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Kyle Benjamin won the pole for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire International Speedway. It was his third pole of the season in the K&N Pro Series East.

Corey LaJoie hasn’t won a race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in nearly four years, but it didn’t take him long to get up to speed. LaJoie won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire International Speedway, his first since 2012 when he won five races.

Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 41 Chevrolet, won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire International Speedway. He led 34 laps of the United Site Services 70.

LaJoie led the final 34 laps of the United Site Services 70, taking the lead from Kyle Benjamin on lap 39. Benjamin won the pole and was out front for the first 38 laps of the race. LaJoie started on the front row with Benjamin, who fell back in the waning laps of the race to finish fourth.

LaJoie, a NASCAR Next alumnus, won for the first time in the K&N Pro Series East at New Hampshire. He was the runner-up to Kyle Larson in 2012. LaJoie was in contention for the victory in 2010, but crashed late in the race.

Corey LaJoie won his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race since 2012 when he won five races and was the runner-up in the K&N Pro Series East standings.

“Expectations are high when you come here,” LaJoie said. “I’ve lost a couple here at New Hampshire. I lost one to Larson here in 2012. I lost one wrecking with the leader coming for the checkered a couple years before that. I wasn’t going to let this one get away.”

His dad, Randy LaJoie, won a NASCAR race in New Hampshire in 1996. Randy LaJoie was 5-years-old when his dad won that race.

Corey LaJoie won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire International Speedway in his first start of the season.

“It’s really cool just to get into Victory Lane anywhere,” Corey LaJoie said. “Obviously having that picture with Dad holding me in Victory Lane here is obviously pretty cool too. The biggest thing is just so many times I’ve ran good here and not been able to get it done. It just all worked out. When all the restarts started falling, this is about the time I probably give one up. I luckily had enough experience and had a couple good restarts and I am sitting here with this trophy.”

Corey LaJoie, who races in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, was making his first start of the season in the K&N Pro Series East. He was the runner-up in the K&N Pro Series standings in 2012.

A pair of teenagers followed LaJoie across the finish line. Rookie and NASCAR Next driver Todd Gilliland, who started the race in seventh, was second. It was the third top-five finish in five K&N Pro Series East races for Gilliland.

“The first half of the race was pretty uneventful,” Gilliland said. “I think we went almost all green. Right at Lap 35 it was more exciting, more action, a lot more side-by-side racing. At this track restarts are really important. Corey was really good at restarts today. It was tough keeping up with him.

Corey LaJoie, who also races in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Corey LaJoie won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire International Speedway. He started on the front row next to pole winner Kyle Benjamin and took the lead in the race on lap 39.

 Justin Haley crossed the finish line in third. It was his eighth top-five finish in nine K&N Pro Series East races.

“We were leading the points coming in here,” Haley said. “We were looking for a solid day in the top five where we’ve been kind of running all year, fortunate to get two wins.  We fell to third there in the early portion of race. … Happy to be leading the points still.”

Haley has won two K&N Pro Series East races and leads the K&N Pro Series East standings by 40 points over Benjamin. Benjamin was fourth in the race at New Hampshire, followed by Austin Theriault in fifth.

The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series race is the Casey’s General Store 150 at Iowa Speedway on July 29. It is a race for the drivers and teams from the K&N Pro Series East and West.

Peter Biondo won the Super Pro event at in the NHRA Summit Racing Series at Numidia Dragway in Pennsylvania over the Fourth of July weekend. He won again in Super Pro the following weekend.

Peter Biondo set off some fireworks in his K&N Filters-backed dragster at Numidia Dragway in Pennsylvania over the Fourth of July weekend. He continued the celebration a week later, winning two NHRA Summit Racing Series events in a row at Numidia Dragway.

Biondo won his first event in the Super Pro division at Numidia Dragway against Nino Reginella. Biondo said it was a great event, with a fireworks celebration after the races and a huge crowd of fans and new faces.

“It was a mix of both. I saw a lot of new faces walking through the staging lanes and in the stands, spectators that I’ve never met before, coming up, looking at the car, shaking hands,” Biondo said. “Especially in the winner’s circle, there was a mob of people coming by. There was a lot of new faces spectator wise.”

The races at Numidia Dragway were the first for Biondo in a few months. He took a break from racing and returned to the track in July.

“It’s kind of like riding a bike,” Biondo said. “First you’re a little apprehensive, but once you go down the track the first time again, everything comes back to you quickly. There was definitely some apprehension before getting in. That dragster has always performed very well. Usually it’s the driver that screws up. I was very confident going into the week even though it’s been quite a while.”

