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At 360 Open Show in Chico, California Forsberg piloted the Brian Cannon Motorsports number 47 car to his third victory of the year.
Andy Forsberg had a very busy weekend, competing in three races in three consecutive days. It unfolded into a very rewarding weekend for him though, in that he got a seventh, his third 360 victory of the year, and a hard fought, yet satisfying second place finish. We wondered what sort of strategic logistics went into pulling that sort of weekend off for the Auburn, California driver.
Forsberg drove A&A number 92 car to a tough seventh place in the in the Golden State Challenge Series race in Petaluma.
"Luckily for me we raced the three nights with two different teams. We raced the 410 in the Golden State Challenge Series race in Petaluma; with the A&A number 92 car. And then the two nights in Chico, California, we raced the Brian Cannon Motorsports number 47 car. Also, Brian Cannon is from Chico, so there was no travel involved for the Saturday and Sunday races," explained Forsberg.
On Saturday, after winning his heat and grinding out a tough seventh place in the Petaluma main the night before, Andy head up to the 360 Open Show in Chico. By the start of that main Andy was convinced that he had a car capable of winning. By lap seven he was putting pressure on the leader, on the next lap he grabbed the lead and never looked back, tallying his third 360 win of the year.
Andy Forsberg Wins 360 Open Show in Chico.
It would be Sunday's race however that would tax Forsberg driving skills the most. "Racing on a rubber down surface is always a guessing game, you never know how hard to push your tires, all you do know is that if you drive as hard as you would typically drive, your tires will not make it," remarked Forsberg.
"We tried a couple of different strategies last year on rubber down tracks, Go like hell and hope you make it, change tires half way through the race, and go like hell again, and hope you can make it back through the field, conserving your tires for the first three-quarters of the race, and then go like hell at the end. It never mattered what we tried, it never worked out, and we always ended the night by thinking we should have just played it safe and kept our track position and just had a decent finish."
"So on Sunday we decided to play the entire race safe and see how things would work out, it definitely was tough, basically letting a couple drivers pass by without a fight. I kept telling myself don't get excited, finish the race, let the other drivers wear out there tires or make a mistake, and we will hopefully capitalize. Luckily for us the drivers that did race hard and passed me, did just that, and we got a good second place finish. And we took over the Civil War points lead."
Forsberg has been with K&N since 2003, during that period he has won 45 races, two California 360 Civil War Championships and two Silver Dollar Speedway 410 Championships.
Says Forsberg, "It takes a lot to race as often as we do and K&N is a big help with that, we run our motors pretty hard, and since we race on dirt keeping them clean is very important, that's why we use K&N carbon fiber sprint car air boxes, filter oil, oil filters, and we use the K&N air filter cleaning solution."
As of last weekend Forsberg still has roughly 38 races left on his calendar. "We are currently trying to buy a ASCS 360 motor so we could potentially race at some of the National ASCS 360 races towards the end of the year in Las Vegas and in Arizona. As of right now we only have open headed 360 motors, and are not legal to race at the ASCS sanctioned races."
Winning the Night Before the 500 USAC National Midget event at O'Reilly Raceway Park is Tanner Swanson biggest win to date and he won the prestigious event on his first attempt.
Given the proper conditions, appropriate parental tutelage, more sunshine than darkness; few bonds on earth are any more powerful than brothers. Check the math - it's one to the second power.
The Swanson brothers say they have tempered their early competitiveness, and they've learned how to communicate with how to help each other win.
Some of the biggest names in racing have attempted to win the Night Before the 500 USAC National Midget event at O'Reilly Raceway Park without success. Nineteen year old Tanner Swanson pulled it off on his first attempt. His brother Kody, three years older, had his back, sandwiching the podium with third place.
"Beyond the race itself, it was really special for Tanner to get that first 'big' win in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Memorial Day, the day before the Indy 500 - I couldn't be prouder of him," said Kody.
Although the brothers drove for different teams, with different cars and set-ups, they still managed to win first and third place.
Both brothers began racing ten years ago and for the first year they competed against each other regularly. Then, for the next six years they raced in different divisions and didn't meet on the track again until 2007, when both started competing in the USAC's professional series.
"In that first year back in 2000, we were probably a little too competitive, but by the time we started racing together in USAC, we had become pretty strong teammates," admits Kody.
"In the years that we spent racing in different classes, we really learned how to communicate with each other, and how to help each other win. We really continue that today, whether we are actual teammates on our TK Motorsports team, or racing against each other, we still try to help each other be our best."
For this particular event the brothers drove for different teams. "Neither of us have full-time pavement midget rides on the USAC National circuit, so we both ended up picking up a ride on a single event basis just for this big event," explained Kody.
"The Wilke-Pak team called me to run a few weeks before the event to set something up, and it actually wasn't until the week of the race that Tanner was able to secure his ride with the DMS Racing team."
