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Cody Gerhardt and Western Speed Racing Makes a Showing in His Rookie Year

19 Jul 2011

USAC Pavement Sprint Car Racer Cody Gerhardt

Cody Gerhardt rolled into the Rocky Mountain Raceway at Salt Lake City Utah, on July 2, with hopes of making a showing. After winning his heat race, when the waving of the green flag deemed the USAC Pavement Sprint Car Main Event underway, Cody had fifty laps to work his way from his 9th place starting position into first place. With 49 laps behind him, Cody took the lead in front of a near capacity crowd, and managed to hold on to the first place position and take the checkered flag.

Cody Gerhardt won the USAC Western States Pavement Sprint Car Series race Stockton 99

With a recent win and confidence under his belt, Cody showed up at the Stockton 99 speedway, at Stockton California, on July 9, anxious for the race to get underway in the USAC Western States Pavement Sprint Car Series.

Cody took the lead in the feature at lap 34, and despite two caution flags, the young driver never looked back. At the night's end, Cody had managed to log another victory and had hopefully started a winning streak. Cody's second win of the season situated the driver in second place in points for the Pavement Championship and put him just 23 points out of the lead in the Western Classic Championship.

When asked to give an account of the races he had run during his rookie season, prior to his two consecutive wins Cody said, "My first USAC Pavement sprint car race of the season was at the Madera Speedway. It was the Gerhardt Classic, which is a 100 lap race on a 3/8 mile track, in memory of my great grandfather. I qualified 7th of 15 cars and finished 8th. My second race was at Roseville Speedway, where I finished fourth on the bumper of the third place car. My third race, I was running a strong 4th, then I spun out and finished 8th. My fourth race was at Salt Lake City Utah and I won."

As a rookie, one might suspect that there are many lessons to be learned throughout the next few years, but Cody was aware of what it would take to win upon pulling into the Rocky Mountain Raceway in early June. "The key was being smooth, and not using the tire up too early in the race," explained the driver. "I knew I had a good car. If I was patient, and made clean passes, the race would come to me. After watching the pavement sprint cars race since I was very small, it felt great to get my first USAC Pavement sprint car win."

Cody agreed that his confidence level had increased after each race this season, and stressed the importance of confidence. "During each race I became better at handling the car, and finishing better each time," he explained. "Seat time is everything, and the more I am in the car, the more experience I gain, especially during racing conditions."

Although Cody was the guy who was credited with the win by the fans, he is also aware that his team plays a very intricate role in his success. "My team is everything, and without them, I could not have achieved what I have done so far," Shared the driver. When asked the key to continued success throughout the remainder of the season, he stated "Continual sponsor support and keeping the eye on the main goal of winning a championship. Having been the first driver to win three championships in the Focus Midget series in 2010, I want to add being the first driver to win a USAC Pavement Sprint Car Championship in his rookie year."

Cody credits a portion of his early success to the availability of good equipment. That said, he is also aware that it is of utmost importance to properly maintain one's engine. When asked if he uses K&N Filters, Cody said, "Absolutely. We use cleaners, oil filters, air filters and pre filters (on the race car), as well as fuel and oil filters for our support equipment and tow vehicles. We've been using K&N products five-plus years, and they are just as the advertisement says, "The Best". The entire company has been excellent!"

In closing, Cody said, "I would like to thank all the sponsors for their continued support. They have helped us get to where we are at today. The fans are great, and root me on, which keeps me pumped up. I would also like to thank all of the press people that put race results and finishes on various websites and news print, which allows me to get the exposure I need to further my professional racing career."

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Alan Barton Builds Sprint Show Car For Knoxville Hall Of Fame Museum

19 Jul 2011

Owner Alan Barton and his #17 Winged Sprint Car. Photo by Kirby Laws.

Two cars in particular likely come to mind when Alan Barton Motorsports are mentioned to race fans in the Park Hills, Missouri area. Prior to 2004, Alan Barton always had an interest in the sport. "You know, I've always had a big interest in racing," explained Barton. "I use to do quite a bit of drag racing, and was always into restoration of cars. I actually started getting into sprint car racing in 1996, he continued.

Tommy Worley is the driver of the #17 Winged Sprint Car. Photo by Kirby Laws.

"Basically, I went to every Outlaw race I could go to, every sprint car race I could go to, and got all of the knowledge I could get. 2004 is when I decided to own a car."

Alan's passion for sprint cars continued to grow, and the owner eventually made the decision to put a second car on the track. Manning the #17 car, Tommy Worley was one of Alan's first drivers, and has driven for him off and on since. In fact, according to Barton, Tommy has been driving for him in the neighborhood of three years.

