Latest News | Read Our Blog

Swedish Speedway Star Linus Sundström Secures his first Elite League Maximum

16 Aug 2012

Swedish hot-shoe Speedway racing rising star, Linus Sundström exploded onto the racing circuit in 2009, and the very next year he crowned his debut by qualifying for the elite FIM Speedway Grand Prix, which is the ultimate season ending goal for all Speedway competitors. This July, 2012, Sundström realized a new milestone in his young racing career when he secured his first full Elite League Maximum at the East of England Showground against Eastbourne. Sundström reeled off five straight wins to score a full maximum 15 points. The toughest challenge for him came in the fourth race when he had to beat a fiercely competitive Cameron Woodward, managing to squeeze by him on the 4th lap to lock up the victory.

Sundström reached another milestone this year when he reeled off five straight wins to score a full maximum 15 points - his first full Elite League Maximum.

"What a night it was for me," exclaimed Sundström. "I had been waiting for this for a long, long, time. I always knew I could manage this and over the past few weeks I've felt quicker and quicker. My team has been working really hard, and they have been cheering me on all the way. Hopefully this is many to come."

With the first half of the season now in his rearview mirror, Sundström has some time for reflection on how to approach the second half of the season. Many hours have already been invested in the workshop, and working with various engine tuners in order to find the best setups and more consistent speed out on track.

"We have had some ups and downs so far," admits Sundström. "We started off good, but had some troubles with speed and gating, but lately things have been working really well. We have made a few changes in the team and I think they are really positive for my career. They have been big steps and hopefully I'm moving in the right direction."

Sundström Racing's Speedway Grand Prix qualification hopes for this year came to an end on 29th June in Vojens, Denmark, after Sundström finished 11th in the field. With the experience of Niels Kristian Iversen and Davey Watt in the lineup Sundström knew it was going to be difficult undertaking at best. Although he did manage to collect six points from his five rides, it wouldn't be enough. The K&N sponsored racer remains realistically optimistic however, choosing to draw only the positives from the overall experience.

"We always knew it was going to be a tough day. With world class riders in the lineup, at this stage of the competition, you can't afford a bad race. When I look back at the series though, I'm the 5th youngest competitor to reach this stage, and I feel really happy about that. My aim is to make the Speedway Grand Prix Series next year, and I see no reason why I can't do that. It's been a tough couple of months for me and the team. It really tests the team's patience and determination, but we have come through the storm as the English say. We have made progress and I'm feeling back to my best. As you know confidence plays a massive role in speedway, so to feel good on the bike at this point is always a good start."

Linus Sundström Racing's second half of the Sky Sports Elite League season kicks off August 13th when Peterborough goes up against Swindon.

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Cody Rahders takes Second Place at Race Town 395 In Spite of Slow Start

16 Aug 2012

Along with the WORCS, Cody Rahders also races in the Superlite class of the Lucas Oil Off Road Series.

Those who follow Cody Rahders can say with all confidence that he is not a slacker. In fact, the driver manages to juggle his time in a manner that allows him to race in two different series. Rahders competes in the Superlite Truck class in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORS), as well as manning a Polaris RZR570 in the production 700 class of the World Off Road Championship Series (WORCS).

Rahders and team R3 motorsports recently loaded up the Polaris and headed for Adelanto, California, where they were scheduled to race in the 700/850 class at Race Town 395. Although eager to get the event underway, Cody didn't have the start he was hoping for.

Cody Rahders recently finished second in a WORCS event at Race Town 395.

In fact, the driver found himself in the second from last place in a field of thirty cars after the waving of the green flag. "Man, I just wasn't on it and had a bad start," recalled the driver.

Although not happy with his start, Rahders had no intentions of letting up, and in fact, he was focused on making up ground. Although the order held steady throughout the first half of lap one, he began muscling his way toward the front of the pack and had managed to take the third place position as he and his fellow drivers headed back from the desert section of the track.

Once reaching the motocross section of the course Cody Rahders and the two lead drivers were practically neck to neck. Cody eventually took over the second place spot and began his pursuit for the lead. Everything was looking good, until a slight miscalculation lent to Rahders coming up on two wheels. Although making corrections the driver then found himself too far behind to take the checkered flag.