In the final race against Reginella, Biondo said he had a great reaction time. It was the difference in winning the race and the Super Pro title.

“The car was on. When the chips were on the table in the final I had a very good reaction time,” Biondo said. “I was fortunate to have a .001, which is one-thousandth away from perfect. Nino was a little off his game, about a .037 reaction time. That gave me a lot of cushion to beat him at the other end.”

Biondo decided to return to Numidia the following week for another slate of NHRA Summit Racing Series races. He won again, beating Robert DiMino Jr. in the final race.

“My good friends own that race track, the DiMino family,” Biondo said. “They put a great show up there. They work very hard for the bracket races, put on a good bracket program. It was not quite as big an event, spectator wise. It was their normal weekly program. We were fortunate to go to the winner’s circle again, two weeks in a row.”

Again, Biondo won the final race against DiMino off the line. Biondo had a perfect reaction time which was too much for DiMino, the reigning track champion, to overcome.

“Racing wise it was every bit as competitive. There’s a tough bunch week in, week out up there,” Biondo said. “In the final round, I ran a good friend of mine, Robert DiMino, who’s the track champion of last year. We had a very, very good run. I was fortunate again to have my best reaction time of the weekend in the final round. It was a perfect .00 reaction time. That helped me get the win against Robert. He had a very good reaction time because he was the track champion. He’s a friend of mine. I know how talented he is and what he is capable of.”

Biondo will continue racing, heading West for his next two events. He is planning on racing at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Colorado July 22-24. From there, he is heading to Sonoma, Calif., for the Toyota NHRA Nationals July 29-31. He wants to win NHRA events in seven categories. He has won six and he is taking his top dragster to Colorado and California for try to win his seventh class championship.

“I’m going to be running top dragster,” Biondo said. “A goal of mine is to be the second driver to win seven different categories in NHRA racing. It’s kind of fun goal to be the second driver to win seven different categories. Top dragster would be that.”

Biondo uses K&N air and oil filters in all his dragsters. He said the different tracks he races at have all sorts of roads and paths through the pits and garages. Some are paved, some are not. Having the right filters in his dragsters put his mind at ease when racing.

“There are thousands and thousands and thousands of bracket racers throughout the country,” Biondo said. “We go to a lot of different tracks. Some have a lot of paved concrete, some have a lot of dust that kicks up and don’t have a lot of paved concrete. That air filter that I have is very valuable. I drive through a lot of stuff getting back to my pit. You drive through sand, you drive through dust getting kicked up, rocks. The K&N air filter that I run really puts me at ease from that perspective, not having to worry about rocks or debris getting into my motor. It’s important for obvious reasons for the motor, but also psychologically. You don’t have to worry about that.”

While the filter Peter uses is made specific for race applications, you can enjoy the same dependability, protection, and durability in your vehicle with a K&N replacement air filter or complete intake system. Visit the search by vehicle tool to find the K&N product for your vehicle.

If you open the dictionary to the word purposeful, we’re pretty sure this is the picture that appears

Anyone who has ever raced successfully on two wheels and four wheels understands the difference in skills the two disciplines require. For example, in the 65 years of Grand Prix racing, only one driver was crowned both Motorcycle and Formula 1 World Champion. Which provides a little insight into what TORC Series driver Cam Reimers faced when he moved from Motocross to Pro-Lite Off Road Trucks.

Driver and truck are both spotless before the racing starts. Neither will look that way at the end of the weekend.

Through his teens and into his twenties Reimers would accumulate literally hundreds of wins and multiple Motocross and Quad championships, but he recognized it was time to take on a new challenge.

Reimers entered the 2013 TORC (literally, The Off Road Championship Series) as both driver and team owner. In doing so, Reimers became the youngest owner/operator in short-course off-road racing. Reimers worked hard to reassign his copious two-wheel skills to four-wheel off-road racing over the last three seasons, landing on the Pro-Lite division podium more than a few times.

Reimers’ big breakthrough came last year, where in front of the largest on-site spectator and television audience on off-road racing his took his breakout win at the legendary World Championships in Crandon, Wisconsin, and finishing fifth in class in the season-long points battle.

If you’re unclear as to what a Pro Lite off-road truck is, you’ve come to the right place. The class was created to provide drivers an opportunity to move up to a full-sized V8 powered truck without the expense of an all-out, pretty much anything goes Pro 2 or Pro 4 rig.

