Dernières Nouvelles

K&N's Peter Biondo Dominates for Double at NHRA Division Event at Old Bridge Raceway

19 sept. 2011

2000 Firebird NHRA Super Stock Driver Peter Biondo

Business owner, race promoter and sportsman racer phenom, Peter Biondo, put together thirteen awesome rounds of competition during the NHRA Div 1 event in Englishtown, New Jersey to bring home both the Super Gas and the Super Stock victories. With his latest feat, Biondo currently holds down the top spot in the country in both categories and has his eye on double 2011 NHRA Lucas Oil National Championships.

Peter Biondo's 1963 Corvette Roadster NHRA Super Gas Car

Prior to heading to the New Jersey event, Biondo had just wrapped up a week long race at the U.S. Nationals, where as he puts it, "there was quite a lot of drama" with his Super Gas car.

"We had put a new motor in it and at the first race out, it was running great. 168-169 MPH and in a Super Gas car, that's quite a lot of MPH," he said. "We won the first race out with it, but when we got it to Indy, we were really struggling. It went anywhere from 9.80 to 10.07 [9.90 Index]. So between time runs at Indy, we were changing everything we could think of trying to get it figured out. Mr. "K&N" himself, Steve Williams was one of the guys who came over to our pit to try and help, along with fellow K&N racers, Gary Stinnett and Tommy Phillips and pointed out to me that I didn't have very much space between the carburetor and the scoop. There just wasn't much room there for it to breathe. We ended up taking the spacer out and putting an air pan on and a new K&N filter system, that was all molded in and we picked up a lot."

"Let's put it this way, I was set up to run a 9.90 on my first pass [time run] at Englishtown and I ran a 9.73 at 172 MPH," he continued. "So, problem solved. I was ecstatic and I knew from the seat of the pants going down track that it was a better run and wasn't detonating at the finish line like it did at Indy. The car was just flawless from there on in and we took it from there." Right off the bat, first round would be somewhat of a special one for Biondo. "I certainly didn't have a gimmie the first round," he pointed out. "I had to run a guy that my seventy-four year old dad used to battle it out with, let's say thirty years ago. Ken Bowers is a smart guy, that's for sure. I had a twelve light and got to the finish line first with a little bit of room. He had a twenty light and dumped to a ninety-two. [9.92]"

Biondo notes that although the car was now running great, the weekend wasn't without its chaos. "Right when they called us up for third round, I went to start the car and my starter failed, so I had to change it," he said. "I was a little bit lacking on help that weekend, especially with having two cars in and it seems like everyone went home on Saturday night, so I had to go ask my neighbor to come over and help me change it [laughs]."

"Probably the biggest round though in Super Gas was the fourth round against Jason Kenny," he confessed. "He is very well respected and the reigning Div 1 champ and that round was for the bye into the final. I knew that if I wanted any chance at winning the championship, I had to win this race. So to get by Jason, it was a two-for-one and a very big round. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for him, he missed the tree bad and I was .008. That made my life easy going down track."

With the earned bye, Biondo laid down a near perfect run during the semi-finals in his '63 Corvette Roadster, that should make anyone shake in their shoes, .003 light with a perfect 9.900 ET.

"Well, when you are going to run Mike Sawyer, you better be ready," Biondo said of his semi-final timeslip and his final round competitor. "He's kinda low-key, doesn't travel too much, but without a doubt I would put him easily in the top five in the country, if he traveled every year. He's tough, nothing seems to faze him and it's the second time I've run him in the final and fortunately, it's the second time I've beat him. It was a very close run."

Biondo put together a .010 package and didn't leave much room at all for Sawyer in the Super Gas final, forcing Sawyer to take .003 at the stripe and breakout by .006 to Biondo's beautiful 9.902.

"Things were just really clicking in the Super Gas car," he said of first win of the weekend. "I was pretty hungry for it, so I was aggressive on the tree. I knew it was do or die and I was double-oh a few times on the tree. I wasn't really messing with the [delay] box much, because I wanted it pretty bad. If I was going to get beat, it was going to be by a very close race or a really close redlight on my part."

