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RJ Anderson sits atop the podium no tonly in 1st but, a 2012 championship
Another season of Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) action is in the books for Stronghold Motorsports, and another championship is on the mantle. But this one just feels different. It feels a little more special.
19-year-old RJ Anderson became the youngest professional trophy truck champion in LOORRS history, securing the Pro Lite championship in 2012. The son of an off road racing legend, Anderson now sits on top of the world, another superstar in the stable of Stronghold drivers that includes motocross king Jeremy McGrath, Jeremy 'Twitch' Stenberg and Cameron Steele. A few months later, the championship is starting to settle in for Anderson.
“I think the championship has finally sunk in,” Anderson said. “At first it all seemed so unreal, but after a few newspaper and magazine articles I’ve come to terms with the new title of Pro Lite champion.
RJ Anderson appreciates his LOORRS Pro Lite fan base and their support
“I have to give a special thanks to everyone who has reached out and congratulated me on my dream come true this year.”
Faced with the decision to either play baseball or go racing, Anderson chose the dirt, following in the footsteps of his father, Randy, the long-time crew chief for trophy truck legend Walker Evans. Five years later, Anderson looks like a genius for choosing the loud pedal over the diamond.
RJ Anderson started off-road racing and the ripe young age of 14
“There are a few things that made this championship special to me. The biggest one is the fact that I started my off road racing career at the lowest level, in a trophy kart at age 14. I had to work my way up through the ranks, proving myself in each class that I entered. To be a Pro Lite champion was always my dream and to actually see it come true in just five years was a very big accomplishment for me.
“Another reason it was so special is I got to do it right alongside my dad. He’s been an off road legend his whole life, so to be able to accomplish something like this together was very cool for me.”
RJ Andseron and the Stronghold race team grabbed the points lead early in the season and never looked back
Anderson jumped out to an early points lead and was able to carry that momentum through the season, never losing sight of the final goal.
“I honestly never lost faith in brining home the 2012 championship. We grabbed the point lead early and tried not to lose any momentum. There are always bumps in the road, but my team put in one-hundred-and-ten percent at all time and gave me a truck I was confident with going into each and every race.”
RJ Anderson is the youngest trophy truck champion in LORRSS history
Those bumps Anderson alluded to certainly reared their ugly head during Anderson’s other championship run, but they also provided a moment of learning that helped Anderson better understand how to chase a championship and finish the deal.
“One thing I learned is in racing it’s never over until it’s over. I actually lost the TV championship earlier in the year after leading the points all season. I was leading the final race and on the last lap, I ended up breaking a transmission, which set me back to a runner-up finish in the points standings. I was very bummed, but it taught me to save my equipment, which helped carry over to the situation I was in during my Pro Lite championship hunt.”
Anderson dodged his biggest bullet early in the season.
The K&N sponsored racer has a long career ahead in off-road racing
“The most important moment of the year was when I lost a cylinder halfway through the Glen Helen night race and still managed to finish in fourth. We had a fast truck but on only seven cylinders, the truck was at a huge disadvantage. Championships are won on your bad days, so pulling off a fourth was a huge step in keeping us atop the field.”
Of course, every season has its magical moments, and for Anderson, one will forever be etched in his memory: the night he won the championship.
RJ Anderson understands engine protection is a big part of winning championships
“A moment I will never forget is pulling into the winners circle after winning the night race in Las Vegas. The win clinched the Pro Lite class championship and the energy from the crowd and my team was insane. My team worked so hard all year and to reward them with a championship was a huge accomplishment. It took a lot of weight off my shoulders going into the final round with the title already clinched.”
One of the biggest advantages Anderson had was the strong sponsorship from Monster Energy Drink, Stronghold Motorsports, and of course, K&N Filters.
“One of the toughest battles in off road racing is keeping your engine together each and every race. We race in a very dirty environment, and the K&N products we use give us the performance we need to win championships, and the clean air our engines need to run all race long.”
Motorcycle Racing has been in Shayna Texter's blood for many years
To many, including multiple championship-winning DFW Honda/K&N Filters racer Shayna Texter, racing is all about family. Many owe their careers to parents and older siblings who blazed trails, provided coaching and encouragement and who continue to help these racers along their paths. For Shayna, it started in 2004 after watching her older brother race. Of course, older brother Cory's example wasn't the only one - her grandfather, Glen Fitzcharles, who was inducted in the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2008, and father Randy, a professional flattrack and road racer of his own, both sparked a love for motorcycle racing in Shayna as a little girl.