For example, the chassis has to be built exactly to blueprints provided by TORC, which defines wheelbase, track, ride height, suspension pick-up points and a plethora of other details, and you can’t be a millimeter off. Suspension is off-road spec A-Arms in the front but with a limit of two shocks per side. Rear suspension is a four-link solid axle set-up.

Cam Reimers enjoying a little hang time.

Under the hood is an engine that matches the body style (i.e., Chevy, Ford, or Mopar), all of which are performance crate engines around 5.7 L. Furthermore, the engines are sealed to resist the urge for any hanky-panky and can only be serviced by the seven TORC approved engine builders. Atop each engine sits the same Holley 650 CFM carb (breathing through a K&N filter, in Reimer’s case) on an approved manifold along with a single-spec MSD ignition system. Drive moves through a GM Turbo Hydromatic using the stock gear ratios, regardless of which brand of truck body and engine.

The Ogden, Iowa native’s season didn’t start well at Dallas, managing only a seventh place in the first round. Things improved significantly in Round 2 with a third place podium finish. At Chicago Reimers captured fourth in Round 3 and dropped back to sixth in Round 4. At the first of two events at Crandon, the track which provided him his first win last year, Reimers finished seventh in Round 5 and fourth in Round 6, just two seconds off the podium. In Minnesota, Reimers took seventh in Round 7 and an important third to his points chase in Round 8.

While no win has come his way and podium finishes have been scares Reimers has leveraged his consistency (he’s completed every lap so far this year) so that he sits fourth in the championship standings. Moreover, he’s just 8 points behind the third-place driver. A couple of strong finishes in the remaining six rounds could easily move Reimers up the chart to a top 3 finish in the 2016 championship.

You can apply the filter technology used on Reimer’s truck to provide your truck with the same level of protection and durability with either a K&N replacement air filter or complete intake system. Use the K&N vehicle search tool to find what K&N makes for your vehicle.

The rectangular, nearly-universal washable, reusable K&N VF2050 cabin air filter replaces OEM filters in three families of Ford world cars to ensure clean, free-flowing air for driver and passengers.

Three families of 2013-2016 Ford passenger cars and multi-purpose vehicles (also called SAV, "sports activity vehicles") in Europe, South America, Australia, the Middle East, Asia, and North America can now get an upgraded interior environment with the same K&N replacement cabin air filter.

Housed in a sturdy polyethelyne frame, the K&N VF2050 cabin air filter fits the factory filter housing exactly and requires no special tools to install.

1) Sedans: The second-generation redesigned mid-size sedan/saloon Fusion, its luxury siblings Lincoln MKX and MKZ (Z stands for "Zephyr"), and European cousin Mondeo V all share the CD4 platform intended to exemplify Ford's global car strategy, and were introduced in 2012 for 2013. The Fusion and Lincoln are available on several continents; Mondeo is European-only. They are nicely turned-out passenger vehicles, delivering their people safely, in comfort and style.

The revived Zephyr and Galaxy names hark back to distinctive Ford/Mercury vehicles of a previous century. The Zephyr was originally a Mercury division coupe, sedan, and station wagon during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Galaxy was spelled Galaxie and that script graced the rear quarter panel of a top-of-the-range, chrome-trimmed cruiser of the 1950s and 1960s. It's interesting to learn and observe that neither resemble today's namesakes.

The VF2050 filter is available world-wide via internet purchase or at dealers in every corner of the globe.

2) MPV/SAV: The seven-passenger S-Max and Galaxy MPVs are improvements on and enlargements of already popular vehicles, with longer wheelbases, greater overall height, more interior space, and sportier handling. The S-Max, the performance-oriented iteration, was European Car of the Year for 2007 and for 2015 has improved suspension elements for even better handling. It is the first to wear Ford's Kinetic Design styling (trapezoidal grille, angular headlights, wheel arches). The Galaxy, the larger MPV of this family, has three-row seating (two rows fold flat) and some elements of the kinetic design format. It is a favorite among mini-cab companies as a fleet vehicle. Both are sold in Europe only.

3) SUV Crossover: The second-generation Edge was all-new in 2015 with a new grille, new headlights, LED combination taillights, increased interior room, and a rear-view camera. Ford's EcoBoost engine is now its standard power plant, and this 2.0-liter gets a new turbo to improve low-end torque and enable a towing capacity of up to 3500 pounds. A five-passenger midsize, it fits its niche and delivers greater refinement than a compact SUV without the bulk of a full-size. Edges are sold in North America, Europe, and China.