His progression toward the front of the pack was a far cry from easy, as the conditions were less than optimal, as the dust was relentless. "I drove hard, stayed close, let them make mistakes and tried not to get lost in the dust," explained Rahders. When asked if the conditions were dustier than normal, he continued, "Definitely, the worst. Dusty conditions can have a huge impact on the outcome of a race. If you're not out front in clean air, all you do is play catch-up. It makes you have to push through it and take chances you normally wouldn't take. There's nothing else you can do. I would rather have it muddy."

Cody Rahders is a strong advocate of using K&N products to keep his engines contaminant free and running to their peak performance.

Referring to his second place finish, the driver said, "I was pretty happy. I actually caught the leader about a mile before the finish and had a shot to win. I went into some corner so hot, trying to make a pass, and bicycled the car so far I thought I was going to roll.It was one of the best saves I've ever had," he continued. And no one was there to see it."

With his race at Race Town 395 behind him, Cody Rahders and his team are geared up and ready for the remainder of the season. When asked the key to future success, the driver said, I have to get the hole shot and stay out front. Referring to the importance his team will play he explained, "they are everything. There is no way I could do this without them."

Rahders is also aware that if he plans on success, it is essential that his car remains in tip-top shape. In turn, he is a strong advocate of maintenance, and depends upon K&N products to keep the internal components of the engine contaminant free.

Maintenance is everything," he explained. "You can be the fastest guy, but it doesn't matter if you're broke down on the side of the track. To finish first; first you must finish," Referring to K&N products he continued, " Number one, they are the best filters, and number two, they support racing. It doesn't get any better than that. I started using K&N in 2009 when I was racing an SR1 at LOORS. I use K&N air and oil filters exclusively on both my Polaris RZR570 UTV, and my Superlite race truck."

When asked what his fans can expect from Cody Rahders and R3 motorsports throughout the remainder of the season, his answer was short and to the point- "Gas is on the right!"

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Kent Robinson Earns His First Late Model Victory of 2012 At Brownstown Speedway

16 Aug 2012

Kent Robinson recently earned his first victory of the season while racing at the Brownstown Speedway.

Kent Robinson recently rolled into Moler Raceway park, in Williamsburg, Ohio, with anticipation of a successful night on the track. Racing in the World of Outlaws Super Late Model class, the driver had been near the front of the pack several times this season, but had yet to take a checkered flag.

Anxious to get the American Dirt Racing Association sanctioned, $3,000.00-to-win Freedom Fighters 40 underway, Robinson locked into the Pole-Sitter's dash. Although the night had started off on a positive note, it didn't take long for his luck to change, as the driver experienced a flat, lending to an eighth place finish, putting him in the eighth starting spot for the 40-lap feature. At the night's end, he walked away from the feature in second place.

Kent Robinson is looking forward to a competitive season in the Late Model class in 2012.

On the following night, Kent Robinson showed up at the Brownstown Speedway, in Brownstwon, Indiana, still longing for his first victory of the season. Starting fifth in his heat race, the driver maneuvered his way into second place, earning a fifth starting position in a field of thirty-three drivers for the main event.

My confidence level going into the event was pretty average," recalled Robinson. "One reason being that I had been running with the World of Outlaw series and the level of competition on that circuit is extremely high. It kind of keeps you grounded. Especially since I am a rookie, and they all have much more experience."

Kent Robinson is experiencing his first season in the World of Outlaw series.

Referring to his heat race, the driver continued, "After the second place finish, I felt very good about the rest of the night. I knew if we made the correct changes to the car, we would be capable of winning."

One might suspect that Kent Robinson's confidence lost its vigor when he fell back as far as the seventh position in the thirty lap feature, but his drive to earn a checkered flag was more than enough to keep him focused and charging forward. In fact, he continued muscling his way around drivers until finally taking the lead in lap twenty-three and earning his first victory of the year.

"The track was in great shape," he stated. "It got wide with a decent cushion, while black and smooth through the center," recalled Robinson. "After we took the lead, there wasn't too much pressure, because our tires had gotten enough heat to fire off and the car really took off. We had about a five car lead upon crossing the finish line."

When asked the trick to taking the checkered flag, the driver said, "I think the key to getting back to the front was patience. I hope the victory can help as a confidence booster to not only me as the driver, but also to my team as a whole. I think it will."

