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Jimmy DeFrank Wins Fifth NHRA Super Stock Championship

K&N, NHRA, Super Stock; wheelie

K&N-backed driver Jimmy DeFrank won the 2016 NHRA Super Stock championship

Jimmy DeFrank was focused on winning the NHRA Super Stock national championship. He was so focused, he parked one of his cars, focused completely on the K&N-backed Super Stock, and won his fifth NHRA national championship in 2016. It was his first since 2012.

“They’re all different. I can’t say it was more exciting or better or anything. They’re all different,” DeFrank said. “That kind of sticks in my mind more than others. I was very focused on the championship and we changed our game plan a little bit. We usually run two cars, in the Stock category and the Super Stock category. We started this season with a high focus, a 100 percent focus, just on the one category and the one car in Super Stock and it paid off by winning the championship.”

DeFrank started the season by winning the NHRA national event at the Winternationals in Pomona. He won two more events, had two runner-up finishes, and won by a comfortable margin.

“Our theory on focusing on one car worked out well,” DeFrank said. “It’s the one we favor and the one I race the most.”

DeFrank started his NHRA drag racing career in 1995. In 2015, running two cars, he was in contention for championships in the Stock and Super Stock categories. He didn’t win either.

“It just kind of frustrated me and everything,” DeFrank said. “We were close but we just weren’t closing the deal on them. It felt like we weren’t giving 100 percent to each car, because when you’re racing two, it felt like it took us down to 90 or 95 percent effort in each car. We were just rushed and you can’t look at things as close.”

K&N, NHRA, Super Stock; race

Jimmy DeFrank won three NHRA Super Stock events in 2016

When the 2016 season started, DeFrank and his team changed their strategy. The put all their attention on the Super Stock car.

“We took a step back for this year and focused on the one car, our primary car and category, and it paid off and proved our gut feeling,” DeFrank said.

After winning the NHRA national event in Pomona to start the season, DeFrank won an NHRA Divisional event in Fontana. But it wasn’t until he won the Super Stock event in Woodburn, Oregon, a Lucas Oil Division 6 race in September, did he feel confident about winning the championship.

“That’s the one that really gave us the end of the year huge boost in points to put us far in the lead,” DeFrank said. “It was great. It was so much different than past ones. We had some championships that have come down to the very last race of the season where we had to win the race. That was my very first one. This one, it just kind of fell into place, probably the earliest out of any championship. The pressure was off earlier than usual.”

Rain and bad weather affected the races in Oregon. Rain washed out the final day. DeFrank and his team had to wait until Monday before winning the event. He said he and his team, his dad Jim and his crew chief, missed a day of work, but it was worth it.

“It was actually a delayed race,” DeFrank said. “It rained on Sunday. We only got maybe one or two rounds in. We were really focused on making good runs, watching the details, all three of us worked very closely. Of course with one car we can really do a lot. We made really good runs and it came together.”

K&N, NHRA, Super Stock; winners circle

K&N-backed driver Jimmy DeFrank won the NHRA Super Stock season opener in Pomona

DeFrank is heading to Pomona this month for the NHRA Auto Club Winternationals to start his campaign for a sixth national championship. He said his team hasn’t decided yet if concentrating on one car is the way to go. The team is going start the season with one car, but that might change as the season unfolds.

“There’s no difference in preparation,” DeFrank said. “Our team is so big on preparation, literally the day after the world finals ended, the last race of the season, we came home and started preparing for this season. We started preparing the car and also the trailer. It’s just the way we are. Even the small things are important to us, even the inventory of the trailer and the maintenance of the trailer. We did start that early, the day after the race.”

Using K&N air and oil filters in his cars are a big part of how his team prepares for each race and the season. DeFrank said the K&N filters are integral to his team’s success.

“K&N is huge for multiple reasons,” De Frank said. “K&N does a ton for our sport. For our particular car, reliability and preparation are so important. But using the K&N products, which are the best products, they are reliable.”

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Broken U-Joint Stops Kruseman’s Attempt to Win Third Chili Bowl

Cory Kruseman and his crew crowd around his midget car after a victory at the VRA.

Cory Kruseman and his crew after winning the VRA Midget Championship

Racer Cory Kruseman was in the B main in an attempt to reach the Main A event when a U-Joint on his midget car broke preventing him from a chance to win his third Chili Bowl championship.

