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Shayna Texter handled the Arizona heat and racing pressure to win the Arizona Mile (Photo Am Pro FT)

It had been nearly four years since Texter had stepped up to the top podium spot in a major flat track event. However, the long, hot, and slick Turf Paradise track proved to be just what the K&N-sponsored Richie Morris Racing team rider needed to return to her winning ways. The satisfaction and relief was evident in Texter’s post-race comments.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve won,” Texter said. “It’s been a rough couple years. It’s a huge step in the right direction to get back on track for myself. It’s rewarding to the team to reward them and show them that all of their hard work is paying off. It’s an exciting future for RMR Racing.”

Texter collects her thoughts trackside before the Main Event in Phoenix (Photo Tim Kessel)

All three front runners rode a clean and smooth final, but Texter proved to be the rider of the day under the Arizona sun. The win margin was an ultra tight .041 of a second.

Texter is aware that she is a trailblazer and an inspiration to young girls that aspire to excel in male-dominated fields.

“It’s incredible,” Texter said. “The fans are the real reason why I continue to race when it’s tough. To see the look on the little girls and women, and (they)… come up to you and tell you you’re an inspiration - that inspires me to keep riding. To have their support means everything.”

Prior to her win in the Arizona Mile, Texter had consecutive podium finishes with a second and third in the previous two rounds. She now leads the AFT 2 series by 5 points.

K&N is a proud sponsor of RMR Racing and Shayna Texter (Photo Tim Kessel)

American Pro Flat Track Schedule:

May 20: Sacramento Mile – Cal Expo Fairgrounds, Sacramento, California

May 27-28: Springfield Mile I* – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois

June 3: Red Mile – The Red Mile, Lexington, Kentucky

June 17: OKC Mile – Remington Park, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

June 24: Lima Half-Mile – Allen County Fairgrounds, Lima, Ohio

July 8: Rolling Wheels Half-Mile – Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Elbridge, New York

July 29: Calistoga Half-Mile – Calistoga Speedway, Calistoga, California

Aug. 6: Buffalo Chip TT presented by Indian Motorcycle – Buffalo Chip Campgrounds, Sturgis, South Dakota

Aug. 8: Black Hills Half-Mile – Black Hills Speedway, Rapid City, South Dakota

Aug. 13: Peoria TT – Peoria Motorcycle Club, Peoria, Illinois

Sept. 2-3: Springfield Mile II** – Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, Illinois

Sept. 9: Williams Grove Half-Mile – Williams Gove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

Sept. 23: Lone Star Half-Mile – Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas

Oct. 7: Perris Short Track – Perris Auto Speedway, Perris, California

* AFT Singles will race a TT on May 27

** AFT Singles will race a Short Track on Sept. 2

Baker came up just short of the win in the Arizona Mile (Photo: Am Pro Flat Track)

However, as the sun began to set on a long day of racing at Turf Paradise in Phoenix, Arizona, Baker’s charge toward his first win of the season was snatched from his gloved hands by Indian Wrecking Crew teammate, Bryan Smith.

While a podium finish keeps Baker in the top five riders in the championship hunt, the second spot was clearly not what the K&N-sponsored flat track racer wanted. “I wanted that win so dang bad,” Baker said. “I don’t think I’ve wanted a win more in my life.”

Brad Baker was hopeful for a win after his dominating semifinal performance (Photo: Tim Kessel)

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed and angry,” said Baker. “But they call Bryan the ‘Master of the Miles,’ and he’s great at this. This is definitely a heartbreaker because I was the guy to beat all day... We’re on identical equipment so it’s not like I had any more horsepower than him or he had any more horsepower than me. It was all about who was the best rider, and today, Bryan proved his experience and craft on the Miles.”

While Baker was generous in his praise of his Indian Wrecking Crew teammate, he admitted that Turf Paradise is the type of track that is a challenge to his riding style. “This type of track is one I typically struggle at – one that’s dry, slick, one-lined – where you kind of have to go slow to go fast and ride with a lot of discipline,” Baker said.

Finishing just behind Baker was Jared Mees making it a clean sweep of the Arizona Mile podium for the Indian Wrecking Crew. Mees and Smith share the series lead in points.

Sammy Halbert made the most of the Last Chance Qualifier in Arizona (Photo: Andrea Wilson)

The top four finish is especially sweet for Halbert since he barely qualified for the semifinals before making his way to the main event. Halbert actually had to put in a charge just to snare the final qualifying position in the Last Chance Qualifier in order to advance into the semis.

