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Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing rider Roger Lee Hayden was credited with winning the rain soaked AMA Pro Superbike Saturday race at New Jersey Motorsports Park (Brian J Nelson Photography)

K&N Filters sponsored Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing is a three rider team which fields Martin Cardenes, a Columbian rider in his second year of AMA Pro Superbike competition, Chris Clark, a 20-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada resident with four seasons of Superbike racing under his belt, and Roger Lee Hayden, brother to famed racer Tommy Hayden and former 2006 Moto GP Champion Nicky Hayden. Roger Lee Hayden was squeezed onto Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing late in the off-season when he was without a ride for 2014.

Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes narrowly beat Roger Lee Hayden across the line, but Hayes was penalized for passing during a yellow caution, giving Hayden the win (Brian J Nelson Photography)

Roger Lee Hayden rewarded Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing during the double header AMA Pro Superbike race weekend at New Jersey Motorsport Park. Hayden put together a spectacular performance in the first race of the weekend by claiming his first win for the 2014 season on the rain soaked New Jersey track. Hayden was narrowly beat across the finish line by Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes. However, Hayes had been penalized for passing under a yellow caution flag which gave Hayden the win. Hayden’s win at New Jersey Motorsports Park was Suzuki’s only win of the 2014 season.

Roger Lee Hayden finished the 2014 AMA Pro Superbike season strong with five straight podium finishes edging past Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier for second place in points (Brian J Nelson Photography)

“I’m really happy with the way the season went,” Hayden said. He continued to say “We’ve been consistent and fast, and we were on the podium at just about every race. This was our first year together and I’m really proud of my team.”

Race two on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park saw Josh Hayes out front of the pack once more with a nearly 2.5 second lead. However, Hayes made a mistake on lap four going off track and dropping back to third place. Hayes was able to charge his way back up to the front eventually claiming the win with Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing teammates Roger Lee Hayden and Martin Cardenes bringing up second and third respectively.

After the final race, pre-season title hopeful and Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing rider, Martin Cardenes said “This was a tough weekend. The track is very physical. I wanted to finish a little higher on the podium on Sunday but third was the best I could do. I’m very happy for me and the Yoshimura Suzuki team to finish on the box.” Cardenes made the AMA Pro Superbike podium four times this season and finished sixth overall.

Roger Lee Hayden finished out the 2014 AMA Pro Superbike season strong with five straight podium finishes barely edging past Yamaha rider Cameron Beaubier for the runner-up position in the championship points standings. “This weekend was a good way to finish the season,” said Hayden. “I rode as hard as I could, every lap. This was my first time to finish second in points, and I learned a lot this year. We can all be proud of this.”

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing rider Chris Clark also experienced a breakthrough AMA Pro Superbike season this year. Clark earned his first Superbike podium position and finished fourth in the points race, just one point ahead of David Anthony. “Overall, it was a really incredible year,” said Clark. “I have to thank the whole Yoshimura Suzuki team for the opportunity to race and for providing me with a great bike like the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.”

Roger Lee Hayden, number 95, barely beat his Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing teammate Martin Cardenes, on the 36 bike, across the line bringing home second and third for the team (Brian J Nelson Photography)

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing packed the New Jersey Motorsports Park podium taking second and third behind Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes (Brian J Nelson Photography)

Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing teammates Roger Lee Hayden and Martin Cardenes battled down to the wire during the much drier Sunday race in Millville, New Jersey (Brian J Nelson Photography)

Greg Pursley had the fastest time in qualifying during the Energy Solutions Utah Grand Prix in Tooele, Utah taking home his twentieth 21 means 21 presented by Coors Brewing Co. Pole Award

James Bickford, in the number 6 Sunrise Ford of Fontana race car, challenged Greg Pursley on lap 43 of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Utah Grand Prix, shortly before Pursley spun out

It had seemed as if the driver of the number 26 Gene Price Motorsports Ford, Greg Pursley, was on his way to a fourth win at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Pursley had the fastest time in qualifying and took home his twentieth 21 means 21 presented by Coors Brewing Co. Pole Award. Pursley dominated the first 43 laps of the 50 lap race on a 2.2 mile long road course at Miller Motorsports Park.