Kruseman has been racing the Chili Bowl since 1999 when he came in second. He won the Chili Bowl Championship in 2000 and 2004. He was the preliminary night Chili Bowl winner in 2005, 2006, 2010, and 2012.

The River Spirit Expo Center at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the site for the event, which was held on Tuesday, January 10 through Saturday, January 14, 2017. A record 372 drivers from 36 states and five countries including the United States, Australia, England, Canada, and New Zealand competed.

The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, which NASCAR has called the “biggest Midget race of the year” and is nicknamed the “Super Bowl” of midget racing, was started in 1987.

Each night of the five-day event has qualifying races presenting winners with the ultimate chance to qualify for the A-main event. Each qualifying night has heat races, dash-type races and a 25-lap feature race. Drivers who finish poorly in their heat start deep in final night qualifying events and have to finish high in many events to make the A-main event. A driver who started in the lowest “J” event would have to finish high in heats I, H, G, F, E, D, C, and B to reach the A-main event. The top four finishers in the qualifying night’s feature event and the top four finishers of the two Saturday night B-main event go on to compete in the feature A-main event to determine the winner.

Kruseman started in the C main and was successful in his transfer to the B heat when his car suffered the broken U-Joint.

Racing History

Cory Kruseman's midget racer.

The midget car Cory Kruseman races at the Chili Bowl

Kruseman grew up in racing. His father raced motorcycles and cars and was killed in a race car accident when Cory was a kid. That did not deter him from getting involved in the sport. He started racing soon after graduating high school in 1989.

He started racing go karts and steadily graduated to USAC three-quarter midgets, midgets, and sprint cars. Besides winning the Chili Bowl twice, he has won the Non-Winged World Championship, the Western States Dirt Track Championship, ESPN Points Series, the TQ Midget Fall Nationals Championship, the USAC Indiana Sprint Week Championship twice, the 2001 SCRA Championship, 2006 USAC/CRA Championship, 2011 VRA Midget Championship, 2011 USAC Western Midget Championship. He finished second in the Australian Grand Prix in 2001, won three Australian Championships in 2003, and won six of nine events at “Le Midget Grand Prix” in Paris, France in 1994.

When asked how many wins he’s had in his career, Kruseman laughed and noted that he hasn’t kept track. “But one guy told me I had 167 wins in just sprint and midgets,” he said.

He identified his major victories as his two Chili Bowl wins, a world championship win, winning the USAC Championship three times and winning the Oval Nationals, the biggest sprint race of the year.

For 13 years in a row Kruseman has raced in New Zealand and Australia in the winter and all over the United States in the summer.

Currently, he competes in about 15 races a year.

Race Car Driving School

He started the Cory Kruseman Sprint Car Driving School in Ventura, California, in 1999.

Cory Kruseman battles racers in sprint car race.

Corey Kruseman racing the Mark Priestly #7 Sprint Car

“About 400 to 600 people attend the school a year. We've trained everybody from a 14 year old girl, who doesn’t have a driver’s license to the late, great Paul Newman,” he said. “We instruct a lot of pro racers, celebrities, and average joes.”

People learn about the school through word of mouth.

“If you are in the business, you know who we are,” he said. “USA Today just listed us as one of the top 10 schools in the United States.”

There is no classroom work involved in the course. Instead, it is all hands on. The students drive sprint cars, which have one seat, and there is no communication between them and the instructors.

“They’re on their own,” Kruseman said.

The class includes an Arrive and Race Series.

“People lease cars from us. They go through the school and learn how to drive, then we take them to a nearby race track where they race,” he said.

“Those who participate in the program are responsible for the car they lease. They have to pay for any car they tear up. We offer insurance for the school, but not for racing,” Kruseman said.

“We don’t put anyone out in a race who we don’t think is safe and in control. Still, so far as racing experience, some have very little,” he said.

The school uses sprint and midget sprint cars. The sprint cars have a wheelbase of 86-inches and are 76-inches wide and include a 700-horsepower engine that is naturally aspirated. Their top speed was clocked at 98 mph at the Ventura Raceway. The midget sprint cars have a Ford Focus 2.0-liter engine that produces 190 horsepower, has a 72-inch wheelbase and is 65-inches wide. Their top speed has been clocked at 84 mph at the Ventura Raceway.

Kruseman uses K&N air, oil, and fuel filters in his personal racecar, the school’s cars, his daily driver, and his motorhome.