Apparently, if you throw in Alan Barton as an owner, Tommy Worley as a driver and the #17 AB car as the muscle, you have concocted the recipe for success, as they have experienced four victories in the five races they have run this season at St. Francis County Raceway in Missouri. In fact, the three wins they experienced in June were consecutive.

Although the #17 car got a late start this season, Alan and his team had the # 7 car in the circuit early on, and was consistently finishing races in the top ten. They raced in Iowa, Ohio, and Oklahoma, but to date, Brandon Wimmer, who manned this particular car, is no longer driving with Alan Barton Motorsports. According to Alan Barton, he's presently searching for a new driver and plans are to have # 7 AB back on the track in the near future.

Experiencing success during 2011 with the # 17AB car, Alan and Tommy Worley obviously would like to continue their run. When asked what led to their early success, Alan said, "I feel like we had a lot of good experience there. We've worked very well in the past together along with our team.

Between being able to work together very well and having good car," he concluded, referring to the importance of his team. "They're extremely important. You've got to have a good team. Every man has knowledge and is able to perform his job. I feel like right now, I have of the best teams there is."

As Alan understands that a good team is an essential part of success, he also has an acute awareness of the importance of properly maintaining his vehicles. That said, Alan Barton depends a great deal upon the quality of K&N Filters. "I've been using them for the past five years," explained the car owner. "They're the best out there. Not only do we use them in the race cars, but also use them in the rigs pulling our race trailers. To me, they're the best out there."

Along with experiencing a successful season on the track during the first half of 2011, Alan Barton was also recently honored when he was asked to build a Sprint Show-Car for the Knoxville Hall of Fame Museum. "That is an extremely high honor," shared Barton. "It truly is."

When asked the amount of time to be allotted for the build, Alan said, "Once the parts are here and you can actually get started, you'll be at least thirty days building the car. With the project recently completed the show car will eventually be displayed at the museum of course, but will go on tour around the country for one year prior to finding its home at Knoxville.

When asked if there was a message that he and his team would like to relay to their sponsors and fans, Alan Said, "You know, I'm very, very thankful for all of the support that every sponsor has given me. It has been tremendous, getting to work with them on the show cars. They have been such a great help to me, and to my racing program." Alan continued, "And the fans, you can't ever thank them enough. Without them, we wouldn't even be there."

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 Aleksandr Grinchuk is the Undisputed Ukrainian Drift Racing Champion

18 Jul 2011

Drift racing popularity has surpassed Rally Racing in Ukraine in only four years and it continues to grow.

At a time when some other forms of racing are taking a hit in overall attendance and TV revenue, drift racing continues to accelerate as one of the fastest growing motorsports, not only in the USA, but on the planet. This totally captivating sport has spread from its point of origin in the remote mountains of Japan and has already touched some of the most far-flung corners imaginable.

Grinchuk feels the custom steering kit he added this year will help him to better compete against the newer Nissan's and BMW's.

Most experts believe that the colossal popularity of the sport has everything to do with drifting being more of an art form, than mere racing, and in fact, it is one of the few motorsports where style-points are presented. Watching highly skilled drivers sliding sideways bumper-to-fender, through corners with smoke bellowing from the tires is something that must not only be seen, but heard, to be fully appreciated.

On the Ukraine drift racing scene, when it comes to tire screeching artistry, one name stands out above all others, K&N sponsored, Aleksandr Grinchuk. Along with only a handful of other people, Grinchuk was of the first to introduce drifting in the Ukraine.

Grinchuk was the 2009 and 2010 Ukrainian Drift King Champion and his sights are set on making it three-in-a-row for 2011.

"My passion for this culture came from 'Need for Speed' games and 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' movie," Grinchuk told K&N Race News. "I was lucky enough to earn some money and buy a brand new 350Z in 2007. Then I met some people who were making the first attempts at drifting in the parking lots, and I joined in."

Grinchuk and his friends quite literally learned how to drift race watching internet videos and Japanese films. Then with a month of planning that group put together the first local drift show 2007, and it was an immediate success. "Unfortunately my skill was so low that I could not get to the podium," Grinchuk confess. "But regular training made me the best drifter in Ukraine only two years later." Grinchuk became the overall drifting Champion of Ukraine in 2009 and 2010, and he's currently inline to make it a trifecta.

The stock 2006 Nissan 350Z Grinchuk first started racing four years ago is still very much a title contender.

As European countries go, Ukraine is a large country, and the 2011 season marks the countries fourth year of steadily growing drifting competitions. "Because of the large distances between different parts of Ukraine there are two different championships and one Grand Prix series in Ukraine," Grinchuk explains. "So it is easier for drivers without budgets to take part in one championship or series."