With his fourth in Arizona, Halbert sits solidly in third place in the American Pro Flat Track overall points standings.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. defeated Matt Coffman in his Top 16 battle at Road Atlanta

Vaughn Gittin Jr. drifts his Ford Mustang RTR at Road Atlanta

Vaughn Gittin Jr. poses with fans before the opening ceremonies at Formula Drift Atlanta

Vaughn Gittin Jr. dials in his Ford Mustang RTR at Formula Drift Road Atlanta

The Formula Drift circuit will continue on to Wall Speedway in New Jersey for the next round, while Gittin Jr. will be making an appearance at the Hyperfest event at Virginia International Raceway before the Wall, NJ event.

A K&N cold air intake can add power and good looks without sacrificing protection

One of the popular modifications to modern muscle cars is a cold air intake. Both the big V-8s and the turbo four cylinders respond very well to additional air. With extra air to feed the ponies, the car’s ECU can trigger more fuel, and what comes out the other end is increased horsepower, torque, and acceleration. This occurs without any other modifications and with an install that is around just 90 minutes to complete. We recently took a trip to one of the leaders in the cold air intake industry, K&N Engineering, to see what makes these intakes better at feeding these hungry motors the cold air they want.

There are not a lot of pieces to a K&N cold air intake, but what there is helps add HP and torque

To answer this, let’s break down what these cold air intakes consist of. Obviously each vehicle is different, but the majority of these kits contain three major components: a filter, an air box or heatshield, and an air tube. To start things out, we will examine how the filter differs from the stock air filter. K&N includes tubular or conical air filters with their cold air intakes. These filters are made of a pleated cotton gauze material. The cotton is soaked with a special type of tacky oil to trap dirt and dust impurities. It may come as no surprise that cotton gauze has the ability to flow more air than the folded paper that most OEM filters are made out of. These filters are also washable and reusable, so there is no need to buy a new filter every year.

The K&N 57-2571 kit for the 2007-2009 Shelby GT500 adds an estimated 56 horsepower

All of these benefits help to add to that horsepower increase that K&N guarantees with every intake. Typically, you can see an estimated increase of 10-15 HP with the addition of a cold air intake. But, depending on your application, you could see more. The K&N 57-2571 kit for the 2007-2009 Shelby GT500 adds an estimated 56 horsepower and the K&N 69-2550TTK adds an estimated 39 horsepower to 2015-2016 Charger Hellcats. If you would like to see what K&N has to offer your muscle car, early or late model, check out knfilters.com

Harrison Burton won the second of two NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races at South Boston Speedway

Jeff Burton, who raced in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, won a NASCAR Busch Series race at South Boston in 1991. Harrison Burton’s uncle Ward Burton also raced in the NASCAR Cup Series and started with Jeff Burton in late models at South Boston.

Harrison Burton was definitely the hometrack favorite at South Boston. Friends and family were in the stands along the backstretch to watch him win the race.

“I’m struggling to put it into words,” Harrison Burton said. “I’ve never had a place where I’ve been the favorite in the race track by the fans. Tonight was that night. I had a whole backstretch of family and friends. I got to stop and celebrate with them.That’s something I will remember for the rest of my life, to celebrate these great nights with the people I love. In a place like South Boston, it’s so cool I can’t get over it.”

Harrison Burton led only three laps, the final three laps, of the race. He took the lead from Todd Gilliland on the final restart on lap 98. Harrison Burton fended off Gilliland and a surging Vinnie Miller to win his second K&N Pro Series East race of the season.

“That’s how these races will go sometimes,” Harrison Burton said. “You’ll see guys that play their cards right. They end up getting after it and coming home with the checkered flag. Luckily for us that was us tonight.”

Jeff Burton said he was surprised how the race ended and wasn’t quite sure of Gilliland’s strategy on the last restart.

Harrison Burton led the final three laps of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at South Boston

Gilliland took the lead in the race from Chase Purdy on lap 82 and held it for 16 laps. Gilliland posted podium finishes in both K&N Pro Series East races at South Boston, but did not win either.

“I thought we had that one won,” Gilliland said. “It really stings. We had a really fast race car tonight, and we’re going to move forward and go win the rest of them.”

Chase Cabre won the pole and led the first four laps of the race. Purdy passed Cabre for the lead on lap 5 and was out front for 77 laps, the most of any driver in the race.

Miller ended up in third place moving into position on the final restart. Cabre was fourth, followed by Ruben Garcia Jr. Purdy dropped all the way to 11th place at the end of the race.

Burton extended his lead in the K&N Pro Series East standings to 18 points over Gilliland.

“It was so cool to end up in victory lane in my hometown,” Harrison Burton said after the race. “I can’t really describe it.”

Harrison Burton, left, leads the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings after five races

“Hands down we had the fastest car tonight,” Gilliland said. “I know we got third and second. Everyone at Bill McAnally Racing work super hard and all their hard work showed tonight. It didn’t quite pay off.”

The next K&N Pro Series East race is at Memphis International Raceway in Tennessee.