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For many years, Frank Hawley has chosen the full line of K&N air and oil filters to handle that task for the school cars.
Much like the tens of thousands of national, regional and local sportsman racers all across the U.S., Canada and beyond, Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School continually demands a lot out of their equipment from one pass down the track to the next. To help ensure consistency and peak performance, Frank Hawley and his staff are no different than the countless number of national, divisional and bracket champions, many of which got their start at the school. They are all quite selective when choosing the products they depend on to get the job done.
A major part of reliability, whether it's street or strip, comes from a good maintenance program and that includes taking into account what needs to be done to properly protect an engine. For many years, Frank Hawley has chosen the full line of K&N air and oil filters to handle that task for the school cars.
The school dragsters were fitted with the 2nd Generation K&N scoop 100-8512 that comes with its own tray and K&N filter.
"We strive for each class to provide the same experience from one driver to the next, so it's imperative that our Chevy Performance 572 engines stay in good form and part of achieving that is using K&N oil and air filters," said Hawley. "The wrench-off filters are easier for the guys to take off and they don't collapse. We all know that the only two things we want going through those carburetors is our Dragon Racing Fuel and clean air. One little rock or piece of debris can not only do a lot of damage, but it's not a setback that we want during any of our classes. The high-flowing K&N rechargeable air filters take care of ever having that sort of problem to deal with."
Recently, Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School added some products from one of K&N's newer lines to their Super Class cars- the composite scoops. The school dragsters were fitted with the 2nd Generation K&N scoop 100-8512 that comes with its own tray and K&N filter and while Hawley has been very pleased with the new K&N dragster scoops, it just may be the unexpected added benefit of the new K&N scoop on the school's Super Gas car 100-8506 that, from an instructor's stand point, has delighted him the most.
Once we put the new K&N scoop on one of the Firebirds, I was pleasantly surprised how much the driver's field of vision was broadened.
"Once we put the new K&N scoop on one of the Firebirds, I was pleasantly surprised how much the driver's field of vision was broadened and that's a very important point to note when a driver needs as much clear visibility as possible for going through their starting line procedure and being able to line up straight when staging," explained Hawley. "The shape and design of all the new K&N scoops we installed on the cars get a lot of air in and they also seem to have a much better directional flow than other ones we have used."
"We continue to enjoy our ongoing relationship with Frank and his school," said Bob Harris, Series and Track Support Manager/Sports Marketing for K&N Engineering. "We were very excited to get these scoops put to use on the school cars. We know they are seen in many locations all over the country, by numerous racers of all levels. K&N looks forward to the continued feedback in regards to all of our products that are put through the paces at the school. It's all a part of our goal to continue to produce and manufacturer the highest quality products available anywhere."
"K&N replacement air filters and air intakes also supply us with better fuel mileage, power and performance for the school's fleet of tow vehicles," Hawley pointed out. "Who wouldn't want more power and especially better mileage with today's fuel prices? These bolt-on products from K&N can quickly start paying for themselves."
Again for 2012, K&N has joined the many other manufacturers that offer special discounts and more for new graduates of Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School.
The stray double-oh light came for Fletcher during a round where he possibly could have missed the tree and still would have been able to pull out the win.
After back-to-back NHRA National event wins to start the new season in Pomona and Phoenix, as well as a win during the Las Vegas National, Dan Fletcher's most recent accolade in North Carolina bumps his early season National event final round total to four when he put his 1969 K&N Filters Chevy Camaro into the Stock Eliminator final during the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals at z-Max Dragway.
"It was certainly less than stellar," Fletcher shared of his thoughts on the weekend. "I was racing Stock and Super Stock and unfortunately I lost in second round of Super Stock. My opponent was trip-zip against me and I had the transmission go bad on me during that run as well. So that didn't work out too good, so then I got to just focus on Stock."
"My [reaction time] numbers on the computer don't really look that good," he admitted. "I was forty a couple of times, thirty a couple of times, one stray double-oh light that kind of threw things off. The car ran pretty well and my opponents didn't do better than I did and I guess I just stumbled my way to the final."
Fletcher and his K&N E/SA Camaro first faced Merrill Schrimscher in round one and was able to use that round as more of a time run when Schrimscher took a pretty big chunk of the tree and turned it .025 red. That moved him on to face another '69 Camaro belonging to Mickey Whaley in round two. Like the round before, Fletcher's opponent turned it red and set him up for his third round pairing with Robbie Hudlow.
It wasn't a real W but kind of like a half. Really, I guess you don't do your best, but still get paid you just take it and run.
The "stray" double-oh light came for Fletcher during a round where he possibly could have missed the tree and still would have been able to pull out the win. Hudlow, who appeared to be having some sort of starting line problems after his .112 light the round before, didn't launch his 2010 Mustang until about the third shade of green during his round with Fletcher and his .165 reaction time was like leaving a barn door wide open for the multi-time World Champ to nearly effortlessly take the win light without an ounce of fear of dipping under his 11.10 dial.
