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While SEMA may be the center for all things aftermarket, it is still amazing to see the variety of causes that theses aftermarket parts can represent. Sometimes people will choose a cause to support or sometimes they will choose a specific purpose to build the vehicle and sometimes they just build a car because they like building cars. In this case, the Ford F-150 built by John Williams was a blitz project that was begun 2 weeks before SEMA began and was finished 2 days before the show was to open. Let me repeat that 12 days of work to build this from the impressive, but stock, Raptor.
2011 SEMA Show featured this highly custom Ford F-150 Raptor
The F-150 in question began life as a 2010 F-150 Raptor with a 6.2 engine, which will be growling at the world through the K&N 77-2579KTK Performance intake system and will see an estimated 20Hp increase from this mod alone. John has done some previous work on SEMA vehicles as well, even earning some awards for his efforts. No wonder this particular build was no slouch on the suspension mod list:
12000VR winch on this Ford F-150 Raptor stood out at the SEMA Show
4.56 ring and pinion from West Coast Differentials
Front Auburn Ected locking Differential
Warn 12000VR Winch
Custom pre runner bumpers
Superchips Cortex Programmer
Baja Designs Lights
Black Rock Wheels
BFGoodrich Mud Terrain TA KM2 Tires
K&N Performance Intake.
When asked what this vehicle does outside of SEMA John replied, "Drives me to and from work and pre running on the weekend." It certainly ought to do that well. John has had some previous experience in building cars. In the past he has built cars for BRGoodrich, Bully Dog Technologies and Black Rock Wheel just to name a few.
The SEMA featured 2010 Ford F-150 Raptor was equipped with Black Rock Wheels
When asked why he uses K&N specifically John replied "It's the best product out there with years of testing and a long history of being the best air filter." And when asked what experiences he's had with K&N he said, "I have been using them on all of my vehicles since 1998!"
Now that SEMA is over John says that he is going to try to get back into rock crawling events and dirt racing. John also has a goal for his custom raptor; in short, 38x14 BFGoodrich Mud Terrain tires. As John puts it, "No other Raptor will be on tires this big!" And that's a pretty impressive statement. That's not to say that the entire project was bolt on or easy. That front bumper was an entirely different matter, it was custom built by John and in his words "They were the first tube products that I actually built." With all of these custom parts and Fords recent foray into rock crawling at Moab it looks like this raptor is a dinosaur not to be taken lightly.
Brown points to longtime friend and mechanic, Kenny Sanford, along with his entire crew for the success they've had over the past years.
As we've reported before, the 44th SCORE Baja 1000 was one of the gnarliest, human and machinery devouring races ever. Survival became its own reward. The 2011 course combined the San Felipe 250 and Baja 500 courses which amounted to roughly 692 miles of bone rattling adventure. 278 entries from 16 countries, including entries from 34 states started the race, 155 finished to brag about it. K&N sponsored team Quad75Dezert conquered small and large adversities throughout the race to win their class and finish second overall for ATVs, which was plenty enough to secure their Class 24 championship as well as the ATV Overall championship.
Brandon Brown and his Quad75Dezert team won the Class 24 and 2011 Overall ATV Title.
Heading into the granddaddy of all desert races Quad75Dezert had already amassed four overall ATV wins, five Class 24 wins and one win in Class 25. "We had three overalls in a row going into the 1000 this year," said team owner Brandon Brown, "And we were hoping for four straight but it didn't work out. Regardless, we were stoked on the season and the getting the season ATV Overall Championship. Everyone involved put in a tremendous amount of work and it felt great to have it all pay off."
Brown's first Baja 1000 experience came in 2006, when good friend and fellow WORCS Racer, Josh Fredrick got him on the team with the factory Can-Am effort. They ended up third overall that year. "It was a great experience and something that I had always dreamt about doing since I was a kid," said Brown. "After that I was hooked and fortunately was asked back the next year to ride with the team again for the season."
