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Top Dawg electrician Brendon Mendenhall, K&N Peformance Kits Manager Bert Heck and Ramona High School Automotive Teacher Robert Grace work out the dyno run details for the 1994 Chevy Camaro
Five Ramona High School Automotive Students and Parent Tony Greenwell at K&N headquarters in Riverside, California
Several seniors from Ramona High School received scholarships partly because of their work ethic on Top Dawg
Top Dawg rolls into K&N's dyno facility
K&N's Bert Heck explains how dyno testing will be done on Top Dawg
K&N hood scoop helped 1994 Chevy Camaro go faster on SPEED-TV reality show Drag Race High
Top Dawg is a red, white and blue 1994 Chevrolet Camaro built from the ground up by students from Ramona High School near San Diego, California. This labor of love and the students were featured on the SPEED-TV reality show, Drag Race High.
Five of those students, their teacher, Robert Grace and a parent Tony Greenwell took a field trip to K&N in Riverside, California where they toured the facility. They also brought Top Dawg, which was a dynamometer virgin until it was tested at K&N.
The five students who got up at 5 a.m. to make the trip described K&N as filter paradise. “K&N is incredible,” said Ramona High School Automotive Instructor Robert Grace. “I am impressed with the knowledge of the K&N staff and the facility is top notch.”
The Ramona High School crew brought three types of fuels for Top Dawg’s dyno runs. C12, C16 and nitrous racing fuels were
each tested on their 598 cubic inch Dart engine with Crower internals, a K&N oil filter and a K&N hood scoop.
The dyno room at K&N is situated under offices and near customer service. The race car was heard and felt by a lot of the K&N office personnel. With the C12 racing fuel the Camaro was really loud on the dyno. When the nitrous racing fuel hit the dyno it sounded and felt like a race car. High fives went all around when the Camaro made 869 horsepower with the nitrous racing fuel. “The noise was exciting,” said Grace. “These kids put their hearts and souls into this car and K&N helped us take it to the next level.”
Automotive students worked 12 to 16 hours a day to complete the project. They went to zero- period before school and worked on the build of the car, attended classes, did homework then worked on the Camaro in the evening. Senior Brendon Mendenhall was the electrician for the team. He made a quick fix in the K&N dyno room that allowed testing to continue. “I wired up a switch that cut the nitrous solenoids,” he said. “We had to activate that switch to turn on the nitrous and everything worked again.”
Ryan Greenwell was the only freshman on the project. He is an accomplished junior dragster that has three Wally’s listed on his racing resume. He also uses K&N products on his dragster. “I was a floater on the crew,” said Greenwell. “They teased me because I was the youngest but I was there all the time and helped out where we needed it. I think I have 38 nicknames now.”
“My son’s work ethic changed with this project,” said Tony Greenwell, Ryan Greenwell’s father. “He was the only freshman and he stuck with it to the end. It was very rewarding to see my son’s growth and development and also very rewarding to see all these kids start something this great and finish it.”
Todd Dodson worked on brakes and suspension. “I learned how important suspension is,” he said. “I also learned fine tuning is critical.” Senior and crew chief Chris Houts said he got his hands dirty every day. After graduation he will attend the Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix, Arizona on a full scholarship. Daniel Currie will go to UTI in Arizona for the Ford Facto Program.
SPEED-TV gave Ramona High seed money to build the Camaro. “It was ten-thousand dollars,” said Grace. “We took that seed money and made phone calls, sought out an advisory committee made up of local racers and received parts from sponsors like K&N. In the end we have a car worth tens of thousands of dollars.”
In the reality show, Ramona High lost the race, but they really won. “We set out to build a race car and we did,” said Grace. “Several of our seniors received full scholarships as a result of our program and I’m proud
them and all of the students who worked on Top Dawg.”
"When I was in high school we had auto shop but it was nothing like the Ramona High School program," said K&N Performance Kits Manager Bert Heck. "I wish I had been in their shoes
when I was a teenager."
Next year Grace hopes to take the car to a local drag strip and show his students the motorsports side of the automotive world.
