The store will not work correctly when cookies are disabled.
Nous utilisons les cookies pour vous offrir une meilleure expérience utilisateur.Pour se conformer à la nouvelle directive concernant la vie privée, nous devons vous demander votre consentement pour sauvegarder des cookies sur votre ordinateur. En savoir plus.
Jason Line is number one qualifier at 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex
Becoming quite a mainstay for the Pro Stock pole position, Jason Line put his Summit Racing Pontiac on the top of the ladder for the fourth consecutive race with his number one qualifier during the 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas.
With the feat, Line not only maintains his lead, but slightly extends it, over his teammate Greg Anderson in the 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge chase.
Jason Line's Pro Stock Summit Racing Pontiac GXP
The K&N Challenge not only provides a $3,000 low qualifier bonus at each event on the NHRA Full Throttle Tour for the Pro Stock driver who grabs the pole, but also a shot for the top seven point earners along with a fan voted eighth to run for a whopping $50,000 championship each year in June.
In 2011 alone, Line has racked up a nice chunk of change with K&N low qualifier awards, bringing his total to $18,000 by adding the bonus for Dallas. "What K&N provides for the Pro Stock class is absolutely awesome," said Line. "Not only with the bonuses and the one-of-a-kind shootout that no other professional category gets to run for, but all of the R&D that they put into their products for all types of classes and racing."
For the Dallas event, things started off very well for Line as he went right to the top of the pack resetting both the track ET and MPH records with his 6.565 at 211.20 during session number one. Even with the fairly hot weather conditions, Line still managed to improve on his earlier efforts for the second session Friday evening. With nearly ninety degrees and fairly low humidity, Line made the quickest run of the session and raised the bar with his 6.553 at 210.60.
During session three on Saturday afternoon, it was K&N's Mike Edwards who would make the quickest run of the session, but his 6.561 would still fall short of the number one spot. Line would remain atop of the ladder going into the final session, just a few hours later, where teams would be faced with the harshest weather and track conditions thus far of the event. The nearly 3,300 feet of adjusted altitude combined with the 124 degree track temp gave some teams some troubles, while others managed to hit the setup, although not finding the quicker numbers of earlier sessions.
It would be Greg Anderson with the quickest of the final session, followed by Mike Edwards and Line. All three posting numbers nowhere near their earlier efforts and for the fourth event in a row, Jason Line would go into Sunday's eliminations in the number one spot.
"We started off good obviously with Greg and I being one and two after the first and second session," he reflected of the weekend. "Then the air changed a little bit and I don't know, we didn't keep up with it for whatever reason and we didn't run as good in the later sessions. Fortunately, for us we still ended up good because Edwards was running really good on Saturday, but we were able to keep our number one."
"There were some pretty big weather swings over the weekend," he continued. "When you are constantly looking for thousandths of a second, it's hard to stay on top of it all the time."
With all the different tracks and weather conditions that the Pro Stock teams are dealt over the course of a season, Line noted that he was fairly pleased with their 6.553 run in session number two. "We felt like we could run that fast there, based on the conditions. That was even a little bit faster than we could go. They were some of the best corrected runs [based on conditions] we have ever made. The race track itself was in fantastic shape, it was great."
"I've been second qualifier before for the Dallas event, but I've never been number one," he confessed.
Line went on to win the event and without a moment to celebrate too long or even digest the weekend, all focus for the team turned immediately to their next event, Maple Grove in Reading, Pennsylvania just a few days and a lot of states away.
"We started thinking about plans for the next race that night after the win," he said from the team's shop as they prepared feverishly for the next event. "We all started looking at the forecast for Maple Grove and we feel that it's going to be really fast there. At least the potential to be very fast there since it's going to be very cold and a good chance of setting a record. We came really close in Charlotte to setting a record and certainly feel the potential will be there in maple Grove."
Saker Sportscars have been described as a true sports car of the modern era.
Holland's Saker Sportscars aptly derives their name from the large Saker Falcon, an extraordinarily quick and astonishingly maneuverable bird of prey. The Dutch race car manufacturer creates race ready, circuit performance cars, bent on reliability and affordability, and backs them with an equally impressive customer support program. Those that have driven a Saker describe them as a true sports car of the modern era, with design concerns based on outright performance, rather than following trends or automotive fashion. A sports car dedicated to the driver's art.
