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Horizon Hobby, a giant in the radio control industry, and K&N Air Filters, a leader in air filtration technology, have partnered to create a trio of K&N branded r/c cars

At nearly 31-inches long, and over 19-inches wide the 1/5 K&N DBXL 4WD Buggy RTR is powered by a 23cc 2-cycle engine protected by a genuine K&N high-flow air filter

Since 1969 the K&N logo has been associated with performance and over time K&N has become recognized as a worldwide leader in air filtration technology. With thousands of filters in a seemingly limitless configuration of shapes and sizes, it really is safe to say that K&N makes an air filter for just about anything with an engine. From the biggest of diesel engines to the smallest outdoor power equipment, an internal combustion engine needs protection from ingesting harmful debris.

For a while now K&N has received testimonials of K&N users equipping their gasoline powered radio control vehicles with tiny K&N air filters. It may seem odd to some, but the superior airflow and superior performance of K&N air filters can help improve the efficiency of even the smallest engines. So when the folks from Horizon Hobby’s Losi brand of R/C vehicles needed a performance air filter for one of its large 1/5 scale cars, K&N was a natural selection.

With special tires and a paint scheme to match the K&N built Ford Racing Mustang RTR race car, the Vaterra 1/10 2015 K&N Ford Mustang GT is built to experience drifting on a smaller scale

The Losi 1/5-scale K&N edition Desert Buggy XL (DBXL) 4WD Buggy is a massive complete ready to run (RTR) R/C Car being offered through Horizon Hobby and its authorized dealers. At nearly 31-inches long, and over 19-inches wide the 1/5 K&N DBXL 4WD Buggy RTR is powered by a 23cc 2-cycle engine. Besides being protected by a genuine K&N air filter, this Losi R/C buggy includes an officially licensed K&N decorated body. Owners of the standard Losi 1/5 Desert Buggy XL 4WD Buggy RTR need not worry as the K&N air filter and K&N body can be purchased as accessory items.

The ECX brand 1/10-scale K&N Torment 2WD short course truck RTR features a replica body of the K&N Pro Lite Truck driven by K&N sponsored LOORRS driver Bradley Morris

If a 1/5-scale two-stroke powered R/C buggy isn’t your thing, Horizon Hobby and K&N have also partnered to create the ECX brand 1/10-scale K&N Torment 2WD short course truck in a ready to run package. Horizon Hobby’s ECX brand Torment SCT R/C truck is built to withstand even the most brutal of drivers and comes fully Ready-To-Run. ECX vehicles are designed to deliver hard-hitting action, without destroying your wallet. The 1/10 K&N Torment 2WD SCT RTR features a replica body of the K&N Pro Lite Truck driven by Bradley Morris in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

If you’re more of a road racing or drift fan, K&N and Horizon Hobby have just the ticket with the Vaterra brand 1/10-scale 2015 K&N Ford Mustang GT V100 Drift RTR. The Vaterra 1/10 2015 K&N Ford Mustang GT is built around the versatile, AWD, neutral handling V100-S chassis. With specially molded drift tires mounted on licensed 54mm replica Volk CE28N wheels and a paint scheme designed to match the K&N built Ford Racing Mustang RTR race car, this car is made to experience the rush of drift racing at a smaller scale. An optional set of tires uses a different rubber compound to promote grip over drift if you prefer to hug the turns rather than slide through them.

All three of these K&N Filters branded R/C vehicles can be purchased through the Horizon Hobby website. K&N apologizes to fans who want to enjoy licensed K&N R/C action in the air or on the water. But hey, who knows what the future will bring? If you want to check out a cool K&N video of both the K&N ECX Torment truck and K&N Vaterra 2015 Ford Mustang in action, head over to knfilters.com/dream. Use the K&N Search By Vehicle tool to find K&N performance filters for almost anything with an engine. Then take advantage of the K&N Dealer Search tool to find a local authorized K&N dealer.

K&N October 2015 calendar model Katie Vernola used her modeling career to save money for a Polaris RZR 900 and begin racing

After a few turns and a huge step up Jump, Katie Vernola drove her way into second place in the 2016 WORCS Series Round 1 Women’s SxS class with her K&N equipped RZR 1000

2015 K&N Calendar model Katie Vernola works modeling jobs as an easy and fun way to earn money. However, a more serious passion of hers emerged after attending a Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Series race as a spectator. Katie said, “It was love at first site, and I immediately wanted to be able to race the next race in the Polaris RZR 900 Production class.” This was 2014 and at Round 1 of the 2014 Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Series, in only her first race, Katie managed a top 10 finish.

