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Tracy Dennis was born a third generation racer and traveled to his first drag race before his first birthday. "Racing has been my life forever," says Dennis. "My father raced gassers in NHRA from the late 50's until the early 70's. My brothers and I raced dirt bikes and go karts. We always had to do our own maintenance and service, so we learned quickly about engines and race vehicles."
Tracy Dennis started out in the family garage, building engines and doing chassis fabrication for his father.
After graduating high school, Dennis worked at the family garage, building engines and doing chassis fabrication for his father. What started as a way of making extra money to support his race cars became a career in 1990 when he opened his own shop. Sunset Racecraft has become one of the premier performance and racing engine shops in the world. Located in Lubbock, Texas, Sunset turns out around 500 engines a year, which are shipped to champion race car drivers worldwide.
Dennis not only builds race engines, he races them as well. "Racing allows us to keep a feel for what the drivers need in product development and permits us to service what products we already have in the field," says Dennis. "Along with many world champions, we also have some of the fastest Top Sportsman and Top Dragster racers using our engines."
Sunset Racecraft has relied on K&N products for over 20 years. "When you build engines with over 2000 hp that can cost over $60,000, the last thing you want is a filter failure," says Dennis. "We send out every Sunset Racing Engine with a K&N filter and insist that our customers use them when servicing their engines to insure a long life." Dennis discovered a performance gain along with longer cylinder life and ring seal, just another reason he recommends K&N. "We recently tested the new dragster scoops on our TNT house car and found a 2 mph gain."
Dennis feels that the relationship between Sunset Racecraft and K&N has been a successful one. "I need products that protect my engines and increase performance. Sunset will continue to rely on the experts at K&N to supply products that protect our customer's investments for years to come."
Clay Egan finished 3rd at the ProRock Nationals in Cougar Buttes
36 year old Clay Egan started competing professionally in the extreme sport of rock crawling and rock racing six years ago. Since then, he has qualified and competed in four Supercrawl world championships and finished seventh in the nation in the 2006 United Rockcrawling and Off-Road Challenge (UROC) series. In September of 2008, he finished 3rd at the ProRock Nationals in Cougar Buttes, California. The sky is the limit for this inspirational racer who demonstrates an intense lust for life.
36 year old Rockcrawler Clay Egan with his truck.
Clay Egan in a rockcrawling competition.
Egan is the first and only quadriplegic in the world to compete professionally in extreme sports. He is paralyzed from the chest down with limited use of his arms and hands as a result of motorcycle accident when he was 22 years old. He is able to race using custom built vehicles and sees it as a continuation of the life he was already living before his accident. Clay also plays wheelchair rugby and hunts regularly. On his website, Clay says, "I've found new ways to be stealthy and sly while on the hunt. You just gotta get real creative!"
He started racing motorcross quads 20 years ago and says he always used K&N filters on his bikes. "They are really easy to use, easy to clean, and are very durable. When I started competing professionally, I used K&N air filters to deliver superior results. They are super easy to take on and off and have excellent air flow."
Since his accident, Egan has written a book entitled "Over the Top, The Clay Egan Story." He recently finished a screenplay entitled "PUSH, The Clay Egan Story," and is hoping to have it in production within the next year. Located in South Jordan, Utah, Egan is also a public speaker and is working on a TV program that highlights people in extreme sports with disabilities.
The Fastrak Champions Series Modoc 100 kicks off March 6 and 7 at Modoc Speedway in Modoc, South Carolina and Matt Long will be ready with a brand new Rocket Chassis.
2009 season opener for Matt Long at the Modoc 100 at the Modoc Speedway in South Carolina will pay $10,000 to win
Long and his GazZu Energy Drink Race Team are spending the off-season preparing for the 2009 campaign. “I am pretty excited about the new car,” said Matt Long. “It is the new design that Mark Richards has out and it has done very well in pre-season testing. We hope to come out of the box with a really solid piece. We really learned a lot last year and I think we certainly stepped up our performance from where we were two years ago.”
Matt Long and the GazZu Energy Drink Race Team will have a new chassis for the 2009 Fastrak Champions Series
Long continues to use K&N products on his machine. “My engine performed flawlessly in 2008 and much of that is attributed to the use of our K&N air filters,” he said. “The K&N filters have done an excellent job of keeping dust and debris away.”
Long and his team started out very well last year. They amassed several top fives and no less than a half dozen runner-up finishes but fell just shy of breaking into victory lane in 2008. “We had a bunch of chances to win but something always happened to knock us out of it,” he said. “It was definitely nice to be in the position to win. We really had everything clicking and then we went to Eldora. We would have won that race but we just plain got wrecked. After that it seemed like we had a black cloud following us around.”
