Nejnovější zprávy

Mike Lookner pays homage to the A/FX drag cars of the '60s with an updated street version

At right about the same time, just about the same thing was going on in drag racing. Despite a joint agreement signed by the Big Three automakers in 1957 not to actively support racing, they did so clandestinely.

By the early 1960s, special lightweight, high performance models were “available” to the public in order for the carmakers to win in NHRA’s popular Super Stock category. Having had enough of the automakers’ shenanigans, in 1962 the NHRA created the Factory Experimental class, the most well-known being the top-level A/FX.

One of the original A/FX Funny Cars: Dyno Don's altered wheelbase 1965 Comet Cyclone

There are many who look back at the years between the forming of the Factory Experimental class and the appearance of the first flip-top Funny Car was a golden age of door-slammer drag racing. Count Mike Lookner among them.

Thankfully for Mike, his brother Andrew runs Extreme Machine Unlimited, in their home state of Massachusetts. Together the two conspired to build a 1965 Comet Cyclone influenced by the AF/X cars of the early 1960s, but not be limited by 1960s technology. In essence, they reinterpreted the concept of the AF/X to a streetable car of the 21st century.

Mike's Comet was fitted with mini-tubs to accomodate 12" wide rear wheels and tires

Peter Newell of Competition Specialties sprayed the body in Candy Brandywine that looks like it’s three feet deep, with the bumpers painted in metallic Argent giving them the appearance of the unpolished aluminum bumpers on early A/FX cars.

The interior was kept stock looking except for a few safety features plus a full set of gauges

Underneath subframe connectors were added by DMC Racing to strengthen the chassis in preparation of the powerful big block motor. A Ford 9-inch rear axle with 4:10 gears was fitted to accommodate the larger 15x12-inch rear wheels that will reside in the mini-tubs. The multi-leaf rear spring was replaced by a mono-leaf, which now acts more as a locating device.

The rear suspension loads are now carried by QA1 adjustable coilovers. Up front, a Total Control Products dual-adjustable coilover conversion was installed. Brakes are a conservative 11” front disc and rear drum set-up. The Radir wheels selected nicely reflect the five spokes on “Dyno Don” Nicholson’s 1965 AF/X Comet Cyclone.

The Ford FE big block was built by Mike's brother Andrew and produces 650 horsepower

The bottom end features a Scat crank and Eagle rods all forged from ultra-high strength 4340 alloy steel, 11.25:1 JE aluminum pistons, and an aggressive solid lifter camshaft from Cam Motion.

Intake air is drawn through the factory hood scoops and into a pair of K&N E-3280 filters into matching Edelbrock AVS 650 CFM carbs, Edelbrock RPM aluminum intake, and into a set of Edelbrock RPM aluminum heads, topped with valve covers featuring K&N 62-1220 breathers.

The process took two-and-a-half years to complete, but even just from viewing the photographs, the results are both stunning and a fitting tribute to that insane era of drag racing.

Craig Raudman (2) and Austin Reed (14) side-by-side at Kern Raceway (Photo by Amanda Perryman)

Reed, CEO of Advanced Memory, a company that manufactures high reliability computer memory for critical applications like the military, has operated Dave Reed Racing and entered cars in various race series around the West Coast since 1993, including NASCAR Craftsman Trucks, K&N NASCAR Pro Series West, Legends, Mini Outlaws, and even local Late Model.

Promising young driver Ricky Schlick, who had raced for Reed in 2016, has had the opportunity to move to another team to compete in a full-season of the SRL for 2017, so Reed was faced with a choice. Continue to run different drivers for a few events each or concentrate on a single driver and work toward not one, but two championships. He chose the more difficult but potentially more rewarding route.

Craig Raudman will be the full-time driver of the #2 car (Photo by Roger Seymour Photography)

There’s also a long-term relationship between Reed and Raudman that dates back to 1994, which is clearly to their benefit. Raudman is also well-known as an ace crew chief on short track cars, which can do nothing but improve the team’s ability to set-up the car quickly.

Raudman may be best known for his victory in the short-lived LA Street Race that was part of the NASCAR Featherlite Tour Series at the time, beating out both series regulars as well as some big name drivers attracted by the prestige of the event and large purse on offer. The event ran for just three years and Raudman nearly won the first two as well.

