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Sergio Pena burst on to the NASCAR scene in January by nearly winning the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in California. He finished second to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano.
Sergio Pena prepares for NASCAR K&N Pro Series on May 23 at Iowa Speedway
Since then, Pena's had a bit of a rough start to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. After two races, he has yet to crack the top 10, is 20th in the East Series standings and searching for a way to turn his season around.
"It was great to come out here and run good, but it's tough to follow up that race," the 17-year-old Pena said about the Showdown. "It was a perfect weekend, really. It's going to be tough. You have those bad breaks, and unfortunately, I've had two of them in a row."
Pena will have plenty of time to prepare for his next East Series race. Iowa Speedway will host a combined NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West race on May 23. That gives him nearly six weeks between East Series races.
"We're back in the shop working harder than ever, trying to get these cars ready to go out to Iowa," Pena said. "We'll see how it goes. I'm not trying to come down on myself too hard. I know that the championship and the points aren't looking too good. We have to stay focused and look ahead."
Part of his preparation will be running late models at tracks on both coasts. He returned to Irwindale to race a NASCAR Super Late Model car for Luis Martinez on April 10. He is planning on racing late models near his Revolution Racing team headquarters in North Carolina.
"It's never good to have a long break in between races. We're going to try and do as much testing as we can," said Pena, who calls Winchester, Va., home. "We ran go-karts for Luis Martinez a couple years back. After running the Showdown, he gave me the opportunity to come out and run the Super Late Model here (at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale). I'm really excited. I couldn't turn it down. I love this track. This is like my favorite track. It's nice to be back out here. It feels like home to me."
Pena finished third in the Super Late Model race at Irwindale. It was his best finish in any race since his runner-up result in the Showdown.
Pena opened the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season by finishing 27th at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina.
"Greenville was tough," Pena said. "It was real tight throughout the whole day then loose coming off. Later on in the race we got hit from behind and got put in the wall, so we didn't end up finishing that race."
He finished 14th in the second East Series race of the season at South Boston Speedway in Virginia.
"At South Boston, same deal," Pena said. "We just couldn't get the setup down. Problems with the setup and trying to get this car going. It's been a little bit frustrating these past two weeks."
Pena is one of 16 rookies racing in the East Series this year. Two rookies have won the first two races of the East Series season. Darrell Wallace Jr. won the season opener at Greenville Pickens. Max Gresham won the race at South Boston.
"I would definitely like to win not only rookie of the year, but the championship," Pena said. "Right now the championship looks a little bit tough, but we're still going to try our best to get it. There's tons of rookies this year, I think more than there's ever has been. It's going to be tough to win rookie of the year. Our goal is to win it all."
Jim Victor took home a pair of third place finishes in the Formula Continental division, and he steadily keeps improving with every race. Photos Courtesy: Jacques-O-Lat Photography
Formed in 1995, the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin based ArmsUp Motorsports is one of the premier SCCA Formula Continental and Formula Atlantic vintage racing teams around. At the recent SCCA St Louis Region's March Wins National, the ArmsUp drivers of Pat McGinnis and Jim Victor both produced podium results. McGinnis scored the win in the regional and was second in the national event, and Victor delivered a pair of third places in the Formula Continental (FC) division.
ArmsUp Motorsports says they could not be happier with their K&N relationship, which is now entering its fourth year. Photos Courtesy: Jacques-O-Lat Photography
"For ArmsUp Motorsports the double podium was a very good way to kick off the spring," commented team owner Gregg Borland.
After the regional on Saturday the team believed that McGinnis had a very good chance of taking the win, but bringing the car back in one piece, in the rapidly changing conditions, that was a bonus. ArmsUp Motorsports has been to Gateway International Raceway a few times now and each time they have been able to keep refining the setup there. McGinnis as well has shown a ton of improvement over his rookie season, so the combination of car and driver was very strong during the St. Louis race.
