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Bill Balog and B2 Motorsports Notch Sixth IRA Win at Superior Speedway

23 Sept 2010

Balog's sixth IRA win of the year tasted even sweeter with his parents there to see it.

Regardless of how long you've been racing, and self-possessed you pretend to be, winning in front of your mom and dad is a particularly sweet deal.

Balog says this is his best year yet, nearly doubling his overall IRA wins in one season.

"The win at Superior Speedway, probably stands out the most this year, because my parents flew in from Alaska that weekend and to get a win for them was really neat. It was the first time my mom has seen me win a feature outside the state of Alaska."

Those were the comments from K&N sponsored, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, racer Bill Balog. Balog and his B Squared Motorsports team recently traveled to northern Wisconsin for a weekend of action, first at Superior Speedway on Friday and then at Cedar Lake Speedway on Saturday.

On the last restart of the feature at Superior Speedway, Balog went to the high side of the track in turns one and two and began to pull away from the rest of the field. He went on to drive the last 11 laps flawlessly, and scored the IRA portion of the Northern Nationals. Balog now has six IRA feature wins thus far in 2010.

During Saturday's program at Cedar Lake, Balog was shooting to bring home yet another solid top-five finish. As the race wore on, he scuffled his way in to the top-five, and soon found himself battling with in the top-three. After two late cautions, Balog figured he might have had something left for the leaders, but in the end, had to settle for the number three spot. With this third place finish, Balog and the team now have 19 straight top-five feature finishes with the IRA.

"It feels really good," said Balog. "We have been able to keep our nose clean and out of trouble for most of the year, and it has been paying off as of late, now with our sixth win of the year. With those two finishes, we have also now not finished outside the top-five in IRA action since May 22nd."

"This year is stacking up to be my best year yet with the IRA, as I had seven career IRA wins prior to the start of this year, and to have six alone in 2010 is just a great feeling."

The B2 team currently sits in first place in the IRA point standings with a 215 point lead and with only five IRA shows remaining.

"We are planning on finishing out the year with the IRA and were gonna try to bring home that third Consecutive Championship," says a cautiously confident Balog.

"After the IRA season is over we may do a few other shows before we call it a year and start getting ready for 2011."

Balog thanked K&N for their continuing support, adding "Our K&N products are outstanding, we have yet to have any issues with the sprint air box, or the wrench on oil filters. These are the best products on the market today."

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.

Jason Line Etches First Number One Qualifier for the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge

23 Sept 2010

NHRA Pro Stock driver Jason Line

North Carolina based NHRA Pro Stock driver Jason Line has consistently qualified in the top half of the field for each NHRA National event since the new 2011 season of the K&N Horsepower Challenge began at Norwalk, Ohio this past June.

NHRA Pro Stock driver Jason Line's Summit Racing Pontiac GXP

While so many may have had eyes on Mike Edwards, Jeg Coughlin or Allen Johnson, Line used his home track advantage to his full benefit during this past weekend's O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Nationals, held at the beautiful zMax Dragway in Concord, North Carolina, when he scored his first number one qualifier in quite some time.

Line plowed his way right to the top of the heap during the first qualifying session on Friday in his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP, when he posted a 6.633 at 209.14, but his teammate, 2010 K&N Horsepower Challenge Champion Greg Anderson, took the spot away from him during session number two.

"Really I think it was more of a lane thing than anything," explained Line. "We struggled a little but in the right lane during qualifying, I mean we just felt like we were a hundredth slower over there. Not a big deal, just not quite as good over there."

Line and his teammate Anderson swapped qualifying positions again come third session on Saturday when Line almost broke into the fifty's with his 6.604 and what that pass, he would remain number one for Sunday's eliminations, even though Anderson did all he could to steal the pole back during the final session.

"It was kind of fun actually to go back and forth," noted Line. "It was cool. We felt like we had probably the best two cars there and it's been a while since we could say that. It was a good weekend all-in-all."

With Line's number one qualifier in Pro Stock during the latest NHRA event, he gained both the max 175 points available for the K&N Horsepower Challenge and his team pocketed the cool $3,000 awarded to the top Pro Stock team from K&N Engineering.

Line has now moved himself into the number two spot in the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge and just sixty points behind leader Mike Edwards.

"It's the coolest bonus race that there is," Line said of the K&N Challenge. "It's a huge deal and the only thing I don't like about the race, is the fact that I haven't won it yet. And Greg (Anderson) got the coolest trophy ever this year when he won and I'm just a little bit jealous and one of these years, I'm going to win that thing."

"It's a really big deal to qualify towards the top," he said of his outcome at Concord. "Obviously if we have any luck we want to collect it and we want to be number one, we don't want to be number two."

The professional teams are headed straight to their next event on the NHRA Full Throttle tour and will find themselves just outside Dallas, Texas.

Line hopes to build on his team's regained ground as the event unfolds.