On that fateful 44th lap of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Utah Grand Prix race Pursley got into a battle with number two qualifier James Bickford. Eventual race winner David Mayhew was close behind the battle for first. As Pursley and Bickford came into turn one on lap 44 Pursley made contact with a lapped car sending Pursley and the number 26 GPM/Star Nursery/Real Water Ford into a spin.

Pursley made contact with lap traffic and as David Mayhew described, they all ended up in the dirt with Mayhew gaining the lead and winning the race at Miller Motorsports Park

James Bickford momentarily gained the lead in the number 6 Sunrise Ford car, but must have lost some steam as David Mayhew and Sunrise Ford teammate Dylan Lupton quickly made it past him. Mayhew was able to hold Lupton off for the remaining seven laps earning his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West road course victory.

Prior to his win at the Energy Solutions Utah Grand Prix, Mayhew’s best finish at Miller Motorsports Park had been fifth place back in 2011. “Every time we’ve been here we’ve had a flat tire,” said Mayhew. Luck seemed to be on the Atascadero, California native’s side this time. Of his pass during Pursley’s spin, Mayhew said “At the end we all ended up in the dirt. I got lucky and came out on the good end of that stick.”

Greg Pursley’s fourth place finish was just enough to maintain his 15 point lead over Dylan Lupton in the points championship. Lupton’s second place finish increased his lead over third place, Brandon McReynolds, ever so slightly. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship is still up for grabs as two races remain in the 2014 season. The next race will be at the All American Speedway in Roseville, California.

Mayhew, and Sunrise Ford of Fontana driver Dylan Lupton, made it past James Bickford never looking back and eventually won the Energy Solutions Utah Grand Prix by 1.022 seconds

David Mayhew and the whole MMI team were ecstatic with the win at Miller Motorsports Park as it was Mayhew’s first ever NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race win on a road course

A K&N representative, and huge NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Ben Rhodes fan, was on site to award David Mayhew with a trophy for winning the Energy Solutions Utah Grand Prix

In 2014 professional NHRA Pro-Stock driver Erica Enders-Stevens beat Dave Connolly becoming the first female winner of a K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge and took home the $50,000 prize

The K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge is a special three-round NHRA Pro-Stock drag racing shootout held during the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Professional NHRA Pro-Stock drivers accumulate points based on final qualifying positions at 24 NHRA national events leading up to the K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge. Seven drivers who accumulate the most points during the 24-race series qualify for the challenge along with one driver who is selected by a special fan vote on the NHRA website. The professional NHRA Pro-Stock driver who wins the K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge takes home $50,000.

Sweepstakes finalist Annie Perkins from Brookings, Oregon was paired with NHRA Pro-Stock driver Erica Enders-Stevens and was the winner of the Grand Prize 2014 K&N Horsepower Challenge Edition Toyota Tacoma

For the last six years K&N air filters has run a sweepstakes in which eight finalists are chosen at random and awarded a Prize Trip Package to include travel expenses and hotel accommodations for two in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the event each finalist is randomly paired with one of the eight K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge professional NHRA Pro-Stock drivers. A grand prize winner will be determined based upon the finalist who is paired with the professional NHRA Pro-Stock driver that finishes first in the K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge.

K&N air filters has partnered with Toyota once again to give away a Toyota Tacoma equipped with TRD parts, including a supercharger, cat-back exhaust, off-road suspension and wheels

Professional NHRA Pro-Stock driver Erica Enders-Stevens won the 2014 K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge and the $50,000 prize. Erica Ender-Stevens was paired with sweepstakes finalist Annie Perkins from Brookings, Oregon. Perkins was the winner of a custom K&N Horsepower Challenge edition 2014 Toyota Tacoma equipped with Toyota Racing Development (TRD) parts. Perkins will officially take possession of her 2014 Toyota Tacoma at the upcoming NHRA Toyota Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The sweepstakes period ends at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 9, 2015 so make sure to enter to win the 2015 K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes before it’s too late

