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NDRA Racer Matt Long Wants NDRA Regional Championship Win

29.06.2010

NDRA Superstar Matt Long

NDRA superstar Matt Long is enjoying the results of five years of hard work. "Everything is finally beginning to click and results show it. We have a total of 6 wins for the year so far. I only won two races last year and none the year before that," says Long. He did have several second place finishes, as well as many top 5 finishes. "The big challenge right now for our team is that we are trying to compete in two different series, the NDRA and Fastrak.

Matt Long Racing is competing in the NDRA and Fastrak Series

Long's race team is looking forward to lots of travel during the month of July in their quest for the NDRA Regional Championship. "This weekend we have two big NDRA shows, Carolina Speedway, which is my home track and Friendship Speedway in North Carolina," says Long. Next, the team travels to West Virginia Motor Speedway for a big $10K race in the Fastrak series. "I'm pretty excited about the West Virginia trip," says Long. "I have tons of family and friends coming to the event because the speedway is only about an hour from my hometown of Cambridge, OH." The team will then compete in a NDRA Touring race on July 17th, followed by a Fastrak race at the Wythe, VA Speedway on the 24th. The end of the month brings the team's most anticipated event of the year, a $5k to win at Eldora Speedway. "Eldora owes me one," says Long. "Two years ago, I was leading and taken out on the start. I destroyed my car so we didn't make it up there in 2009."

For important races like Eldora, Long says he depends on superior products like K&N filters to take care of his motors. "I run K&N because the quality is second to none, and they are very easy to use. That is very important in dirt racing! I just took my crate motor out of the car to have it freshened up after over 1700 laps. Because of the great products I use from K&N, the motor will not need main bearings, rod bearings, or even rings, which is really quite amazing for a dirt motor," says Long. "We recommend the K&N filters to everyone."

When asked what he enjoys most about racing, Long says he loves spending time with the fans and having fun. "This is a serious hobby for me and my team is very competitive, but having fun is also important. I try to be involved with my fans and I like to sign autographs till the last person leaves," says Long. "We love dirt racing and really enjoy watching the sport grow!"

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Driver Ryan Truex Won New England 125

29.06.2010

Ryan Truex won his first race of the season in the New England 125

The reigning East Series champion won his first race of the season in the New England 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday. He extended his lead in the East Series standings. He joined his dad, Martin Truex Sr., and his older brother, Martin Truex Jr., as East Series winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Driver Ryan Truex

But maybe most importantly, Ryan Truex made up for a last-lap loss at New Hampshire last year.

Ryan Truex led a race-high 66 laps, taking over on lap 60 and never surrendering it in Saturday's race. He survived four caution periods while in the lead. There was a four-car crash on lap 90 that took out Mackena Bell, Jason Patison and Matt Frahm. Ryan Truex said maintaining his lead on restarts was key to winning the race.

The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race is at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut on July 3

"I've struggled a lot over the past year and half on restarts," said Ryan Truex, driver of the No. 00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. "I was joking over the radio, I told them I finally figured out how to get a restart done and it only took a year and a half. It's just a matter of getting the right jump on everyone and keeping it out front. Once we got out in that clean air, we just set sail and they had nothing for us."

Ryan Truex posted his fourth top-five finish in five East Series races in 2010. It was also his first career East Series win at New Hampshire and the fourth of his East Series career.

"I'm just happy to get a win here, this feels like the Daytona 500 for me," Truex said. "I think this is the biggest race of the year. You're in front of the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup Series guys, and you can show off your talents and abilities to them."

His brother, Martin Truex Jr., is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and his dad, Martin Truex Sr., raced at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the old Busch North Series.

"It's just awesome, so special to win at such a historic race track," Ryan Truex said. "The East Series has been here so long and had so many great winners. I'm just happy to add myself to the list."

Ryan Truex lost to Matt DiBenedetto last year at New Hampshire when he was passed on the final lap of a green-white-checkered flag finish. Ryan Truex had the lead for the green and white checker flag, but DiBenedetto got around him on the final lap. Ryan Truex finished second.

"I felt like we kind of got one stolen away from us last year," Ryan Truex said. "Pretty frustrated about that. To come back this year and dominate like we did, once we got out front, we never gave it up."

Rookie Kevin Swindell finished second, posting a career-best finish in the East Series and his first top-five of the season.