For the 2008 Baja 1000 Brown and fellow Polaris teammate, Nick Nelson teamed up, once again finishing third overall for ATV's. After that they put together a program for the entire 2009 season, where they won the Overall and Class 25 in the Baja 500. The following year Brown decided to put together his own program, involving longtime friend and mechanic, Kenny Sanford and racer Jorie Williams.
Rider changes were uneventful and went smoothly all race long for the team.
"Nick (Nelson) ended up racing with us too, as his program fell through at the last minute and we gladly welcomed him back for the season," explains Brown. "We had a good year and ended up with the overall for the point-to-point Baja 1000 from Ensenada to La Paz. Then we managed to follow that victory with Overall and class victories at the San Felipe 250 and Baja 500 and another Class victory at the 2011 Baja 1000."
Team Quad75Dezert drew the first quad off the line for Class 24 and Jorie Williams took off on a tear. "This kid is an animal, but he knows when to ride within his means, and he has plenty of experience down there. We trust his judgment," remarked Brown.
Next up was Kenny Sanford, Sanford wasted no time reclaiming the positions lost during the first pit, coming into the race mile 95 pit second overall. Williams once again took over the ATV, and he battled back-and forth for the lead the entire time until passing off the quad to Brown at the Borrego Road crossing. Brown then passed it back to Sanford, and then Jamie Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick was once again battling for the lead until he crashed on the infamous Old Puertecitas Road. According to Brown, Kirkpatrick rode his heart out trying not to lose too much time before handling over the controls to Williams again. The mishap took its toll on Kirkpatrick and he had to pass his next ride over to Brown, a section Brown had not pre-run before the race.
The team makes one final inspection before Brown brings it home for the Class 24 win and the overall 2011 ATV Championship.
"I rode hard to race mile 424 where we had a scheduled four tire change pit stop and full bike check," said Brown. "The pit went well and I was on my way. I made my way back through the whoops of San Felipe and Borrego, up to Mike's Sky Ranch, then down to the Valley De Trinidad. I handed the bike off to Jorie (Williams) one last time for his short section over to the coast. At this point we had a good lead on second in our class and the rest of the field but the Honda team had 34 minutes on us and we still were gunning for the overall. The fog was horrible coming in, and Jorie dealt with it safely and swiftly before handing over the bike to, Richie Brown at San Vicente near the Pacific Coast."
"Richie had a great ride on the coast and chipped away at our deficit his entire time on the bike. As he was coming into the field at Ojos, where he would hand the bike of to me for the finish, I heard him on the radio letting saying that we had no rear brakes. We had a quick pit to check and then I got back on for the final stretch into Ensenada. I was able to chip a couple more minutes off of the gap but simply ran out of miles. We had a great race and a crew that made great decisions under adversity. Fortunately Jamie was fine after a day or so and we had a Class win and Overall Championship to celebrate!"
Brown say that the team attends WORCS races when they can, but mostly just local races up around the Northwest. "There is some really good desert terrain on the east side of both Oregon and Washington that we like to train in as well," continues Brown. "And yes, we'll be back in Baja for 2012. We would like to thank K&N as well as the rest of our sponsors and support crew that helped make it all happen."
For the Pro 2 Unlimited Championship, Deegan drove his K&N supported Ford F-150 SVT Raptor.
"It was cool to be the first person to win Pro Lite and Pro 2 in the same season!" Brian Deegan told K&N, "I'm glad to accomplish my goal of being the first rookie to win the Pro 2 class and setting a record that will be hard to be beat, winning by almost 50 points."
Deegan won his second Pro Lite title in 2011, the first coming in 2009.
Throughout his career, be it motocross, freestyle, or driving his 900hp Metal Mulisha Pro 2 truck, Deegan has made sport of winning championships, and often he's amended record books in the process. Racing fans came in droves to witness the high-octane action of the final round of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing series (LOORRS) held at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, and watched as Deegan once again ventured where no other driver has been.