“We use them because hands down they’re the best product out there,” said Kruseman. “They are an advantage. Even if they cost more money, I would still be running them.”

His sponsors/partners include:

• Lucas Oil Products

• MAV TV

• Schoenfeld Headers

• Auto Meter

• Sander Engineering

• Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems

• Automotive Racing Products

• KSE Racing Products

• K&N Engineering

• Fuel Safe Racing Cells

• Impact

• Ventura Raceway

• Circle Track Performance

• Extreme Technologies Mufflers

• Kenny’s Components

• Maxwell Industries

• Elliott Brand Web Design

• Brown & Miller Racing Solutions

• PXP RaceWear

• FK Bearings

• Odyssey Battery

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K&N Cold Air Intakes: Guaranteed Power and Exceptional Filtration for Your Vehicle

K&N cold air intakes are guaranteed to increase horsepower and protect your engine from contamin

K&N cold air intakes are guaranteed to increase horsepower and protect your engine from contaminants

When you think of how an engine works, it is easiest to imagine that it is just an air pump. It sucks air in and forces air out. This happens thousands of times a minutes and that translates to rotational energy to your wheels, propelling you down the road. If you can get more air into the pump, you will get more air out and make more energy. The quickest and easiest way to get more air into your engine, while protecting it from harmful contaminants is with a cold air intake. K&N is the leader in automotive air filtration and makes cold air intakes for everything from cars and trucks to side-by-sides and recreational vehicles. Check out the categories below to find the right air intake for your vehicle.

Automotive Air Intakes

Whether you drive a Mustang or a Corolla, K&N makes a cold air intake for your application

Whether you drive a Mustang or a Corolla, K&N makes a cold air intake for your application

Bolting a K&N cold air intake onto your passenger car or light duty truck is a guaranteed way to increase horsepower and torque. This is because K&N cold air intakes use high flow washable and reusable air filters and smooth bore, large diameter intake tubes to minimize the entrance of warm, turbulent air into the engine. K&N air intakes are covered by a 10-Year/Million Mile Limited Warranty, so you can trust in the brand that invented the bolt-on performance air intake kit.

Motorcycle and ATV Air Intakes

K&N manufactures several styles of intakes for both American and metric cruisers

K&N manufactures several styles of intakes for both American and metric cruisers

Whether you like cruising down the highway listening to the rumble of your V-Twin, or you enjoy taking your ATV off the beaten path, K&N makes a cold air intake for your passion. Not only do K&N air intakes offer added performance to your motorcycle or ATV, but they add good looks as well. They make a statement and let everyone know that you take performance and style seriously.

Diesel Truck Air Intakes

Diesel engines love lots of cold air, so treat your HD to a K&N cold air intake

Diesel engines love lots of cold air, so treat your HD to a K&N cold air intake

If there is one thing that diesel engines love, it is air; lots of air. It is a good thing that K&N makes cold air intakes for all the popular models of truck with diesel engines. Whether you drive a Powerstroke, Duramax, or Cummins, a K&N cold air intake can withstand the harsh conditions under the hood of your diesel-equipped truck. The K&N filters in the K&N cold air intakes are washable and reusable, meaning you are spending less money on replacement air filters and more money on the things you love in life.

RV Air Intakes

Does your RV need a pick me up and added protection? A K&N cold air intake could be the answer

Does your RV need a pick me up and added protection? A K&N cold air intake could be the answer

Imagine being on vacation, chugging along the interstate in your RV when the check engine light comes on because you forgot to buy a new air filter. With a K&N cold air intake for your Winnebago, Fleetwood, or Jayco you don’t have to worry about replacing an air filter again. Plus, your motorhome is going to get you to your destination faster, as K&N intakes are guaranteed to increase horsepower. So leave the other guys in the dust on your next family outing with a K&N cold air intake.

Air Intake Installation Videos

Not only do K&N cold air intakes outperform the stock intakes, they look better doing it

Not only do K&N cold air intakes outperform the stock intakes, they look better doing it

If you are shopping for a cold air intake or just bought one and are having some trouble installing it, K&N offers installation videos for our most popular intakes. These videos highlight some of the features and benefits of the intakes and can be used to demonstrate ease of installation or as an overall guide to help answer some questions during installation.

Air Intake Installation Instructions

K&N includes detailed installation instructions with hi-res photos with every cold air intake. But if you lose them or want to pull them up on your computer or tablet, K&N offers the installation instructions right here on our website, listed by part number.

