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NASCAR K&N Pro Series Racer Corey LaJoie Captures Pork Be Inspired 150 Win at Iowa Speedway

10 Aug 2012

Corey LaJoie does a burnout to celebrate his Pork Be Inspired 150 win at Iowa Speedway.

Against the best drivers and teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Corey LaJoie rose to the top at Iowa Speedway, winning the Pork Be Inspired 150.

In a field that included the top drivers from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East, LaJoie battled through a red-flag caution period on lap 137 and led the final 10 laps of the race.

LaJoie won his third race of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series season, the most of any driver from the East Series. He won the first race of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina in June and followed with a win at Langley Speedway in Virginia later that month.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Iowa Speedway pole winner Brennan Newberry.

"We've had a couple rough weeks," LaJoie said. "Luckily we were able to bounce back in a pretty big way and set a statement here against the best of the best. It's one thing to win at a Bowman Gray or a Langley, a real short track, but whenever you come to Iowa, a superspeedway more or less, to come out on top is incredible."

LaJoie led a race-high 134 laps at Iowa Speedway. He took the lead from pole winner Cale Conley on lap 5 and was out front for the next 72 laps.

"The bottom is the shortest way around the track," LaJoie said. "I go off that philosophy. If you get your car working on the bottom, nobody's going to beat you - no matter if they're up against the fence or on the apron. That's just what I've been taught by my dad and everybody throughout my career. Tonight, I was living by it and I was going to die by it, too."

Brett Moffitt took over the lead on lap 78, but LaJoie regained it on lap 81 and was out front for another 49 laps. "He was definitely the class of the field," said rookie driver Kyle Larson, who finished second. "I don't think I could have beat him unless I got another caution maybe and got my tires cooled down. Second place is pretty good for us."

Corey LaJoie stays ahead of combined field of NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West racers.

Larson took the lead on lap 131 and held it through the red flag caution period when five cars collided in turn 2 on lap 134. LaJoie and Larson jostled for the lead on the ensuing restart until LaJoie finally pulled ahead on lap 140. "I knew it was going to be tough," Larson said. "Had about 12 or so to go and my car would fall off after about six or seven laps. I was hoping I could stay out in front of him and get another caution. It didn't go that way and we ended up second. I'm not complaining at all. Second is not too bad for how we were at Columbus."

Larson posted his fifth top-five finish at Iowa Speedway in 10 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races. Sergio Pena was third.

"I was thinking Kyle and Corey were going to battle out pretty hard and I was going to be able to drive by them," Pena said. "That's what I was hoping for at least. They raced each other pretty clean and really hard, so it's a great night of fun racing there. Just glad to finish third here."

Moffitt, who leads the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings after 10 races, was fifth. Conley was seventh.

Drivers from the East Series, including Travis Pastrana, took the top-eight spots in the race. Pastrana was sixth, his third top 10 in seven NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races.

An excited Corey LaJoie celebrates in victory lane after NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa Speedway.

Michael Self was the highest-finishing driver from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in ninth place. He was the only driver from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in the top 10.

Greg Pursley, the leader in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings, was 20th. He has a seven-point lead over Gene Price Motorsports teammate Dylan Kwasniewski after 11 races.

Larson was able to cut into Moffitt's lead a little in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings. Moffitt has a 20-point lead over Larson.

The Pork Be Inspired 150 will be televised on Speed on Aug. 16 at noon PDT.

The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race is at Portland International Raceway in Oregon on Aug. 26. The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race is the Greenville 140 at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina on Sept. 3.

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.

K&N's Aaron Kinard Pummels Field for Emotional JEGS All-Stars Super Comp Championship

10 Aug 2012

Aaron Kinard Wins Super Comp at O'Reilly Route 66 Nationals.

In the tough ranks of NHRA sportsman competition, there are certain major milestones that many dream of achieving and one of those that remains very elite for the drivers is not only making it into the annual JEGS All-Stars field to represent their division, but more importantly to be crowned a champion. After a tough year battling it out to earn points and qualify for the prestigious shootout, San Marcos, California's Aaron Kinard made the nearly 2,100 mile one-way trip to Joliet, Illinois where he would be crowned the 2012 JEGS All-Stars Super Comp champion in a rather emotional day of racing.