Typically, for a big event such as this, most teams will go out and test or practice at the track weeks before the race, but the Swanson brothers actually secured their rides so late that neither Tanner, nor Kody tested, and their first laps in their cars were on the day of the event.
"I would still say that it worked out pretty well, considering we finished first and third, driving for two different teams, that use completely different chassis and engine combinations," remarked Tanner.
Tanner drove in a Beast Chassis with a Ford-Esslinger engine, while Kody raced in a Spiked Chassis with Stanton-Toyota engine. One common denominator is that both cars ran K&N air and oil filters.
"I really like that I can always trust K&N filters for their reliability," continued Tanner. "I can always depend that their filters will do their job without having issues. Minimizing the chance for mechanical failures is very important to me."
Tanner and Kody are from Kingsburg, California, and last year both attended California State University, Fresno, as full-time college students while competing in USAC's National & Western series.
Kody graduated this May and Tanner will enter his Sophomore year in the Fall of 2010 at the same University. Both graduated from Kingsburg High School as Valedictorians, with a GPA that exceeded 4.0.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Daijiro Yoshihara take podium at Formula D Round 3. Photo by Larry Chen of Driftfotos.com
Formula Drift Rd. 3 "The Gauntlet" at Wall Stadium in New Jersey was déjà vu for Falken Tire teammates Daijiro Yoshihara and Vaughn Gittin Jr. when they took 1st and 2nd place, respectively, for the second time in a row this season. After three rounds of Formula D, Vaughn and the Monster Energy/Falken Tire 2011 Ford Mustang sit in 1st place overall in the Championship standings with 291 points, and Dai and the Falken Tire/Discount Tire 2008 Lexus IS350 is trailing close behind in 2nd place with 270 overall points.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the Monster Energy/Falken Tire 2011 Ford Mustang. Photo by Larry Chen of Driftfotos.com
During Friday's qualifying session, where drivers fought for a spot in the top 32, Dai qualified in 4th place and Vaughn landed one spot behind him in fifth. During Saturday's main event, these two top-notch drivers would find themselves each battling through four of drifting's finest before meeting each other in the finals.
Vaughn fought his way through Robbie Nishida in the top 32, then Falken Tire teammate Tyler McQuarrie in the top sixteen. He found himself matched with Drift Alliance brother Justin Pawlak, driver of the 2010 Falken Tire Ford Mustang, in the top eight. After two close runs from both drivers, and a small correction from Justin causing contact between the cars, Vaughn was awarded the win and would move on to face two-time Formula Drift Champion Tanner Foust in the semi-finals.
Vaughn led first against Tanner, with a fast and high line while atop the bank of Wall Stadium. Tanner tried to stay close to Vaughn, but hit the wall causing him to correct and then struggle to keep up the rest of the run. When Vaughn gave chase, he kept close to Tanner, while maintaining good line, speed, and angle. The judges awarded Vaughn the win, and he would move on to the finals with an automatic podium position.
"It is really unbelievable to check out our K&N Air Filter after running all the way from the top 32 to the podium and seeing the amount of rubber and dirt that is blocked from going into our engine," says Vaughn. "I am simply amazed how it can still breathe. Even though it looks like there is no way it is sucking air from all the dirt caked up, that Ford Racing 5.0L still responds when I slam my right foot down each and every round!"
Dai was faced with Brian Wilkerson in the top 32, who spun out, allowing Dai to advance. In the top 16, he was paired with Forrest Wang, who fought a good battle, but was no match for Dai's intense angle and speed throughout the course. Dai moved on to battle Michihiro Takatori in the top 8, and after two nearly-flawless runs, Dai was awarded the win and would move on to the semi-finals.
Dai was lined up once again to face Falken Tire teammate Darren McNamara, who he also had faced in Atlanta's Round Two. After two amazing, evenly-matched runs from both drivers, a very appropriate One-More-Time was called by the judges. During the repeat battle, Darren had a slight error upon initiation on the bank which caused him to tap the wall several times. His vehicle was too damaged to continue which led Dai into the battle for first place against Vaughn.
It was déjà vu for Dai and Vaughn when they were matched in the finals - as the two had battled for 1st place at Round 2 in Atlanta a month earlier. For the final battle of the night, the Falken RT615-K tire smoke filled Wall Stadium during two amazing runs from both competitors. After the smoke cleared, Dai had once again been deemed the winner of the battle and the event, locking down two consecutive 1st place finishes. Vaughn would finish the night in 2nd place, rounding out his third consecutive podium of the 2010 Formula Drift season.
"Winning back-to-back Formula D events is just crazy," says Dai. "Before Round Two, I hadn't won in a long time, and now it came in a pair! Definitely without the help of my team, I could not have pulled this off. And everyone knows having a great drift car means you have to have a solid motor. With K&N Filters helping my motor breath better and cleaner, I never have to worry about my car dying during my competition runs. Hopefully I can continue my winning streak in Seattle and it would be awesome to see if my teammate JR and I can continue to battle again!"
