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Greg Pursley is starting the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West where he left off at the end of the 2010 season. Pursley won the K&N Pro Series West 2011 season opener at Phoenix International Raceway on Thursday night. It was his second win in a row at the 1-mile oval in Arizona. He won the 2010 K&N Pro Series West season finale at Phoenix in November. It was also his third win in the past four K&N Pro Series West races.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Driver Greg Pursley
Pursley led the final 30 laps of the 3 Amigos Organic Blanco 100 and finished ahead of Jonathon Gomez in second and Derek Thorn in third.
"Gene Price Motorsports gave me a great car," said Purlsey, driver of the No. 26 Ford for Gene Price Motorsports. "Same car we won with here in November. Brought it here and started practice and knew we were going to be in a day race, so we kind of worked on the car for day runs. Kind of put it away a little early so we didn't overadjust ourselves on the track conditions."
Pursley had to maintain his lead after a late caution flag in the race. With 10 laps to go, Spencer Gallagher crashed in turn 1. The track was cleaned up with seven laps remaining. Pursley had the lead on the restart, followed by Thorn and Gomez.
Pursley Wins K&N Pro Series West Race at Phoenix International Raceway
"Our strategy was to come in really early and try and save our stuff," Pursley said. "While everybody had different strategies, we came in put on two tires and fuel and went out with the mindset to save our tires and wait everybody out and try to keep the fenders on it and it worked."
Pursley maintained his lead over the final seven laps of the race. Gomez was able to pass Thorn on the restart. Thorn missed a shift left the door open for Gomez to get around him.
"We had a good race, just really had to fight for position there at the end with the car being as hard to get off the corner as it was," Gomez said. "We probably had the fourth-place car. On that last restart, the 26 (Pursley) took off good and the 44 (Thorn) missed a shift and that got me into second. Only had to hold it for about seven laps, so we're thankful. Probably should have finished fourth."
Brennan Newberry won the pole and led the first 20 laps of the race. Purlsey started alongside Newberry on the front row.
Newberry was caught up in a crash on lap 65 and fell out of contention. He finished the race in 33rd place.
Pursley took over the lead on lap 21 and held it for five laps. Ty Dillon and David Mayhew swapped the lead spot from lap 30 to lap 69 when Purlsey finally passed them both for good.
Dillon finished in fourth, behind Thorn. Brett Thompson came in fifth to round out the top five.
"We're only running a partial West schedule, so to be here is a miracle in itself," Thorn said. "The car was really good to fire off with. We qualified decent. This place, it's the first time I've been here, kind of a learning experience being here in the day in practice. We struggled to find an overall baseline of where I'd be comfortable. The track changed a bunch."
Pursley led a total of 37 laps, the most of any driver in the race. The next race on the K&N West Series schedule is at All-American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., on April 16.
"I wish we weren't off for another month. We'll do some testing and hopefully we can keep the momentum going into Roseville," Pursley said. "This K&N West Series has a lot of talented guys in it right now. It's a reall, really good proving ground for these kids. K&N came in and sponsored the series and has helped the series out tremendously. Getting to run here at Phoenix in front of the top three series, I mean you can't get any better than this."
Being selected to as a team driver for GF1/Ti22 Performance Chassis can only further improve his track performance according to Jordon.
Jordon "The Jet" Mallett started off 2011 with some great news, he has been selected to drive for GF1 Chassis, which are produced by Ti22 Performance. This is no small achievement as 234 entries for over 27 states and four countries entered the competition, and only 28 final teams were picked, Mallet Motorsports being one.
One of his other goals is to win an ASCS Regional Series Tour event this season.
I believe this chassis switch will be a key component to another great and successful year for the number 14 Mallett Motorsports team," remarked Jordon.
"The switch was very important to me, I am very thankful for the opportunity to become part of the Ti22 Team USA - they are designing and producing excellent cars and components. I like it very much so far, and I think the new cars are going to work very well for me for several reasons, but the main reason is the car's new design is going to help it adapt to the changing track conditions better than any other cars on the market. The new GF1 chassis seem to be more naturally 'tight' which is the way I have always preferred a car to be, and I believe that it will further improve my performance on the track."