Over in Super Stock, Biondo was having the same kind of race, winning rounds and lots of them. "Our Super Stock car is pretty unique in that it's powered by a 428 Pontiac engine; there aren't too many Pontiac engines out there in Super Stock. I had to abort one of my qualifying runs because the car was shaking really bad. It turned out that I had lost one of the wheel weights, so the wheel was completely out of balance. So it really wasn't a great feeling going into first round, not being exactly sure if it was really just that or something in the drivetrain that caused it, there was still that question mark in my brain saying, I hope that was it."

Unlucky for Biondo's competition, that's all it was and he went on to pound through seven rounds in his GT/DA '00 Firebird. "Because of having to lift in that last qualifying pass, it put me in a really good spot on the sheet, which that was just total luck," he said. "The guy I ran first round, had to abort his run, so that was like a bye run there," he said of his fortunate spot of the ladder and the pairings that followed. "I had an actual bye in round two and it just went from there. It was a lot of rounds jam-packed into a little bit of time, so it was really exciting."

Biondo saved one of his best lights of Super Stock eliminations for the final in which he treed his good friend, Anthony Bongiovanni and sewed up his second victory of the weekend.

"I can't thank Steve Williams from K&N enough for not only all his time and help with the Super Gas car at Indy, but also for all that K&N does for sportsman drag racing year in and year out," he added. "You can't put that many rounds on these engines in a weekend like that without being protected with K&N oil and air filters. And the seven MPH I picked up in the Super Gas car after Steve's help with the new K&N filter configuration is just awesome."

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.

Teddy Hodgdon Takes Nine Consecutive Checkered Flags at Stafford Motor Speedway

19 sept. 2011

Ten yeart old, Teddy Hodgdon, recently one nine features in a row at Stafford Motor Speedway, earning the championship title.

After losing the lead on the green/white checkered flag, ten year old, Teddy Hodgdon, didn't let up throughout the remainder of the race and eventually passed the first place kart in the Ceric Fabrication Season Finale, earning his ninth consecutive feature win at the Stafford Motor Speedway, at Stafford Springs, Connecticut. After an exciting season, the victory put the young Danbury, Connecticut native in the points lead in the Tiger Sprint A class, and earning him the title of 2011 champion.

Teddy Hodgdon, his family, fans and team pose for a photo after the driver clinched the championship at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Qualifying three-tenths faster than the field, Hodgdon started out on the front row. Upon the waving of the green flag, he took an early lead, but lost his first place spot on the restart. With no intentions of bidding farewell to his winning streak, Teddy overtook the two drivers after a caution flag and never looked back during the 25 lap event until crossing the finish line and earning the checkered flag.

Granted, a driver and his or her team savors every win, but Hodgdon considered this particular race even more exciting than the norm and rightfully so, as he had anticipation of walking away with the championship. With eight consecutive wins already under his belt at this particular venue, the young driver's confidence level was high. Hodgdon entered the race without any doubts about his abilities or the set-up in the kart.

"Teddy has made a lot of progress as a driver this year," explained his father, Ted. "He has been looking at the big picture and understanding what is happening around him. In prior years, he would just drive the kart. He has grown by leaps and bounds this year. Teddy has been running smooth, consistent laps, and thinking outside the kart during the race," he continued. "He is growing into a fine young man and racer. His confidence is through the roof, in and out of the kart. The experience that he is gaining will carry with him the rest of his life! The season has been a dream! He has won eleven features at two different tracks (50% of all races run thus far) and a track championship!"

Teddy's string of victories were eventful, and lent to a couple of races that wouldn't soon be forgotten by the driver and his team. In fact, according to his father, Teddy's sixth consecutive win was action packed and exciting. "He started in the fifth position and charged to the front," recalled the driver's father, Ted. "He led for a few laps until he got stuffed back to the fourth position. He kept a cool head and picked them off one by one, until he was leading again," continued the proud father. "He took the lead just in time for the checkered flag."

Recalling the importance this race, Ted said, "He was trailing by one point in the standings and knew he had to have a good finish to help in the points. He did a great job and won the race."

