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Jim McConville had everything dialed in at Autobahn Country Club

McConville’s ambitious weekend included all the racing he could fit into his busy competitive schedule. A grueling trip to Joliet, and rough race conditions did not deter the K&N-supported amateur road racer.

This trip was an 18-hour drive to get there,” said McConville. “I’ve never been to this track, and it was going to rain all weekend.”

Knowing that he needed time on the track, McConville had to get creative. “There was no Friday practice, so I signed up for some CCS sprints to get some seat time,” he said.

McConville’s Saturday of racing was spectacular with two race wins.

Holding his trophies was a workout for McConville in Joliet, Illinois

In his Saturday Amateur GTO win, McConville had a fastest lap of 2:19.763. He bested the 2nd place finisher by a commanding 72.148 seconds. He also walked away with the Amateur Heavyweight Super Stock win with a best lap of 2:16.897.

The rain continued for the Sunday racing at Autobahn Country Club. That did not dampen McConville’s spirits or his determination to perform well on the new-to-him racetrack.

“Practice (on Sunday) was so wet that they opened it up to anyone and I was the only rider out there till they chose to start the races earlier,” McConville said. “I added a 5th race at lunch just to ride more, but I was starting dead last. The sprints were cut to 4 laps due to weather. ASRA races were cut to 5 laps.”

In Sunday’s racing, McConville won the amateur ASRA Super Stock 1000cc race with a best lap of 2:06.187. Impressively, he also finished 4th in the expert wave of Super Stock. In the ASRA 600cc Sport Bike race, McConville secured the win with a super tight 00.014 margin of victory. Later in the day, McConville took 3rd in the Amateur Middleweight Sport Bike race with a best lap of 2:01.657.

It's hard not to smile after a weekend like McConville had in round 2

“I finished 4th in two expert waves as an amateur. I was 2 seconds slower than (pro racer) Jason Farrell, and I’m the overall points leader for a region I don’t compete in, as it was a double points weekend,” said McConville. “I’ve never been to this track and I won everything I originally entered in. I’ve never had a club podium outside my home track. I’m now on top of the national ASRA series for points as well.”

McConville may have summed it up best when he said, “There was a whole lot of awesome in this round!”

K&N-Equipped Audi R8s took second and third in the Australian GT at Perth's Barbagallo Raceway

After a victory in the last round of the championship, Chaz Mostert backed it up this weekend with a second place finish in Sunday’s race behind Scott McLaughlin.

Mostert admits it hasn’t been the strongest start to the year, but four rounds in the #55 Supercheap Auto Ford Falcon is starting to come on strong.

“We're starting to find a base with our car but we've got a bit more work to do yet. It was good to bag some more points and get another consistent result so I'm pretty happy,” Mostert said.

"It’s awesome to get another podium this year. It wasn't the best weekend overall but Sunday was pretty awesome. The boys worked pretty hard, we made some big changes with the car and got it back feeling good for qualifying, closer to what we've had for the past couple of rounds.”

Fellow Prodrive racer, Mark Winterbottom, finished up in fourth place and is pleased with the progress the team has made ahead of returning to its test track, Winton Motor Raceway in two week’s time.

“Changes overnight in strategy direction, going back to sort of what we had before Phillip Island helped today and has given us a good direction heading into Winton. Fourth is another strong result, I'm happy we've got some consistency going and that we're making gains so bring on the next one,” Winterbottom said.

K&N-backed Holden Commodores also featured in the top 10, with Tekno Autosport’s Will Davison fifth and Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Garth Tander in ninth.

Australian GT also saw strong performances for the K&N-equipped Audi R8 LMSs of Ash Walsh/James Koundouris and Kelvin van der Linde/Geoff Emery claiming second and third respectively in the second of two 60 minute endurance races.

K&N-sponsored Chaz Mostert took second in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship in Perth

"I knew that it was going to be about making the tyres live over the distance," said Walsh.

"The end result is quite good – it's always happy to be up there running in the top five. You can't be disappointed with that."

Van der Linde and Emery also close the gap to the championship lead, which now sits at just 28 points with two rounds remaining.

"With every step we're getting closer and we've got a real shot at it now in the last two rounds. It's not necessary to go out and win every race – we're in it for the long haul,” Van Der Linde said.

The Supercars Championship resumes at Winton Motor Raceway with the Winton SuperSprint, while Australian GT moved to endurance mode with the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship at the Phillip Island 500.

Paul Warick and his team celebrate winning the K&N Spring Fling at Galot Motorsports Park

“I’ve never won at the Spring Fling,” Warick said. “In fact, this is my first Spring Fling I’ve ever raced at. Everything was top notch, everything was good to go. It’s top of the line, you couldn’t ask for no better.”

Warick, driving his Chevy Nova dragster, defeated Jason Lynch in the final round by less than one-thousandth of a second. Warick said he wasn’t sure of the outcome of the race until the win light came on in his car. He knew he beat Lynch off the line, his reaction time was 0.009 seconds to Lynch’s 0.013 seconds, and that might have been the difference in the race.