In the passing years, time had been both cruel and giving. The Texter family lost Randy and his father, Shayna's grandfather, legendary Ray “Tex” Texter in less than two years. Meanwhile, Shayna continued to bring in championships, including the 2012 AMA All-Star Series Champion, multiple accolades from the AMA (Most Dedicated Rider, Most Outstanding Performance, and Female Rider of the Year), and four career AMA Grand National wins.
Shayna brought home a Pro Single championship victory in Springfiled, IL during 2012
The road to her 2012 AMA All-Star Series Championship was a difficult one, particularly at the series' close. Rain-outs in Springfield, IL, mechanical mishaps and track conditions added up to some stiff competition for the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield Short Track Nationals last September. Shayna was prepared to ride the same Honda CRF 450 she had ridden to the podium in 2011; the very same 2009 Honda she rode to the win at Sacramento California’s Mile in July of 2012.
Unfortunately, on the last lap of Qualifying, she blew 5th gear in the gearbox, forcing the crew to pull out their backup bike, a 2012 Honda. With only two-hours to set up the bike, Shayna's crew continued to make adjustments throughout the evening. “There was no way I could have done all the work in the swap-over; there were so many helping including Mark Cheza, Billy Gruwell, Jared Mees who were also helping to keep me focused," Shayna recounted.
Thankfully, both bikes shared similar equipment including K&N Filters. "My family has been using K&N products for as long as I can remember," Shayna explained. "If they make a product available for our bikes, we use them. The whole crew at K&N are really genuine people and I am really excited to be a part of the K&N family. The quality of the products and strong history in the company is something that can't be matched among their competitors. It adds performance to our motorcycles in the horsepower department and the products keep our bikes one step above the competition."
Shayna rides a 2012 Honda CRF450 in AMA flat track events across the country
Thankfully, with the bike tuned, Shayna returned to the field of Pro Single competitors. Through the heat, Shayna was in 6th before moving outside to take the spot behind the number two qualifier, Stephen Vanderkur. With one more outside line, Shayna made her move on the forth lap to take the lead, bringing home the championship. She then celebrated with her brother Cory and has remained forever grateful for the family she has and the new family she has acquired while racing.
Clark plans on continuing to race the NASCAR Modified for one at least one more season in 2013.
Pigtails and sixteen - that was Jessica Clark back in 2009 when we first discovered her stirring up a ruckus on the racing radar. At the time, setting aside time to answer interview questions from a sponsor got delegated to the backseat, Clark had more pressing priorities after all. She was fully focused and dedicated on maintaining a 4.0 GPA at Westlake High School, and how do you not immediately admire that kind of clear thinking from a kid? Clark is unmistakably one of those much needed overachievers that continue to push the learning curve forward so that the rest of us are shamed into achieving anything at all. Clark isn't a kid anymore, and as much as things have changed outwardly, the internal mechanical foundation that makes her tick has only been fortified, reinforced and polished to a diamond luster.
During the 2010 through 2011 race season Clark competed in the Western USAC Ford Focus Midget series and the NASCAR Whelen S2 Limited Late Model Series. She had 1 feature win, 1 pole, 9 top-three finishes, 19 top-five finishes, and 30 top-ten finishes.
"I also became the first female in USAC history to win two championships in one year," Clark adds. "I won the Western States Pavement Ford Focus Midget Championship and the Southern Pavement Ford Focus Midget Championship. My 2012 NASCAR Whelen All American Modified/Star Grand American Modified racing season recently ended, and on a strong note. I was not able to find the funding for a full season of racing, so I raced two thirds of a season. I finished off the season with a trophy dash win and a Star Grand American modified feature win. I will be racing NASCAR Whelen All American Modifieds next season at Stockton 99 Speedway with the hopes of turning it into a touring season."
On the subject of important lessons she's learned over the past few years Clark says. "On the driving side of racing I have learned that my ability to give accurate and detailed feedback to my crew is a necessity to improve our chances for a successful race.
Jessica Clark acknowledges that Ron Sutton's Winners Circle program has taught her to be a better racer and a more confident and astute young woman.
On the business side of racing I have learned that the key to any sponsorship is to treat it as a business partnership in which I, the driver, am a marketing partner. I have learned that a sponsorship is not a 'handout' to an 'up-and-coming racer.' It is an investment in a strong and lucrative form of marketing." It's only reasonable at this point to mention that there are veteran racers that never grasp that concept any better, or articulate it any more succinctly, than Clark just did.