Jordon says one of his goals for 2011 is to win his first ever feature events.
Jordon is 18-years-old and lives in Greenbrier, Arkansas, where he's a senior at Greenbrier High School and a member of Friendship Baptist Church. "My life is made up mostly of school, church, working and racing," says Jordon.
He has been around racing as far as memory serves him, and actually started his own racing career at the age of six, that's when his dad put him into a racing go-cart.
"My dad is just a hero to me for all that he has done, I admire him for his racing skills and unbelievable talent behind the wheel and also just every aspect that he was ever involved in with racing," says Jordon glowingly.
"My dad had a unique characteristic in racing that allowed him to adapt instantaneously, not only to changing track conditions, but on a larger scale he was able to adapt to any kind of vehicle that you wanted to put him into. He was able to be competitive in anything that he was put in, and he could adapt to it within moments after learning the controls inside the vehicle."
Last year was Jordon's rookie season behind the wheel of a full-size sprint car and things went exceedingly well, as the he was extremely competitive, earning fourth place in the points championship at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas.
"Not only that, but I was also able to tag onto some ASCS (American Sprint Car Series) and USCS (United Sprint Car Series) National Touring Series races," adds Jordon. And I made it into the feature event for many of those prestigious shows. This season I have several goals, and very high hopes on where this season will take us. I plan to capture my first feature event win very early in the season, and then concentrate on winning an ASCS Regional Series Tour this year."
The K&N sponsored driver says his racing has been unfolding more and more with each race he enters and he will follow it wherever it leads.
"I just cannot thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ enough for how he has blessed me so greatly in my racing career, without him I would be nowhere compared to where I am today. I would love to see my race career continue to grow at the same rapid rate as it has been over the past couple of years. My ultimate goal is to race fulltime professionally."
It doesn't seem to matter what class or the ET, give NHRA stand-out Dave Connolly a car and he'll soon find his way to the Winner's Circle.
NHRA Super Street Racer Dave Connolly
Connolly was working the extremes during his first two events of 2011. He entered both the ultra-quick Top Dragster class, where he was posting ET's in the 6 second range and the highly competitive Super Street 10.90 index class at both the Bradenton and Gainesville NHRA Division 2 events. Until earlier this year, that wasn't possible before NHRA changed the rules to once again allow drivers to enter both Super Street and another class during the same event.
Taking full advantage of the rule change and showing his true love of competing in door car classes, Connolly teamed up with his cousin to put together a very cool 1981 Chevy Malibu for the 10.90 Super Street index class.
"I really think NHRA made the right call with the Super Street class," said Connolly. "That class is just as tough as any other class and it's really where I have the most fun [in a door car]. I mean the dragster is out there going six seconds and in Super Street I'm only going almost eleven seconds, but I'm still having more fun."
Connolly also has a brand new 2011 American Dragster that he debuted during the Bradenton event.
"We have a couple of new cars this year," said Connolly. "The dragster has been giving us some new car fits and the new Malibu is great. From day one when I first saw it, there was just that extra comfort level with it."
One would think after competing as a professional racer in NHRA Pro Stock, Connolly wouldn't be interested in a much slower ET class, such as Super Street.
"Super Street is a little bit different because you have such a variety of cars," Connolly pointed out. "You might have a guy that goes 95 MPH and then you might have a guy that goes 150 MPH. There's definitely a big span of mile-per-hour difference at the finish line, which makes it more interesting and sometimes a little more challenging. Not only that, but you are trying to get a three-thousand pound car to hit the tree consistently."
"It's not as easy as everyone would think," he continued. "It's certainly not an intermediate class, which is what it has been labeled as in the past. There are a lot of very tough racers in that class."
Connolly didn't have much luck come his way in Top Dragster during the Gainesville Raceway Division race, but he more than made up for it in Super Street.