Pat McGinnis took a win and second place in front of his home crowd at Gateway International Raceway. Photos Courtesy: Jacques-O-Lat Photography
"You can see how much more comfortable McGinnis is in the car after a year under his belt," remarked Borland. "Saturday he was the only FC car running below the track record and he did a solid job in the race. Victor drove well all weekend too, and he only gets better as the season goes on."
"I thought we had a great weekend at Gateway. Saturday in the regional was a lot of fun. The car was so good in qualifying and being able to take the regional win near my home town was awesome," reflects McGinnis.
"On Sunday we again had a good car and I was able to jump out into the lead on the first lap. But once I lost the lead, I had to think about the big picture, which was gathering points to make the SCCA National Championships runoffs, so I just focused on making it to the finish without hurting the car. I have to thank the ArmsUp crew for a great car all weekend and their usual hard work."
ArmsUp Motorsports says they could not be happier with their K&N relationship, which is now entering its fourth year. Every one of the team's racecars is equipped with K&N Air Filters which are maintained with K&N Filter Cleaner and oils. Their mechanics and drivers both say that they are comfortable knowing that the engines they use, and work on, are getting the ultimate protection with the K&N Filters fitted to the car.
The Gateway weekend was basically the start of the regular season for ArmsUp Motorsports, which will see their level of activity steadily increase. The teams' next event is the SCCA National, April 16 - 18, at Virginia International Raceway where they will have four drivers running in the Formula Continental division. They will also enter cars in the new Pro US F2000 National Championship this season. Currently the team is scheduled to be at three of the events, with an eye toward starting fulltime Pro effort in 2011.
Cummings Motorsports, a.k.a. The Bayou Boyz, has had numerous successes on the many levels of drag racing they compete in, from bracket racing all the way up to World Championships.
Slate Cummings Wins NHRA Wally at Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park
While one of the drivers for the team, Slate Cummings, has also added his fair share of that list of accomplishments, winning an NHRA National event had eluded him over his years of competition.
"I've been running the NHRA circuit pretty hard over the last four years," said the Hammond, Louisiana resident. "Before the Houston event, I'd made it to one other NHRA National final and that was in Stock. It was in my very first year of running NHRA. I just didn't get to seal the deal then."
While Slate will compete during the 2010 season in both Stock and Super Stock, at the NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park he entered in both Super Stock and Super Comp, since the Stock class wasn't contested.
"The weekend was great all the way around," said Slate. "My brother Britt was also able to make it to the semi-finals in Top Dragster and the cars were just great. Nothing went wrong with the cars, nothing broke and that just helps you keep a clear mind."
Cummings was definitely pretty clear about his intentions and that was a win in both classes. He had already made it to the final in Super Stock thanks to his stellar reaction times and back-to-back .002 lights over the two rounds leading to the final, not to mention that he was still going strong in his Super Comp entry with hopes of making two finals in one weekend.
Aspirations for the double were quashed after a close quarter-finals loss in Super Comp.
Coming from a long line of racers and almost bred into the sport of drag racing, Slate had the training not to be deterred by the loss in the dragster. He proved it was far from his mind just a little over an hour later when he lined his East Texas Chevy Cavalier up in the Super Stock final against Chris Chaney, who himself had been no slouch on the tree throughout the weekend.
With a .006 advantage off the line, Cummings parlayed that into a close .008 at the stripe and a margin of victory of a mere nineteen inches to take his first NHRA Wally.
"It was so great, I just don't know what else to say," reflected Cummings still basking in his victory. "I hope I can keep up the momentum as we head off to run again this weekend."
Cummings Motorsports competes on both the NHRA and IHRA circuits in Division 4, with a stop for the K&N clad entourage of race cars planned this weekend for the IHRA double event at Pine Valley Raceway. Slate looks to add to his IHRA points where he is tied for first in Super Stock and fourth in the division in Stock and take K&N to an IHRA final or two.
"We've worked with K&N as long as I can remember," said the newest NHRA Super Stock winner. "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."