The chassis that Craig Raudman drove to fourth, under construction (Photo by Craig Raudman)

Reed is pulling out all the stops toward his double championship quest. He’s fielding two new Straight Rail chassis cars from Victory Circle, in Bakersfield. Not only does Reed’s team benefit from having their chassis builder intimately familiar with all the tracks in the series, but with Bakersfield so central geographically to the tracks, if there’s crash damage to the frame that needs to be repaired in the jig, it’s a fast turnaround. Reed is also having a third car built by Bond Suss Racing in Charlotte.

For filters, Reed has been a loyal partner with K&N for 15 years.

“We have been fortunate to be able to tour their facilities several times and it is truly is an amazing facility,“ Reed said. “ K&N has the best quality out there not to mention the people behind the products.”

The K&N logo proudly displayed on the rear of one of Dave Reed's cars (Photo by Dave Reed)

The Number 14 car will be driven by a rotating roster of drivers, including Reed’s son Austin, Eric Norris - stunt coordinator on the Hawaii 5-0 television series and son of martial arts legend Chuck - and one or two drivers yet to be named. Reed hinted at one being an East Coast hot shoe while another is a former Southwest Tour Champion. Most intriguing is the driver who might fill in for Raudman at The Bullring: a “household name” in racing, according to Reed.

At the first race of the season at Irwindale, Raudman ran in the Top 5 in all practices, finished an impressive fourth in a race won by Bobby Hodges, with 2016 champ Derek Thorn second. Raudman started seventh and steadily worked his way up to fourth over the course of the race. All in a brand-new race car fresh off the trailer. Most definitely a good omen for the start of a very ambitious season.

Thunderbike's newest builds are as extreme and innovative as any in the industry

“We´re creating all the parts you need for your bike,” said Thunderbike’s Martin Mix. “[We produce] wheels, forks, frames, swingarms, suspension kits, and almost everything else.”

Thunderbike was founded in the mid 1980s as a Suzuki dealership in the small German town of Hamminkeln. At that time, the company was a force on the German racing scene. They also built popular custom sport-bikes.

All of Thunderbike's Powerfilters, like the "Open Mind," feature K&N filters

Thunderbike Customs has won several of the biggest European custom builders’ competitions. They have also had success at the AMD World Championships as well as American builder competitions.

The company’s build portfolio is as extensive as any in the industry. Thunderbike produces customs that are based on the full Harley platform, as well as builds that feature their own custom frames. The builds are not limited to the American V-twin engine. Metric bikes are also represented in both Tunderbike builds and products.

Thunderbike Customs also builds beautiful traditional baggers

“All of our round kits called Powerfilter are using K&N filters,” Martin said. “K&N is a high-quality brand that everybody knows and trusts. It fits very well to our own quality standards.”

The company ships worldwide and is now truly a global force in the custom motorcycle industry. K&N is proud to be part of the Thunderbike Customs success story. We will highlight some of the company’s spectacular builds in upcoming feature articles.

Kyle Wyman heats up the Circuit of the Americas tarmac with fast test times

The Daytona 200

Wyman qualified eighth on the grid for the 76th running of the Daytona 200. By the midpoint of the 200-mile race, Wyman had piloted his #33 Suzuki GSX-R600 to the race lead. Clearly Wyman was finding his footing on the Suzuki, which he had ridden for the first time on the Friday before the race weekend.

"It was a long race and the red flags helped with finding the last bit of comfort," said Wyman. "By the second half of the first stint, I had found what I needed and I had a lot of confidence in the bike. After the first pit stop, I was able to battle for the lead.”

Wyman (#33) had an eventful day to finish 3rd in the Daytona 200

“About five laps before I was going to pit again, I felt something and thought there was an issue with the bike," Wyman said. "I was losing a lot of time and I didn't know exactly what was happening. I pitted three laps early thinking our race might be over so the team wasn't ready for me. We got some new tires on and I went back out. The bike felt great again and I made up three or four seconds to catch back up.

Wyman battled furiously and wound up crossing the finish line in 4th place just 0.052 seconds out of the third spot. However, that would prove to be enough for a podium position after another competitor was disqualified.

It was an entertaining, albeit drama-filled Daytona 200 podium finish for Wyman.