Concerning her continuing involvement with the Ron Sutton's Winners Circle (RSWC), "It has been a blessing to my life's journey," she acknowledges. "It is a racing team that is dedicated to developing young, talented drivers to have a viable chance at a career in the NASCAR Cup series. I have been racing for RSWC for four years and I consider all drivers and crew members as my extended family. I was accepted on the team at the age of 14 and I was extremely shy, unconfident, and not business minded at all. After my first year on the team I had gained loads of self-confidence and I became quite outgoing."
"I attribute this growth of self to the in-class training days that we have each year during the off season. The topics of the classes include: fitness, chassis tuning, data acquisition and analysis, how to conduct yourself in interviews, sponsorship and marketing, etc. RSWC provides all the tools to become a well rounded driver on and off the track. I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this team because it has not only turned me into a knowledgeable and experienced racer/business woman, it provides me with life skills and lessons that are priceless and will benefit me regardless of the whether or not I achieve a career in NASCAR."
Clark's short term plans are to continue racing the NASCAR Modified for one more season. Her long term goal is to be racing in either the K&N East Series or the ARCA Series within the next three years. "Five years from now I plan to be racing for a NASCAR Cup team," adds Clark.
Extreme Dirt Track Pro-Am ATV Racing Podium (left to right)Brad Riley (2nd), Harold Goodman (1st) , Chuckie Creech (3rd)
It is said that when you love what you do, you’ll never have to work again. So, when motorsports racing is all you know, love and do, working at a motorsports dealership that has its own full-time race team has got to be a dream job. We got the opportunity to chat with Brandon Jones, a racer and full-time employee at Honda East Toledo who walked us through his highs and lows as a racer and landing his “dream job.”
“Ever since I was 15 years old, I had lived and breathed racing,” Brandon explained. “I made huge sacrifices over the years to put racing as my main priority. During my senior year of high school, while most of my friends were applying to colleges, I was mapping out my race schedule. Every weekend I would be at a different track perfecting my riding game. After the 2008 AMA ATV Motocross season, a sponsor picked me up for a full ride. All I had to do was show up and race, it was good gig.”
But things didn’t play out. Brandon explained, “Before round 1 in 2009 of the AMA ATV Nationals, I was in Florida training as a full time AMA Pro-Am racer for several weeks. I became sick with the flu at round 1 and was unable to race the event. After round 2 of the nationals and finishing solid, I broke my hand in accident that ended my 2009 season.
“By that time, I realized that I couldn’t risk racing anymore with my son getting older. In the Spring 2010, I came to Honda East after racing for 10 years. Here, it only seemed natural to put together a rider support program since its what I have done and known so well. In late 2011, I put together a little program that had some great discounts to racers, as well as re-energized my need for racing.”
Honda East has quite a rider support program that suites Pros to Average Joes
Besides forming and managing the Honda East racer support program, Brandon raced the first 3
events of the AMA nationals and claimed all top 5 finishes earning 8th overall in National point standings in its first year in 2011. “Continuing on in 2012,” Brandon continued, “I wanted to take our program to the next level and get some top caliber racers and sponsors for the Honda East team. I personally went through and reviewed every racer application from every amateur and pro to validate their resume credentials as I wanted to make sure we had loyal and honest racers representing Honda East and our sponsors involved.”
His efforts paid off, and saw more championships in one year than anyone at Honda East could’ve imagined, including both the Pro and Pro-Am Championships in 2012 AMA Extreme Dirt Track, three 2012 AMA Motocross Nationals championships in Super Mini, 90 Modified and Girls (6-11), and four podium finishes for Girls (6-11), Junior 25 Plus, Veteran 30+A and 70 SS (6-11) 2012 AMA Motocross Nationals classes.
K&N air filters offer excellent protection and performance for all kinds of offroad race vehicles
Brandon accredits these sweeping wins to Honda East’s rider support for just about any type of performance racing, sponsoring Super Bike racers, motocross, snowmobile, side-by-side and even mini-sprints. Brandon continued, “It does not matter what skill level you race or class. We sponsor full blown professionals to local weekend warrior riders.”