All of these upgraded Ford vehicles are true people-movers that need clean, free-flowing cabin air for driver and passenger health and comfort. They will be racking up thousands of miles in their lifetimes and transporting hundreds of humans who will spend dozens of hours inside them. The best route to an optimal driving experience is with a superior cabin air filter, such as the K&N VF2050 that fits all Ford Mondeo V, Galaxy III, Fusion, S-Max, Edge, and Lincoln MKX and MKZ cars for 2013-2016.

A clogged or dirty cabin air filter is often the source of stale odors, dust, and pathogens that reach passengers, plus it can reduce airflow into the HVAC system, possibly damaging the heating, cooling, and air circulation components. To protect the system, the K&N filter is generous-sized and rectangular, and handles a hefty flow of air.

Many owners may already be aware of the benefits of performing regular cabin air filter replacements, and they now have the option of using this easily washable and reusable filter from K&N. Designed to grab and hold a range of particulate matter, spores, pollen, and various pathogens, the VF2050 is constructed of a special electrostatically charged synthetic material and pleated to offer a greater surface area for increased airflow. The media is designed and constructed to be washed and reused over the lifetime of the car. Use the K&N cabin filter cleaning care kit's cleaner spray to loosen dirt and other particles, rinse with water, air dry, then spray with refresher spray, and replace.

The VF2050 was designed as a direct replacement for stock filters in these One Ford world cars. It is housed in a sturdy, molded, polyurethane frame for a precise fit into the factory cabin air filter box and requires no special tools to install. The suggested service interval for this filter is about every 12,000 to 15,000 miles depending on driving conditions.

K&N replacement cabin air filters are backed by a 10-Year/Million Mile Limited Warranty so owners can be confident that their filters will provide years of clean cabin air. Millions of vehicle owners have trusted their engines to K&N engine air filters for decades. K&N applies the same high standards of design, production and performance to its replacement washable cabin air filters, so everyone aboard these Ford sedans, MPV/SAV, and SUV crossovers will breathe easier.

Identify a K&N replacement air filter by using K&N's online search by vehicle tool. To purchase, find an authorized K&N dealer anywhere on the planet by using the K&N dealer search tool.

The K&N FV2050 replaces these part numbers:
1A First K30227
3F Quality 733
Fomoco DG9H18D483AA
Ford 5180987
Ford 5256078
Ford DG9H18D483AA
Ford DG9H18D483BA
Mann-Hummel CUK28100
Micro-Guard 4078
Motorcraft FP71
Muller FK227
Ryco RCA330
Vemo V25311081
WIX WP10084

The following Ford vehicles can be fitted with the K&N VF2050 cabin air filter:
2016 LINCOLN MKZ HYBRID 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2016 LINCOLN MKZ 3.7L V6 F/I - All
2016 LINCOLN MKX 3.7L V6 F/I - All
2016 LINCOLN MKX 2.7L V6 F/I - All
2016 FORD S-MAX II 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD S-MAX II 2.0L L4 DIESEL - All
2016 FORD S-MAX II 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD MONDEO V 2.5L L5 F/I - All
2016 FORD MONDEO V 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD MONDEO V 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD MONDEO V 1.5L L4 DIESEL - All
2016 FORD MONDEO V 1.0L L3 F/I - All
2016 FORD GALAXY III 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD GALAXY III 2.0L L4 DIESEL - All
2016 FORD GALAXY III 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD FUSION 2.5L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD FUSION 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD FUSION 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD EDGE 3.5L V6 F/I - All
2016 FORD EDGE 2.7L V6 F/I - All
2016 FORD EDGE 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2016 FORD EDGE 2.0L L4 DIESEL - All
2015 LINCOLN MKZ HYBRID 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2015 LINCOLN MKZ 3.7L V6 F/I - All
2015 LINCOLN MKZ 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD S-MAX II 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD S-MAX II 2.0L L4 DIESEL - All
2015 FORD S-MAX II 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD MONDEO V 2.5L L5 F/I - All
2015 FORD MONDEO V 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD MONDEO V 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD MONDEO V 1.5L L4 DIESEL - All
2015 FORD MONDEO V 1.0L L3 F/I - All
2015 FORD GALAXY III 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD GALAXY III 2.0L L4 DIESEL - All
2015 FORD GALAXY III 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD FUSION 2.5L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD FUSION 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD FUSION 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD EDGE 3.5L V6 F/I - All
2015 FORD EDGE 2.7L V6 F/I - All
2015 FORD EDGE 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2015 FORD EDGE 2.0L L4 DIESEL - All
2014 LINCOLN MKZ HYBRID 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2014 LINCOLN MKZ 3.7L V6 F/I - All
2014 LINCOLN MKZ 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2014 FORD MONDEO V 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2014 FORD MONDEO V 1.6L L4 DIESEL - All
2014 FORD FUSION 2.5L L4 F/I - All
2014 FORD FUSION 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2014 FORD FUSION 1.6L L4 F/I - All
2014 FORD FUSION 1.5L L4 F/I - All
2013 LINCOLN MKZ HYBRID 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2013 LINCOLN MKZ 3.7L V6 F/I - All
2013 LINCOLN MKZ 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2013 FORD FUSION 2.5L L4 F/I - All
2013 FORD FUSION 2.0L L4 F/I - All
2013 FORD FUSION 1.6L L4 F/I - All