Cody Gibsonwon the A class his first year and the Pro-Am Unlimited his second
Eighteen year old Cody Gibson, up and coming ATV racer, says he realized he had a natural affinity for racing at a young age. "I had some friends in Englewood, Tennessee that had ATV's and I rode one of them and liked it a lot. I quickly felt comfortable enough to start getting crazy on it and realized I had a talent for riding these things," says Gibson. Cody, known for his no holds barred approach to tearing around the track with absolutely no fear, suffered a serious injury on his road to professional racing. "Four years ago, I broke my pelvis and sacrum trying to jump a road in Tennessee. It almost ended my career before it even started," says Gibson.
With a Championship in Pro-Am unlimited, and a 3rd place showing in Pro-Am Production in 2008, Cody has become the rider to watch.
18 year old Cody Gibson
Cody races for Walsh Race Craft, a manufacturer and dealer in aftermarket chassis components for high performance ATVs. He pilots a Walsh built Monster Energy Kawasaki KFX450R in both the Pro-Am Unlimited, and Pro-Am Production Classes. "The 2009 Kawasaki KFX450R is the best handling and most agile bike I have ever ridden. I can't wait to show everyone what it has at Round 1," says Gibson. With a Championship in Pro-Am unlimited, and a 3rd place showing in Pro-Am Production in 2008, Cody has become the rider to watch. "My 1st year racing Nationals, I won the A class and my second year I won the Pro-Am Unlimited. Now, I am winning the Pro-Am Production."
Cody is currently training to go pro and only uses K&N ATV Air Filters on his ATVs. "I use them because my team manager chooses them and he always knows what is best for me," says Cody. "Using only the best quality products keeps us from worrying about mechanical problems and lets us focus on winning the race," Team Manager Mike Walsh adds. "K&N products give us peace of mind."
Walsh Race Craft, located in Live Oak, Florida, manufactures long travel a-arms, swingarms, steering stems, subframes, and other suspension components, as well as billet aluminum products and other small ATV parts. "Each product we create is backed by multiple National Championships and countless National Victories," says Walsh. "We have some of the best people and companies in the motorsports industry supporting us this year, K&N being one of them. I am really looking forward to putting together a solid season for all of our sponsors."
World Speedway Grand Prix points leader Jason Crump is having his best run since he secured the second of his two world-titles back in 2006.
Australian Jason Crump on left, Russian teen Emil Sayfutdinov in center and Sweden's Andreas Jonsson on right after Swedish Grand Prix, photo by Mike Patrick
Jason Crump is the points leader in the 2009 World Series Grand Prix, photo by Mike Patrick
The Australian finished runner up in the Swedish Grand Prix but leads the title race with 52 points overall in the series. Russian teenager Emil Sayfutdinov took victory ahead of Crump and Brazilian-born Swedish Wild Card entry Antonio Lindback who finished out the podium in third place.
Australian Grand Prix World Champion Jason Crump not sure of the extent of his injuries after Swedish Grand Prix, photo by Mike Patrick
Jason Crump followed Sweden's Fredrik Lindgren during tough track conditions at Swedish Grand Prix, photo by Mike Patrick
The track conditions deteriorated as the night progressed and drivers had to cope with the slick and rutting surface. In the first running of the final Crump spectacularly laid his bike down to avoid Sayfutdinov. The Russian came down after coming together with Nicki Pedersen while fighting for the lead. The referee decided Pedersen was the cause of the stoppage and he was excluded.
Crump sustained an injury to his left leg and a finger on his left hand in the incident. He managed to throttle back to the pits to get his spare bike for the next run. On the re-start Crump came out first and took the lead. He held first place for two-and-a-half-laps before the 19-year-old Russian blasted past Crump for his second Grand Prix victory of the season.
“It was one of those nights,” said Crump. “I am happy to be on the podium again but disappointed with myself that I did not win in Sweden. I was in the lead and on the pace so my hat goes off to Emil for an outstanding ride.”
Crump uses K&N products on his motorcycles. “K&N makes the best filter on the market,” he said. “Under extreme track conditions K&N keeps the dirt out of my motorcycle engines. I can also depend on extra filtration and additional horsepower every time I race.” Crump heads off to London to have his injuries checked out before the next Grand Prix in Denmark.