"I like going to Dallas, it's a good place to race," said Line. "I feel really good about it, as far as our program goes. I'm excited to go because we are going to have three Summit cars there that have a chance to win the race."

"We want to steal all those points and make sure we get them spread around between our three cars," he continued. "Nothing is over yet by any means and every round is really important."

With many races still ahead, the battle forges on in the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge during the O'Reilly Auto Parts Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Texas, September 23-26.

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Jason Meyers and Elite Racing Strike Gold at 57th Gold Cup Race of Champions

23 Sept 2010

The K&N sponsored racer crossed the finish line a mere 0.964 ahead of second place.

"Winning the Gold Cup is by far the biggest win in my sprint car career to this point and also the biggest win for our entire Elite Racing team," remarked K&N sponsored sprint car driver Jason Meyers.

Winning 57thGold Cup Race of Champions puts Jason Meyers in elite company, as only three other Californian's before him have accomplished that feat.

Jason Meyers and his Elite Racing team ventured to Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California recently for the 57th Gold Cup Race of Champions. Amidst a gathering of the cream-of-crop racers, Meyers pulled off a feat only three other Californian's ever had; in fact the last time that a racer from the golden state had won the Gold Cup Race of Champions was 21 years ago.

"Being from California, the Gold Cup has always been on our top five list of things we wanted to accomplish and it feels great to be able to put a check mark next to it. I had never realized that so few Californians had actually won the Gold Cup and it makes us very proud to be able to add our names to the list."

Winning the Gold Cup is by far the biggest win in his sprint car career to this point says Meyers.

For his historic victory Meyers took home a $50,000 payday, along with the cup, and most importantly add his name to the racing legends who have won the Gold Cup.

In a wicked twist, the Gold Cup is actually crystal, and the Oil City Cup is gold.

Meyers started the race from the pole position. Lined up to his outside was Jason Sides. When the Green Flag was unfurled, Sides attempted to make a move to Meyers inside, but before it could be settled the yellow flag came out. On the restart, Meyers choose the inside line, and when the race resumed Meyers grabbed the lead on the first lap, and he never looked back. "Hot Foot" quickly opened up a two second lead by lap five.

"I felt that I had a pretty good line through turns one and two on the bottom, and then the top in three and four, but because we cannot see behind us, you just never know if the cars behind you are gaining on you or not," explained Meyers.

"My crew did a great job of relaying what was going on behind me on the caution flags and fortunately I was able to get a good start off of turn four on the bottom each time and hold off the challenges from McMahan. I really felt great in the car that night and was able to get into a rhythm right at the start. I simply just shut out everything that was going on around me and concentrated on making good laps."

Meyers and McMahan put on a show at the front of the pack in traffic. There were several breaks in racing action, but on each restart Meyers choose the inside lane, and then once the Green Flag flew the two would pick up where they left off.

The race ended with a green, white, checkered situation, and Meyers was up to the challenge. With a clear race track in front of him Meyers put the pedal to the gold-metal leaving McMahan and Steve Kinser to squabble about who would finish second. Meyers crossed the line with a heart-stopping 0.964 second lead.

Two weeks before winning the at Silver Dollar Speedway, in the oil capitol of Canada, Meyers and his Elite Racing team got busy getting a pre-taste of gold cup victory by winning another cup. Keeping with the goblet theme Meyers won the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Canada.

"When we rolled into Edmonton, I had a new idea on how we could make our car better, and right out of the gate, it started paying off. We have been very good at Edmonton in the past and we used that knowledge to better ourselves every time we touched the race track. When they dropped the green for the A-main on the first night, we instantly went forward. The win at Edmonton was our first after making some changes within our team just two nights prior, and it felt great to see the progress that we made," said Meyers.

With these two victories Meyers now finds himself only two points out of the lead for the championship. "We are very motivated going into the final nine races of the season to win this championship, just as motivated as we have been all season," commented Meyers. "

"The goal is to race the race tracks as hard as we can and see where the chips fall. We have the car, the talent, and the means necessary to win the championship and all we have to do is execute. We have to properly execute every move we make from now until the end of the season. The World of Outlaws championship is one of the toughest things in the world to win and we are ready to prove that we have what it takes!"

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Milton Tolen Thanks Best Friend for Getting Him Interested in World of Drag Boat Racing

22 Sept 2010

Milton Tolen currently has two points championship wins under his belt, two world records and a number of runner-ups.

Milton Tolen got involved in Drag boat racing originally as a young spectator, then later purchased a Flat bottom, mainly for lake use. His best friend, Randy Reynolds had been actively racing at the time.

Milton Tolen got involved in Drag boat racing originally as a young spectator, then later purchased a Flat bottom, mainly for lake use.

Many years later, he began to wonder what it would be like to compete, and then by the nudge of his buddy Randy, finally purchased all the sanction bodied safety equipment and the "race boat" and went out for his license in 2003. He enjoyed everything the race community had to offer, and has been competing ever since.