Road Trip Selfie with son and partner in this adventure, Weston Thurmond. Scheduling conflicts prevented Jane's regular crew chief, husband Greg, from attending the event.

What is a mother to do? That seemed to be a pivotal question for K&N Driver, Jane Thurmond, just three short years ago. Her three children were becoming adults and for the past 24 years she spent her days raising capable humans and handling the house and family life.

K&N Driver Jane Thurmond and her C2 Corvette affectionately named "Scarlett" taking the scenic route to PPIR, Optima's 5th Event in the 2016 season.

Jane and her husband, Spectre Performance driver, Greg Thurmond, have owned a Corvette custom shop for almost thirty years. So when their chassis builder suggest they come try out an autocross event, well what did they have to lose. Little did Jane know at the time how this sport would change her life in so many ways. If you asked her then she never would have said she was competitive. But that has all changed. As evidenced by her performance throughout 2016, garnering multiple podium finishes in multiple racing series. And she is only halfway through the season.

Thurmond lays down a 17.32 in the Powerstop Brakes Speed Stop Challenge to secure her a top five finish in the GTV Class.

For the first couple years she and her husband shared "Scarlett". That was until an opportunity came up two years ago that allowed them to add to their paddock. Specifically, a 1965 Corvette that had spent most of its life in a California desert that had been its resting place after competing as a "gasser". Now that '65 is a purpose built Pro-Touring ride that made its debut at SEMA in the Spectre Performance booth in 2015. This now allowed Jane the opportunity to be the sole driver of her red beauty, Scarlett, and the transition has been one both car and driver have made the most of.

Jane Thurmond taking a moment to focus on the autocross course that lies ahead.

As Jane continued to prove how competitive and capable a driver she was, it seemed only natural that in 2016, K&N would want to have this powerful and confident lady as a team driver to represent their brand. It has been a decision that has paid off in spades. Thurmond has consistently placed on the podium in the NMCA West Division, USCA, and Goodguys in the past two years. She has, with the exception of Pike's Peak, driven her pro-touring ride, Scarlett, to all the events that she has competed in for the 2016 season, logging more than 4,500 miles in travel distance alone. A crowd favorite, she has volunteered rides to raise money for the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer at Goodguys Events on the West Coast, and created a blog, Riding Shotgun, that focuses on empowering women her age that may need some encouragement to find life after kids, saying that, "Raising children happens fast - like 0-50 in nothing flat!"

Thurmond getting at it on the Falken Tires Hot Lap Challenge Road Course segment.

Earlier this year Jane spoke to us about OUSCI, Optima's Ultimate Street Car Invitational, and what her strategy was for the invite. In years past she has been invited as a K&N Spirit of the Event Award Recipient and a K&N title sponsor driver. But this year she wants to be invited based on merit. She gave quite a bit of thought to what events would make the most sense since her mid-season class change from GTL to GTV. Unfortunately, the points she earned in GTL class at Thunderhill don't go with her to the GTV class. Pike's Peak was the best logistically for her to gain some ground and much needed points.

Jane Thurmond, ranked 4th in points in GTV Class, being interviewed by Katie Osborne for Lucas Oil and MAV TV before the award ceremony.

This past weekend, as a result of scheduling conflicts, Greg wasn't able to participate at the Optima event at Pike's Peak. Instead, the couple's youngest son, Weston, filled in as crew chief and rode shotgun in the RV. It worked out to be an incredible choice since Weston will be turning 18 in mere days.