The third round of Stock Eliminator competition would put a cap on the festivities for Saturday's racing action and Fletcher would have to wait from after 8PM that evening until mid-afternoon the following day before Stock was called back to the lanes to continue eliminations.
With different track and air conditions from the previous round the evening prior, Fletcher came to the line with his K&N Camaro dialed up six hundredths of a second slower as he faced Steve Szupka. While Fletcher may not have been super proud of his reaction times during this event, they were helping him win rounds and his .033 to Szupka's .042 gave him all the window he needed to play the top end game and on to the semi-finals where he would square off against the much slower entry of Rob Bihl.
During the semi-final, Fletcher was just a thousandth of a second off his previous round reaction time, but for the first time of the race, he was the one who was ever-so-slightly behind at the hit. The .006 starting line advantage did not help Bihl when it came to the stripe. Both drivers underestimated the track and air conditions and went way under their dials, but it would be K&N's Dan Fletcher having a much better grip on keeping his car closer to the number and on to his fourth NHRA National event final of the season.
Fletcher faced Joe Lisa, in what was only his third NHRA national final. Fletcher with seventy-six wins, twenty-one in Stock Eliminator alone and Lisa looking for his first. Fletcher gave it a valiant effort only to miss his dial and breakout by a measly one thousandth, handing Lisa his first win.
"It wasn't one of my better outings, but we still got a paycheck," noted Fletcher of his Stock Eliminator runner-up. "I guess like in any sport, you don't play your best game and still leave with kind of a 'W,' it wasn't a real 'W' but kind of like a half. Really, I guess you don't do your best, but still get paid you just take it and run."
When the 2012 season started, the plan from the Fletcher camp was to not chase NHRA Championship points, but to just race and let the chips fall where they may. Now that he has two early season wins in Comp Eliminator, he's rethinking his season. "Since we have started off so well with the Comp car, looks like we might get roped into chasing points a little bit in that class. So I guess that makes me a big fat liar," he laughed. "But I swore up and down, that as crushed and worn out and devastated as I was last year, this year I was going to go to my twenty national events, but I was not going to get hooked going to points meets. So, I guess I'll see everyone at Norwalk next month for the divisional."
During Las Vegas, Line was flat unbeatable in qualifying as he was number one out of the gate during Friday's first session and never looked back.
With now just seven events remaining to gain points and position for the 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge, Jason Line earned his second NHRA Pro Stock pole of the season, his seventh since the points started over for the Challenge, during the most recent NHRA event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the 13th annual SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. Line continues to hold down the top spot in the Challenge with a one-hundred fifteen point lead over K&N's Mike Edwards.
Since the commencement of the 2012 race season, Jason Line has been quite deadly during qualifying, taking not only fifty percent of the pole positions thus far, but for the two he didn't, still going into race day no less that second on the ladder and in the process earning a whopping 680 points for the K&N Horsepower Challenge out of the 700 maximum. Second highest points earner for the first four races of the season goes to K&N's Mike Edwards with 650, who earned a number one at Phoenix and third to Allen Johnson with 610, picking up the remaining pole so far this season at Gainesville.
During Las Vegas, Line was flat unbeatable in qualifying as he was number one out of the gate during Friday's first session and never looked back. He not only held on to the number one spot over the course of qualifying, he outran the field, making the quickest run of each of the four sessions.
Wind played a fairly big factor for all teams competing during the Las Vegas event. "That place is kind of crazy," said the current K&N Horsepower Challenge point leader. "You never know which way the wind is blow. One minute its blowing one direction and the next it's another. It's always kind of a tough place to race because of that. We came out of the box good and that's always a great way to start because then you can kind of chip away at it. A lot of times you get behind the eight ball, but this was a good qualifying event for us. My car has been really good, actually phenomenal."
Jason not only held on to the number one spot over the course of qualifying, he outran the field, making the quickest run of each of the four sessions.
"If it wasn't for K&N and the K&N low qualifier award, we would have come out of Vegas empty handed," he confessed. "We have a great race car and were number one qualifier, but the driver just needs to get a little more intense on race day. I gotta say though, I really like hanging those K&N plaques on my wall and the bonus they provide is fantastic."
Over the course of qualifying, Line first laid down a 6.679, tying Allen Johnson in E.T., but holding the all-important tie breaker with his faster 206.99 MPH for the number one position. He then came back and made his best run of all the sessions during the afternoon shot, when he found another whole two hundredths of a second and a nice 6.659. That number would remain the top spot even though both sessions on Saturday.
Although Line has a nice lead over Mike Edwards for the top spot in the 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge, he's far from comfortable with it. "We don't have a stranglehold on it, because we definitely don't," he commented on his position in the standings. "You know, I say it every year, but I want to win that thing one of these years and we just seem to keep coming up short."
The K&N Horsepower Challenge is unique in that it provides eight elite NHRA Pro Stock teams a shot to run off in just three short rounds for a substantial payday. The last person standing will earn, not only some of the biggest bragging rights in all of drag racing, but also the largest single race payout in all of NHRA Pro Stock with its $50,000 check.
