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NASCAR Modified Racer Jessica Clark Discusses Ron Sutton's Winner Circle & Gives Racing Update

Dec 21, 2012

Clark plans on continuing to race the NASCAR Modified for one at least one more season in 2013.

Pigtails and sixteen - that was Jessica Clark back in 2009 when we first discovered her stirring up a ruckus on the racing radar. At the time, setting aside time to answer interview questions from a sponsor got delegated to the backseat, Clark had more pressing priorities after all. She was fully focused and dedicated on maintaining a 4.0 GPA at Westlake High School, and how do you not immediately admire that kind of clear thinking from a kid? Clark is unmistakably one of those much needed overachievers that continue to push the learning curve forward so that the rest of us are shamed into achieving anything at all. Clark isn't a kid anymore, and as much as things have changed outwardly, the internal mechanical foundation that makes her tick has only been fortified, reinforced and polished to a diamond luster.

During the 2010 through 2011 race season Clark competed in the Western USAC Ford Focus Midget series and the NASCAR Whelen S2 Limited Late Model Series. She had 1 feature win, 1 pole, 9 top-three finishes, 19 top-five finishes, and 30 top-ten finishes.

"I also became the first female in USAC history to win two championships in one year," Clark adds. "I won the Western States Pavement Ford Focus Midget Championship and the Southern Pavement Ford Focus Midget Championship. My 2012 NASCAR Whelen All American Modified/Star Grand American Modified racing season recently ended, and on a strong note. I was not able to find the funding for a full season of racing, so I raced two thirds of a season. I finished off the season with a trophy dash win and a Star Grand American modified feature win. I will be racing NASCAR Whelen All American Modifieds next season at Stockton 99 Speedway with the hopes of turning it into a touring season."

On the subject of important lessons she's learned over the past few years Clark says. "On the driving side of racing I have learned that my ability to give accurate and detailed feedback to my crew is a necessity to improve our chances for a successful race.

Jessica Clark acknowledges that Ron Sutton's Winners Circle program has taught her to be a better racer and a more confident and astute young woman.

On the business side of racing I have learned that the key to any sponsorship is to treat it as a business partnership in which I, the driver, am a marketing partner. I have learned that a sponsorship is not a 'handout' to an 'up-and-coming racer.' It is an investment in a strong and lucrative form of marketing." It's only reasonable at this point to mention that there are veteran racers that never grasp that concept any better, or articulate it any more succinctly, than Clark just did.

Concerning her continuing involvement with the Ron Sutton's Winners Circle (RSWC), "It has been a blessing to my life's journey," she acknowledges. "It is a racing team that is dedicated to developing young, talented drivers to have a viable chance at a career in the NASCAR Cup series. I have been racing for RSWC for four years and I consider all drivers and crew members as my extended family. I was accepted on the team at the age of 14 and I was extremely shy, unconfident, and not business minded at all. After my first year on the team I had gained loads of self-confidence and I became quite outgoing."

"I attribute this growth of self to the in-class training days that we have each year during the off season. The topics of the classes include: fitness, chassis tuning, data acquisition and analysis, how to conduct yourself in interviews, sponsorship and marketing, etc. RSWC provides all the tools to become a well rounded driver on and off the track. I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this team because it has not only turned me into a knowledgeable and experienced racer/business woman, it provides me with life skills and lessons that are priceless and will benefit me regardless of the whether or not I achieve a career in NASCAR."

Clark's short term plans are to continue racing the NASCAR Modified for one more season. Her long term goal is to be racing in either the K&N East Series or the ARCA Series within the next three years. "Five years from now I plan to be racing for a NASCAR Cup team," adds Clark.

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 Filters Talks With Honda East Program Manager/Racer/Employee Brandon Jones

Dec 18, 2012

Extreme Dirt Track Pro-Am ATV Racing Podium (left to right)Brad Riley (2nd), Harold Goodman (1st) , Chuckie Creech (3rd)

It is said that when you love what you do, you’ll never have to work again. So, when motorsports racing is all you know, love and do, working at a motorsports dealership that has its own full-time race team has got to be a dream job. We got the opportunity to chat with Brandon Jones, a racer and full-time employee at Honda East Toledo who walked us through his highs and lows as a racer and landing his “dream job.”

“Ever since I was 15 years old, I had lived and breathed racing,” Brandon explained. “I made huge sacrifices over the years to put racing as my main priority. During my senior year of high school, while most of my friends were applying to colleges, I was mapping out my race schedule. Every weekend I would be at a different track perfecting my riding game. After the 2008 AMA ATV Motocross season, a sponsor picked me up for a full ride. All I had to do was show up and race, it was good gig.”

But things didn’t play out. Brandon explained, “Before round 1 in 2009 of the AMA ATV Nationals, I was in Florida training as a full time AMA Pro-Am racer for several weeks. I became sick with the flu at round 1 and was unable to race the event. After round 2 of the nationals and finishing solid, I broke my hand in accident that ended my 2009 season.

