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Monumental Season for K&N's Slate Cummings Continues with Stock Final Round Appearance at Dallas

17 Oct 2011

As the end of the 2011 season draws near, Slate Cummings of Hammond, Louisiana continued to find his way to another NHRA final round, this time it was again in his 1999 B/SA Firebird as he took runner-up honors during the 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, just outside of Dallas, Texas.

NHRA Stock car driver Slate Cummings

With already a NHRA National event win earlier this season for Cummings in his Stock car, one that came for him at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois back in July, add in his most recent accomplishment in Stock and he now sits number nine in the 2011 NHRA Lucas Oil National Championship standings. Cummings remains very strong on the divisional level as well, where he is currently number two in NHRA Division 4 Stock.

While Cummings may not have had the success on the National stage in his Super Stock entry so far for 2011 that he has enjoyed in his Stock car, he has had a very strong year on the divisional scene. With several good outings, including a win right off the bat during the NHRA Division 4 opener back in March at Houston, Cummings currently sits atop the NHRA Division 4 standings and just outside the prestigious top ten on the national level.

Cummings most recent Stock Eliminator final round came for him over a weekend of rather large weather swings, occurring from qualifying days to Sunday's final eliminations. Starting a number fifteen on a ladder of forty-seven, Cummings first round opponent would be Jackie Hibbard of Humble, Texas. Cummings may have been a whole three hundredths behind on the line, but feverously outdrove Hibbard at the stripe to take a six thousandth of a second finish line for his first Stock round victory of the weekend.

That would set him up next to pair up with Kyle Ratcliff. Cummings still the quicker of the two cars was able to watch Ratcliff leave and knew they're reaction times were close. Using a dead on the dial elapsed time, he used a .026 package to send Ratcliff to the trailer with his .038 package in round two.

Cummings used a better light in round three to shutdown Jody Simoneaux and another narrow five thousandths of a second margin at the stripe in round four, to take the win over Brent Bratsen. With a scorching track temp over one-hundred thirty degrees and air that made the engines feel like they were in nearly forty-two hundred feet of altitude, Cummings had his car much closer to the dial on the window and took a squeaker of a win in the semi-final round. Having his opponent Tracy Pedigo more than doubled up on the tree, Cummings kept it almost a little too tight at the stripe when he made the margin just two thousandths of a second, or nearly ten inches.

The feat would send Cummings and his K&N Firebird into his second NHRA Stock Eliminator National Event final of the 2011 season to meet up with Gary Emmons.

Although track temps were now soaring to near one hundred and forty degrees, most seasoned competitors on the national level know that for the final rounds at a NHRA National Event, the track will be in its best shape of the weekend and this race was no exception, no matter what the temp. Cummings gave himself a little breathing room by dialing his car down a hundredth from the round before to a 10.50. Emmons was just coming off his bye in the semis and had a very good idea exactly where he was.

With a 4-3 record in final rounds, Cummings had been runner-up during this event two previous times with one of those coming back in 2008 when he lost to Jerry Emmons. After a gallant attempt to overcome Gary Emmons' .021 starting line advantage, Cummings would run farther under his dial and come out on the wrong side of a double breakout time slip.

Slate Cummings' attributes his latest Stock Eliminator runner-up in his Cummings Motorsports, a.k.a. 'The Bayou Boyz', 1999 Firebird during the 26th annual AAA Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, to many hours of hard work, attention to detail and more importantly the products he and his family have chosen to use on their entire stable of race cars for many years.

"We've worked with K&N as long as I can remember," said Cummings. "My dad and our family of cars have always used K&N oil filters and air filters on everything that we race and 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.

K&N's Don Gatlin Wins Famoso Super Pro Championship for the 2nd Year in a Row

14 Oct 2011

After over 400 racing passes using K&N oil and air filters, Gatlin says that his engine was in unbelievable condition, and only required a simple freshen up.

When last we caught up with Bakersfield, California driver, Don Gatlin he had just won a huge confidence boosting race in the Famoso Summit Series. After a rocky start to the 2011 season, and then claiming victory at his home track, Famoso Raceway, he once again started to believe that he indeed had a real shot at defending his 2010 Super Pro Championship. We're happy to report that Gatlin and his 2001 K&N sponsored Undercover 4-link dragster got it done.

Gatlin said that willing the 2011 Famoso Super Pro Championship was tougher than last year as the competition was even fiercer this year.

"Winning the championship was harder this year than last. We had some really tough competition and it came down to the last race of the season to get the points lead and secure the championship," Gatlin told K&N Race News. "It is very satisfying to win back-to-back championships at Famoso. We won back-to-back championships in SCEDA (Southern California Drag Racing Association) in 2009 and 2010 and due to the noise problems at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana, the series was not run in 2011, and we could not defend that championship, so it was important to the team to win the Famoso Raceway championship."