Since that time Katie has begun competing on a national scale in the Lucas Oil Regional Off-Road Series, Terracross, and the World Off Road Championship Series (WORCS). January 14, 2016 saw the 2016 WORCS season kick-off with Round 1 in Taft, California at the Honolulu Hills Raceway. K&N Filters sponsored racer Katie Vernola took the WORCS Round 1 race as an opportunity to debut her new # 72 Polaris RZR 1000 side by side in the Women’s SxS and Pro SxS classes.

Katie Vernola got her 2016 racing season started with a bang, both literally and metaphorically speaking, with a rear-end collision ruining Katie’s Polaris RZR exhaust system

Katie Vernola got her 2016 racing season started with a bang, both literally and figuratively speaking. In the Women’s SxS class Katie started the race from the far outside of eight other women. Coming out of turn one Katie had moved into fifth place. After a few more turns and a huge step up Jump, Katie drove her way into second place. Power steering issues in her previously un-raced Polaris RZR 1000 gave Katie trouble and forced her to shut off the RZR multiple times. This resulted in Katie swapping positions back and forth between 2nd to 4th places. Unfortunately, the literal bang, a result of being rear-ended, ruined Katie’s exhaust system and her hope of finishing well in the women’s class.

Katie Vernola got the WORCS Pro SxS race started with an impressive launch off the line heading into the first turn in second place behind of the wheel of her Polaris RZR 1000

Not to be discouraged, Katie limped her K&N Filters equipped Polaris RZR 1000 back to the race pits to make repairs in preparation for the Pro SxS WORCS class. “I’m bummed I didn’t have any luck in the race so I went back to the starting line to race the Pros SxS class next. I barely had time to gas up but I was eager to get back out on the track and give it another try,” Katie recalled. Katie got the Pro SxS race started with an even more impressive launch off the line than in the Women’s SxS class. Heading into the first turn following the start of the Pro race Katie found herself in second place. But once again Katie’s race ended early with a bang, probably more of a snap in this case, when her Polaris RZR 1000 suffered a broken suspension A-arm.

Afterward Katie Vernola remained positive saying, “It was my first time driving the new build so I’m happy with the overall outcome of how the RZR handled. This is not the way I wanted to start the season, but I know exactly what I need to do to win round 2.” Katie’s day ended early, twice, on account of mechanical troubles. Her troubles were nothing rare in the world of off-road racing, and fortunately K&N air filters and K&N oil filters kept Katie’s Polaris RZR 1000 engine running smoothly. Use the K&N Search By Vehicle tool to find K&N performance upgrades for Polaris RZR side-by-sides, or another vehicle. Then take advantage of the K&N Dealer Search tool to find a local authorized K&N dealer.

In 2015 Prodrive Racing Australia debuted the 2015 Ford Falcon FG X based #5 Pepsi Max International V8 Supercar

The International V8 Supercars series is a touring car racing category based in Australia and run as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations. The vehicles used in the series are loosely based on road-going, four-door saloon cars originally focused on the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore with more recent entries from Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo. Similar to NASCAR in North America, V8 Supercars series regulations control many aspects of the car to ensure equality between the manufacturers as well as lowering the costs of building and repairing a car. Australian V8 Supercars events take place all across the Australian states and included one international race in Auckland, New Zealand for 2015.

Frosty began running K&N filters in the #5 Pepsi Max PRA Ford Falcon FG X at the Castrol Gold Coast 600 round of the V8 Supercars series

At the close of the 2015 V8 Supercars series in Sydney, Mark Winterbottom AKA “Frosty” claimed his first Australian V8 Supercars championship for 2015 in the K&N air filters equipped #5 Pepsi Max Prodrive Racing Australia (PRA) Ford Falcon FG X. Prodrive Racing Australia was established in December 2002 after Prodrive, the world’s largest independent automotive engineering company, bought Glenn Seton Racing. The team was then purchased from Prodrive by motorsport identities, Rod Nash and Rusty French in late 2012. In 2015 Frosty entered his tenth season with Prodrive Racing with his sights firmly set on a championship win. Frosty is considered one of the most consistent drivers in the V8 Supercars field and has finished in the top five in the championship every year since joining Prodrive Racing Australia.

At the close of the 2015 V8 Supercars series in Sydney, Mark Winterbottom AKA “Frosty” claimed his first Australian V8 Supercars championship

Frosty had already clinched the 2015 championship title heading into the Sydney 500 final round of the V8 Supercars series. Going into the final race, Mark Winterbottom said “I'm speechless to be honest, it hasn't really sunk in. To win this, I've been trying for so many years and I've stayed at the one team for such a long time as well. It's awesome to be part of V8 Supercars history. It's nice to be rewarded for the year that the team's had." After the race Winterbottom commented “It's probably the first time in three months that you've actually been able to enjoy racing again without mathematically trying to do the best scenario and stuff so it's cool. It was nice to finish the year on a track that is similar to where we will start next year as well so it was a good weekend but today was awesome. The morale of the team as well was really cool."