"My team is very important," he explained. "In the World of Outlaw series, there is a very open tire rule. Therefore,there is about ten to fourteen different compounds of tires we can run. We have them all ready to go at every race, and that takes a huge amount of time and dedication. Also, these cars have many moving parts that require a lot of fine examinations and maintenance to ensure nothing breaks or malfunctions during competition. All of these things are something that I do not have enough time to complete myself. Therefore without a crew, we would be nothing."

That said, Kent Robinson has an acute understanding of the importance of maintenance, and depends upon K&N products to keep his engines free of foreign debris. "I've been using K&N products for about five years," he explained. "I use their oil, air and fuel filters, as well as their cleaner oil and prefilters. Also, we use a K&N air filter in our race hauler. I think they absolutely have the best products available today."

When asked the key to success throughout the future, Kent Robinson said, "Dedication and staying positive through the hard times. I have been involved in racing for about nine years now. I enjoy the competition and friendships you build along the way." When asked what fans can expect from Kent Robinson and his crew throughout the remainder of the season, he said, "Well, I hope they can expect a lot of Wins! But we all know those are hard to come by, so I would say you can expect us to be competitive, but also respectful on and off the track."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

Fire Dampens Tom Martino's Hopes At The NHRA Summit Equipment Nationals

15 Aug 2012

Tom Martino and Martino Motorsports recently lost all hopes of a victory at the Summit Motorsports Park, when a nitrous explosion put them out of the race.

Recently rolling into Norwalk, Ohio, Tom Martino and Martino Motorsports had high aspirations about what would transpire in the NHRA Spitzer Top Dragster class during hours to come. Eager to get the NHRA Summit Equipment Nationals underway at the Summit Motorsports Park, Tom and the crew's confidence level was high, and for good reason.

Our K&N dragster was having a great season leading up to the event,"recalled Martino. "We were getting the opportunity to compete at a track where we've had over thirty years of experience, running with great success. We had a large amount of family, friends, sponsors and fans driving, and flying across the country to cheer us on. We were looking at a great five-day weather forecast for the event.

The driver continued, "our car had been running great. We were sitting as high as number eight in the NHRA LODRS Top Dragster points this season. We had been qualifying strong at each event we ran with career best E.T.s (elapsed times), and most importantly, winning rounds."

Tom Martino has experienced a successful season thus far in 2012.

After laying down an elapsed time of 6.65, topping out at 203 miles-per-hour and experiencing low reaction times during the qualifying round, it looked as if Tom Martino was on the verge of an other successful outing. That said though, an old hand at the sport, Martino was also likely aware that things could go amiss at the twinkling of an eye. As fate would have it, bad luck reared its ugly head during the first round of the eliminations in front of a sold out crowd and a live ESPN 3 audience.

At the very beginning of the race, everything appeared to be going as planned. But then a series of explosions suddenly rattled the dragster and demanded the spectators attention. The nitrous explosion caused the engine to lose all power as fire began flashing over the driver's head.

"I've been drag racing for well over forty years," explained Martino. "Of the thousands of times I've down in the Quarter-mile in my career, I've never experienced anything like the incident that we had at Norwalk first round. It's probably the last thing I expected when the car left the line. On the pass, we had a huge starting line advantage with a .019 light to our competitor's .116. The car felt like it was on a great pass, with the wheels hiked up. Then, in a matter of milliseconds, there was a series of large booms. The NHRA Safety Crew did a great job immediately responding to the incident."

Recalling the seconds following the explosion, Martino said, "Actually, the first thing that came to my mind when the motor went dead was, I hope the other guy runs under his dial, so we could get the first-round win. By the time the dragster came to a stop, it finally hit me what had just occurred. There was series of two fireballs that pushed over the top of the driver's compartment, similar to a fire breathing dragon in an action movie, when each nitrous stage hit. Luckily, our hood scoop sits as high as it does, and kept the flames out of harm's way. When watching the replay in slow-motion on ESPN, all I could say is Wow! That could have easily took a turn for the worse in a matter of seconds. We are very lucky in that regard."

When asked if anything positive came out of the explosion, the drivers said. "It's funny that you should ask that question. A fellow racer, who won Top Sportsman, jokingly told us we received more exposure and television coverage from our fire than he did for the national event win."