The first and most prestigious is the Ukrainian Drift Championship (UDC). The crew of this championship was one the first to carry on with drifting events in 2008, and the UDC has even better financial support from private associates this season. They will host four rounds in two cities in 2011. First round took place in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine at the Chaika Racing Ring. "The second and third rounds are going to be in my native city Odessa," Grinchuk adds. "The largest parking lot in Odessa is going to be the place for these events. And the final round will take us back to Kyiv. There the judges will decide who is going to be the UDC Drift King 2011. Two previous titles of Drift King 2009 and 2010 of this series has been taken by me," remarks Grinchuk smiling.

The second and youngest Ukrainian drift series is TuningFest: Drift Edition. "It is only the second season for them," Grinchuk says. "But its crew has very ambitious plans to make drifting the most popular show in the East of Ukraine. This year we have four rounds of Drift Edition. Three of them are carried in the large industrial cities of Ukraine: Kharkov, Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk. And one round is planned in the East Ukrainian resort city of Berdiansk." Last year Grinchuk won that championship as well.

"And last, but not least," Grinchuk says, "is the competition called Drifting Grand Prix Vinnitza. There are two rounds of this competition in May and September. Each round has its own podium but the most stable pilot who gets the most points at both rounds will get the special prize from the Mayor of Vinnitza." Vinnitza is situated in the central part of Ukraine, making it the most convenient place for all Ukrainian drift pilots to gather.

Grinchuk says that all three series are very important to him and he has eleven regular drift events scheduled in Ukraine this year, with two more events abroad, and one special show in Kyiv. "So there are fourteen events in my schedule this season. My only real priority though is for Ukrainian drift events."

The Ukrainian drift scene is currently in mid-season and Grinchuk's team is once again doing well. "We have four podiums from five Ukrainian events. One podium is the first place from Donetsk."

Currently Grinchuk races his 2006 Nissan 350Z. "I think I am the most experimental guy in Ukrainian drifting," says the K&N sponsored driver. "I started to drift using my stock 3.5l VQ35DE engine in 2007. I made it supercharged in 2009. This season I have a twin turbo configuration of the same engine. But I am still unsatisfied. I think my crew and I will try V8 for the next season."

"But still the 350Z is a very good car for drifting," continues Grinchuk. "It has some problems with increasing a steering angle in stock. We made a custom steering kit which allows us to be compatible to other Nissan and BMW, which are the most popular in Ukrainian drifting."

Illustrating just how popular drifting has become in the Ukraine, Grinchuk says, "We have a very good, old school of Soviet Rally Racing in Ukraine as in Russia, but drifting has become much more popular than Rally Racing in only four years. Everybody was telling me that it is not possible to find sponsors in Ukrainian motorsport, but this year I have support from two well known world trademarks K&N Filters and Maxxis Tires. And I am not the only one with sponsors in Ukraine. My sponsors are just the most known."

At a recent international drift event, the FX Open in Belarus, with many of the most distinguished drift artists in attendance such as, Ryan Tuerck, from the US and Tengku Djan from Malaysia, along with champions for Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Russia - Grinchuk placed seventh out of 46 international drivers.

After the mid-season break Grinchuk has six more drift events and one show remaining. "I will fight to the end to achieve another Drift King title this year," Grinchuk declares. "And my chances are looking really good."

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.

Austin McCarl Experiences Exciting String of Sprint Car Races

18 Jul 2011

Eighteen-year-old, Austin McCarl and the TMAC Motorsport #17A Team were pretty busy throughout the month of June and into early July. On June 4th, racing in the 410 division, Austin experienced his career best at Knoxville Raceway when he finished third in the feature. On the following Sunday night, June 5th, Austin and his crew pulled into Huset's Speedway, near Brandon, South Dakota, with confidence on their side. When the dust settled, the driver had taken his first career feature.

Austin McCarl and the TMAC Motorsport #17A Sprint Car

As the month progressed, the young driver and his team experienced their ups and downs. On June 12th, Austin McCarl spun out in turn four, ruining any hopes of a victory. Returning to Knoxville on June 18, luck simply wasn't on his side. After running third for much of the race, Austin broke a shock, and dropped back to seventh.

Austin finished 5th at Husset's Raceway on June 19th, and completed the race at Knoxville in 13th place on the second day of July. On July 3, he took eighth place in the 410 at Husset's Speedway.

Austin and his team pulled into the Knoxville Speedway on July 9, with anticipation of logging another win in the 410 division. Little did they know that the driver was on the verge of experiencing a race that he and his family would likely remember for years to come.

Dominating the first of two main events for a majority of the race, it was looking like Austin might experience his first career win at Knoxville, but things began to change when the red flag flew with only four laps to go.