K&N Air Filters has once again stepped up as the title sponsor of the 2015 K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge. K&N will provide a $50,000 prize for the winning professional NHRA Pro-Stock driver and a Prize Trip Package for eight finalists to the 2015 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals to be held on April 11th, 2015. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. has been generous enough to provide a special edition 2015 Toyota Tacoma equipped with genuine TRD parts including a TRD Supercharger, TRD Cat-Back Exhaust system, TRD Off-Road Suspension Package, and TRD Off-Road Beadlock Style Alloy Wheels.

While only a handful of professional NHRA Pro-Stock drivers are eligible to win the $50,000 prize, the Prize Trip Package and Grand Prize Toyota Tacoma could be claimed by any legal resident of the 50 United States age 18 and up. Eligible contestants can enter the sweepstakes on the KNFilters.com website. The sweepstakes period ends at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 9, 2015 so make sure to enter the 2015 K&N NHRA Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes before it’s too late.

A K&N automotive air filters diesel air filter or diesel air intake can improve diesel performance while working, towing, or every day driving in your diesel powered pickup truck

Replacing the stock auto air filter with a K&N diesel filter, like the K&N diesel air filter for 2003-2009 Dodge 2500 and 3500 Cummins 5.9L diesel models, can improve diesel performance

It wasn’t long ago that the term “Diesel Performance” would have been considered an oxymoron. A diesel engine has several advantages over a typical gasoline powered internal combustion engine but until recently performance was never considered one of those advantages. In the automotive world diesel engines have been known for their fuel economy, torque production, and longevity. In Europe diesel powered passenger cars are popular because a diesel engine will burn less fuel than an equivalent gasoline engine doing the same amount of work. Heavy duty diesels, such as semi-trucks, busses, and recreational vehicles have also exploited the fuel efficiency advantages of the diesel engine, but because of the distances these vehicles drive the ability of a diesel engine to last twice as long as a gasoline engine plays a major factor in choosing a diesel power plant.

Modern advances in diesel performance technology have made diesel engines widely accepted as a positive alternative to gasoline burning engines. Gone are the days when a diesel was looked down upon for being slow, noisy, and dirty. Improvements in direct injection and forced induction have helped cure the arguments for diesel engines being slow. The issue of diesel noise, or “diesel clatter”, has been addressed with the improvements in direct injection, and electronic engine controls, as well as higher-quality diesel fuels. Tail pipe emissions from diesel powered vehicles have been improved in modern diesel engines by reducing waste fuel. It’s the wasted fuel in a diesel engine under load that produces black smoke, and this has been nearly eliminated with modern electronic engine and emissions controls.

Diesel performance can be further improved by installing a K&N diesel air intake system such as number 77-3063KTK as shown on this 2004 Chevrolet Kodiak CK4500 6.6L V8 Diesel

To keep inlet air temperature within factory specifications the K&N diesel air intake for 2010-2012 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 Cummins 6.7L diesel models uses an enclosed air filter box

While modern advancements in diesel technology have made a world of difference, these same advances have made improving diesel performance more difficult. The basic principal behind increased diesel performance is to increase air in the cylinders allowing more fuel to be burned and more horsepower and torque to be produced. Forced air induction, like that provided by superchargers and turbochargers, accomplishes the task of increasing air pressure loaded into the cylinder. However, most diesel engines are already equipped with forced induction from the factory.

That’s where K&N air filters steps in with a diesel air filter or diesel air intake to improve diesel performance over the factory design. Most diesel cars and trucks are equipped from the factory with restrictive disposable air filters which are housed in a confined factory air filter box. After that, the air is routed through convoluted factory air intake tubing which disrupts, and can even impede, airflow into a diesel engine. By eliminating some or all of these points of restriction with a K&N diesel air filter, or diesel air intake system, K&N Air Filters is able to improve diesel performance by increasing horsepower and torque output.