"If things keep going the way they are, obviously the worst case scenario is that we start that race with a great starting position," he said of the upcoming Challenge race to be held in early July at Norwalk. "Best case is that we start with the best spot and that's number one. It's really quite a battle right now between Mike [Edwards] and myself. We seem to be the two teams who have the most consistent cars during qualifying. I think it's really going to come down to the last race right before the shootout. We'll see, hopefully we can hang on."
The teams have Easter weekend to grab some quick rest and time with their families before it's right back to business for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, April 13-15 at zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina.
2012 is the first year Buddy Prijis will be sponsored by K&N and he feels he's ready to become World Champion.
Forget everything you know about riding bikes on the street because Speedway bikes are meant to be ridden around oval dirt tracks, and the machines are meant to be power-steered via the rear wheel, going sideways in order to go forward. Four riders turning left over four laps with races lasting just over a minute, how tough can that be you ask? Very, very tough is the answer.
Speedway riders need to be fearless and talented, as the racing is an absolute blur of non-stop frenetic racing action. For that reason Speedway's popularity continues to grow throughout Europe. One of the brightest new stars on the scene is 14-year-old Buddy Prijis from De Krim, Holland and by every indication he's ready to take his rightful position near the top of the European Speedway scene this year.
In the first four races of his 30 race schedule, Prijis already has two firsts and two second place finishes.
"This is my second season of racing Speedway," said Prijis. "I have already raced in four matches this season- two times I was first and two times I was second."
Speedway racing isn't a particularly high-tech but it more than makes for that shortcoming with explosive racing action. Speedway bikes are mostly Czech-made Jawa motorcycles fitted with 500cc air-cooled SOHC single-cylinder carbureted engines, which burn pure methanol and produce about 85 horsepower. Although that doesn't sound like a great many ponies, keep in mind the bikes tip the scale at barely 176 pounds. To put that in perspective, that's a better power-to-weight ratio than a Suzuki GSX-R1000.
A Speedway motorcycle accelerates from zero to 60 in less than three seconds, and with a single-speed gearbox and no brakes, Speedway bikes are vicious little buggers that'll spit you off in an instant unless you've got your riding technique spot on. Experienced riders that have ridden these bikes claim it's the most intense motorcycling experience they've ever had, yet Prijis pilots his K&N supported bike with a veteran's ease and finesse.
"I got interested in Speedway racing because my dad also raced them when he was a kid," explains Prijis. "In 2012 I will race in about 30 matches, and now having K&N to sponsor me is great support. I emailed a person from K&N Holland (Marcel Blom) and he said yes, he would like to sponsor me, and that's how that happened. My goal for this year is to become World Champion, and that match will be later this season in Germany."
Last year, I got a call from Ford about building a F-150 EcoBoost for the 8100 class.
Racing drivers are taught from the beginning to persevere, and perseverance is going to be key for Randy Merritt and his Mongo Racing team this season.
After a broken back sustained in a racing incident put Merritt out of action, the Mongo team appeared to be down and out. But last season, Merritt returned to the drivers seat and finished a remarkable second in championship points. This season, the Mongo team is jumping up a class in the Best In The Desert series, unveiling a new Ford at the prestigious Mint 400 in hopes of regaining the championship form of years past.
Merritt missed the first race of the season, instead having a substitute driver start the race so the team got starting points and stayed eligible for a championship.
"After I broke my back, I decided I was done with the (8100) class," Merritt said, referring to the limited-travel stock class he was running in. "Last year, I got a call from Ford about building a F-150 EcoBoost for the 8100 class. I said to myself 'this is my last year in this class' and Tracy Rubio at TNC started building me a long travel unlimited V6."
Merritt missed the first race of the season, instead having a substitute driver start the race so the team got starting points and stayed eligible for a championship. Round 2 found the team taking delivery of the new Mongo Racing Ford on the Friday before the Mint 400. After guessing on the setup, they managed to come home in sixth.
With time in the truck as a driver, I will get more comfortable and learn what it can do out there.
Merritt said he was extremely satisfied with the way the weekend unfolded considering the time crunch everyone was under. After the Mint 400, the team was able to get in the shop and put the finishing touches on the new Ford. They also spent several hours testing, hours Merritt thinks will pay off immediately.
"With time in the truck as a driver, I will get more comfortable and learn what it can do out there. The one thing that was on our side is our experience, I have the same core friends and teammates that I had when we started racing, and we all know how to succeed."
The new truck hopefully will take on a life that resembles its driver and team. The name Mongo came from an old radio commercial that featured a man named Mongo selling big clothes. The team was known for it's big trucks and big personalities and he name Mongo Racing was born. The team was successful from the beginning, winning five-straight Parker 400's at one point.
Merritt said the support his team gets from K&N has been huge. "The race truck has K&N products anywhere I can put it," Merritt said. "But one of the more important things that is overlooked is the support vehicles. In the bigger races, the support vehicles go through some nasty, silty roads to get to the pits, and in desert racing there is no time for break downs so air filters are crucial to the support trucks."
