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The Billy Alley Jr. Fan Club, the "Alley Katz." Members get t-shirts, club decals, autographed photos, regular pizza parties, and the opportunity to cheer on their local hero.
From sprint car racer Billy Alley's perspective, there were times this season were victory lane may as well have been the moon, he had a clear view of it, but he just couldn't reach it. The Lincoln, Nebraska driver has been racing on a limited schedule this year and he's faced a plethora of mechanical hardships. Last Friday night the seemly endless string of vindictive motorized gremlins took the night off, as he recorded his fifth career win over a very competitive 29-car ASCS-Midwest field at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska.
K&N sponsored Billy Alley finally got the mechanical gremlins off his back by notching his fifth career ASCS victory at I-80 Speedway.
After the race Billy Alley commented, "It was just a fun race. At the same time, it was nerve-racking. We've had some bad stuff happen to us this year, and I was afraid it was going to happen again. It didn't, and we were the car to beat."
The win marked the tenth straight year that the 26-year-old Alley has graced Victory Lane. A string of strong finishes over the last few weeks was the harbinger of better things still to come.
"Our race team has had a lot of success in the past. The expectations are always high. We were fast all year, and had some strong consistent finishes. But the wins were becoming very hard to come by. I believe success in racing comes from surrounding yourself with successful people and businesses like K&N Engineering. I have been very fortunate in doing this and I want to win every time I hit the race track for all the people and fans that support me. So not winning on a regular basis gets to a guy!"
"We had some engine issues we were chasing and finally figured out the problem," explains Billy Alley. "But really it was just bad luck. There was a night we were leading late in the race and a wheel broke. Then in another race we started on the pole one and a mag box failed. When writing my weekly press release I never write the words 'bad luck' along the headline. I feel you have to work through the bad luck to enjoy the good. I had to make an exception this year, because it didn't seem like the bad luck was ever going to go away."
Billy Alley's predicament is yet another lucid example of capricious racing providence intervening. The best that can be done under those circumstances is just the best that you can do - and to hold on because it too shall pass.
"The equipment that our race team performs with is top-notch. We never get beat because someone else has better equipment. That is an excuse you will never hear from me," remarks Alley.
"I feel our engine program is very strong. An engine is the most important and expensive piece of a race car. Therefore, I use the best products on the market for our engines - and that's the K&N Sprint Car Airbox. There are no air restrictions and air helps produce power. My favorite part though is how easy it is to maintain. It takes just minutes to remove, clean and reinstall."
"I also use K&N oil filters. I admit I learned that lesson the hard way using another brand of oil filter in the past. During a heat race the rubber seal on the filter blew out. I lost oil pressure for a brief moment before I got the engine shut off and it destroyed a lot of expensive parts in the engine. With K&N filters I never worry about that. Also my engine builder really likes it during rebuilds.
"I am a proud supporter of K&N performance products, and I am thankful for their support."
Kruseman celebrates his latest victory with his biggest fans, his daughter Casie and wife Carri.
If Star Wars movies taught us anything it's that as soon as the student believes he's the master, that's when things start getting really interesting. Cory Kruseman is a renowned Sprint and Midget car racer, and the skills and techniques he's amassed on the track he successfully shares with others. Kruseman runs a highly effective driving school at his hometown track in Ventura, California, at Seaside Park.
. K&N's Cory Kruseman is once again back in the USAC Western States Midget points lead.
Just how proficient is the Kruser with translating his instincts so that others can comprehend? Well, good enough so that his students are the racers challenging him for the USAC Midget points title. However, as though saying I may have taught you everything you know, but I haven't taught you everything I know, Kruseman is back on top after his stellar performance in Calistoga, California, at the Louie Vermeil Classic.
Kruseman went into Saturday night's Midget showdown trailing points leader, and former student Alex Shuttle, by three points. He finished the night's USAC Western States Midget feature in second place, behind Robby Josset, yet another graduate of his school. With his runner-up finish Kruseman once again sat atop the standings heading into Sunday night's event.
Sunday night, though the master shone even brighter over his students, Kruseman put his Lucas Oil/K&N number 21 Spike Midget in victory lane. Kruseman and Shuttle battled for 25 laps, but when the hoopla settled, Kruseman was the victor. This is his second Midget win of the year thus far, not including his preliminary night win at this year's Chili Bowl Nationals.
Kruseman has now extended his points lead by 17 over Shuttle. In addition, Kruseman also has his fingerprints all over the second and third place contenders, as they are both former students.