The Gatlin Motorsports team made it to three finals out of the eight race series, winning two of the three final rounds. "We also had a couple of first round losses that kept us from moving into the lead until the last race of the season," adds Gatlin. "Mid-season we had a break in the action that was long enough to get our Sunset Racecraft engine freshened. After over 400 racing passes using K&N oil and air filters, the engine was in unbelievable condition, only needing a simple freshen up. I think that is a testament to the quality of filtration that K&N gives us to protect our investments."

The Gatlin Motorsports crew from left to right: Greg Tremain (fellow racer and crew), Don Gatlin, Dora Gatlin (Wife and crew chief), Christie Chambless (daughter), and the little guy is Samuel Chambless (Grandson).

Gatlin said that he also installed a heavy duty K&N filter on his motorhome halfway through the season, and that he instantly noticed an increase in fuel economy. "And now I no longer have to buy the nearly $200 throw away air filters," says Gatlin. "That was a great addition to the rig, because it saves both fuel and filter expense, while helping the performance of the motorhome. I am really happy that K&N developed the new heavy duty line of filters!"

Next up for Gatlin and his team is the 16th Annual Million Dollar Drag Race being held at Montgomery Motorsports Park on October 19th through the 23rd. Gatlin will be campaigning both his K&N backed Undercover and the K&N backed Mullis. After that he's headed to South Georgia Motorsports Park to race in the four day Super Buck race.

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.

Dutch Speedtec Racing Team Wins Supercar Challenge at Spa-Francorchamps

14 Oct 2011

Speedtec's BMW experienced some unfortunate race luck is sits in sixth place for the championship.

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, located in Spa, Belgium is best known for the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hour endurance race, last weekend however it was the venue for the Dutch Supercar Challenge. The Supercar Challenge features four classes, ranging from the Dodge Viper GT3, Corvette C6R and other large displacement GT cars, down to more "normal" street cars like the BMW 1. The classes are divided by a system of horsepower over weight ratio.

The Dodge Viper GT3, driven by Diederik Sijthoff, won both it's races at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

Going into the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, the K&N backed Dutch Speedtec Racing Team's Dodge Viper was only four points behind the series leader, an ex-works Corvett C5R.

"We had a good start in free practices and qualified P1, two seconds quicker than the number two car. Which is quite a big margin," Speedtec Team Manager, Robert Bleijenberg told K&N Race News. "But there was a lot of traffic, as there was a field of 65 cars."

In race one on Saturday the Speedtec Viper started on the pole, they set the fastest lap, "And after the mandatory pitstop, we had a comfortable lead and took home the victory," said Bleijenberg. "And to be honest, Sunday basically the same thing happened as we won again. So we had a good weekend, taking home all the points that were available, and we are once again leading the championship by four points."

The team Speedtec Racing Viper holds a four point lead going into the last race at the Assen circuit.

The owner of the Speedtec team is successful industrialist, Henk van Vliet, who's Etec Grondverzetmachines company supports their racing efforts. Loosely translated Grondverzetmachines, are earth moving equipment, the extra large type equipment used for highrise buildings. The team currently run two cars in the Supercar Challenge, the Dodge Viper GT3, which has been heavily upgraded to a 680 horsepower engine and a lot of very custom aerodynamics, is driven by Diederik Sijthoff. The second team car is a BMW E46, which is driven by the team owners sons, Nico and Peter van Vliet.

"With the BMW we had a good start on Friday to take fourth place in class during qualifying, using our new K&N air intake," explained Bleijenberg. In the race we were challenging for third place when the engine died on us. It seems that the crankshaft broke so we had to stop racing."

"Our season started at Hockenheim on the 10th of April and the last race will be at Assen circuit on the 23rd of October, added Bleijenberg. "So now with the Viper we are currently in first place for the championship, with our four point lead and with one weekend to go. Each weekend you can get 44 points so it's very tight." As a result of some "bad luck" the BMW currently sits in sixth place overall for the championship.

"We use the K&N air filters because they are the best in the market," Bleijenberg continues. "When Marcel (Blom) came to our workshop a few months ago we also saw a good opportunity to make our air inlets a bit better again and gain some performance through that side. We currently are looking into using K&N oil filters as well."