Just after acquiring his license, he joined the sanctioning body of IHBA (International Hot Boat Association) and raced with them until this current season, when Lucas Oil stepped in and IHBA stepped out. He currently has two points championship wins under his belt, two world records and a number of runner-ups. “I’m having a great time with this series,” says Tolen. “ My first win was in Gadsden, AL in 2006, and it seemed like it took forever! The 2nd win in Augusta, GA was really tough because I was up against Steve Schmidt, who’s considered one of the best. Beating him was a HUGE accomplishment!”

The K&N connection occurred after meeting Greg Boutte, also a K&N sponsored racer at the PRI show in Orlando, where they exchanged photos and stories, and their common beliefs in K&N. Not long after that, he was introduced to Bob Harris who has been a great help with the race efforts for the last couple of years.

“We have always used K&N products,” continues Tolen. “When you go racing, there is no such thing as saving money or cutting corners… you have invested so much, piece by piece and part by part. Protecting these investments, to extend the life of them is crucial. You simply can’t go without K&N!

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.

Andy Forsberg's Grand Weekend Nets Win Six and Eighth 360 Championship

22 Sept 2010

Technically Richard and Andy's rudder design was totally legal – other racers only wished they could have come up with something to keep pace it.

From the "could-this-really-happen" file comes this scenario; you discover your racecar is so much faster than everyone else's that it's almost like you're racing a man-car against slot cars. So, as a show of sportsmanship, and because of all the carping, you deliberately start at the back of the field, but you still can't help exploding to the front and lapping pretty much everyone before the race ends. And yeah, it really did happen.

The 92 car wasn't only way faster than everyone else at its debut in Petaluma, it also pulled in some spare change between races.

On Friday, during a scheduled three-day race weekend, K&N sponsored Any Forsberg's number 92 car made its 2010 debut at the Petaluma Non-Wing "Run What You Brung" 360 open competition race. From the moment the team unloaded their radically modified car it was obvious they were in for a long night of pit-row unhappiness.

"This was an open competition race and since Andy comes from a second generation racing family, his father Richard has been around for many types of these races throughout the last 40 years, explains Candace Forsberg, Andy's wife.

Andy made a point to thank his team, K&N, and all his other sponsors for helping to make this such a successful year so far.

"Back in the day, an open comp race basically meant you built a cheater type car and went racing, so that's what they did. Richard mounted a side-board off of a top-wing, to the top of the cage, and it worked as a rudder. While the other cars were pitching it sideways, like a traditional non-wing car does to scrub off speed, Andy was able to drive the car straight into the turns like a winged car, so he never lost his momentum. It was almost like the other non-wing cars were racing against a winged car."

"The fuss came from all the other competitors that couldn't comprehend the fact that they were out smarted and were about to get their butts kicked," adds Candace. "They all had the same opportunity and time to build and fabricate parts that would make their cars faster for the race, but nobody did. Some competitors were claiming that we had a wing on the car, but the definition of a wing is a device that creates lift and or down force and our side panels did neither, so it was legal."

The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was when Andy pulled the "0" pill and put himself on the pole. That's when the promoter Jim Soares pleaded with Andy to take the body parts off. Instead, they came to an agreement that Andy would start dead last and try to make a go of it. This was a big risk, being as it was a $2500 to win race, but Andy nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" was tired of everyone complaining and was ready to put on a show, according to Candace. Andy went from the back, to first place in just 18 laps, and lapped up to the eighth place car before the checkered waved. Andy was turning laps that were nine-tenths faster than the second fastest car out there. It was Andy's sixth win of the year.

Andy said this was the most fun he had ever had during a race. It was a very special night, having something he and his dad thought about and fabricated, work to such perfection.

On Saturday the Autism Awareness, Coors Light number 47 headed to Placerville, California for the final night of the 360 point season. Andy had a 21 point lead heading into the night and only needed a consistent finish to wrap up his eighth championship. With his fifth place finish he clinched the track championship.

On Sunday in his second non-wing appearance of the weekend at the Louie Vermeil Classic USAC 410 Non-Wing race at the Calistoga half-mile, Andy had another good race, finishing eighth.

Andy thanked K&N and all the people that helped him over the weekend and throughout the season, without their help he says he could not have gotten it done.

Up next for Forsberg Racing are the last two Civil War races in Watsonville, California on Friday September 24th and Placerville on Saturday September 25th.

"The top three are only separated by four points, so it should be another exciting weekend," said Candace. "Hopefully we come out on top and Andy wins his fifth title with the series. After that Andy still has the 360 Fall Nationals in Chico, California, the season finale in Marysville, California, The Cotton Classic in Hanford, where he plans on running a winged 410 and his non-winged 360 in the same night, the Trophy Cup in Tulare, California, and possibly some National ASCS races in Nevada and Arizona."

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