"We didn't qualify as well as we thought we would after as good as a mock lap as we had. The rain messed us up a little bit," said Swindell, driver of the No. 9 Curb Records/Nos Energy Drink Chevrolet. "Mangaged to get a couple spots in the pits. It was just a matter of trying to race with that 00. I was just too tight behind cars to really make a run at him."

Rookie Darrell Wallace Jr. was third. He was making his East Series debut at New Hampshire. His car blew an engine in practice and he had to start the race at the rear because his team had to replace the engine.

"It's been a rough two days for us," Wallace said after the race on Saturday. "First time at the track. I didn't really how to get around here. Still kinda clueless going into the race. We just had to wing it for the first 50 laps or so until I finally started getting a line down. Once it came in, we were fast."

Pole winner Brett Moffitt led the first two laps of the race and another 37 more from laps 32 to 59. He fell back late in the race and finished fifth.

Ryan Truex extended his lead in the East Series standings to 33 points over Wallace, driver of the No. 6 Chevrolet for Revolution Racing.

The next East Series race is a road course race at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut on July 3.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Austin McCarl Gets First Ever 410 Victory at Rapid Speedway in Iowa

29.06.2010

McCarl says this first 410 victory was also for Cory Miller, Steve Fitzpatrick, Jeff Morris, TJ, his dad and his brother Carson.

In racing, as with love, the first cut is the deepest. "My first win was awesome! I want to do it again," exclaimed Austin McCarl, the seventeen year old up and comer from Altoona, Iowa. McCarl notched his first ever 410 Sprint Car victory at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa last Saturday night. This was McCarl's second trip to "Rocky" this season; he finished fourth there back in May.

The entire T-MAC Motorsports Inc., team worked exceptionally hard for this win.

"This was great for my confidence and my team," added McCarl. "I love the guys who help me, Cory Miller, Steve Fitzpatrick, Jeff Morris, TJ and my Dad and brother. They all work really hard and this was for them too."

A late race incident gave McCarl a fortuitous spot in the feature redraw. "We were running fifth there on the white flag lap," he explains. "Robby (Wolfgang) trashed a motor and gave us a gift fourth that put us in the redraw."

The draw put McCarl on the inside of row two for the main event. "I just went into it trying to put the heat behind me," he said. "I went out there and just did my job! I ran third for about three laps and (second place John) Cressman drove off the track."

That left him to track down the race leader (Donovan Peterson). "I drove into one and two and hung with Donovan, and I was able to slide by him in three and four," explained Austin.

"It was really slick. At the middle stages, I was running the top of one and two and the bottom of three and four." After passing the leader, it was clear sailing for McCarl, and the celebration was on.

McCarl started racing go-karts when he was 11 years old. He would only race a little in winter because his dad was always racing, so there wasn't much time left during the summer. When McCarl turned 15 he got into a 360 Sprint Car for a few races, and then moved into 410 racing at Knoxville when he turned 16. This marks only his second year at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.

"My relationship with K&N is going very well and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them. We use their carbon fiber air box, air filter oil, filter cleaner and engine oil filter. All the K&N products are great, I have been around racing all my life, and I have learned from my dad that you should always use the best products, cutting corners is not the way to go with racecars and K&N flat-out has the best products."

Like so many young racers competing today McCarl would like to end up in NASCAR someday, but first he is looking to get a Knoxville Championship. "My dad has six, so I would love to get at least one. But if I can't get all the way to NASCAR, I would love to have a good career in Sprint Cars."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Mike Edwards Seeks to Build on Latest NHRA Pro Stock Victory at Thunder Valley

28.06.2010

Pro Stock Champion Mike Edwards wins NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol

Reigning NHRA Pro Stock Champion, Mike Edwards, continued his phenomenal season by making it four wins in a row, when he put his Penhall/Interstate Batteries/K&N Pontiac GXP in the winner's circle during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at historic Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tennessee.

Mike Edwards' Penhall/Interstate Batteries/K&N Pontiac GXP

At the end of qualifying on Friday, Edwards and his team were in their familiar number one spot, but that changed come Saturday.

"We ran OK Friday night and when we came back on Saturday, we had changed a few things up and it didn't really do what we thought it would," Edwards explained. "Allen (Johnson) slipped around us."