"There were a lot of really good guys I came up against on my way to the final," explained Connolly. "[Joseph] Skala in the semi-finals is one. You know he's last year's Division 2 Champ and he was on his game all day and he just had a little mishap there during our round and gave me a bunch of room. That was definitely a key race."
The majority of all the runs Connolly and the other drivers had made over the course of the event were during the brighter daylight hours, not so for the final rounds and Connolly was going to be facing a very tough Steve Mikus for the Wally.
"The sun had gone down and it was nighttime by the time we ran the final," he said. "I had actually set up a little tight for my light, at a .004 and fortunately it didn't go red on me."
"You have got to set up that tight when you run Mikus," he added. "We have always had really good races. I knew I was going to have to be good on the tree and really close to the dial."
Connolly was almost too close, but he not only saved his best reaction time of eliminations for the final he also gave Mikus absolutely no room to get in at the stripe, posting a .002 light and a perfect 10.900 ET.
"None of this would be possible without all the great folks who help put these cars together," he said. "Not only my cousin for putting this car together, but the guys at K&N for their help and awesome products that I use on every car have I raced with. You don't win races without using the absolute best and we always protect our engines with K&N filters."
After several successes at Gainesville, it is starting to become quite a special track for the champion racer.
"That's two years in a row that we went to Gainesville with somebody else's car and found ourselves in the Winner's Circle," he smiled. "There's just something about that track."
At the present, Connolly plans to chase points in both Top Dragster and Super Street in NHRA Division 2, with a possibility of some Super Comp and Super Gas competition later in the year, where he will claim Division 3, only if he's not already back behind the wheel in NHRA Pro Stock.
It took more than a year for Derek Lacey to break through with a win in Legends Cars. He spent his rookie season in 2010 racing at The Orange Show in San Bernardino and could do no better than a runner-up finish.
Derek Lacey spent his rookie season racing at The Orange Show in San Bernardino
In his first race of 2011, Lacey won a Legends Cars race at Willow Spring International Raceway in Rosamond, Calif., the first of his brief Legends Cars career.
As satisfying as it was to win at Willow Springs, Lacey said he is still hungry for a win at The Orange Show.
"One of my goals every year is to finish every race. You can't win unless you finish," said Lacey, a 28-year-old from Santa Ana, Calif. "That's one of my goals every year. I would like to get a win at a different track, either Orange Show or Irwindale. I would like to get one win there."
Lacey is undecided about where he wants to race full time in 2011. He would like to return to The Orange Show and take a shot at winning the Legends Cars championship. But there is a chance The Orange Show might not run any races.
Lacey won his first Legends Cars race at Willow Spring International Raceway in 2010
He is also considering racing at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. The fields at Irwindale are much larger than The Orange Show. The level of competition at Irwindale is a little higher than The Orange Show too.
"There's a lot more cars at Irwindale," Lacey said. "We've been going back and forth whether we want to go Orange Show or Irwindale. It will be one of those two full time."
He also wants to race a Willow Springs on a part-time basis. Willow Springs has been the site of a couple milestone wins for Lacey. In addition to winning his first main event race at Willow Springs, Lacey won a trophy dash at Willow Springs last year.
He won the first Legends Cars race of his career on Jan. 15. He started fourth and had to work his way through the field. He made the pass for the lead on the last corner of the last lap.
"I got him by about two feet at the finish line," Lacey said. "That was pretty cool."
It will be a while before Lacey can get his car out for another race. It will either be at Irwindale on April 2 or The Orange Show on April 9.
While Lacey might not have much experience at Irwindale, if he decides to race there, his car was once owned by a seasoned veteran and champion driver. Lacey bought his car two years ago from Tom Landreth, a five-time Irwindale track champion in the Legends Cars class.
Lacey said his team is starting to feel more comfortable and confident with the race car. The win at Willow Springs, he said, is hopefully that start of better things to come.
