Kevin Fisher, driver of the 1,850 horsepower Ohio Crankshaft/K&N Top Dragster
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After a solid first season under the team’s belt with the new Ohio Crankshaft Pro Charger power plant, Kevin Fisher knew his Top Dragster could still use several tweaks during the offseason. Those changes, along with data acquired during 2012, allowed Fisher to pilot his Ohio Crankshaft/K&N dragster to the number one qualifying spot for the X-DRL Thunder Madness event at Bristol Dragway. Fisher grabbed the top spot on his very first lap down the track for the new season.
With the specially designed K&N Air Filter perched high atop of the Pro Charger, Kevin Fisher blazes the hides in preparation for his second lap.
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One of the main changes the Lima, Ohio based racer knew he wanted to make was the way the Pro Charger got the air in needs to work with. The original configuration placed the air filter within an area by the zoomie headers and Fisher felt that not only the location could be improved but also in doing so, be able to catch cooler air away from the heat of the exhaust.
Fisher has owned and operated an auto repair shop that specializes in custom exhaust and high performance applications for well over two decades. Over the winter months, he redesigned the air intake and added a custom built belt guard and after the initial layout was configured, he worked closely with the specialists at K&N Engineering to fabricate a special air filter as a part of the finishing touches.
Jere Wall, Sr. Mgr. PD&E at K&N Engineering, designed a very special K&N filter for Fisher’s Top Dragster ride. The larger configuration includes many of the same high performance characteristics that racers and auto enthusiasts find in their own K&N products and Wall added a K&N XStream® Air Flow top. This top delivers exactly the added flow that Fisher was looking to gain with the addition of the special K&N filter.
Fisher's all new custom K&N Filter, its bracket to secure it and new custom belt guard get there first mock up fitting.
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The K&N XStream® Air Flow top is designed with serious racers in mind and with a very high horsepower setup like Fisher’s, it’s just what the doctor ordered.
Although time did not allow for any pre-season testing, Fisher confidently traveled nearly 450 miles to Bristol, Tennessee for the X-DRL event to see what the car would do. Fisher’s wife, Kathy, who also competes in her own K&N Super Comp dragster, is the TV pit reporter for the X-DRL events that will be televised later this season on Velocity Channel.
During Fisher's final qualifying pass, he carried the wheels to a 4.251 and expanded his spread on the Top Dragster field.
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“It just made sense to head down there,” noted Fisher. “Since we were unable to head to Indy for our first NHRA division event, which was the same weekend, and run both cars, I felt it would just be a good idea to go with her and run while she was working TV. In some ways, it ended up being a great decision.”
X-DRL conducts their program in the eighth-mile format and Top Dragster is a qualified field and with Fisher’s very first look at a track for the new season, sailed to the number one spot with an easy 4.277.
“This 547 motor has a ton more in it,” Fisher pointed out. “And it’s not as light as many of the cars out there in Top Dragster. On the dyno it made 1,850 horsepower at 6,500 RPMs and 1,470 foot pounds of torque at 6,000 RPM. The car could easily be a 3.90s car all day long. We aren’t trying to st the world on fire, but just trying to sneak up on it and for the X-DRL event, just see how fast we needed to run. We are running is very easy.”
During Fisher’s second lap down the historic East Tennessee facility, he ran within a few thousandths of his opening time and posted a 4.28 and that would end the runs for day one of the event. After studying the times of his fellow Top Dragster competitors, Fisher and Ohio Crankshaft’s Stan Ray, who was also on hand for the event, made the decision to make minor changes to the car Saturday morning in hopes of maintaining the pole after the final session.
Kevin Fisher shares his thoughts on his number one qualifying effort with X-DRL co-announcer Carl Robinson.
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“The car was running fantastic for the air and barometer we have in Bristol,” Fisher explained. “It’s been quicker in the eighth mile, but we just wanted to stay consistent with the tune-up we had one it. With a bye run on the line, that would go to the number one qualifier in round one, Stan, Kathy and I just decided to take a little weight off the nose and lose the wheelie bar. It proved to be a perfect decision to make.”
With a beautiful launch that carried the wheels at a nearly ideal height for fifty plus feet, Fisher improved his time to a 4.251 and safely held on to the number one qualifying spot for the X-DRL Thunder Madness.
"The car is set up and geared for quarter-mile,” he pointed out. “We even made a gear change from last season to calm this thing down a little at the top end of the track. Again, our main goal was to be consistent. We certainly went to the X-DRL event to win the race and take home the money, not necessarily to be the number-one qualifier, although I was real happy that we were. It's a good start."
A little closer look at the 547 ci BBC and its K&N filter that powered Fisher to number one.
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Fisher couldn’t be more pleased with the performance of the new set up and special K&N filter, and is quick to point out that he’s really not surprised with the results.
“It’s what I wish we could have done right to start with on this combination, it’s exactly what it needed,” he said. “K&N filters are all you will find on absolutely everything we drive, race or that has a motor of some kind on it and they are the only air filter we recommend at our shop. Jere at K&N was fantastic to work with and truly understands his craft. I thank Steve Williams for helping to make things happen and getting me in touch with him.”
“It’s actually amazing how much of a conversation piece this K&N filter was during the event,” he continued. “We had a ton of interest in it and quite a bit of media coverage from various outlets. It really did its job for our opening event and we look forward to taking it on its first 210+ MPH pass in a couple of weeks when we get back to our quarter mile racing.”
While it was an exciting opening event for Fisher and his Top Dragster and their number one qualifier, Mother Nature brought the racing action to a screeching halt, just as the class was being called to the lanes for first round. Ongoing rains and a lousy forecast for the following day forced race officials to bag the event and sent Fisher back to Ohio wondering if he could have made it a perfect sweep weekend.
The team’s next event will find both Fisher’s competing in their respective classes and at a track a little closer to home. The NHRA Div 3 event at Summit Motorsports Park, just outside of Norwalk, Ohio and the Cavalcade of Stars, May 17-19.
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