Deegan's win and third-place finish was more than enough for the K&N sponsored driver to clinch championships in two classes of the 2011 LOORRS season. Deegan locked down his first ever Pro 2 title, and the Pro Lite championship for the second time in his career at Round 15 of the series, held on Saturday December 10. No racer has ever won the LOORRS Pro 2 class as a rookie. In addition, no racer has ever won two separate classes in the same season.
Deegan and his crew celebrate 2011 Metal Mulisha domination.
For the Pro 2 Unlimited Championship, Deegan competed in his K&N supported Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, and he drove his Ford Ranger to claim the Pro Lite Unlimited title. The two championships added even more accolades to the stellar season "The General" had on four wheels, including his 2011 X Games 17 RallyCross Gold, and representing the USA in Germany at the Race of Champions. Overall, Deegan tallied a total of 21 podiums with 12 first-place wins throughout the LOORRS 2011 season.
It will be tough to top his last season performance in 2012, says Deegan, but make no mistake about, he's looking to win each time he lines up this season.
"2011 was the best season yet," said Deegan, "Winning X Games, two LOORRS championships, and back at Crandon winning. It will be hard to top that in 2012, but I look forward to having fun racing and building Deegan Motorsports. We have the most dominant team and put out the best products."
"I plan on winning every time I line up in 2012," adds Deegan, "So if that brings me to be champion again, then that's what it will be - Metal Mulisha domination!"
Often times we, as human beings, complete certain tasks to remember the loved ones we have lost. Whether it be frequent visits to the last place you saw them or getting a tattoo that reminds you of them; we each have our own way to remember these special people that we hold so dear. Christian Van Lewen has created a vehicle to do just that and has built a one of a kind Camaro SS.
Christian Van Lewen's one of a kind Camaro SS at the 2011 SEMA Show
Van Lewen's custom show car happened to be displayed during SEMA 2011. The most impressive modification has to be the extremely intricate paint job. It combines tribal designs with ghost like images on a bright blue background. Van Lewen described it as a "Fallen Angels" theme. The paint scheme continues throughout the car even onto the lip of each 22" wheel. Van Lewen still drives the car frequently and mentioned he, "Wanted to do something different and wild and that has never been done before." Let's just say it is a pretty wild paint scheme and the one responsible for laying down is Charles Armstrong, from Auto Art Studio.
Other modifications include:
This Camaro SS combines tribal designs with ghost like images on a bright blue background at SEMA
- K&N Typhoon air intake (part number 69-4519TP)
- Kinetik Batteries
- Savini 22" SV29's
- Toyo Tires
- Lexani Black Mesh Grille
- Stillen "J-Hook" Rotars
- Reverse Hood Hinge Kit by Revolution
- Granatelli Motorsports (Rear Lower Control Arms & Coil Plug Wires)
- AAC Styling (Lighting)
- Katzkin Interior done by the Todd Jubert
- Chrome Dressing for Under the Hood
SEMA featured Camaro SS with Savini 22" SV29's
Van Lewen has been modifying cars since he was 17 years old working on his 1996 Silverado. One modification that comes standard on his vehicles is a high flow air filter produced by K&N Engineering. He said, "I have always used K&N filters on all of my vehicles starting with my first vehicle (a 96 Silverado) to my Cadillac to the Camaro, I wouldn't want to use any other product." This is probably because K&N produces quality products backed by a Million Mile Limited Warranty. Or it might be the fact that Van Lewen thinks, "K&N has always provided an amazing product and have recommended them to all of my friends and family. They have great customer service when there is a problem or a concern; an amazing company with a great past and an even better future."
With the help of many friends, Van Lewen was able to get the Camaro SS ready for the SEMA show
With the help of many friends, Van Lewen was able to get the Camaro ready for the SEMA show. It took about 8 hours to detail the car alone. The car had to be washed, waxed, vacuumed, and wiped down really give it that show car appeal.