Vaughn and Dai slide into Seattle July 9-10 for Formula Drift Round 4 at Evergreen Speedway as they will both fight to gain some crucial points landing them one step closer to the 2010 Championship.
Dyno Chart for 2007 to 2011 MINI Cooper 1.6L & 2008 and 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman 1.6L
The MINI Cooper is a smaller compact car designed by vehicle manufacturer BMW. The current BMW MINI Cooper was designed larger and faster than the previous models. The MINI Cooper and Cooper Clubman (Estate) bring style, comfort and performance directly to the forefront.
K&N Air Intake System for 2007 to 2011 MINI Cooper 1.6L & 2008 and 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman 1.6L
2007 MINI Cooper 1.6L
K&N designed a performance boosting air intake system (69-2005TTK) for the 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 MINI Cooper 1.6L and 2008 and 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman models with the 1.6L engine. The 69-2005TTK only fits U.S. models at this time. K&N air intake systems are guaranteed to increase horsepower and acceleration. Dyno testing revealed a 4.1 horsepower gain at 5300 rpm with this simple performance modification.
The 69-2005TTK completely replaces the factory intake housing and air filter with a custom intake tube that straightens and smoothes airflow to your engine and a K&N cone air filter (RC-5144). The RC-5144 is a washable and reusable high-flow air filter designed to provide excellent filtration and performance.
Complete installation instructions with photo illustrations are available on KNFilters.com. A typical 69-2005TTK installation takes less than 90 minutes and can be done with common hand tools. Check out the Mini Cooper install video for more information about installation of K&N's performance intake system for the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper Clubman.
K&N's power gaining 69-2005TTK air intake system is backed by the famous K&N Million Mile Limited Warranty. 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.
The Lamborghini doors are something Verdugo searched for a long while - with them finally completed his Dodge Charger is an immediate show-stopper.
Some artists paint, others sculpt, Abel Verdugo does his interpretation of both. Verdugo's choice of expression is vehicle customizing and his current palate of colors is his 2008 Dodge Charger. As with most artists and craftsmen the roots of their creative inklings reach back to childhood.
Realistic looking flames where one Verdugo's priorities - his House of Kolors Custom Paint jobs gives the look of fire just beneath the clear coat.
"It all started when I was little kid," says Verdugo, the Phoenix, Arizona resident. "I know you've heard that cliché before, but it's true. My dad and I would go to the junk yards early every morning to find parts for a 1972 Chevy Impala that he purchased from an old man when I was six. It took about ten years, and a lot of hard work, but when I turned 16 he gave me the car as a gift. That sparked my interest in anything that has wheels. When my dad gave me the Impala it was pretty much all original, and a year later I redid the whole car over completely, from engine bay to interior and outside."
The initial motive for going with the K&N intake was based strictly on appearance, finding extra power and a smoother ride was a big bonus for Verdugo.
According to Verdugo the modifications in his Dodge Charger are mostly time, sweat and money - plus a good deal of planning and experimenting with paint schemes. His efforts were once again recognized with a second place overall in the Semi-Custom class at the recent Phoenix Lowrider 2010 Tour. Verdugo regularly wins at smaller car show venues (34 first place honors in all), but it's the major's that he really gets up for. At the end of last year, at the Phoenix Dub Show, he won Best Dodge.
Verdugo consistently takes top honors at every car show he enters, from small parking lot affairs to huge national events like the Dub show and the Lowrider 2010 Tour.
"What I originally had in mind were realistic flames - red and orange are my favorite colors - so I ran with that. I can't forget to give Chavo from Phoenix (House of Kolors Custom Paint) a lot of credit for his beautiful paint work too."
"I wanted the Lamborghini doors for a long time and was finally able to get them done by JC. My interior was all suede and leather, done by Chino in Phoenix, until Katzkin (Tuscany Leather Interiors) offered a sponsorship for another interior. The wheels are 24 inch, color matched to the car along with realistic flames. The Webasto full sliding ragtop was done by Mouse's Custom Fabrications. The MGP caliper covers are pinstriped to match, and they were also done by Chavo. The Kicker car audio system includes four L7's (subwoofers), installed by Elite Sounds in Surprise, Arizona. And, I went with a Flow Master Exhaust system to compliment my custom K&N intake."
Verdugo says he decided to go with K&N after plenty of discerning shopping around. His initial priority was of course how the intake looked with his car's overall scheme and the K&N system won hands down, but finding extra horsepower was also a sweet bonus.
"I'm very glad I went with K&N because it allows my car to feel lighter, I can feel that it breathes easier. I don't have to worry about that sucking noise it used to make either, plus when I accelerate - it's real nice."