The driver continued, "As tough as it was losing at Norwalk and experiencing what we did there are a few things to keep in mind. First, we are all safe and still in one piece after the event. Secondly, any damage that occurred to the motor can be repaired or replaced. Although we added a few new videos and photos to our team highlight reels, this is the kind of situation we hope to never experience again. Hopefully, we are able to step back, study our Race-pak data system from the run, and take note from the engine tear-down to help take better preventative measures in the future to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Since that memorable outing at the Summit Motorsports Park, Tom Martino and his crew have gotten their ducks back in a row and are geared up and ready to roll again. That said, the driver is aware that much of his success will depend a great deal on their ability to keep the dragster in perfect running condition. That in mind, they will depend upon K&N products to keep their engine contaminant free.

"Living in Northeastern Ohio, we face below-zero weather, snow, and ice all winter long, and then jump right into one-hundred-degree-plus summers," shared Tom Martino. "With our daily drivers facing said conditions year after year, we rely on the best products available in the industry,"he continued.

"We also utilize K&N air and oil filters on our six-second, two-hundred-plus mile per hour NHRA Top Dragster. Take it from us; when you have large amounts of time and money invested in a motor and racing program, you need the security and performance K&N provides. Their oil filters are the most important accessory to any engine combination. They are easy to install, durable in construction and built to withstand the most extreme conditions. We have been using K&N products for many years in our daily drivers and race vehicles. We wouldn't have it any other way."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.

American Le Mans Series Team Corvette Racing Look for GT Championship After Laguna Seca Wins

10 Aug 2012

Four-time 24 hours of Le Mans winner Jan Magnussen and teammate Antonio Garcia on the Laguna corkscrew.

Four-time 24 hours of Le Mans winner Jan Magnussen and teammate Antonio Garcia on the Laguna Seca corkscrew.

Just four races remain in the 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron, and Corvette Racing looks poised to bring home the GT Championship with a strong finish.

The team made a driver change in the offseason, moving four-time 24 hours of Le Mans winner Jan Magnussen away from Oliver Gavin and the No. 4 car and into the No. 3 car, teaming with Antonio Garcia, and placing Gavin with second-year Corvette driver Tommy Milner.

"The move is working out well for both teams," Gavin said, coming off a victory with Milner at Mid-Ohio. "The decision was made to put Jan back in the No. 3 car and move Tommy over, and for a number of reasons it has worked. Jan and I are the most experienced drivers on the team, so to put Antonio with Jan made sense. Plus they are similar in size, and Tommy and I are similar in size and the experience levels match up now.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner sit on top of the GT Championship points standings

"It looked like a good decision at the start of the year and it's paying off. It's all working out very well."

The decision has the team poised to take the top two spots in the GT Championship. While the team of Magnussen and Garcia got off to a consistent start, Gavin and Milner have had their ups and downs, winning some races while running into mechanical issues at others. But the results have made for a tight points race, with Gavin and Milner sitting on top of the points standings, just 13 points ahead of third-place Magnussen and Garcia. Defending GT champions Joey Hand and Dirk Muller are just one point ahead of the No. 3 car.

"The work we've done over the winter has been great," Gavin continued. "The engine work, work with the aero and the wider body and different tires, all of those things have helped us to move up and consistently score victories. The entire crew have worked very well and we've had some good strategy and executed well."

The win at Mid-Ohio, Gavin and Milner's third of the season, was impressive, but the turning point in the season for Corvette Racing came at the third event at the historic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, where Corvette Racing finished 1-2 with Gavin and Milner taking home the win.

One-Two Podium Finish for Corvette Racing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

"The last couple of years we had not had the best of luck or runs their," Gavin said. "The car has had problems at the track. We were unsure of how quick we would be, but it soon became clear to us that we could run at the front and be a real factor."

One thing Gavin and Milner need to avoid is the bad luck that has haunted them seemingly every time they get some momentum. At the Grand Prix of Mosport in Canada, a race Gavin and Magnussen dominated last year, the No. 4 car experienced transmission problems all weekend, ending the race early. As a result, the point lead isn't quite as big as Gavin and Milner would like, especially knowing they have to find a way to beat two championship combinations in Magnussen/Garcia and Hand/Muller.

"(The championship) is going to come down to being consistent and smart, knowing when to take risks. It's going to be tough. We've got a lot of unique races left, still plenty to happen. The street race in Baltimore is going to be crazy. You can't take your eye off the ball at one point. This is going to come down to someone making a mistake, whether it's by a driver or an engineer with the strategy or in the pit lane with a stop. Usually these things are shaped by a small mistake that can have big effects on the race.

"You just hope it's not you or your car. It is a human sport, and human error happens."

Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.