Long was expected to be a major contender to win the Grand Nationals. “We didn’t win, but I am proud to say we hung in there and did not quit,” he said. “We gave it all we had.”
Long’s first event of the season will pay $10,000 to win. “We’ve never been to Modoc but we are excited to go there,” he said. “We hope we can start off the season with a good finish. It would be great to get that first win out of the gate.”
There are different ways to make a professional debut. Tyler Wharton made his first appearance in a professional race when he took on the 450 Motocross Class in Texas. The teen bypassed the racers closest to him in age and rank with a ninth overall qualifying time out of 71 riders. Wharton is also a multiple Loretta Lynn Champion, which is the Amateur Motocross National equivalent to NASCAR’s Daytona 500.
Wharton will compete with his new K&N helmet at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas
Wharton is a privateer racer represented by The Ross Agency. In 2009, he will contest the AMA Supercross East Coast Lites Series on a 2009 Honda CRF250R.
AMA Supercross East Coast Lites Series Racer Tyler Wharton
Multiple Loretta Lynn Champion Tyler Wharton
The Pilot Point, Texas resident comes from a racing family where the track is part of his way of life. This will be his first year in the AMA Supercross Series. “Tyler is the complete package,” said Craig Ross, owner of The Ross Agency. “He is talented as a racer and knows how to handle his fans. He has a personality that radiates and everyone walks away with a smile on their face after they meet him.”
Wharton will wear a K&N helmet and use K&N XStream Series Motocross Air Filters (HA-4503XD) and K&N oil filters (KN-116) on his Honda. “I really like K&N,” said Wharton. “My bike is a lot crisper throughout the power band. It also has better response. I crack the throttle and the power is right there.”
“Tyler leveled me when I first met him,” said Ross. “Simply put he is an open and fun loving nice kid.”
As Ross put together Wharton’s privateer program, K&N was on the top of his list of contacts. “K&N is almost indestructible,” said Ross. “The
K&N product is cost effective and dependable. Tyler does not need to worry about anything other than his opponents while he’s racing. K&N will aid our performance and will work.”
Wharton will next compete at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The Ultimate Monster Jam Freestyle and Thrill Show wowed the crowd at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Black Stallion goes all out in wheelie competition at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, photo by Kenny Lau
Alltel Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas will host next Monster Jam, photo by Kenny Lau
The freestyle show featured the craziest obstacles with ramps and jumps so big they are tried out and tested in Texas before they end up in stadiums throughout the country. Eight of the top Monster Trucks in the country performed in front of 160,000 spectators. K&N provides product to 90 percent of the Monster Jam trucks.
Monster Jam's Black Stallion puts air under his truck at Reliant Stadium, photo by Kenny Lau
Opening Ceremonies at Monster Jam Freestyle Competition in Texas, photo by Kenny Lau
Grave Digger piloted by Gary Porter, Black Stallion piloted by Mike Vaters, Safe Auto Minimizer piloted by Marc McDonald, Gun Slinger piloted by Scott Hartsock, Pastrana 199 piloted by Paul Cohen, Monster Mutt piloted by Whit Tarlton, Iron Warrior piloted by Trey Myers and Cowboy piloted by Glen Logan started off with a wheelie competition.
Since this was freestyle, trucks are allowed to go for the best wheelie as many times as they want. In regular competition
Monster Jam trucks only have one try to do the best job. In Houston, drivers were making four to five
hits each. Since the events of the night are not judged by score cards, pilots make it more exciting for the fans.
Two trucks are sent out at the same time for the Cyclone event. “We are allowed to use our judgment as to where and how many donuts we do,” said Black Stallion owner and pilot Michael Vaters. “As each truck comes off the floor another goes out. As a result there is a constant stream of trucks at all times and the action never slows. It’s fun for the drivers and the crowd and very different from the more structured competition in Monster Jam.”
In the final activity of the show each truck was given two minutes on the clock to pull of the widest moves they could. “Trey Myers and the Iron Warrior blasted out to take on the track with a good run,” said Vaters. “I put some major air under the Black Stallion and showed the crowd the
true force behind the truck.”
Vaters uses K&N air and oil filters on his Monster Trucks. “Over my many years in this business I’ve used a lot of products, but K&N is the one that can handle the dirty and dusty environment during Monster Jam competitions,” said Vaters. “We are known nationwide for our wild and crazy driving and the ability to push our engines to the limit. We’re hard on our motors and K&N gives us the protection we need for competition.”
The next Monster Jam event will be in Little Rock, Arkansas in the Alltel Arena.