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 Stephanie Herbage Earns 4 out of 7 Podiums at Perris Speedway

14 Oct 2011

"Honestly, just being on the podium once would have made me happy. But the fact that out of seven races, I've been on the podium four times, it just gives me this great sense of accomplishment," Stephanie told K&N Race News. "Not only for me and my driving, but for my family who has put blood, sweat, and tears into this car. It gives me so much more confidence knowing that I can race with, and even beat, the vets."

Stephanie was all smiles after her third place finish and second podium back in July at Perris Auto Speedway.

The 19-year-old Moreno Valley, California teenager began racing American Factory Stock cars in 2010, less than a year ago. She immediately lit up on the competition's radar and delighted fans at her home track, Perris Auto Speedway, earning the nickname "Super-Steffie." In her last visit to Perris, Stephanie inked her second win and her fourth podium for the season. She finished her heat race in second place, which positioned her in front for the start of feature race, and she took full advantage of that by jumping out to the lead and then holding it for the entire 25-lap race. A highly competitive race that included five restarts following yellow or red flag stops.

"During the restarts, I wouldn't pay any attention to whoever was next to me. I knew what I had to do, what line I was going to take, and when that green flag dropped, it was go time," said Stephanie.

"Four different cars tried to pass her at both ends of the track, but they could only get next to her, and then she would pull away from them exiting the corner," said Marti, Stephanie's mom. "Once she was on the inside line, she held it, and wouldn't give it up. She kept her cool and her car 'Black Betty' (named after song by Ram Jam ) was taking her for an E-ticket ride. We finally had the car set up to her liking and it didn't fail her."

The K&N sponsored driver currently holds the number two spot in the points chase, a meager few points behind the leader. "This championship race is going to be just that - a race for the championship," adds Stephanie.

Dan, Stephanie's dad, plays a major role in keeping the Herbage Family Flying Circus Team rolling as car owner and chief mechanic. "In the first race of the year she was driving a car in which she'd only had two laps of racing," explained Dan. "Although she was placed in the back of the field, because we were unable to get the car to run for the heat race, she was on the pole position for the start of the main event, because they reversed the field. She was able hold the lead in that race for the full 25-laps as well."

"In her third race, where she earned her second podium, she led most of the race, but went a little wide in a turn, allowing the number 11 car to stick a fender under her and move her to the outside. He and another car took advantage of this and they got past her and she finished third. Her third podium, earned in her fourth race, was a second place finish. In that race she started on the outside of row one, and the winner got the inside line. She followed him closely, but was only able to finish right behind him. After her rookie year of finishing no higher than fourth place, the new car has now given her the confidence that she can put the car where she wants, and it will go there."

October 29th will be the last race of the 2011 season for Stephanie and she will definitely be on the track again next season, but whether she'll race Factory Stock, or move up to Street Stock, has yet to be decided.

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.

Upgrade Your Diesel Bus with a Washable K&N Heavy Duty Commercial Grade Air Filter

13 Oct 2011

Heavy Duty Commercial Grade Diesel Air Filter

For decades, K&N has protected your cars, trucks, motorcycles and recreational vehicles. Now K&N offers the same outstanding protection and performance for vehicles with larger commercial and recreational diesel engines. After testing many materials K&N engineers developed a non-oiled hybrid air filter material that has low restriction and outstanding filtration for large diesel engines. K&N's 38-2008S Heavy Duty air filter uses this washable and reusable material. This air filter is capable of providing both excellent filtration and higher airflow than your standard disposable replacement air filter and it comes with a 3 year or 300,000 mile limited warranty. Cleaning K&N Heavy Duty Air Filters is quick and easy.

Dino Marutsos, a product manager for K&N reported that many testing styles were used in the development of the 38-2008S, with the outcome being a complete molded urethane part. "The axial seal of this filter works as its own molded in gasket," said Marutsos. This design allows for the 38-2008S filter to be used as one complete unit without the needs for glue or separate gaskets. The 38-2008S also uses a handle top to assist in the quick installation.

This filter fits a variety of vehicles including some MCI (Motor Coach Industries) Buses, Prevost Buses, diesel RVs and even some of the big Greyhound Buses you see going down the highway. The best method of determining the correct K&N heavy duty air filter for your needs is to use our air filter cross reference search. The 38-2008S is a cross reference to the disposable air filter parts listed below:

Manufacturer Part Number
Baldwin PA2839
Carquest 88623
Coach Guard T121009
Donaldson EAF5065
Donaldson P185065
Donaldson P522874
Fleetguard AF25668
Flxible 97342400210
Fram CA7113
Hastings AF2125
Luber-Finer LAF1839
MCI 9G337
Napa 6623
Nelson 70337A
Nelson 70337N
Prevost 530197
Purolator A66035
TCM 9G337
Universal Coach T121009
WIX 46623

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.