"I know it didn't pay off for us on Saturday, when it came to qualifying but I feel that down the road what we learned that day will pay off for us down the road," he continued.

The track temperatures were soaring during the Bristol event, even reaching into the 140 degree range.

"The track was probably the hottest we have seen in the last three or four races, so we had to make some serious adjustments for it on Sunday" he added.

Having been the first driver to sew up a spot in the NHRA Pro Stock 2010 Countdown to One, even Edwards knows that some races, where the odds seem stacked against you, you are able to pull off the win because you have a championship caliber team.

Edwards and his Penhall/Interstate Batteries/K&N Pontiac GXP were not exactly at the top of their game during eliminations on Sunday as the car seemed to not want to stay perfectly planted, moving around on him and making several of his earlier rounds squeakers at the stripe.

After he made his way through the field, he found himself matched up against Rickie Jones who went for a light in the final and gave the instant win to Edwards when he turned the red-light on.

Now that Edwards has made it into the Countdown, it will allow his team to go into test mode a little more often during qualifying, when they know the time is right.

"When we can do well during qualifying on Friday and we fell like we are in a good spot, as far as bring in the top three or four, we'll look at doing a little something during those last two sessions," he said. "It just really depends on the conditions, if they are going to get better or worse. That would allow us to do something a little different."

What Edwards truly looks forward to being different is the outcome of the upcoming 2010 K&N Horsepower Challenge, where he has been runner-up twice but never champion.

Already Edwards is going into the event this weekend as the number one seed, a spot he has never held in all his years of making the prestigious race.

"I don't think it matters a whole lot of where you start in a shootout like this," explained Edwards. "All these cars and teams are very-very good. There are no weak links at all in the eight cars running. If a team got in this thing, they are more than capable of winning it."

The K&N Horsepower Challenge will take place during the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio and Edwards will face off in round one against number eight and the fan selected for the shootout, "The Professor" Warren Johnson and his K&N Pontiac GXP.

"I was really happy to hear who was selected and that the fans voted Warren in and rightfully so," Edwards said. "I mean he's Mr. Pro Stock."

The K&N Horsepower Challenge being conducted at the same time as the National event in Norwalk, a race-within-a-race weekend, would seem to put added pressure on all teams and drivers involved.

"It does add a little more pressure. Normally you try to race the track on Friday and get qualified good then Saturday you try to improve on what you need to do to get ready for Sunday," said Edwards of the big weekend. "Now it kind of changes what you do and how you go about it, because you're not even thinking about Sunday yet when you are just trying to think about who you are going to race on Saturday morning. It certainly changes things up for how we go into the weekend."

"We want to come out and run really-really good right off the bat and get qualified on Friday for the National on Sunday," he continued. "And Saturday is race day for the K&N Challenge, even though a couple of those first rounds count as qualifying, too."

All the NHRA professional teams have been on the road for quite a few back-to-back weekends, possibly making teams a little weary and maybe even a little light on extra parts.

"We pretty much carry everything with us from race to race but the only thing bad about this weekend is our stuff," he paused. "You know we've been on the road and this will be our fourth race in a row. These things, you know we run them right on the edge and you hope your stuff is still in good shape."

The K&N Horsepower Challenge offers the largest single race day payout in all of NHRA Pro Stock, awarding a cool $50,000 to the overall winner and then, of course, there is also the chance of doubling up on Sunday.

When asked how big that would be for Edwards and his team, the analogy of "feathers in your cap" came up.

"It would be a bunch of feathers," he chuckled. "It would be like, I don't know, how many are in one of those chief's feather hats, but it would be all of those that's for sure."

"I've never won the K&N shootout," Edwards said a little more seriously. "I've been runner-up in the Pro Stock shootouts a couple of times, but it would be pretty special just to win it with it being a K&N deal and all the support that K&N gives me."

"I just really hope the fans come out and support our program because we are going to have some fantastic racing on Saturday during the K&N Challenge, with some great race cars and some of the greatest drivers out there."

First round of the 2010 K&N Horsepower Challenge it slated to begin driver interdictions at 11:30a and action takes to the track at noon this Saturday, June 26 at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

K&N Sponsored Kathy Fisher Featured on Inside Drag Racing From NHRA Thunder Nationals

25.06.2010

Fisher says her experience on the special episode of Inside Drag Racing was priceless.