When it came time to source manufacturers to help keep the Honda East team in the lead, approaching K&N Filters was a “no-brainer.” He explains, “We broke down what a machine needs to win by part and listed the best company next to it to seek sponsorship interest. We knew there was not another filter company out there to sift dirt out with maximum performance and reliability in mind, the rest is history. You just can’t beat the reliability, performance, quality and peace of mind that you are using the best products. Those are the greatest benefits for our program.”
The K&N and Bimota connection was a technical partnership over a year in the making
It’s 1972 at the Circuito Internazionale Santamonica, an Italian race track located near Misano Adriatico, a Province of Rimmi. Hunched in the gravel trap at the Curva della Quercia (Curve of the Oak) is an injured Massimo Tamburini. The downed racer is about to make a decision that will shape the future of motorcycling. In a heap next to him lays his battered Honda 750 race bike. Nursing three broken ribs Tamburini concludes that the Honda’s frame simply wasn’t up to the task of handling all the horsepower and G-forces created during racing. He decides that the only solution is to build his own frame and swing-arm, and in that fortuitous moment Bimota Motorcycles was born.
Bimota the company was actually formed in 1966, at the time they specialized in heating systems. The original founders were Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini. The company’s name comes from the first two letters of their surnames – Bi-Mo-Ta. Tamburini however was the bike nut, and in his spare time he used his engineering skills to create very custom, one-off, “specials.” Tamburini’s reputation for excellence in the world of motorcycle racing had already been established when the decision to split the company into two divisions was made in 1972.
Bimota the Italian motorcycle manufacturer started at first by developing their own frame designs, and using the existing engines from the top-end models of Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki. Later on in the 1980’s, Bimota also started using Yamaha and Ducati engines for their production models. The current production models only make use of Ducati engines, with the exception of a prototype model unveiled at the EICMA Motorcycle Salon in Milan, Italy in November 2012, which uses the engine from the current BMW S1000RR.
K&N is very proud to announce that they have become an official technical partner of Bimota. The famous K&N logo will now be prominently displayed on the bodywork of every Bimota model produced with factory installed K&N products.
“It took us about six months to make this partnership a reality, although we started brief conversations with Bimota about air filter development back in 2011,” details Joost Adriaans, K&N’s EMEA R&D Manager and OEM Account Manager living in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands.
K&N and Bimota share a very similar business visions based on staying in the forefront of technical innovations
“At first, we were searching for the correct filters, making sure they were complimenting the high power output of the Bimota DB8 and DB11. Data showed that performance improved just as expected when a K&N air filter was installed, and that told us that our K&N filter was a perfect piece of the puzzle in the Bimota intake system.”
“Since K&N and Bimota are both companies with a very similar business attitude, the fit of this partnership is so perfect. We both try to be innovative and ahead of the game, using modern technologies and creative, effective designs in our work. Therefore we are very proud that we can apply our air filter technology to make these bikes perform even better than they already do.”
Adriaans’ role in this project involved making certain that both parties were provided with the proper information at all times. This included the handling of filter samples to administration discussions with K&N’s Marketing Director about the bodywork branding. “We all worked very hard on the realization of this partnership and the outcome is superb,” Adriaans adds.
“The idea to connect Bimota with K&N started when I first started thinking about the supercharger application. Personally, I associate the K&N brand with the one of the best examples of high performance engineering coming from the USA, and I’m a big USA enthusiast,” remarked Bimota’s Davide Comandini. “And what is more American then a supercharger application on an engine? This was my starting idea when I asked Joost if K&N would be interested to cooperate with Bimota.”
The new Bimota motorcycles with K&N air filter technology were a big hit at the EICMA show in Milan
Comandini is a highly accomplished and respected engineer with many years of motorcycle R&D factory experience. Until a few months ago, Comandini was the only person at Bimota referenced for engine developement and calibration, including all electrical parts applications. “Now I’m the project leader for the development of the DB11 VLX (with supercharger) and DB11 (naturally aspirated) engines,” he adds.
What was the initial overall reaction to the new Bimota motorcycles at the EICMA show? “The comments were unanimously great!” reports Adriaans. “Everyone loved the new bikes, especially the DB11 VLX, which uses a supercharger to take the standard 162 BHP of the DB11 all the way up to 191 BHP. Another favorite was the Tesi 3D. This bike uses a highly innovative steering mechanism to create a perfect weight transfer under braking and accelerating.”
Comandini concludes with his own world visionary prediction, “Soon the rest of the world will know about the K&N and Bimota partnership.”