The field for the K&N Spring Fling was determined randomly. There were 32 drivers invited to the event. The first two rounds, the test and tune day, whittled the field down to eight drivers.

Warick said he won his first race comfortably. His second race was a little closer. His times were fast enough for him to advance to the final eight.

“I laid down a good lap the first round,” Warick said. “Second round I missed the tree a little bit. Right after that I said we have to tighten it up from here.”

Lee Dixon, Jeff Dobbins, Cameron Manuel, Brad Jeter, Chris Dean, John Taylor Jr. and Lynch were the other drivers to advance after the test and tune rounds.

“First round I won comfortably, I was really good on the tree,” Warick said. “Second round, it was close with the guy I had to run.”

Warick won his race against Dixon to reach the semifinals. Lynch defeated Jeter, a former Spring Fling champion. Dobbins beat Manuel and Taylor beat Dean.

Warick faced Taylor in the semifinals. All four semifinal drivers were guaranteed at least $500. The winners advanced to the final and a choice of dragsters, an American Race Car dragster or Racetech model. Warick was out front for the entire race against Taylor, but it was still a close finish.

Paul Warick beat Jason Lynch in the final round of the K&N Spring Fling at Galot Motorsports Park.

Lynch faced Dobbins in the other semifinal and won.

In the final, Warick and Lynch had very similar runs. Both had great reaction times and it was a close race down the strip. Warick nosed Lynch at the finish line and won the first Spring Fling event of his career. He also won a supply of K&N oil filters.

“It’s awesome,” Warick said. “It helps us out. It’s top notch, can’t ask for much better.”

Toth has proven to be a consistent and adaptable racer in the GNCC series

Clearly, resigning Toth for the 2017 season was priority number one for the K&N-sponsored N-Fab AmPro team. Again, Toth has not disappointed. After round five at South Carolina’s Camp Coker, Toth is now a perfect 5 for 5 in the 2017 GNCC.

In South Carolina, Toth piloted his YZ250FX to the win in the 7 lap race ahead of Jesse Groemm on his KTM and Craig DeLong riding a Husqvarna. Toth now has 140 series points, leading DeLong by 39 points. Groemm is in a three-way tie for 3rd with 92 points.

Toth (center) is getting very familiar with the top podium spot in GNCC

His experience in various American off-road racing series, as well as his success in ISDE competition, has contributed to Toth’s ability to win on the varied tracks and surfaces featured in the GNCC schedule. Under the tutelage of Hawkins, and with the support of N-Fab AmPro Yamaha, the sky seems to be the limit for Josh Toth.

Another notable N-Fab AmPro Yamaha performance in South Carolina was Ricky Russel's hard fought 4th Overall in the XC1 Class.

Toth may be too young to drink, but he's perfecting the skill of spaying the bubbly

Remainder of the GNCC series schedule:

Rnd 6 May 20/21 - X Factor Whitetails, Peru, IN

Rnd 7 May 27/28 - The John Penton, Millfield, OH

Rnd 8 June 10/11 - Tomahawk, Odessa, NY

Rnd 9 June 24/25 - Snowshoe, Snowshoe, WV

Rnd 10 Sept. 9/10 - Unadilla, New Berlin, NY

Rnd 11 Sept. 23/24 - Mountaineer Run, Masontown, WV

Rnd 12 Oct. 7/8 - Powerline Park, St. Clairsville, OH

Rnd 13 Oct. 28/29 - Ironman, Crawfordsville, IN

One of the events for LS Fest West will be a Poker Run Challenge through downtown Las Vegas

Enter Holley LS Fest. This annual event is a celebration of all things LS. Held near Holley’s headquarters in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the event gained almost a cult following and drew fans from around the globe to compete. With events like drag racing, autocross, drifting, and a dyno challenge, there is something for just about everyone.

The QA1 autocross and Baer Brakes 3S Challenge is guaranteed to get your heart pounding

Starting on Friday, the events kick off. Throughout the weekend, spectators will be able to enjoy any of the over 10 events that will be going on. On the Strip at LVMS will be the Car Craft Magazine Drag Racing featuring Outlaw True Street, LS Truck, LS Outlaw, and Grudge classes. Immediately adjacent to the drag strip is the off-road track. This will be the location for the Extreme Off-Road TV Off Road Challenge. This will be a show of raw off road prowess as trucks and buggies compete head to head in drag race style eliminations.

For off-road enthusiasts, the Extreme Off-Road TV Off Road Challenge will be kicking up the dust

If you find yourself power hungry at any point during the weekend, BangShift.com will be hosting a Dyno Challenge. This will be open to any LS Fest participant and will measure horsepower and torque. At the end of the weekend, there will be a shootout of the top eight contenders and a winner will be announced. Road course action will be taking place with the ProTouring.com Road Course Challenge on the 2.4-mile, 12 turn outside road course next to the superspeedway.

LS-powered drift cars will be throwing down and giving rides to spectators at LS Fest West

As you can see there will be a ton to do and see during the weekend even for spectators. If you are in the area, be sure to swing by and check out it out. Also, check back for our coverage of the inaugural LS Fest West next week.