Saker Sportscars were on full display this year at the 2011 Professional Motorsport World Show Expo in Cologne, Germany, and that's where K&N's Marcel Blom, European Motorsports Sponsorship Coordinator fortuitously crossed paths with Herbert Boender, Managing Director for Saker Sportscars.
Herbert Boender, Managing Director Saker Sportscars, and K&N's Marcel Blom at Saker factory in Holland (left to right).
The two spoke about getting the proper filter on the Saker cars, and Boender was open to the conversation, as he was having a problem with the original fitted filter.
Blom next met with Boender in the south Netherlands, in Eindhoven, where they conducted dynamometer tests of various air filters on Saker cars, and at the end of the day the K&N air filter clearly produced the best test results. The following week the Saker Sportscars team raced in Belgium sporting the K&N filter and Saker finished third in class - a very positive result for all concerned. In short, there is now a very close cooperation between Saker and K&N, the team is already fitted with the filters and so will all cars produced from here out.
"Actually I didn't think it would make any difference," Boender told K&N Race News, referring to fitting his cars with K&N. "Normally I don't believe in horsepower for 'free.' Getting more power out of our engines wasn't even the goal, as we are running a spec series at maximum 275 bhp. However, durability of the engine and affordable maintenance and running costs of the car is one of the most important things for Saker. But having even better output of the engine means being able to give less turbo boost, which saves the turbo, lowers temperatures of basically everything, saves fuel and thus makes the car even more reliable, durable and affordable."
The 24 Hour Race of Barcelona was the first time ever that a standard cup Saker came out in a 24 hour race, and Saker Sportscars won their class.
Saker Sportscars started in 2003, after acquiring rights from a New Zealand company to manufacture and develop the Saker further. "So, as an engineer, that's what I did," said Boender. "Over the years I redesigned the car, set up the production process and part logistics, and since 2009 I have been the Managing Director. We now manufacturer four models (Saker GT, Saker Sprint, Saker Sniper and RapX)."
Saker Sportscars are designed as an affordable racecar completely setup to compete against much more expensive cars. "What we offer is the best performance, fun and cost balance available in racing," explains Boender. "These are very quick, serious sports cars, without any driver assist systems; so it's very pure and fun to race. Part of the fun in racing includes spare parts availability at all times; we have everything in stock, to maximize the available track time."
The Saker Sportscars race team was fitted with K&N filters halfway into the race season, competing in the Dutch Supercar Challenge. "Racing against cars with much more power, we got on the podium in the first race," Boender said. "Last weekend we made our debut in a 24 hour race; the 24 Hour Race of Barcelona. It was the first time ever that a standard cup Saker came out in a 24 hour race, and we won our class! Next we are running a Saker Sportscars challenge in the Netherlands and another challenge in the United Kingdom. After the victory in the 24 hour race in Barcelona, we are planning to compete in the 24 Hours of Dubai in January as well."
"The Insane One." Go-Karting's biggest purse to date - $50,000. Word spread like wildfire about this race, leading over 600 go-karters to converge on the small town of Clay City, Kentucky, to compete for riches and fame, the likes of which had never been seen before in go-kart racing history. Locals wouldn't have recognized Clay City Speedway over the weekend as it looked more like a NASCAR track with the huge crowd and large number of teams that showed up for the three days of racing.
Racers screaming around a sweeping left-hand turn.
"The Insane One" was the concoction of Ed "Crazy Ed" Hasty, a promoter who has been involved in various aspects and types of racing his entire life. "I've been nicknamed 'Crazy Ed' all of my life," Hasty said. "When I came up with this idea, they just skipped the crazy and went straight to insane; that's how the race got its name." The largest previous purse for a single go-kart race was $20,000, and Hasty thought he could get more karters to the track if he upped the payout.
Kurt Burris, one of the event sponsors, said, "It was great having K&N's involvement. We fully believe in K&N. They have a quality product that's much better than other filters out there and a lot of the drivers were running K&N air filters."
Fans stood atop pickup trucks and RVs to see the exciting karting action.
Fans packed the grand stands and stood atop RVs to see the exciting racing action and this wasn't the go-kart racing you typically see at amusement parks. These karts cost upwards of $4,500 and many travel at speeds of 80-90 miles per hour! Jerry Welch of Welch Performance Racing Engines in Knoxville, where they build high-performance go-kart racing engines, was on hand over the weekend to support the teams. He commented, "Karting is closer to NASCAR than it is to the rudimentary go-karts people used 20 years ago. The technology has come a long way and go-karts are now built with such sophistication and precision as laser alignment."