Scarlett was ready, the RV was prepped and loaded and they were off. First stop, Phoenix, where they would meet up with friend and fellow competitor, Matt Alcala and John Lindstrom, one of the Lingenfelter Design and Engineering judges. With day one under their belts they felt good. The next day, Jane and Weston would make a quick detour and head to the Grand Canyon in the RV, towing the '64. From there they would head up the Navajo Trail into Cortez, Colorado to visit with more racing friends, taking in some beautiful scenery. Just what a mom wants from a road trip with her son. Friday rolled in and they were feeling the effects of the change in elevation and driving. Each of them feeling the need for a second cup of coffee and they were on the road again. This time heading toward PPIR, the scene of the fifth OSUSC 2016 event. With over 350 miles left on the first part of their adventure, they endured lightning, rain, Wolf Creek Pass, and roads with plenty of construction. The six-hour trek turned into eight hours, but they were still in one piece upon arrival!

Pike's Peak International Raceway, located in Fountain, Colorado, just south of Colorado Springs, has been host to several racing series including the Indy Racing League and 2 NASCAR series, Busch & Truck. PPIR is ideal for testing and features a design that is similar to Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. The biggest issue that participants encounter when racing at PPIR is the temperature and elevation differences, so car prep in essential to do well in competition. Elevation can also affect the competitor, both physically and mentally. Thurmond knew going in to this event that she would need to be sensitive to these nuances and that in doing so she might have a leg up on her competition. It seemed that Colorado's hottest days of the year were Saturday and Sunday the weekend of the Optima Event. Fortunately, Jane didn't suffer from the elevation differences physically or with her car. Tech went quickly and she felt relaxed and ready to do her best.

Speed-Stop Challenge was her first segment of the competition. The start line had the competitors head backwards on the oval with a hairpin, right turn, into a quick slalom, terminating on pit lane in a 20 by 40-foot box. Jane earned a podium finish at her last OSUSC event in Las Vegas and was hoping for a repeat or better. Unfortunately, that podium for Speed-Stop would elude her at this event. But she has always contended this segment of the event has always been a little tough for her. Later in the afternoon our K&N driver would head over to autocross. The day warmed up beyond what weather reports had initially predicted. The temps were well over 100 degrees with clear and sunny skies making for a gorgeous Colorado day, but a slippery autocross track to say the least. Fortunately, the course was a good mix of tight, technical turns with some speed in between. Scarlett's modified LS1 with Lingenfelter built AFR ceads and K&N cold air intake setup produced the perfect amount of power. And her Wilwood disc brake setup was on point. The GTS Customs cantilever design with single adjustable RideTech shocks worked flawlessly with this course design. A simple air adjustment to her Falken Azenis RT615K gave her the additional grip she needed when the track started to go away. Even with the higher temperatures she maneuvered her car telling us the push she had battled earlier this season was gone and was able to drive off the rear wheels more comfortably. After a hot day on the track the group headed out on the Lucas Oil Road Rally where virtually all the participants wound up lost thanks to Jimi Day and Google. But there wasn't a cross word said as everyone reveled in the beauty that surrounded them in Colorado Springs and Garden of the Gods. Upon the participant’s safe return, they enjoyed the Optima welcome party and feasted on BBQ telling stories of the day.

Day two was all about the Falken Tires Hot Lap Challenge on the Road Course. Bob Boileau, owner of PPIR, took some time to personally coach Jane, pointing out the "line" on the 1-mile oval and just where to position her car on the infield during orientation laps. The drivers were separated into run groups based upon experience; Novice, Intermediate, and Expert. What differentiates the groups? Passing and how you do it. There is no passing in the Novice run group. The USCA encourages all novice drivers to simply learn the basics first. Then when they promote to Intermediate, the driver can "pass" a slower car with a "point by". All passing in Intermediate run group is done in the straightaways to promote safety on course. With the Expert run group, the driver may pass on a straightaway without a point by. The Hot Lap Challenge afforded the drivers (5) 20-minute race sessions. Jane recalls that this was definitely the most road course seat time at any event she's participated in.

All-in-all our team driver said she had a great time and did what she set out to do. She received a podium finish for the Lingenfelter Design & Engineering segment and returns to California with a 4th Place Finish in the GTV Class for Optima's PPIR Event. Jane is currently ranked 4th in points in the GTV Class behind points leader, and K&N Driver, Jake Rozelle, Larry Woo - 2nd, and Chad Ryker - 3rd. She is pleased to see that her efforts were not in vain and hopes to have enough points for the invite.