When asked what he enjoys most about racing karts, the young driver said, "Learning about how parts of the karts work and learning race strategy." Referring to becoming a better driver with each and every race, Teddy continued, "I've been learning from on-track situations. My dad and I talk about what happened during each race."

As one might suspect, Teddy Hodgdon's kart has been running on the mark for the entire season. That said, the crew is obviously aware of the importance of proper maintenance, and has been using K&N air and oil filters on the Briggs and Stratton Animal Engine and in the tow vehicle as well, for the past two years. According to the Teddy Hodgdon team, "K&N provides a quality product. Not only does it keep the air clean, but also provides a performance gain. We would never race without a K&N filter again."

The kart driver's team is also acutely aware of the importance of their sponsors and fans. That in mind, in closing they said, "Without them, this would be very difficult. We as a family, and racing team, would like to thank them very much. Teddy has started to gain quite a list of sponsors and supporters. Once they meet him and see the passion he has for the sport, they want to be involved. We are very lucky!"

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.

2010-2017 Fiat 500 and 2011-2017 Lancia Ypsilon Reap Performance Boost with K&N Air Filter

16 sept. 2011

Replacement Air Filter for 2010 to 2017 Fiat 500, 500L, Punto and Panda models and 2011 to 2017 Lancia Ypsilon models

The 2011 Fiat 500 and Lancia Ypsilon share a common Italian DNA heritage as they are both an updated version of a charismatic original. Also known as Cinquecento, the 500 is the first Fiat offering to come stateside since the Fiat X1-9 of the early 1980's. The "supermini" Lancia Ypsilon has been around for 25 years, and odd as it may appear, the 2011 Lancia that debuted at the Geneva Motor Show, is only the fourth generation of the Ypsilon platform. Both cars feature celebrated Italian styling and a joy for road. They also both share the ability to garner a performance boost with an uncomplicated K&N filter upgrade.

Restriction Chart for 33-2981 Air Filter

Precise air filtration design is every bit as critical to K&N as painstaking styling is to Fiat and Lancia car design. A good air filter design gives both these instant classics the added benefit of outstanding engine protection without impeding air flow or engine performance as a result of air restriction.

The 33-2981 K&N drop in air filter simply fits in the factory air box of various 2010 to 2017 Fiat 500, 500L, Punto and Panda models and 2011 to 2017 Lancia Ypsilon models, just like the OEM air filter element. This K&N replacement air filter, as are all K&N air filters, is designed to increase both horsepower and acceleration while providing legendary K&N efficiency. Extensive testing is performed to ensure that every K&N air filter will fit and function properly for each application. You can be absolutely confident in knowing that this filter replacement provides outstanding engine protection for long engine life.

The 33-2981 K&N replacement air filter is washable and reusable and has the capability to run up to 50,000 miles before servicing is required depending on driving conditions. K&N stands behind their product by including a million-mile limited warranty - which means you will never need to purchase another air filter for your Fiat 500 or Lancia Ypsilon.

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.

K&N Fire Truck Air Filters Help Extinguish Campbellsville Fire Department's Budget

16 sept. 2011

After replacing the air filter on their KME fire truck with a K&N 38-2001S filter, the trucks mpg's went from six to nine.

"Simplicity is the root of all genius," believed Albert Einstein, leading us to conjecture he would have truly gotten a kick out of the Campbellsville, Kentucky Fire Department's simple move towards improving an increasingly complicated issue - the relentlessly, staggering, increase in maintenance and fuel costs..

Billy Despain is a 48-year-old firefighter with 29 years of experience. He is a fireman for the Campbellsville Fire Department, and he's also responsible for maintaining the fleet. Last December Billy and his son Elliott made the trip to Orlando, Florida to attend the PRI show (Performance Racing Industry).

Campbellsville's 85,000 pounds ladder truck averaged 1.3 to 1.5 mpg before the K&N HD air filter was installed, now it's running at 2.7 to 2.9 miles.

Elliot has been a K&N sponsored racer for the past four years and a visit to the K&N booth was near the top of their to-do list.