Mark Winterbottom gained Ford support in 2001 when he made the jump from karts to single-seater racing in the Victorian Formula Ford series. When Frosty made the move to V8 Supercars he claimed the Development Series title in a Ford Falcon on his first attempt. A move to the main series the following year attracted the attention of Ford’s factory team. Mark Winterbottom’s best championship finish was a second place in 2008 prior to claiming the 2015 championship. Winterbottom achieved eight race wins in the middle part of the 2015 championship year, taking a large championship lead. Frosty began running K&N filters in the #5 Pepsi Max PRA Ford Falcon FG X at the Castrol Gold Coast 600 round of the V8 Supercars series. Winterbottom held on to secure his first championship title and successfully won the first title for Ford in five years.

Also in 2015 Prodrive Racing Australia debuted the 2015 Ford Falcon (FG X) based #5 Pepsi Max V8 Supercar. Specifications of the #5 Pepsi Max PRA Ford Falcon FG X race car are below:

Mark Frosty Winterbottom secured his first V8 Supercars championship title and successfully won the first title for Ford in five years

Engine: FPR-developed, 5.0-litre V8 Ford with SVO cylinder iron block and aluminium heads. Category control MoTeC engine management control system
Power: Estimated 635+ bhp limited to maximum 7450rpm
Air Filter: K&N High-Flow Performance Air Filter
Transaxle: Albins ST6 six-speed sequential
Clutch: AP Racing triple-plate carbon 7 1/4-inch
Suspension: FPR-developed double-wishbone front suspension with coil over spring adjustable dampers. V8 Supercars-designed control Independent Rear Suspension (IRS), coil over adjustable rear dampers.
Brakes: Control pedal box, AP six-piston V8 Supercar control bake calliper, AP 395mm V8 Supercar control rotors up front. AP four-piston V8 Supercar control brake callipers, AP 355mm V8 Supercar control rotors in the rear.
Wheels: 18x12-inch aluminium control wheel
Tyres: Dunlop control tyre
Fuel Capacity: 114-litre
Vehicle weight: 1400kg (category minimum without driver)
Top speed: 299+ kph, 0-100kph: 3.5 seconds
Data system: MoTec ACL Acquisition System with steering wheel-mounted mini-dash display and gear shift light module. 1Gb memory, up to 100 channels of data at up to 1000 samples per second
Car-to-pit: Freewave telemetry system for live data monitoring of the car
Seat: Racetech FIA specification carbon fibre Seat
Steering wheel: FPR-developed steering wheel with MoTec mini-dash LCD display, LED gearshift light module and all driver controls

In addition to supporting drivers and teams of the International V8 Supercars series, K&N air filters established a 2-year deal with the Australian V8 Ute Racing Series to be the exclusive oil and air filter supplier to the Series. Use the K&N Search By Vehicle tool to find K&N performance filters for almost anything with an engine. Then take advantage of the K&N Dealer Search tool to find an authorized K&N dealer in almost any part of the world.

The 2016 Amsoil Arenacross Championship got underway at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena with K&N Filters supported Team Babbitt's Monster Energy/Amsoil Kawasaki sweeping the podium

The 2016 Amsoil Arenacross, AX for short, Championship got underway at Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena with K&N Filters supported Team Babbitt's Monster Energy/Amsoil Kawasaki sweeping the podium. Gavin Faith capitalized on consistency to take the first overall win of the season in his debut with the team. Arenacross features Supercross-style courses downsized further and placed in smaller venues. The AMA uses the AMA Amsoil Arenacross series as a way for riders to transition from amateur racing to Supercross (SX).

Faith, got off to a great start sweeping around turn one within the top three, where he immediately began applying pressure to his competition. With four laps remaining Faith pulled the trigger and made the pass into second place where he would stay for the remainder of the race. His teammate, Chris Blose was not far behind as he just missed the podium, crossing the finish line in fourth place, while the third member of the team, Jacob Hayes, fought from outside the top 10 to finish fifth.

In race two, Faith got off to another top three start on his KX250F. Faith rode smart and consistent in his return to Arenacross paying off with a 2-3 finish, capturing the overall victory. Teammate Jacob Hayes brought the fans to their feet in Main Event 2 as he made a last lap move to take the lead. The daring last lap pass nearly took him out of action right before the finish. Unfortunately, even with the race win, Hayes fell short of the overall win by a single point to his teammate. Chris Blose completed the overall podium in third.