The driver suddenly found himself in a heated battle with his father, Terry, and when all was said and done, Austin had fallen short of the victory and earned second place, which was still an all-time best for him at Knoxville Speedway.

When asked if he enjoyed the competition between himself and his father, Austin said, "I love it. We're a very competitive family. My dad has been doing this his whole life. He's made a good living. You want to win. You gotta win to make money. Competitiveness has kind of been a part of my whole life, between basketball and racing. Being competitive, our family doesn't like getting beat."

"We enjoy the competition between each other," he continued. "Last week when I finished second, I led most of the race, and he ended up getting me at the very end. I was kind of upset about it, but it was pretty cool to run first and second with your dad, as tough as the competition is at Knoxville. Yeah, I think it's awesome, I think it's great."

"We've had a very successful year," explained Austin. "Last year was my rookie year, and we definitely had our ups and we definitely had our downs. This year we've been very consistent. I'd say we're a force to be reckoned with and I think everyone knows that we're one of the top five cars to beat each week."

"I have a great crew and a great teacher in my father," explained Austin. "I gained a lot of experience form all of those years I spent watching my father. Being at the shop every day, working on the cars and learning how they work has also helped. I've got a good crew and I go out there and do my best every week, and try to win."

As a third generation driver, Austin is no stranger to the importance of preventive maintenance, and has been around K&N Filters from the word go, as his father and grandfather both were believers in and used their products. "Motor maintenance is a big deal." He explained. "It's called motorsports for a good reason. You need a good motor that runs at top performance all of the time. It's a very vital part of racing. I think K&N Filters are the best filters on the face of the earth. There's nothing else out there that can compete with them."

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.

A Serious Injury Was Just a Bump In The Road For Sprint Car Racer Terry McCarl

18 Jul 2011

Sustaining a serious injury on July 31 of 2010, Terry McCarl was sidelined for several months in order to allow his broken leg to mend. Although, still not at one hundred percent, Terry McCarl finally reached a point where he could get back in his car and return to competing in the sport of racing.

#55 Sprint Car Driver Terry McCarl

With a handful of races already under his belt in 2011, Terry scored his first victory of the season on May 20, at the Jacksonville Speedway, in Jacksonville, Illinois with the Monster Energy Sprint Car Series.

Although the draw was not a good one, three cars were eliminated prior to the lap's completion, moving McCarl from 7th to fourth, and giving him enough passing points to qualify for the dash. McCarl drew last for the dash and had a fifth place finish, setting him up inside row three in the feature. After the waving of the green flag deemed the race underway, Terry found himself in fourth place early, and began working his way to the front.

The driver made the winning pass in lap 16 and held the lead throughout the remainder of the race, deeming him victorious.

"It felt great," explained Terry Mccarl. "It's a fun little race track, and M.O.W.A. is a new organization. There were some real tough cars there that night, and that was our first win together, me and the 55 car, so it was pretty special for us."

As one might suspect, Terry McCarl's first win since coming back from his injury was a memorable moment, but the driver has since earned two more victories, both at Knoxville, one of which is equally as memorable if not more so. On July 12, at Knoxville, Terry McCarl found himself in a heated race to the very finish in the 410 Feature with another driver. That said, who would the driver be? It was Austin, his son. As excitement grew throughout the stands, Terry eventually worked his way onto the lead with two laps to go, and when the dust had finally settled was victorious.

"It was kind of a bitter sweet win," shared Terry. "I hated to beat Austin, because he had the thing won," he continued, "but I'm sure he didn't want me to let him win. I won and he came in second. That's a pretty good night for any family."

Of course, Terry McCarl has anticipations of getting back to 100 percent and finishing the remainder of the season strong.

When asked about his team, Terry McCarl was quick to dish out a heaping helping of credit. "Your not going to be a good driver without a good team," he said. "Everybody works hard for us and we definitely appreciate them, and without them, we definitely couldn't do what we do. That's for sure."

According to Terry, his car has been performing very well throughout the season. As one might suspect, McCarl is also acutely aware that his continued success depends a great deal on properly maintaining his engine.

Referring to K&N Filters, he said, "We really stress keeping the motor clean and wouldn't run anything else." When asked how long he had been using K&N Filters, Terry responded, "Wow. I'd say my entire career. That's one thing I remember, as a young boy, cleaning my dad's filters. We've been running K&N for as long as I can remember, and I've been around this my whole life. We run their oil filter and their air filter, and they're the best out there. They're name says it all."

When asked about his sponsors and fans, Terry McCarl said, "I'm glad they're all aboard and they all mean a lot to us. Regardless of how big or small, all of our sponsors are important to us, and we're going to work hard to represent them 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.