K&N performs diesel air filter and diesel air intake testing to ensure a K&N diesel filter provides engine protection, improved diesel performance, and operates within factory specifications

K&N designs a diesel air filter to higher specifications than a standard K&N auto air filter with deeper pleats for more surface area and more layers of cotton in different grades

Eliminating the restrictive disposable diesel air filter, constricted factory air filter box and the convoluted air intake tubing will reduce restriction and improve efficiency, but that is just part of the diesel performance equation. K&N engineers pay special attention to air temperature as it travels into the engine. Because cooler air has more mass it promotes more efficient combustion. The ability of an engine to work efficiently is essential to making power and improving diesel performance. The engine control unit (ECU) in modern diesel pickups and cars can adjust engine performance as air temperature increases forcing the engine to run more conservatively and make less power. This means diesel air filter and diesel air intake placement is important to assure proper flow, temperature, and quality of incoming air for peak diesel performance.

When K&N engineers design a diesel air filter or diesel air intake much consideration is put into improving diesel performance without sacrificing engine protection with a K&N diesel filter. Normally a K&N diesel air filter is built to higher specifications than our standard automotive air filters. The typical K&N diesel air filter is made with deeper pleats for more surface area and more layers of cotton in different grades to achieve higher levels of filtration efficiency. K&N performs filtration efficiency testing following the internationally recognized ISO 5011 protocol to guarantee that our air filters will provide high airflow without sacrificing engine protection..

Diesel air filter filtration efficiency isn’t the only aspect of engine protection. A K&N diesel air filter, as well as a K&N diesel intake, undergoes airflow, dynamometer, and over-the-road testing to ensure that our product will improve diesel performance without causing drivability issues. Modern diesel engines are required by federal law to run within such narrow operating parameters that K&N engineers must be careful to increase diesel performance without upsetting electronic engine controls. K&N does its homework to ensure a K&N diesel air filter or diesel air intake system can provide improved diesel performance without the need for further modifications.

K&N has been committed to improving diesel performance since the 1990’s when diesel engines became popular in full-size pickup trucks. A listing of K&N diesel air filter and diesel intake offerings can be found on the Diesel Filter Performance - Air Intakes & Air Filters page, or use the K&N product lookup tool to find a diesel air filter, or diesel air intake for your vehicle.

K&N automotive filters proudly supports 2014 Woodhull Raceway Crate Sportsman Track Champion Russell Morseman III and the number 44 Morseman’s Racing Dirt Modified Car

Following in the footsteps of his father, Russell Morseman the third began racing go-karts at the age of sixteen. Russ continued karting for four years before building a Street Stock racecar. After racking up multiple track championships in the Street Stock class Morseman decided to move up to a Dirt Modified car where has continued to be successful.

Russ Morseman depends on K&N air filters, oil filters, crankcase breather filters, fuel filters, custom air cleaners, and more when on the race track and for his personal street vehicles

Of the 2014 race season Morseman said “It’s been an up and down year but all in all a great year.” Out of eighteen races in his number 44 Dirt Modified car, Morseman stood on top of the podium for two feature main victories and had five heat race wins. The vast majority of the season saw Morseman finish within the top five. Consistency is the key to winning championships and making the top five in fifteen races was the kind of consistency Morseman needed to capture the 2014 Woodhull Raceway Crate Sportsman Track Championship.

Consistency in racing cannot be achieved without proper maintenance, preparation, and top-notch products. Russ Morseman depends on K&N air filters, oil filters, crankcase breather filters, fuel filters, custom air cleaners, K&N cleaning products, and more both on the track and for his street vehicles. “K&N filters are hands down the best filter on the market. I have never had a part failure due to one of their filters. I have K&N filters and intakes on all the cars I own.”

K&N believes in supporting up and coming racers and grassroots motorsports. K&N is proud to sponsor Morseman’s Racing and the number 44 Dirt Modified Car. Be sure to keep an eye on Russell Morseman the third as he hopes to one day move up to the NASCAR series. Of his future Morseman said “My goal is to get on some asphalt. I want to run in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East too. We will continue to take it one step at a time. So far everything is working according to plan."