The "Fallen Angel" Camaro has hopes of getting an upgraded stereo system and forced induction further down the road. Van Lewen wanted to give a special thanks his, "friends and family, Josh Jennings and John Trevino for pushing me to get the car done, Jeremy Rice for my suspension install, Todd Jubert for the amazing interior, and Charles Armstrong for the amazing paint and artwork, and all of my sponsors that helped bring my Camaro to what it is today."
Amber's junior dragster was on display supporting an event to help raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand.
Next time someone says you drive like a girl, value the complement. As more females enter all venues of racing every year, podiums everywhere continue to embrace their rapid and steady rate of success. For the Bell Family Racing team, the drag racing folk from Hershey, Pennsylvania, girls racing and winning is a reality show they live, only without the annoying cameras and other distractions though. Rick and Stephanie Bell's three daughter's have raced pretty much all their lives, it's how they roll together as a family, and they spend nearly half of each year on the road committed to satisfying that passion. Bell Family Racing's home track is Maple Grove Raceway.
Amber Bell, the "World's Youngest Drag Racer", will move up to the next age group (8.90 class) at Maple Grove Raceway for 2012.
Heather, the oldest, was first to race. Next was Allison, and awed by her sibling, Allison subsequently wanted in on the action. Then along came Amber, and with two racing sisters to look up at, she was clearly inspired to the second-power. So too was ESPN's E60 show, as they have scheduled a visit to the K&N sponsored family's home track, Maple Grove Raceway, this spring time to shoot a segment on Amber. This is a follow-up to her international exposure last year as the "World's Youngest Drag Racer." In keeping with the female theme this time around we spoke with the family matriarch, Stephanie, in order to get her take things.
We last spoke half-way through the 2011 season, how did the rest of year treat you overall?
"The last half of the season went very well. After Allison and Heather went back to college, Rick actually got back in a race car. He hasn't raced since Heather was a baby and he hasn't lost his edge - taking runner-up first time back in a drag car. We had a lot of rain throughout the season so we did not get as many races in as we had hoped. One special event took place at our track, when the Junior Dragster team hosted a lemonade stand to raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand. Amber's junior dragster was on display for the fun."
Amber's junior dragster and Allison's Bell Family Racing Camaro are both familiar with victory at Maple Grove Raceway.
How is Heather doing and how did Allison and Amber finish the year?
"Heather and her husband Corey had a beautiful little boy on July 15, 2011. Needless to say, Heather did not drive at all last year, and she is looking forward to getting back into the driver's seat this season. She is a senior in college this year at BYU and will be graduating in April. We are very proud of her."
"Allison had a fun first season in a big car driving our '68 Camaro. It was very different than her junior dragster and she says it was a lot of fun to drive. She did very well and actually went to the finals finishing as runner-up her second time in the car."
"Amber did well, qualifying to participate in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals and for the Division 1 race. Again, with all of the rain, a lot of our races, especially the fun ones at the end of the season were cancelled."
Anything new, different, or special on the calendar for 2012 you'd like to share?
"Heather and Allison plan to share the Camaro for next season. We were hoping to build a new car for Allison, but with the economy, that hasn't happened. Amber will move up to the next age group, and will be running in the 8.90 class. She is excited to be able to go faster and be more competitive. Her lights have been really good, but the slower kids have a hard time competing against the older, faster kids."
"We have a couple of car shows scheduled in January and February. We were invited by Motor Trend magazine to display the Camaro at the Pennsylvania Auto Show at the end of January and we will once again be displaying both the Camaro and the Junior Dragster at Motorama in February."
Are you enjoying your off-season and when does the racing kick back up for you?
"We have had a very nice off-season and have enjoyed our time over the holidays with Heather (and her family) and Allison home from college."
"We are now prepping for the new season starting with freshening all of our K&N oil and air filters to help protect our motors and help them to run the best they can."
"Maple Grove Raceway is our home track and our racing season there will begin in May. We plan to attend some test and tune events at our track, and a couple of others prior to that time, so Amber can get used to going a little faster."