Team Babbitt's Monster Energy/Amsoil Kawasaki relies on K&N air filter KA-2506XD and K&N oil filter KN-207 to help land their Kawasaki KX250F motorcycles on the podium

"It was actually a great weekend for the first round of the Arenacross," said Faith. "I started off well in practice, qualifying first. I got a pretty bad start in my heat race but managed to work my way up to fourth place, barely getting into head to head racing. I went into the first main event with last gate pick, got a decent start within the top five and worked my way into second. In Main Event 2, I got off to another great start and rode smart and consistent to finish third, which put me on top of the box. I couldn’t have asked for a better season opener."

"I had a solid night of racing", said Hayes. "I just went out there and rode my own race. I had a plan going into the weekend and I stuck to the plan, so I was pleased. There is a lot of racing this season and I know I will be fine as long as I am able to win main events."

"Cincinnati was overall a great weekend", said Blose. "The main focus was to stay healthy and come out on the podium, which I accomplished. The track was very difficult, with it being super soft and rutted that staying on the bike was the main focus. Now that the first round is over, it's go time and time to drop the hammer down and get some wins!"

K&N Air Filters supported Team Babbitt's Monster Energy/Amsoil Kawasaki relies on K&N air filter KA-2506XD and K&N oil filter KN-207 to help land their Kawasaki KX250F motorcycles on the podium. Use the K&N Search By Vehicle tool to find K&N performance filters for almost anything with an engine. Then take advantage of the K&N Dealer Search tool to find a local authorized K&N dealer.

Giovanni Scelzi finished a close second in his K&N equipped Micro Sprint for the winged "A" class main event among the top 24 drivers out of approximately 200 who entered the Tulsa Shootout (Joe Orth Photo)

Giovanni Scelzi started traveling around the nation at just 3 months old. He lived on the road, hitting the Drag Race tracks along the way, as he tagged along with his dad for the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) races. Giovanni is the son of three-time NHRA Top Fuel champion, and NHRA Funny Car champion, Gary Scelzi. Gary Scelzi is one of only two racers to have won a championship in both NHRA Top Fuel, and Funny Car, giving young Giovanni quite the racing pedigree.

Giovanni began racing in 2008, at 6 years old, in the Jr. Sprint class at Lemoore Raceway in Lemoore, California and Plaza Park Raceway in Visalia, California. Seven years later Giovanni is now racing Micro Sprints, including the winged and non-winged A classes, as well as the Outlaw divisions. Giovanni recently competed in the 2016 Tulsa Shootout, the largest event for micro sprint racing in the country, with every intention of backing up his 2015 win.

In early 2015 young Scelzi led all 25 laps of the "A" class winged feature to garner the biggest win of his budding career. With it came Giovanni's first Golden Driller Award, a trophy that takes its likeness from a 76 foot tall statue of an oil worker leaning on an oil derrick in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hoping for a repeat, Giovanni Scelzi said, "The only thing you come here to do is win. That's all I'm thinking about doing."

Giovanni Scelzi put himself in contention for a repeat in the Winged A Class Micro Sprints thanks to a drive from fourth to win a heat race and from third to win a qualifier. That lined Scelzi up on the outside of the front row for the main event. Unfortunately for Scelzi, he finished a close second in his K&N air filters equipped Micro Sprint during the winged "A" class main event which consisted of the top 24 drivers out of approximately 200 who entered.

From the Tulsa Shootout, Giovanni and his K&N sponsored team went to Somerton, Arizona for the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown Finale where he earned a top-10 finish at Cocopah Speedway (Joe Orth Photo)

Afterward Giovanni said, "I thought we had a good chance of winning, but the track never widened out in the feature. I got under the leader once and it wasn't enough. There was a restart with two laps to go. It came down to whether he made a mistake and he didn't make a mistake." Scelzi continued, "At first we were so mad we didn't win, but for the first time with this combination I was pretty happy with it. Second place out of so many of the best micro sprint drivers in the country is a great feat."

From the Tulsa Shootout, the Gary Scelzi Motorsports team headed to Somerton, Arizona for the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown Finale. After Giovanni's brother Dominic earned a top-ten finish at Cocopah Speedway, Giovanni and the Gary Scelzi Motorsports team hit the road for the 30th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. The Midget Nationals at the Tulsa Expo Raceway received its name from the Chili Bowl Food Company who sponsored the first event thirty years ago. In a part of the U.S. typically covered in snow The Chili Bowl is considered racing's winter answer to the NFL's Super Bowl.

Giovanni and the Gary Scelzi Motorsports team rely on K&N Filters in their racing efforts. Use the K&N Search By Vehicle tool to find K&N performance filters for almost anything whether it's a Micro Sprint or a Heavy Duty Commercial Diesel. Then take advantage of the K&N Dealer Search tool to find a local authorized K&N dealer.