"My dad [Larry] passed away last August and he was a huge influence on my racing," he explained. "He was who got me into racing, we raced together and in fact, we raced the final together at the very first divisional event you could claim for 2012 All-Stars points. He beat me in the final and that was the last race he attended before he died of cancer."

2012 JEGS All-Stars Super Comp champion Aaron Kinard.

While Kinard earned most of his All-Stars point competing in his own dragster, it would not be the one he would carry on in for the crown. "The car I won the All-Stars in was actually my dad's car," he explained. "It's pretty much built identical to the one I was running, but with the sentimental value I wanted to continue running it and sold my dragster."

It wasn't an easy "in" for Kinard to make the All-Stars roster and had a tight battle throughout most of the season. "Matt Woodard was pretty much on my tail kinda the whole year, as far as the points were concerned. I ended up getting in by one point, which is less than one round of racing," he confessed. "It was a real nail-biter all the way through and it came down to Vegas, where we were both in the third round. Whoever went farther at that race, was going to get to go."

"I actually got to watch the whole thing in front of me," he reflected of his fate into the All-Stars. "He was in the pair in front of me, as I sat in the water box and I saw the other guy's win light come on and that really took a lot of pressure off of me. I actually ended up losing right behind him, so to win by one point, well that was huge."

Sonoma Nationals' Super Comp Racer Aaron Kinard.

Racing at any level takes a lot of confidence, concentration and to do well, tons of dedication. After his father's passing, he showed all of that and more as he successfully carried on his quest for an JEGS All-Stars championship. "It has definitely been tough," said the multi-time Div. 7 champ. "I mean, we have done everything together since I was a little guy. It has not been easy losing your best friend and your dad, but I am a firm believer that there is a better place."

The 28th annual JEGS All-Stars event was held again in 2012 as a part of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Illinois. Coming into the event, Kinard mustered all the extra confidence he could, since he joked that he was on "suicide watch". "You know I had been to nine Super Comp finals in a row and just couldn't close the deal. It was really starting to get in my head, then finally to win the All-Stars," he said. "It couldn't have happened in a better way. I remember in '09 when I won it and watching it back on the TV coverage, seeing my dad on the starting line and how happy he was. So, making it happen in his car, I know he wasn't there, but he was definitely riding along with me."

Before he could have a shot at the crown, Kinard would first have to get his 2008 Racetech dragster and its K&N protected 565ci BBC past Div. 1 representative Justin Mason, and expected father-to-be at any minute, in round one and did so to move on to the semifinals when Mason clicked the red-eye on by a mere one thousandth of a second. "Super nice guy and I had a chance to talk with him a little in the staging lanes," he said of Mason. "He was waiting for that phone call from his wife at any moment and I know that had him a little scattered right at that moment."

Super Comp racer Aaron Kinard wins 25th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals taking out Justin Morgan in the final round.

That set him up to face Steve Evans from Div. 4 and Kinard skillfully drove both ends of the track to force Evans well under the 8.90 index. "I've been seeing more about Evans lately and I know he runs with [fellow K&N racer] Tommy Phillips, so I was sure they were sharing information. It was a pretty quick round and he was out in front of me and when I couldn't get there, I let him go."

Everyone who charges their way into an elite shootout, such as the JEGS, All-Stars is by no means a slouch on the race track, but with the unique group that are assembled each season, there are some racers who have never faced one another before and on the other hand there are certainly some competitors that are more well-known than others. Kinard's final round opponent would be the latter and he knew Sherman Adcock was not going to be easily handing him any wins.

"I have never raced Sherman. I obviously know a lot about him and he's just been deadly lately," he said. "I knew it was going to be tough, as I had watched him go .90 the round before. We definitely had a very close race."

Kinard put together the better .020 package to Adcock's .034 and the majority of it coming from his .009 light to his opponent's .019. The feat gave him his second JEGS All-Stars crown and helped his home NHRA Div. 7 earn enough points to take the 2012 Team Championship back to the West Coast for the first time, since the nearly three decade old sportsman program's inception.