Nine times out of ten, life happens while we're busy making other plans. Case in point, Kathy Fisher, the K&N sponsored drag racer from Lima, Ohio. Kathy's team runs two cars, her Super Comp and her husband Kevin's Top Dragster. The typical plan is to attend events where they both can compete, but this particular event at Bristol Dragway didn't offer a Top Dragster class.

K&N's second generation Carbon Fiber Dragster Scoop not only looks awesome, they produced over two more mph in Fisher's very first event.

"One of the reasons we wanted to go was just to see the track," said Fisher. "Bristol has always been on our list of places we must race and we were not disappointed in the least with the breathtaking views and the outstanding facility. It didn't take much convincing to get Kevin to go and just take my car either." Bristol Dragway is nestled between two bucolic mountains adjacent to Bristol Motor Speedway.

When Ted Jones, of Bristol, Tennessee based Masters Entertainment became aware of Fisher's trip to the NHRA National event, he asked her to be a part of a special sportsman episode of "Inside Drag Racing" which airs nationally on Fox Sports.

The car ran a little better than was planned for, and Fisher took a little too much stripe, running an 8.88 on the 8.90 index.

"I was just floored," commented Fisher. "Being included as a racer in a show the caliber of Inside Drag Racing is huge! An absolutely phenomenal opportunity and truly it was a whole lot of fun too."

And by fun Fisher takes into account the steamy, hot sauna, kind of amusement as well. "It was very hot, track temperatures were almost 140 degrees during some of my passes. We haven't run in conditions quite that extreme yet this year, so we were very pleased to get lots of good hot weather and track information. We pay for our education one pass at a time, not only for tuning purposes but also as a driver."

With the team looking at qualifying, or time trial runs, Fisher's car was right there. They made a very good pass in the final session on Friday and they felt strong going into the first round Saturday morning. Saturday morning though the track temperature was down and the air wasn't as thick as in the final pass the day before.

"The car ran a little better than was planned for, and I just took a little too much stripe and broke out, running an 8.88 on the 8.90 index. That was even after knocking off well over two-hundredths of a second. I should have made it a little tighter at the stripe," reflected Fisher.

Fisher says the concept of indexing could truly be a whole book in itself. But in the most basic terms, cars can all run ET's much quicker than their class index, therefore they all use various forms of throttle stops. Most are programmed based on weather and track conditions well before cars are staged, and many times right down to the thousandth of a second. The idea is to get to the finish line first and not go quicker than your class's index. In Fisher's case it was 8.90 in a quarter mile.

Regarding the overall experience Fisher remarked, "We know that having the opportunity to participate in an entire episode of Inside Drag Racing is a nice shot in the arm for all the folks who work with our team and help us get to each event. We know our time on the track is just a small drop in the bucket, and we work diligently for all our sponsors where it counts the most, and that's in our ‘off-track' marketing. The Inside Drag Racing show is part of what we hope will show our current partners and future ones, how serious we are, even as a sportsman team."

"I am really looking forward to seeing all the different camera angles. There were two cameras in, or on my car, plus two camera guys filming each pass. I would have to say I'm most looking forward to seeing what the in-car camera picked up, could be interesting to study," chuckled Fisher.

Fisher and her two team cars have an intense race schedule over the next several weeks. They are in the middle of a seven week swing, with a total of eight races, from NHRA National events to the IHRA Double Divisional.

"We are excited to be competing with both team cars this weekend, my Super Comp and Kevin's Top Dragster, for the very first time together at a NHRA National event, the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Next week it's off to an IHRA Double Divisional three event in Clay City, Kentucky, and on from there."

The Fisher's have utilized K&N oil filters and high-flow race specific air filters for years. This season they have been very pleased with their newest addition to both cars, K&N's second generation Carbon Fiber Dragster Scoops.

"In my very first event of the season, I picked up over two mph in my Super Comp Dragster. It was that easy. And not only do they look awesome, but they are so much lighter than our old scoops and trays," says Fisher.

The special episode of Inside Drag Racing, filmed with Fisher and her Dragon Racing Fuels/K&N/Ohio Crankshaft/Amalie Oil Super Comp Dragster at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals, will air on Fox Sports Sunday July 11th and repeat Monday July 12th.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.