Event champion Shay Chavous.
The action was so intense and close that the top 32 times were within 0.2 seconds of each other! At the end of the weekend Shay Chavous, 19, of Georgia walked away with the fame and fortune. Chavous, who has been racing since the age of 6, said some of the money would go back into racing, but, "hopefully, I can do something fun with some of it."
Wiechman's Cutlass Ciera was formerly owned and driven by the late "Dyno Don" Nicholson.
At the last Pacific Street Car Association (PSCA) event held at Fontana Auto Club Dragway wily veteran, Paul Wiechman, took the Super Street win. "You can call the class the geezer class since the average age is 60 plus. We're never in a big hurry and take naps at the track between rounds," Wiechman joked with K&N Race News. The Torrance, California resident likes to play the senior card, but make no mistake about it, there's a heap of fast left in Wiechman.
Paul Wiechman won at Fontana driving his 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.
Wiechman has been racing with PSCA and the West Coast Hot Rod Association for the past two years. "I run in the 8.60 class," says Wiechman "Door cars and no electronics are the basic rules; you are allowed a starting line rpm chip is all."
The K&N sponsored driver started racing in 1967 at Lions Drag Strip, winning his first event there. "I got paid by the late Steve Evan, track manager at the time. When Lions closed we all moved over to Irwindale Raceway, which was later sold to the Miller Brewing Company for $1. After Irwindale closed it was on to Orange County International Raceway, until it too closed in '83. Back then my wife worked there as the time-slip girl, so we spent most every weekend at the track both working and racing."
Wiechman sent a special thank you to his wife for all her support, Jeannie is holding the family mascot, Frankie.
Then it was Carlsbad, Ontario, Riverside, and Los Angeles County Raceway, which is located in Palmdale, California and was running until 2007. "They are all closed now," says Wiechman. "I also run the NHRA Div. 7 National and Divisional events at times, and have for many years. I still run Southern Cal. Pro Gas, Super Street, and Super Comp Associations too."
Wiechman drives a 1982 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, with a small-block Chevy 427 engine and Powerglide transmission. The car was formerly owned and driven by the late "Dyno Don" Nicholson, as a Pro-Stock car back in the '80's (The NHRA estimates that Nicholson won 90 percent of his match races). "The car has one carburetor," adds Wiechman, "My best E.T. so far has been 8.49 at 159 mph."
"We still have three events left to race this year with the PSCA, two in Las Vegas and one in Fontana. Hopefully the weather will accommodate us. I would like to thank Steve Williams for giving me the opportunity to race on the K&N team. He has a real tough group of racers onboard, including himself. Good luck to the rest of the K&N team for the rest of their racing this year. Win lights and Wallys for everyone. P.S. - special thanks to my wife Jeannie for all her support."
Tommy Phillips spent his Monday giving back to the community by spending time with children.
K&N sponsored racer Tommy Phillips spent his Monday giving back to the community by spending time with sick children at Children's Hospital in Plano, Texas. Children's Hospital provides patient care for kids from birth to age 18 ranging from simple eye exams to specialized treatment in areas such as heart disease, hematology-oncology and cystic fibrosis.
Tommy Phillips at the Children's Hospital in Plano, Texas
In addition, Children's Hospital is a major pediatric kidney, liver, intestine, heart and bone marrow transplant center.
Events like this can make all the difference in a child's life. Many of these children are fighting for their very survival and a small glimpse of hope from an inspiring racer like Tommy Phillips can give a child a break from an otherwise difficult daily routine. This event had over 100 kids, parents, and medical staff in attendance where Tommy delivered a speech. During his speech he talked about the dreams we have and about being dedicated to our passions. Tommy also held a Q&A session where he answered questions the kids had about how fast the cars are and how he started in racing.
Tommy Phillips bringing a smile to a child's life.
During the visit Tommy made sure to visit all 3 floors of children so that children who could not leave their rooms weren't left out.
Throughout the event K&N hats were handed out and over 150 hero cards were signed in just 4 hours.
Tommy Phillips gives a child a break from an otherwise difficult daily routine.
This heartwarming experience was really rewarding for the children and Tommy who said "I must say that it was a reminder to me that losing in the first round of a race or blowing up an engine really isn't that big a deal in the grand scheme of life."
K&N enjoys and looks forward to sponsoring racers like Tommy who know how important it is to give back to the community. More information on Children's Hospital and ways you can volunteer can be found on their official website at http://www.childrens.com/volunteer.