At the booth, they struck up a conversation with Greg Boutte, a Product Specialist for K&N. The subject of fuel costs in racing came up, and Billy explained to Greg that his department back in Kentucky was getting squeezed financially with shrinking budgets and increasing fuel costs too.

Greg mentioned to Billy that K&N has a new line of reusable commercial heavy duty air filters that have low restriction, are easy to clean with a power washer, don't require oil and they come with a 3 year or 300,000 mile limited warranty. One of these K&N air filters can replace 10 or more disposable fire truck filters and that alone provides a great savings potential.

One thing lead to another, and Greg and Billy came to an agreement that the Campbellsville Fire Department would become a real-world field test for K&N's Heavy Duty, Hybrid, washable air filters.

Allen Johnson, fire chief of the Campbellsville, Kentucky Fire Department, says that adding K&N products to their trucks has greatly assisted in reducing the financial burden surging fuels cost have place on his budget.

The Campbellsville Fire Dept serves 10,000 people in an area measuring roughly 6.1 square miles, and they routinely make about 700 runs a year. One of their trucks is a 1990 KME (Kovatch) fire truck with a Cummins diesel engine.

"I took the truck to Louisville, Kentucky, for service," explained Billy, "It's a 180 mile round trip. The truck had another brand filter on it and it used 30 gallons of fuel at six miles-per-gallon."

"On the second trip I installed a K&N 38-2001S air filter, and taking the exact same route, the truck used only 20 gallons this time. Three miles to the gallon is a huge difference," continued Billy. "It really helps with our annual budget for fuel expense. Also helps with our maintenance budget by not having to buy air filters each year. They can go for as much as $300 a piece. K&N HD filters wash out and are replaced, which saves time and money."

Campbellsville Fire Dept also has a 2010 Pierce ladder truck weighing in at 85,000 pounds, which was running at about 1.3 to 1.5 mpg. Billy installed a K&N 38-2002S air filter on that truck and he says it is now running at around 2.7 to 2.9 mpg.

"The turbo on the KME truck is running about 75 degrees cooler," adds Billy, "And on the Pierce it's running nearly 80 degrees cooler. Cooler turbo temps mean less wear on the turbo, better life span, and less maintenance problems."

The fire chief of the Campbellsville, Kentucky Fire Department, Allen Johnson, was so pleased by this uncomplicated answer to his department's growing problem, that he wrote a letter to Steve Williams, Vice President of Product Engineering and Research and Development at K&N.

"With today's economy on such a roller coaster," wrote Johnson, "We are constantly looking for alternatives to assist in cutting expenses. One of the largest expenses our department has is maintenance. We are already seeing an increase in the fuel mileage and better performance after adding your products to our trucks."

Your company has greatly assisted in reducing the financial burden placed upon our budget. I cannot thank you enough."

To find a K&N Heavy Duty Air Filter for your fire truck, semi-trailer truck, RV, or other class 4-8 truck use your current air filter part number and its manufacturer to look up the K&N replacement for it on the K&N Cross Reference Search on KNFilters.com. Find K&N products for your car, truck, motorcycle, ATV or just about anything else use the K&N vehicle application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Due to differences in driving habits and vehicle designs, results will vary and the statements made in this story may not be typical. K&N does not test for differences in fuel consumption.

K&N's Brian Folk Puts a Whipping on Super Comp Field at NHRA's U.S. Nationals

16 sept. 2011

2011 Super Comp Champion Brian Folk

In a spectacular showing of skill and stamina, Durand, Illinois resident Brian Folk slashed his way through seven rounds to secure his name in the record books as the 2011 Super Comp Champion for the most prestigious drag race of the entire season, the 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Folk was double entered into the "Big Go", running in both Super Comp and Super Gas and was going strong in both categories until Sunday evening. "I lost a good race to Kevin Klineweber [eventual class winner] in Super Gas," he quickly noted. "You know, that's just one marathon of a race. By the time it was all said and done, I was there, at that track for just three hours short of a week.

Brian Folk at the 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway

Let's just say, when folks point out that a guy deserves a win because he put in his time, well we put in our time for that race. It's just so much different than when you go to a bracket race and you are there for a day or two, maybe three."