"I sure hope so," Lacey said. "We know a lot more about the car now. We know how to set it up a lot better. The Legends car has been real hard to drive, but we're finally figuring it out. I think we're in a lot better position to start the season this year than we were last year. My driving has definitely improved and we hope to get more wins this year. We're confident going into this year that we can do better than we did last year."
One of the improvements in the car is the use of K&N oil and air filters. K&N provides product support for Lacey's race team.
"That helped us out a lot," Lacey said. "The car was fast and never had any problems on any level."
With his first career win in the books, Lacey wants to continue to put his car in victory lane.
"It felt really good to get the first feature out of the way," Lacey said. "I won a trophy dash, but it's nice to get the first main event win out of the way. Hopefully we can continue that when start at either Irwindale or Orange Show."
And this is the borrowed car she finished the year with.
At first glance Stephanie Herbage looks just like any 18-year-old, full-time college student, holding down two part-time jobs, yet still managing to squeeze in quality time with chums. However, upon closer examination, this Moreno Valley, California teenager is infinitely nuanced, with more layers than a Bermuda onion.
This is the car Stephanie started the 2010 season in.
Last year Stephanie started racing American Factory Stock cars after her father, Dan and brother Matt, bought a racecar and figured it would be fun to put a girl in the in the car to beat the boys. See, they already knew about her crazy, intuitive, skills for all things with motors and wheels, and yes, even wings.
Roughly seven years ago Dan and Matt started flying RC planes at Hemet model airfield. When Stephanie asked the instructor to teach her, he explained he didn't teach kids under 12, but as a consolation he offered to take her out on a short test flight. Only minutes later he returned, looked at Dan and said "Have her here every Saturday at 8:00 A.M. - she's a natural!"
When she's not racing "Super-Steffie" is the official Perris Auto Speedway pace car driver.
Stephanie learned in four weeks, what usually takes two or more months for other new pilots. The entire family has since learned to fly as they enjoy the family time. And that's how the Herbage Family Flying Circus team name came to be.
On the track Stephanie immediately became a fan favorite at Perris Auto Speedway, earning the nickname "Super-Steffie." Even her fellow competitors can't help but like her, she's competent and earns respect. Last year she crashed her car in only the third outing. Stephanie climbed out of her crashed car and climbed right into the Perris Auto Speedway pace car, and paced the very next A-main the same night.
On Saturdays when she's not racing, she's behind the wheel of the Perris pace car, leading the Sprint Cars around the track for the main events, or at other local venues working promotional opportunities for the Speedway. She spends time with every single fan that greets her, sharing her experience, and inviting them to come out and race. Her goal is not merely to win a race and bring home a trophy, but to introduce young race fans to the track, and generate interest for future drivers. Stephanie is not just a natural behind the wheel it appears, but she's also an innate ambassador for the sport as well.
After the crash last year the new K&N sponsored racer finished the season in a borrowed car. "Luckily my boss and owner of Swedish Speed, Mark Yarbrough, offered to let her race his son's factory stock Nova that he raced the year before," said Dan her father. "This year she will be driving my 1980 Camaro that we built and fitted specifically for her. Her first race in the new car will be March 19, 2011. We are all looking forward to a new season with a new car." Yet despite the crash last year, and completing the season in an unfamiliar car, Stephanie still finished the season in sixth place overall at Perris Speedway.
Clearly genetics and environment contributed to Stephanie's gifts, and while the gene pool thing is rather hit or miss, the surroundings part of her can be easily traced. Stephanie grew up in a family that enjoys going to drag races and watching NASCAR religiously. Her real first-hand taste of speed though came at the age of five, when her uncle taught her to ride his dirt bike and less than three years later she was racing her older brother Matt around the track, and usually beating him.
Stephanie doesn't just drive her racecar either, she works with her dad and brother preparing and fixing it, and she's eagerly learning all she can about the basics of mechanics. On the track she's a fierce competitor, but when she's out of the car, she's a bright, friendly young woman with a glowing smile and sharp sense of humor adored by young fans.
Asked how far she wants to go with racing Stephanie simply says "All the way," then adds, "Possibly even to NASCAR."