K&N Air Intake Installed on 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 3.6L V6
Dyno Chart for 2010-2011 Chevrolet Camaro 3.6L V6
K&N has developed a great looking air intake system for the 2010 and 2011 Chevrolet Camaro
with 3.6L V6 engine. The 69-4520TP
uses a mandrel-bent polished aluminum intake tube that is designed to smooth
and straighten airflow as it enters the engine. It also includes a large K&N washable, reusable cotton air filter,
part RF-1042,
with a chrome top . The 69-4520TP is engineered to allow virtually unrestricted airflow while providing the engine protection needed for long engine life.
K&N Air Intake System for 2010 and 2011 Chevrolet Camaro 3.6L V6
The 69-4520TP cold air intake system replaces the factory air filter and intake housing and is guaranteed to increase horsepower in your 2010 or 2011 Chevrolet Camaro 3.6L. A powder coated heat shield is included with the 69-4520TP to isolate the air filter from heat generated by the engine. This
helps the air filter pull cooler outside air into the Camaro's V6 engine.
Dyno testing unveiled an amazing 13.45 horsepower boost at 6200 rpm with the use of this simple performance modification. The 69-4520TP cold air intake system delivers a lot of power for your buck.
2010 Chevrolet Camaro owners will find installation easy with K&N's detailed installation instruction sheets.
This intake uses existing factory holes and mounting points, making
installation simple. A typical 69-4520TP install
can be completed in 90 minutes or less using common hand tools.
The 69-4520TP cold air intake system was designed to last the life of your 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 3.6L V6 and
it is backed by the famous K&N million mile limited warranty.
For Meyers this was his 39th World of Outlaws victory as he looks to become just the 12th driver in history to cross the 40 A-Feature win mark
Every so often, regardless of how sour things appear to be turning, how out of control the situation seems, despite it all, some people just can't help winning. Take Jason Meyers and his Elite Racing team for example at Tri-State Speedway in Pocola, Oklahoma. The team battled back from an uncharacteristic starting position outside of the top-ten, plus front and rear flat tires and they still managed to record their fourth A-Main victory of the season.
Meyers and Elite Racing dug deep to get their fourth win of the season
"The neat thing about sprint car racing is that you never really know what to expect, though when attending a race there is a pretty good chance that it is going to be exciting," says Meyers.
"The race in Pocola, Oklahoma was no different, however instead of witnessing breathtaking speeds and passes, fans saw a different kind of excitement, a dramatic kind if you will. The tricky part about Pocola was tire choice and only 15 laps into the race it appeared that many teams had chosen the wrong tire, including our team. Due to an abrasive track surface, the tires of many cars began to go away immediately and many teams were forced to the work area to repair flat tires. During the race, we had a flat left front tire and then flat right rear as well, and we wound up winning the race. I have never seen that happen before. It was a strange night that led to a dramatic finish."
With this win the K&N supported driver and his Elite Racing team were able to keep their streak of not finishing outside of the top-ten intact, and they continue to retain the World of Outlaws point lead. Meyers is now a single World of Outlaws victory away from becoming only the 12th driver in history to cross the 40 A-Main win mark.
Michael Jordan, feeling totally in the "zone," once took a free throw with his eyes closed and made the shot; we asked Meyers if he was feeling anything similar to that.
"I couldn't agree more. In racing, the zone is a peaceful place. The zone is where things become second nature and you are able to focus on the really fine details of outperforming the competition. Our team is definitely in the zone, and they are working together very well, which has brought on our recent success."
This coming weekend the Elite Racing team is heading to two tracks on which they have experienced success in the past. On Friday April, 16, they will run in Paducah, Kentucky, where they won last year and finished a close second in 2008. Then on Saturday, they head to I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Missouri, where they have also won, and where some of the most exciting action in sprint car racing takes place, in the team's opinion.
"We are looking forward to the weekend and to keeping the streak alive," says Meyers. "Right now, World of Outlaw sprint car racing is as exciting as it has ever been, and we are thrilled to be part of the action."
