but the Ballard's handle it well while keeping an eye on safety.

"My wife and I don't really get nervous because we've been around racing for so long, but we do get anxious before the first round," Mike said. "We just hope they remember what to do if something goes wrong."

This year the team will campaign both the junior dragster and the Blazer, which Emma will drive in a high school program that rewards youngsters with scholarships. The team will also attend numerous car shows and will participate in a pair of parades as well, all while trying to help others who are less fortunate.

Mike provided a few laughs when asked about the degree of difficulty in being a family race team.

"There's nothing hard about it, but trying to remember everything the females need before we go to the track can be a challenge," Mike said.

The Ballard's and K&N have forged a strong relationship, and the team see's the benefits of it every day.

"K&N really puts our minds at ease when it comes to protecting the engines, whether it be the one in the race cars or the support vehicles," Mike said. "Any racer can tell you the fewer things they have to worry about the better they can focus on the task at hand, winning races!"

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Jason Meyers Sweeps Sydney Speedway Lighting Fire to 2012 with Four Wins

Feb 10, 2012

Meyers' 2011 win at Williams Groove was his second in a row at the speedway.

As a racer you learn real fast to let go of the stuff you can't control and move on, because in racing the amount of stuff you have no say over can be staggering. To have any hope at triumph then, you best tighten-up on things you can manage. Jason Meyers' procedure for keeping on his game is to reduce down time and keep racing.

K&N supported Jason Meyers kicked-off 2012 the same way he has his last two championship seasons, by keeping his skills sharp and winning in Australia.

"I think it is very important to do some racing through the winter in order to keep in proper shape," Meyers told K&N. "You can work in the Gym all winter, but there is no way of replicating the G-forces that your body experiences in the car. We had a good run in Australia this season and we are looking forward to getting to Florida in a few weeks."

Who could argue with his procedure, as the results state all that needs to be said. Meyers and the Elite Racing Team completed 2010 and 2011 with back-to-back World of Outlaw Championships, and only seven days into 2012 Meyers and the team were already celebrating their third win at Sydney Speedway in Australia. Then in the week between races at Sydney Speedway, Meyers took on Archerfield Speedway, to bump any remaining rust off with some of his American rivals.

After doing battle with fellow Californian Rico Abreu in the early rounds of the 35-lap contest at Archerfield, and swapping positions with David Muir in the later laps, Meyers managed to wrestle an edge finishing sixth.

A win is always special remarked Meyers, but flipping, then fixing his car, making it through the B-Main and enduring a tough feature race, makes for a particularly sweet victory.

However, it's his return to Sydney Speedway the following Saturday that best illustrates the state of readiness Meyers and his team are in already. The sweetest road to victory is often the bumpiest and hardiest earned, for Meyers and Elite Racing that first potholed road to reward came during that weekend.

Meyers started the evening by timing in second behind Lynton Jeffery. Then, in one of those moments you have no control over, Meyers flipped with a second car in the heat race, forcing the team to rebuild his car in time to send him to the B-Main.

Each year the races in Australia continue to get more competitive as word gets out and more top American and Australia racers enter the field.

"We tore a lot of stuff up in a heat race down there and it was all we could do to get back out for the B-Main," said Meyers. "We had a lot of help from a lot of other teams in order to get ready in time. That is the impressive thing about sprint car racing, how everyone works together to get a competitors' car back into competition."

After winning the B-Main, Meyers lined up 21st for the main event. The two-time champion sliced and diced his way through the field, outlasting several cautions in the 35-lap A-Main. Once he made his way to the front, the Californian had to endure three more green-white-checkered flag restarts before taking the win at Sydney Speedway. This was Meyers' third victory at the track going into the Scott Darley $50,000 Challenge at Sydney Speedway. (Note: The Scott Darley $50,000 Challenge has been rescheduled and will now run on Friday and Saturday March 16 and 17).

Meyers added, "A win is always special, but to come from the B-Main after crashing, and then racing from the tail of the A-Main to the lead in 17 laps was a great night."

Meyers and the Elite Racing Team will head back to Florida on February 15th for the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park in DeLeon Springs, Florida. "We race two nights with the Allstar's and three nights with the World of Outlaws. Five nights in a row to start," laughs Meyers, "the Outlaws try to separate the men from the boys in the first week."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

H&M Motorsport's Beau Baron and David Haagsma Rule 2012 WORCS ATV Opener

Feb 10, 2012

Beau Baron took the first WORCS Pro win of the season aboard his K&N backed Spark Racing powered Honda TRX450R ATV. Photos by ATVRiders.com

Solid beginnings and endings are key, they're the foundation for a decent story, and for firing-up the sort of confidence needed for a winning season.

David Haagsma pulled the hole-shot in the WORCS Pro ATV Class. Photos by ATVRiders.com

"We feel great following round one. Our goal was to go out and show these guys we are serious about our program and getting both guys on the podium proved that." Those are the words of Jason Reed, H&M Motorsports' Marketing/PR Rep., and the two guys he mentions are Beau Baron and David Haagsma. The two H&M Motorsport ATV combatants kicked-off their season in grand style, with Baron taking the top of the podium and teammate Haagsma joining him on the third tier. Making it sweeter still was that this was Haagsma's first ever pro podium finish. A prodigious beginning indeed.