This was Kinard's fourth year in a row to earn a spot in the All-Stars, with his first win coming in 2009 and now his second in 2012, every time competing in the 8.90 Super Comp category.

Before he got much a chance to begin his celebration, he was quickly made aware of how fortunate he really was not only during the final round, but to win it and do so safely. "When I pulled off the track at the top end, right away one of the safety guys points out that I had a leak," he explained. "We're not talking about a couple of drops leaking, we are talking the entire tank of fuel leaked out the bottom and just drained out like a hose. The fuel line that connects to the fuel filter had completely snapped off. How that didn't happen on the starting line, where they would have shut me off or for it to not have happened during the run, where I would have certainly got fuel under the tires and for it to wait until the moment that I turned off of the track. I mean three or four gallons of fuel just drained out right there. I just know dad was riding along with me and felt it was time for me to bring to an end that nine final round losing streak."

"Without all my supporters, I couldn't do any of this," he added. "I race on a budget and my goal is to be able to make it all pay for itself at the end of the year. Folks like K&N and what they do for my program and sportsman racing in general is greatly appreciated. I love the K&N scoop that I have on my Corvette that I just started competing with this year in Super Gas and I need to get a K&N scoop on my dragster. Of course, I use the K&N oil and air filters on everything and I just love them. They are nothing but the best."

With his full confidence back after the JEGS All-Stars Super Comp victory, and finally breaking the final round win dry spell that had plagued him for many events, Kinard ran hard with that and recently put his dad's dragster back in the winner's circle taking a Super Comp Wally a little closer to home. Kinard took care of some unfinished business that he had started back in 2010, when he ended with a runner-up finish in Sonoma to win the 25th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals by taking out fellow Div. 7 racer, Justin Morgan in the championship round.

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.

Justin Lamb Adds Sonoma NHRA National Super Stock Victory to His Growing 2012 Resume

10 Aug 2012

Justin Lamb Claims NHRA Super Stock Wally at 2012 Sonoma Nationals

There are just some racers who are downright versatile and Henderson, Nevada's Justin Lamb continues to show that his name belongs on that elite list. Lamb recently earned his ninth NHRA National Event victory when he took the Super Stock title during the NHRA Sonoma Nationals. While he has been very successful at many facilities across the country, for Lamb there is just something that clicks for him in Sonoma, where with his latest win made a total of four at the California track. Lamb's first coming to him in 2007, when he grabbed the Super Comp win, then doing so again in 2009. His third was technically a Phoenix national event win, which was competed at the Sonoma facility.

Super Stock Sunstate/K&N 2010 Chevy Cobalt Takes Justin Lamb all the way at Sonoma Nationals

"It's hard to explain," said Lamb, when asked of his success in Sonoma. "There are just some venues that agree with particular racers. We've always had success here, so it's like a shot of confidence when I come through the gate. The only tangible explanation I can give is that this is a really tricky track in terms of predicting weather and track changes as they affect these cars. The weather and the wind are constantly changing, and it can create huge swings in E.T. We've got a lot of data here and that allows me to really trust my setup each round. That's one area where I feel like we've got an edge, particularly here in Sonoma."

Not only is Lamb versatile, so is the Sunstate/K&N 2010 Chevy Cobalt that he has been so successful in. Before returning to Sonoma, where he competed with the car in Super Stock SS/CM, he entered the same Cobalt in and won the Competition Eliminator class during the NHRA Div. 7 event in Fallon, Nevada, where he also drive his way to the 9.90 Super Gas title class as well during the same event. Following his good fortune in Fallon, he represented NHRA Div. 7 in the JEGS All-Stars event at Joliet, where he helped his Division 7 team bring home the All-Stars team championship by plowing through the Comp Eliminator field to take the runner-up honors.

Now back to a track where it seems his entire family has great luck, Lamb put the team's Cobalt right at the top of the ladder, qualifying number one in Super Stock by running nearly a second under his SS/CM index. After making it past, Richard Pinoski and SergioFelipe Crespo during round on and two, it set him up for a competition single during round three to end Saturday's on track activities.