Air Intake by Vehicle Manufacturer

Now that you have heard the features and benefits of some of the best cold air intakes on the market, it is time to purchase one for your vehicle. Use the air intake by manufacturer page to locate the appropriate intake for your vehicle. You can also use the search by vehicle tool to find everything we make for your vehicle.

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The Las Vegas Motorcycle Auctions Part 2: The Mecum Extravaganza

The Mecum Auction audience in Las Vegas at the South Point Resort

Thousands of motorcycle lovers watched as rare bikes were auctioned at the Mecum Auction

The famous motorcycle auctions held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada, are a chance for any motorcycle enthusiast to view, study, and even purchase some of the rarest and coolest bikes in the world. In part 1 of this mini-series, we looked at the stately British auction presented by the historic Bonhams Auction Company.

Kenny Roberts' flat tracker at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas at the South Point Resort

Kenny Roberts' flat tracker was a star of the auction

Held at the same time, just eight miles away in Sin City’s South Point Resort and Casino was the decidedly American Mecum Auction. The Mecum Auction is a much larger event that spans a full four days, and features more than four times the motorcycles offered up at the Bonhams Auction.

The Mecum auctioneers are louder and more aggressive, the bikes are peddled in rapid-fire fashion, and the motorcycles are as diverse as you could imagine. There were ultra rare, unrestored pieces of historical rolling art auctioned off for north of $100,000, as well as more recent and more common bikes that fetched winning bids well below $1,000.

Kenny Roberts' flat tracker at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas at the South Point Resort

King Kenny's Yamaha wears a K&N performance filter

A notable percentage of the bikes featured at the Mecum Auction were offered on the block wearing K&N filters. With the Bonhams Auction, we focused on over-the-top customs. Now let’s take a quick look at a spectrum of race bikes that were offered at the Mecum Auction. Each of these racers trust their protection and performance to K&N filters.

1976 Yamaha OW 72 Flat Track Racer

This 750cc racer was ridden by Kenny Roberts. How’s that for a legendary ride? The bike is in original, as-raced condition. The Shell 750cc Yamaha racing engine features flatslide carbs that breathe through K&N pod filters. It’s a legendary racer protected by legendary filters.

1991 Harley-Davidson® XRTT at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas at the South Point Resort

A K&N filter helps this 1991 Harley-Davidson® XRTTpump out 120 HP

1991 Harley-Davidson® XRTT

This one-of-a-kind, hand-built street racer features a 120 horsepower S&S V-twin featuring a 45mm Mikuni carburetor. That carb breathes through a K&N performance filter. That performance is transferred to the ground through a Zipper’s 5-speed transmission. The exhaust is handled with a stainless SuperTrapp system.

1967 Greeves Scottish Trials

1967 Greeves Scottish Trials at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas at the South Point Resort

This 1967 Greeves Scottish Trials is an original classic and runs a K&N filter

This very cool vintage European competition racer is most recognized by it leading link front suspension. The Greeves was a fixture on the racing podiums of the 1960s and early 1970s. This original condition beauty wears a K&N pod filter to protect that vintage power plant.

1971 Honda SL350 Racer

1971 Honda SL350 Racer at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas at the South Point Resort

Classic lines, a Sonic Weld frame, and K&N protection on a SL350 racer

This beautiful little dirt racer is built around a Sonic Weld frame. The classic Honda 350 runs through a 5-speed transmission. Of course that iconic parallel twin gets its clean air through free-flowing K&N filters.

1997 Harley XR750 Dirt Track Racer

Arguably the most famous of the Harley racers, the XR750 is the stuff of flat track legend. This example features a custom C&J frame and side-mount Penske racing shock. The power-built V-twin breathes through two large K&N filters that offer the Harley loads of air and reliable protection.

XR750 Dirt Track Racer at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas at the South Point Resort

Big jugs and big K&N filters highlight this Harley XR750 Dirt Track Racer

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The Las Vegas Motorcycle Auctions Part 1: The Bonhams Experience

The Las Vegas Bonhams Auction entry display

The Bonhams Auction featured the very best of vintage and modern motorcycles (Photo by Tim Kessel)

In this two-part series, we will look at the large-scale motorcycle auctions that were held concurrently in Las Vegas, Nevada in January.