For every driver, there is a special round or two that stick out as the important or more memorable ones and for Folk, during the U.S. Nationals, his round with Shawn Langdon [also Top Fuel driver] was one of those. "It was late Sunday night and our first time on the track since the morning before. That was when we had to deal with the big weather change," he pointed out. "You know, like one hundred and one to sixty-one. [degrees] Everyone was really lost on the dial in. So to squeak past that run was very pivotal. Another round was the one earlier with Adam Gerber. I was between double-oh and thirty-two on the tree over the course of seven days on the track. That thirty-two can win you a round, but it was good that he went one red or I may not have got that one."

"It was starting to get to me a little bit as we got later in the race, just how long and drawn out everything was, and my brother Nick gave me a little pep talk," he confessed. "He's like, 'your still in with both cars, now just get out there and get 'em.' You know, we do all this because we love it and for the great folks that are on board with us like, K&N, Lunati, Dart and Wiesco."

Including Gerber, Folk had also made his way past, Majkowski and Bernier during the first three elimination rounds held on Friday and Saturday before meeting up with Langdon in round four. Where both drivers seemed to manage putting some workable numbers in for the throttle stop settings, it was Folk who had the tree down. Fold had a hefty .043 advantage over Langdon at the hit and was able to back way into him for the round win.

Super Comp wouldn't make it back on the track until very late Monday afternoon and then, the rounds would be hot and heavy. Folk first would match up with Dean Karns and while he may have lagged a little behind on the tree, how outdrove his opponent at the stripe with his 8.902 to Karns' 8.937.

With just over an hour between rounds, this certainly made for much easier throttle stop dialing than the enormous amount of time between the earlier rounds of the weekend, and Folk was more than ready for the task. Folk took the starting line advantage over Joey Cambria [.012 to .040] in the semi-finals and was able to push Cambria one full one hundredth under the 8.90 index for the win.

For the final, Folk would have to face his longtime family friend and fellow K&N racer, Britt Cummings. The two families were even pitted together during the event.

"We were all ready to go and a stocker oiled the track," he said of the moments leading up to the final. "So they [NHRA] pushed us aside and ran the pros in front of us after the cleanup. It must have been another thirty min or so before we ran."

The Super Comp cars of Folk and Cummings would be the final pair of cars down the track and wrap up the six day, 57th annual Mac Tools U.S. Nationals. Both very experienced drivers and either were more than capable of sealing the deal.

It would be Folk off the line first which allowed him to stay just ahead of Cummings for a holeshot 8.945 to 8.911 victory, or one-hundredth margin at the stripe. The win at "Indy" would be the second for Folk, with his last coming back in 1999 and bring his NHRA National Event Wally tally to ten.

"It's always fun when you run someone that you are truly friends with," Folk said about his final with Britt. "Of course when you put that helmet on, there are no friends. I'm there to win. It's one thing when you get beat by someone and yeah well, they were on their game that day or whatever. But when it's a buddy, you know you are going to have to hear about it for the rest of your life, whether it's to the good or to the bad."

"So now, we could be out doing something together and if he says something smart I can say, you know I remember when somebody was forty-eight on the tree in the final of the U.S. Nationals, what the heck were you looking at," he jokingly added.

"It was really all just great," he said of the win and of the top end celebration. "By the time we got finished with contingency and pictures, which pictures are worth a thousand words to me, I love taking pictures [laughs], by the time we got back to the pit, it was like 8:30 that night. We had quite a little party in the pit that night between the families. We even ordered pizzas and had them delivered to the track."

"I just have to say that it was total fatigue for all of us after being in one place for that long," he added. "There are a lot of people that made the win possible and one of them is my dad [Ron Folk]. I owe him a lot, he taught me everything I know about racing. Others are the great companies that work with us, like K&N. Steve Williams from K&N was there all week and he's such a great guy, plus Bob Harris takes really good care of our whole team. I just can't say enough good about K&N, you know with the way they support the sportsman racers. I mean, they just do so much for the sportsman racers."

"From their oil filters to their air filters, we use it all and have always been more than happy with K&N's products," he noted. "Everything K&N offers, it's top of the line stuff."

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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