As far as Kruseman is concerned, the circle is not yet complete, at least not for as long as he's still racing.
Tom Chilton stayed consistent all season tallying valuable points at every race.
She is nothing if not fickle this racing - dealing out grandeur and heartbreak with equal disregard - so often dismissing any association with proper order. Would it have made a remarkable story had Team Aon won the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship outright? Yes.
Team Aon the Littlehampton, England based squad celebrate their double championship glory.
Is it at all appropriate that Tom Onslow-Cole's car refused to cooperate in the last race of the season when he was on the scent in the title hunt? Absolutely not. Still, anytime a team exits a race season with double championships, it's tough to sulk for very long.
K&N supported, LPG powered Team Aon celebrated a extraordinary conclusion to the 2010 race season as the Arena Motorsport run Ford Focus squad won the Independents Team Trophy and Tom Chilton secured the Independents Trophy for drivers.
At the season ender contested in Brands Hatch in Kent, England, Tom Onslow-Cole made a strong start to race one as he bid to win the drivers title, but his challenge was over almost before it began,
Chilton consistency was rewarded with the Independent Driver Trophy.
as he suffered gearbox failure on lap nine, ending his championship challenge with Jason Plato. Tom Chilton on the other hand recovered strongly from a poor start to bring his Calor Gas powered Focus ST home in seventh position scoring valuable points in the process.
The second race of the day saw both Team Aon cars make great starts with Chilton moving forward from his seventh place start and Tom Onslow-Cole jumping 11 places from the back of the grid. However, it wasn't to be the New-Malden ace's day as he suffered a hydraulics failure ending his race on lap 11 this time. Chilton meanwhile made good progress and finished the race in fifth, once again adding to his championship tally, and securing enough points for Team Aon to be awarded the Independents Team Trophy.
That set the final race of the season up to be a hugely tense affair, as the Independents driver's title was within Chilton's grasp as he started from third on the traditional reverse grid. Chilton finished the final race of the season on the podium as champion, securing double independent trophy success for the Littlehampton based squad. Tom Onslow-Cole was once again desperately unlucky, as he again suffered with hydraulics failure on the warm-up lap.
"It was a hell of a fight to win the Independent Driver Trophy, and right now it feels like the best thing ever. We obviously would have loved to have won the series outright, but it is tough to compete with the manufacturer teams, so winning the independents is all we can really ask for; we'll have a good party tonight," remarked Chilton.
Having started his racing career at just 14 years old, it's no surprise that Chilton has re-written the history books, he was the youngest driver ever to stand on the BTCC podium at just 17 years old. Now at age 25, he has once again made history and added to his already impressive resume.
"It's been a frustrating day and a really bad way to end the season," commented Onslow-Cole after the race. "But we did come here in the title hunt and I've still finished fourth in the championship, which is a great achievement for only my third season in the BTCC and so I can go home happy, with the focus on coming back next year even stronger."
Henry followed up his ALMS win by winning the Eldora Speedway Championship the next day.
Jon Henry recently had the sort of stellar weekend that makes all those late hours in the garage totally worth it. On Saturday the K&N sponsored driver raced at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, in the Sunoco American Late Model Series (ALMS), 43 entries prepped to win the race, but 28 laps later it was all Henry, holding on to clinch his first ALMS title of the season.
Jon Henry Racing got their first ALMS victory of the season at Oakshade Raceway.
"The racing surface was to my liking, smooth and slick, but a little bit of moisture on the bottom. To win a race in the ALMS series everything always has to go right," explained Henry. "Oakshade Raceway has been a good track for me, it really fits my driving style. With a long green flag run I was able to hit my marks and just stay focused on being smooth."
Without much time for celebration Henry packed it up and headed to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, for two races on Sunday. The first race at Eldora was another ALMS event.
K&N sponsored driver Jon Henry has now won four championships in four years.
"With the race track so fast at the top it made passing difficult and I wasn't able to advance a position and would have to run the B-main," remarked Henry.
He started second in the B, but after a quick 12 laps he would later say that his car was just really not there. "I fell back to third and missed the show by one spot."
Perhaps it's safe to speculate that Henry also had his focus on the bigger picture for Sunday, the second race of the day, which was a Modified class contest. There were 51 cars in attendance, Henry drew a 60 which put him eighth in the third heat race.
"I had one mission in mind, to be smooth and consistent and bring home my first Eldora championship."
Henry wasted little time getting after it, on the first lap he shot into third, and was all over on the leaders.