Eyeing the remainder of his potential customers, Lamb knew he needed to stay right on his game as he was to start off championship Sunday by first facing fellow West Coast standout, Gregg Luneack in the Super Stock quarterfinal round. Fortunately for Lamb, Luneack was unable to make the call and he received a nice warm up single to start his day to sail into the semifinals where he would face one of the winningest sportsman competitors of all-time, K&N's Dan Fletcher. Fletcher, and his very familiar '69 Camaro, had just won the Denver Super Stock Wally a week prior.

No matter whom you are facing at this level of competition, but especially when so much is on the line once you have made it into the later rounds, Lamb assembled his game plan carefully and went to the line to face the sportsman racing giant, more than ready not to allow Fletcher any room right from the hit. With his near perfect reaction time of .001, Lamb quickly slammed the door on any hopes that Fletcher may have of back-to-back Super Stock national wins and was on his way to another championship final round in Sonoma.

"That was definitely the key round," Lamb admitted of his race with Fletcher. "The final was a great race too, but the semi's was big for several reasons. First off, it's the semifinals. No one remembers who loses in the semis. Plus, there's a huge swing in prize money from the semi-finalists to the finalists. On top of that, I was racing Dan Fletcher, who has won nearly 80 NHRA national events. I was happy with my lights all weekend, and made some minor adjustments to try to be high .00 or low .01 against Dan. I didn't really intend to be .001, but it certainly worked out!"

For the Super Stock final, the 25 year old Lamb would line his K&N clad Cobalt up against another very quick Super Stock entry, Dave Raybourn and his SS/AH 1968 Dart. In a rare match up, it would almost appear to the onlookers on hand, that these two competitors we running a same index heads-up race with the nearly identical dial-ins of 8.56 for Lamb and 8.58 for Raybourn.

In a round like this, reaction time was going to make a huge difference and with a nice .019 advantage at the tree, Lamb made it a squeaker at the stripe when he took just seven inches or two thousandths of a second for the win light and the 2012 NHRA Sonoma Nationals Super Stock Wally.

Lamb thanked the many great companies for their support for his family's entire fleet of winning races cars, including K&N Engineering and more notably the protection that each one of the entries receive with both K&N Wrench-off oil filters and K&N high flowing air filters.

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.

Chad Moss Finds Emotionally Poignant Win at Summit Motorsports Park

10 Aug 2012

Uncle Tim's 1955 Chevy continues to race strong for the team Moss family.

"Everything happens for a reason! Nothing happens by coincidence or chance or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidities all occur to test the limits of your soul."

Without bumps and challenges life's path would indeed be unbearably smooth and straight, dull, and utterly pointless. So every now then while we're busy making other plans, life debunks any notions of - "it's only an accident" - that we may be harboring, by staring straight into our consciousness as it unveils insights that makes it difficult to refute that concept.

Moss says his 1967 Chevelle has been running consistently strong ever since he switched to a K&N air filter two years ago.

"For that win to take place on that particular day was a little overwhelming," reflects Amherst, Ohio's Chad Moss. On June 30, driving his 1967 Chevy Chevelle, Moss took the final round victory in the Sportsman division - the day marked the 16th anniversary of his brother's passing. It was his brother that originally got Moss and his entire family interested in racing.

"After the win, I was able to go off on my own and relish the memories that had lead up to this," Moss continued. "Lots of reflection of my brother Tim, and his wife Sarah, and what they had done to get us involved in the sport. When I told my children, Katrina and Nick, what day it was, they got choked up. It was definitely an emotional night. I called Sarah after the win and it was a special moment."

Moss began racing back in 1994 with a 1982 Camaro. "When Tim passed away in 1996, I started racing his '55 Chevy," he says. "When Katrina turned 16, she ran the '55 for a few years before moving into a 1980 Volvo. I ran the '55 for a few more years until my son took over the wheel."

His son, Nick, started racing junior dragsters when he was 8-years-old. He won a track championship in the intermediate class in 2004. He won the Elyria Pattern Big Bond Shootout in the junior dragster back in 2008. He also won the High School Nationals presented by NAPA, Amalie Oil, and the University of Northwest Ohio in 2009 (driving the Chevelle). Nick turns 21 in September, and he's a junior at Cleveland State University, where he's studying Mechanical Engineering.