The World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS) started their 2012 season at Glen Helen Raceway last weekend. Foul rainy weather throughout Friday and Saturday threatened to put the kibosh on the big show. Fortunately, the weather cleared and the track began to dry out just in time for Sunday's pro main event. Yet, not before the weather sacred the track, which then required some tweaking. The course was changed up a bit, and now included a very malicious section tagged WORCS-X. This amusing sounding addition featured huge tractor tires that proved to be anything but amusing for many riders the first few laps. The errant section was corrected by the fourth lap, which was three laps too late for some riders.

Haagsma aboard his K&N backed Maxxis/H&M Motorsports Honda TRX450R ATV battled hard to earn his first ever pro podium finish. Photos by ATVRiders.com

Off the line, Haagsma grabbed the hole-shot, with Baron close behind in second. In the second lap, Baron was able to take the lead after Haagsma got hung up in the WORCS-X section. "I made it through that section pretty easily when a lot of other people had problems. I was kind of lucky that way because it allowed me to get ahead and relax a little and stay focused," said Baron. Despite intense pressure, Baron held his lead for the final laps to secure the first win of the 2012 WORCS series for his team.

Out of the gate Haagsma was nothing short of impressive as he shot off the line and grabbed the lap-one lead. After his WORCS-X section run-in he remounted a charge and battled his way to the number three spot before crossing the finish line.

H&M Motorsport's Beau Baron took first place, joining him in third place was teammate David Haagsma. Photos by ATVRiders.com

"I got a great start! I really have to thank Curtis Sparks and Maxxis Tires for that. I pulled everyone and got a clean lap in. After I got hung up, I just tried to make up time and kept passing people. It felt awesome to finish on the podium. I wish I could have been up there battling for the win, but I am pretty happy with third right now," remarked Haagsma.

"This is our first year off on our own," Reed told K&N. "Teaming up with MCR Racing last year taught us the infrastructure that we needed to achieve, and the goals we needed to set going into our first full year as a Pro team in a tough series. If we had to change anything from last year, it would be what we have already worked on, and continue to work on, and that's pre-testing with our equipment and trying to keep David and Beau focused. That way they can go out and do their job and win some races."

"We are ready and we are approaching 2012 just liked we approached the first race - we're going out to win. We have a tremendous amount of great sponsors behind us, including K&N Filters who provides the best filters in the business. We've never suffered a DNF with any air related issues, and we can't be happier to have them behind our program."

Round two of the 2012 WORCS series is scheduled for February 11th - 12th at Buffalo Bill's Casino and Resort where H&M Motorsport's Beau Baron and David Haagsma will once again be looking to own the podium.

"We're ready. We got off to a great start and we are going to keep the ball rolling and try and stay up front for points and keep the Championship chase alive. Were going for the 2012 WORCS Pro Championship, plain and simple."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Shane Stewart Two-Time ASCS National Championship Opens 2012 Australian Tour on Fire

Feb 10, 2012

The two-time Knoxville 360 Nationals Champion kicked off his 2012 Australia tour with two wins and a third place.

Australia's love for Sprint Car racing continues to intensify at an accelerated pace. The country's boasts a very well organized Sprint Car scene that is run to the rulebook by a single organizing group - the Sprintcar Control Council. The fans are savvy and their talent pool is beginning to rival ours here in the states. The peak racing season is between Christmas through the end of January, and each year more American racers bent on winning championships, are kick-starting their season with a walkabout downunder.

#77 Sprint car driver Shane Stewart in action down in Australia.

"I think racing in Australia helps keep you in physical and mental shape for the upcoming season in the states," Shane Stewart told K&N. "The racing in Australia has really become more like American racing. The equipment and the drivers have really stepped it up over the last five years. I really do believe that racing over here helps you stay focused."

The K&N sponsored driver opened his 2012 tour downunder with two consecutive wins and a third place podium finish. Stewart has even more hardware to add to his 90 feature wins he has accumulated already over the past 13 years of racing. On his resume Stewart proudly lists wins in all major series in both the U.S. and Australia.

Does one race starting the 2012 season in Australia stand out? "The Classic is a race that always sticks out in my mind," says Stewart. "It would be equivalent to the Knoxville Nationals. I won this race in 2010 and it is always a race that I put on my calendar to win."

Stewart from Bixby, Oklahoma was voted the 2011 "Driver of the Year" by the North American 360 Sprint Car Poll voting panel of media members, promoters, sanctioning officials and manufacturers for the second time. Stewart, the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) national tour champion and 2009 "Driver of the Year", earned thirteen of the twenty first-place ballots cast in the year-end poll. Stewart's car owner, Paul Silva, earned his second "Team of the Year" award as well.

"I am looking forward to getting back in the Paul Silva owned 57 again," added the two-time Knoxville 360 Nationals Champion. "We are looking forward to getting the season started and hopefully we can keep building on what we have been able to accomplish the last three years."

Stewart will begin his 2012 race calendar in the U.S. racing in the 3G owned car of Joe Gearte and Tim Norman in Florida at the Ronald Laney Memorial race. "After that I will head down to Arizona to start off the ASCS National Tour in the 57 car."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

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