The smaller and perhaps more exclusive of the famous Vegas auctions is Bonhams. The Bonhams Motorcycle Auction is a segment of the British auction company that serves as the middleman for everything from rare jewelry to fine art to the world’s most prized vehicles.

For the motorcycle lover, the Bonhams Auction is a chance to see and even touch some of the most exotic motorcycles ever produced. Of course, if you have a deep wallet – extremely deep – you can go home with one of these rare examples. Just as a staggering example, an extremely rare, original 1914 Feilbach Limited went for $195,000. And no, that’s not a misprint.

2013 Ecosse Founder’s Edition Titanium Heretic at Bonhams side view

The Ecosse Founder’s Edition Titanium Heretic is a hand-built custom rocket (Photo by Tim Kessel)

Just to be fair, those of us with more limited means can also bid at Bonhams. Many motorcycles were sold a price point the common man could still fathom. An unrestored 1971 Yamaha Mini Enduro went home with a bidder for a mere $345.

K&N was very well represented in the Bonhams Auction. The event featured several of the most outrageous customs the motorcycle world has seen. Not coincidentally, many of those beauties were wearing K&N filters. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

2013 Ecosse Founder’s Edition Titanium Heretic

2013 Ecosse Founder’s Edition Titanium Heretic at Bonhams K&N intake

The K&N filter in the Titanium Heretic has a very cool nest (Photo by Tim Kessel)

The Heretic is a completely hand-built monster of a custom. The bike is reported to function as beautifully as its form would indicate. Billet and carbon fiber parts grace virtually every square inch of the bike. It is not surprising that the Heretic is composed of the finest components. After all, the founder of Ecosse built this bike as his personal ride.

The power plant is a 2100cc V-twin that produces 110 rear-wheel horsepower. More impressively, it pumps out 145 lb-ft of torque. That huge S&S breathes through a K&N filter that sits in an ultra cool custom aluminum and carbon fiber intake.

Bidders did not meet the reserve price of this exotic. It is valued at over $150,000.

The Confederate Wraith side view at the Bonhams Auction in Las Vegas

The Confederate Wraith's arched backbone is a cool signature element (Photo by Tim Kessel)

2008 Confederate Wraith B210

One of two stunning Confederate builds at the Bonhams Auction, the Wraith is one of under 100 that were ever produced. Celebrities are magnetically attracted to Confederate motorcycles with owners like Bruce Springsteen, Tom Cruise, and Brad Pitt. If you have a bank account that rivals those guys, you could have had this one that drew a winning bid of $48,000.

The Confederate Wraith engine view at the Bonhams Auction in Las Vegas

The K&N filter on the Wraith is a prominent feature along with the exotic forks (Photo by Tim Kessel)

The bike’s spine is an arched carbon fiber member that links the exotic front and rear suspensions. The front forks are an amazing blade-type girder arrangement and the aluminum rear swing-arm is controlled by a center mounted mono-shock.

The Wraith’s exotic body and chassis is built around a 125 horsepower 1967cc V-twin. That motor is fed by an exposed, side-facing K&N filter that serves a conspicuous performance and styling element of the exotic build.

2010 Confederate P120 Fighter Black Flag

The Confederate Fighter Black Flag side view at the Bonhams Auction

The Confederate Fighter Black Flag features fluids portholes and a K&N intake (Photo by Tim Kessel)

The Black Flag is even rarer than the Wraith. Only 13 were ever produced. What puts the “black” in the Black Flag is the fact that every aluminum component is anodized in black. Again, the backbone of the bike is a main focal-point of the styling. There are glass ports in the huge aluminum frame tube so the rider can view both the gas and oil that are contained there.

The Black Flag’s V-twin is a 120 cubic inch monster that produces an arm-stretching 160 horsepower. The 135 lb-ft of torque is sure to spin the carbon fiber wheels. Again, it is a K&N that feeds clean air to the power-plant. An exposed K&N pod filter is mounted to a forward-sweeping aluminum intake. The folks at Confederate are clearly displaying their trust in the world’s best filter.

The Black flag went for a winning bid of over $56,000

Check back for part 2 of the Vegas auction series in which we will look at the massive Mecum Auction and some classic racers that breathe through K&N filters.

The Confederate Fighter Black Flag side view at the Bonhams Auction

A spine-view of the Black Flag shows the anodized magic and the K&N protection (Photo by Tim Kessel)

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