His daughter, Katrina, started racing junior dragsters when she was 12. She drove a family car for a few years and then drove the JEGS junior dragster owned by Tom and Molly Stilwell for several more years. When she turned 16, she drove the '55 for a few years in the Pro class. Then she moved into the aforementioned 1980 Volvo, and finally she drove a 1991 Olds Cutlass last year, running in the 9.20 second range. The racing spirit of Uncle Tim clearly lives on in Nick and Katrina.

When Moss isn't racing he's a Product Sales Manager for Parker Hannifin, in the Industrial Hose Division, or he's golfing and scuba diving with his son. Moss isn't a sponsored K&N racer, he's a highly appreciative, grassroots racing fan of K&N products with an extraordinary racing story to tell.

"When I first built this new engine two years ago, I had a lot of trouble with consistency. A fellow racer suggested that I get a better air filter and that was when I put a K&N filter on it. It has run great ever since," reports Moss. "I'd also like to thank Bob and Judy Moss, my parents, Sarah Moss, my sister-in-law, and Barb Gula, my girlfriend, for their support."

Team Moss will next race at the annual Night under Fire show at Summit Motorsports Park, reputed to be the largest single day of drag racing in the world.

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.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Driver Greg Pursley Wins NAPA/Toyota 150 at Colorado National Speedway

10 Aug 2012

Victory Lane for NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver Greg Pursley at NAPA/Toyota 150.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver Greg Pursley had quite a productive weekend at Colorado National Speedway. He won the NAPA/Toyota 150, led every lap, and took over the lead in the K&N Pro Series West standings.

Pursley, the reigning K&N Pro Series West champion, beat Derek Thorn in a green-white-checkered flag finish to capture his third win of the season and the 12th of his K&N Pro Series West career.

"Had a lot of yellows there at the end that I didn't want to see," Pursley said. "We had a pretty good car. I was a little timid on the green-white-checkered. I didn't want to screw up leading every lap then give it away."

Dylan Kwasniewski claims 21 Means 21 Pole Award at Colorado

Thorn followed Pursley across the finish line for his seventh top-five performance in 10 K&N Pro Series West races. "Our cars didn't line up where we needed them to at the end," Thorn said. "We got two or three spots right at the very end. Can't complain about that. I got to thank Bob Bruncati for the opportunity. It's been a great, fun year. I know we haven't gotten all the finishes we've been looking for, but finishes like this - success breeds success."

Dylan Kwasniewski, who entered the race at Colorado as the K&N Pro Series West leader, won the pole and finished fifth. He took over the lead in the West Series standings after winning the race at Stockton 99 Speedway on May 5. Pursley has a three-point lead over Kwasniewski with five races remaining on the K&N Pro Series West schedule.

The race featured two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip and Ben Kennedy from the K&N Pro Series East. Waltrip, who made his seventh career start in the K&N Pro Series West, was sixth. Kennedy, who has seven top-10 finishes in nine K&N Pro Series East races, was ninth.

K&N Pro Series racer Greg Pursley leads the pack at Colorado National Speedway.

Pursley leads the K&N Pro Series West with three wins. He won his first race of the season at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah on April 28. He won his second race of the season at the Bullring in Las Vegas on June 2.

"It got a little bit close there on the finish," Pursley said about the closing laps at Colorado National Speedway. "We brought it home in one piece. It's an awesome day for Gene Price Motorsports and my guys."

Cameron Hayley, a 16-year-old rookie from Calgary, Canada, was third.

"It's been a long day. We struggled in practice all day long and I was not very happy with the car," Hayley said. "We wanted to get that win on the outside of Purlsey there, but we couldn't make it stick on the outside. I'm proud of the whole team. They put in a ton of effort this weekend and came out with a good finish."

The NAPA/Toyota 150 will be televised on Speed on Aug. 9 at noon PDT.

The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series race is the Pork Be Inspired 150 at Iowa Speedway on Aug. 3. The race will include teams and drivers from the K&N Pro Series West and East.

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.

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