"I played it conservative, with a second place finish I was locked into the A-main. Eldora has bitten me hard the last several races, which has put me in this pressure situation of being one point out of the points lead. Starting in eighth in the main my one goal was just to finish the race," commented the Ada, Ohio resident.
Henry went on to finish a solid sixth place and locked up his very first Eldora Speedway Championship. The icing on the cake for Jon Henry Racing is that makes it four years with four straight championships, on three different tracks.
In 2007 he won the Modified Championship at Waynesfield Raceway Park, in 2008 it was the Modified Championship at Limaland Motorsports Park, and in 2009 it was the Sunoco American Late Model Series Champion. And now the 2010 Eldora Speedway Modified Championship.
"My racing career wouldn't feel complete without an Eldora Speedway Championship. It is one of the greatest dirt tracks in the country and it really means a lot to me. I couldn't be happier to be a part of their history."
We wondered what sort of challenges Henry faced switching from a Late Model to Modified in one day.
"The biggest difference is how you attack the corner. With such a wide tire on the Late model you really have to drive these cars into the corner, where the Modified has to be more controlled with the throttle. The other big difference is that the Late Model is 100 pounds lighter with about 200 more horsepower, which gives you a huge speed adjustment. When I jump from one car to another I really try to focus on which car I'm in. It's really easy to over drive the Modified after being in the Late Model because everything slows down so much. It takes time but it helps to be mentally prepared."
Henry thanked K&N and all his sponsors for their continuing support. Up next for John Henry Racing is the World 100.
Brad Lovell's bonus drop. Yeah, and you thought parallel parking was tough.
Before reading any further take note of the photograph that looks as though the Lovell brothers are attempting to park perpendicular. Kinda makes parallel parking woes look feeble doesn't it? At the inaugural running of the Ultra 4 Stampede race held just east of Reno, Nevada, that particular maneuver was referred to as a "bonus drop."
The general consensus was that three laps of the Ultra 4 Stampede was every bit as challenging as King of the Hammers.
"We had to do it three times during racing," remarked Brad Lovell, "I'll tell you, that race was brutal."
And that's how he felt after a few weeks of rest, one of his earlier quotes was - "The brutality of this race redefines rock racing," and "King of the Hammers now has a sister, and she isn't pretty."
The race was held on private land, three laps, 66 miles each. The brand new course elements included rough and rocky desert roads and three untamed canyons. There were no wide open sections of desert, or rounded rock canyons for even a hint of relief, every rock was a tire and vehicle killer.
Every bit of the course was rock, the Lovell brother's tactic was just to survive and finish.
"Every bit of the course was rock. The high speed roads were lined with boulders and the canyons were littered with jagged boulders. There was little room for any missteps. Being that it was a new event, I don't know that the media latched on like they should, from my perspective as a driver, this race was every bit as grueling as King of the Hammers," remarked Lovell.
There were several nasty silt hole sections, but between the K&N Filter, pre-filter, and air cleaner grease, there was no evidence of dirt inside their air cleaner during post race inspections.
The team's tactic was simply to finish and keep moving at all costs. Rocks, silt and dust flew. Boulders churned under the truck and Mother Nature battered the under-carriage. The AMSOIL Ford held and the brothers kept their focus.
At the top of the second rock canyon, everything went wrong for the Lovell brothers. The drive train started a horrific clanging and the rear axle lost all its lubrication. With the win now out of sight, the team returned to their initial objective - finish. The banging of steel continued but the team kept a strong pace and saved what was left of the truck for the silt and rock climbs near the finish line. In the end, the effort was good enough for second place. Only 35 percent of the vehicles that started - finished - a mere 18 vehicles in all.
"There were a couple nasty silt holes out there. We hit one really hard. A wave came over the front of the truck and I could feel the impact push on the floorboards. Short of air, the engine choked, but then recovered. Between the K&N Filter, pre-filter, and air cleaner grease, there was no evidence of dirt inside the air cleaner. Pretty impressive," commented Lovell.
"We just returned from the We-Rock Grand Nationals at Miller Motorsports Park where we took third place. Not the repeat championship that we were looking for, but a good end to our season," adds Lovell.
"It's now time to do some testing before everything gets torn apart in preparation for 2011. We have a couple important things coming up this fall, I will be racing the Baja 1000 with the Torchmate Class 7 team and heading to Skip Barber Racing School with BFGoodrich. After that, there is not much time before King of the Hammers and a whole new season."