COTA Superbike Testing

Wyman says new MotoAmerica suspension rules are helping his race times

Over the two days of testing, Wyman ended the event with the sixth fastest overall time, lapping the 3.43-mile circuit in 2:10.52. That time is over a second and a half faster than the team's best time from the 2016 testing. Wyman was the fastest Superbike rider not competing on a factory team.

"Heading into the COTA test, I was really excited to ride my new Superbike," said Wyman. "My dad and I have been spending a lot of time this winter preparing this bike for battle against the factory teams, and so far we are happy to see that hard work paying off. We have been adding parts to the bike for this season that seem to be making a difference."

Many of those parts that the KWR team have been adding are the result of new rules in MotoAmerica Superbike that allow for more exotic suspension utilization. The biggest change to Wyman’s superbike is a new full K-Tech KTR-3 fork designed specifically for Superbike competition.

"The new fork from K-Tech is definitely a luxury," Wyman said. "Over last year, we had wear issues with the stock fork tubes, so the complete forks have helped us from a rigidity standpoint, but also from a feel standpoint.”

The KWR Superbike Team looks to carry momentum back to COTA in Round 1

"Compared to last year, the test was a wild success," said Wyman. "We didn't have bugs and big issues plaguing us for two days, and we were really able to make the most of the track time that was available. It's a testament to our preparation for this season. I'm looking forward to a couple more weeks of preparation before we come back here to COTA for the first race of the season."

Clem finishes 3rd at the Southern All Stars Series at Southern Raceway, Milton, Florida on March 18.

He finished the 2016 season Mid-South Racing point competition in second place accumulating 264 points. On April 1, 2017 Clem became the youngest driver in the United Sprint Car Series to win a feature event.

On March 31, he returned to Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida, to compete in the USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters. He stampeded to an 8-lap heat race win from the second row, which locked up the second starting position for the 25-lap A-Main and won it. He aced out Thomas Kennedy, Jordon Mallet, Tony Stewart, and AJ Maddox.

The next night Clem faced a field of 26 cars and advanced six positions in his heat race, landing a 2nd place finish behind Thomas Kennedy. Starting in 4th in the USCS Hoosier Speed Dash, Clem charged to the win, which put him on the pole for the main event. As he made the pass for the top spot, the leader hit the slick and pushed up the track colliding with Clem and forcing him into the wall. His car suffered a bent and cracked frame. However, undaunted, Clem re-entered the race and recovered to record a top-5 finish. He crossed the line in 4th behind Tony Stewart, Danny Martin Jr., and Mitch Brown.

“Saturday night was a little disappointing, but still it was incredible weekend for the team,” said Clem. “It’s a big honor to be not only the youngest winner ever with the tour, but also to beat such a strong field of drivers.”

Tyler Clem has been showing steady progress during the early going of the 2017- racing season including three podium finishes and a 4th place finish in March.

On Friday, March 17, 2017 he competed in the Bash at the Beach at Southern Raceway in Milton, Florida, in the Southern All Stars Series sanctioned contest. Twenty-six cars competed in the two-day event. Clem came up short of a transfer spot in qualifying sending him into the B-Main. He battled to a consolation victory and locked up a spot in the $4,000-to-win-A-Main. Coming from far behind, Clem ultimately finished 16th.

On Saturday, March 18 Clem competed for the $5,000 top prized and achieved a podium finish in the feature after competing for the top spot throughout the whole race.

He competed for the lead in the closing laps of the 50-lapper, but fell one spot on a late-race restart posting and finished in 3rd place behind Casey Roberts and Tyler Millwood.

On Tuesday, March 21st, Clem competed in his home state behind the wheel of his Hedman Hedders #14 Rent-N-Roll Rocket Chassis Super Late Model in the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series at Southern Raceway in Milton, Florida, and finished 3rd in the Saturday night finale of the two-day event.

Clem landed a podium finish in the feature after battling for the top spot throughout the finale. In the closing laps of the 50-lapper, he fell one position on a late-race restart and posted a 3rd place finish behind Casey Roberts and Tyler Millwood.

On Saturday, March 25th he traveled to Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida to compete in the unsanctioned Mike Peter’s Open. A total of 16 Super Late Models battled and Clem finished 5th in his heat pushing him to the 15th-starting position for the $3,000-to-win-A-Main. He stormed through 11 positions in the 40-lap event achieving a 4th place spot behind Mark Whitener, Kyle Bronson, and Doug Horton.