Crump holds a 6 point lead over Sayfutdinov, with Swedens Andreas Jonsson at 39 points overall. Crump has scaled down his schedule in 2009 and is sitting out this season's British League because of its intense schedule. "I believe I'm seeing the benefits of my decision," said Crump. "By cutting back on the number of competitions I'm not as worn down. It's nice to look at my calendar and see that I don't have four of five races in one week."
Massive jumps, banked turns, punishing boulders and near vertical climbs set the scene for an endurance rock race in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Second Annual ROC Race in Colorado Springs, Colorado combined short course racing with rock crawling
Near vertical climbs were part of the course for Torchmate Racing Driver Roger Lovell
The 2nd annual ROC Race was a blend of short course racing and rock crawling. The jumps sent trucks leaping into the air before they were ripped and dented by the various sections of rocks. The Torchmate Racing Team was in the middle of it all.
Buggy jumps ripped up the 2.6 mile course in the Second Annual Rock Race
Torchmate Racing Team makes the podium in the 2nd Annual ROC Race in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Roger Lovell made the call to tackle the race solos. “I wanted to see what I could do and push the limit while only risking my own neck,” he said. “It was a really important call. The unforgiving gap jumps stretched out to 35 feet.”
“Roger proved that consistency and precision are his strengths in a race truck,” said his brother, Brad Lovell. “He completed all seven laps of racing and multiple laps of practice with no damage to the vehicle. He also marked a fast time of 9:06:22 which put him in third place.”
Brad Lovell took the wheel of the No. 232 Torchmate Ford and quickly became the leader. Lovell lined up for the longest gap jump
when one of his competitors went for the pass. The No.4 truck hit Lovell in the air and landed on him, fortunatley he did not get hurt.
The crash ripped off the body and sent the No. 232 into a roll. The truck was badly damaged and Lovell was not able to complete the run. The pit crew repaired the truck enough to compete in the final two races and Lovell brought home the win.
“There is a lot of silt and fine dust on these courses but our K&N air filters keep the debris out of our engines,” said Lovell. “K&N also prevents our sensors from clogging up. We need K&N air filters on these difficult courses.”
The National Sand Drag Association 2009 Summer Nationals kicked off in Avenal, California and The On-Fire 4 God (OF4G) Test of Faith Sand Drag Quad Race Team was there.
Father and son Sand Drag Racing team in Avenal, California
Sand drag racing is for specially modified vehicles with oversized tires in off road areas. The venue attracts racers who run fast cars on very fast tracks.
It's akin to drag racing on sand at 100 yards. “My blue Pure Heaving bike ran great,” said Clint Van Hooser of OF4G. “I was the number one qualifier for Saturday’s eliminations and survived the first round and advanced to the second round.” The OF4G Test of Faith Sand Drag Quad Race team uses K&N air filters, part number
SN-2510.
On Fire 4 God Motorsports promotes K&N at the Frazier Mountain Car Club Show in Frazier Park, California
Garrett Van Hooser is Clint's son and his red OF4G bike had a few tech problems during test and tune time. "Garrett went out during the first round of eliminations," said Van Hooser. "He also had a minor injury after his foot slipped off the peg and was dragged. He opted to take the day off from racing and let his ankle rest because his Varsity football training began the next day."
Unfortunately the team exploded a clutch plate, scrambled to replace it and Clint Van Hooser lost a close second round. “At every test and tune, and every elimination round the the track announced K&N as the main sponsor the OF4G race team,” said Van Hooser. “It got around the pits quickly that we are sponsored by a great company with great products. Our K&N air filters give us excellent filtration and protect our engines.”
The OF4G Team plans to stay busy until racing resumes. They attended the 1st Annual Frazier Mountain Car Club Show in Frazier Park, California. “People stopped by and asked a lot of questions about K&N,” said Van Hooser. “We distributed K&N stickers, K&N catalogs and K&N handouts for autos, trucks and motorcycles.”
The OF4G Team will attend more car shows and exhibitions throughout the summer, until the heat lets up in the desert and racing resumes in the fall.