“By that time, I realized that I couldn’t risk racing anymore with my son getting older. In the Spring 2010, I came to Honda East after racing for 10 years. Here, it only seemed natural to put together a rider support program since its what I have done and known so well. In late 2011, I put together a little program that had some great discounts to racers, as well as re-energized my need for racing.”

Honda East has quite a rider support program that suites Pros to Average Joes

Besides forming and managing the Honda East racer support program, Brandon raced the first 3 events of the AMA nationals and claimed all top 5 finishes earning 8th overall in National point standings in its first year in 2011. “Continuing on in 2012,” Brandon continued, “I wanted to take our program to the next level and get some top caliber racers and sponsors for the Honda East team. I personally went through and reviewed every racer application from every amateur and pro to validate their resume credentials as I wanted to make sure we had loyal and honest racers representing Honda East and our sponsors involved.”

His efforts paid off, and saw more championships in one year than anyone at Honda East could’ve imagined, including both the Pro and Pro-Am Championships in 2012 AMA Extreme Dirt Track, three 2012 AMA Motocross Nationals championships in Super Mini, 90 Modified and Girls (6-11), and four podium finishes for Girls (6-11), Junior 25 Plus, Veteran 30+A and 70 SS (6-11) 2012 AMA Motocross Nationals classes.

K&N air filters offer excellent protection and performance for all kinds of offroad race vehicles

Brandon accredits these sweeping wins to Honda East’s rider support for just about any type of performance racing, sponsoring Super Bike racers, motocross, snowmobile, side-by-side and even mini-sprints. Brandon continued, “It does not matter what skill level you race or class. We sponsor full blown professionals to local weekend warrior riders.”

When it came time to source manufacturers to help keep the Honda East team in the lead, approaching K&N Filters was a “no-brainer.” He explains, “We broke down what a machine needs to win by part and listed the best company next to it to seek sponsorship interest. We knew there was not another filter company out there to sift dirt out with maximum performance and reliability in mind, the rest is history. You just can’t beat the reliability, performance, quality and peace of mind that you are using the best products. Those are the greatest benefits for our program.”

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 Engineering and Italy's Bimota Motorcycles Join Forces as Official Technical Partners

Dec 18, 2012

The K&N and Bimota connection was a technical partnership over a year in the making

It’s 1972 at the Circuito Internazionale Santamonica, an Italian race track located near Misano Adriatico, a Province of Rimmi. Hunched in the gravel trap at the Curva della Quercia (Curve of the Oak) is an injured Massimo Tamburini. The downed racer is about to make a decision that will shape the future of motorcycling. In a heap next to him lays his battered Honda 750 race bike. Nursing three broken ribs Tamburini concludes that the Honda’s frame simply wasn’t up to the task of handling all the horsepower and G-forces created during racing. He decides that the only solution is to build his own frame and swing-arm, and in that fortuitous moment Bimota Motorcycles was born.

Bimota the company was actually formed in 1966, at the time they specialized in heating systems. The original founders were Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini. The company’s name comes from the first two letters of their surnames – Bi-Mo-Ta. Tamburini however was the bike nut, and in his spare time he used his engineering skills to create very custom, one-off, “specials.” Tamburini’s reputation for excellence in the world of motorcycle racing had already been established when the decision to split the company into two divisions was made in 1972.

Bimota the Italian motorcycle manufacturer started at first by developing their own frame designs, and using the existing engines from the top-end models of Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki. Later on in the 1980’s, Bimota also started using Yamaha and Ducati engines for their production models. The current production models only make use of Ducati engines, with the exception of a prototype model unveiled at the EICMA Motorcycle Salon in Milan, Italy in November 2012, which uses the engine from the current BMW S1000RR.

K&N is very proud to announce that they have become an official technical partner of Bimota. The famous K&N logo will now be prominently displayed on the bodywork of every Bimota model produced with factory installed K&N products.

“It took us about six months to make this partnership a reality, although we started brief conversations with Bimota about air filter development back in 2011,” details Joost Adriaans, K&N’s EMEA R&D Manager and OEM Account Manager living in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands.

K&N and Bimota share a very similar business visions based on staying in the forefront of technical innovations

“At first, we were searching for the correct filters, making sure they were complimenting the high power output of the Bimota DB8 and DB11. Data showed that performance improved just as expected when a K&N air filter was installed, and that told us that our K&N filter was a perfect piece of the puzzle in the Bimota intake system.”

“Since K&N and Bimota are both companies with a very similar business attitude, the fit of this partnership is so perfect. We both try to be innovative and ahead of the game, using modern technologies and creative, effective designs in our work. Therefore we are very proud that we can apply our air filter technology to make these bikes perform even better than they already do.”

Adriaans’ role in this project involved making certain that both parties were provided with the proper information at all times. This included the handling of filter samples to administration discussions with K&N’s Marketing Director about the bodywork branding. “We all worked very hard on the realization of this partnership and the outcome is superb,” Adriaans adds.

“The idea to connect Bimota with K&N started when I first started thinking about the supercharger application. Personally, I associate the K&N brand with the one of the best examples of high performance engineering coming from the USA, and I’m a big USA enthusiast,” remarked Bimota’s Davide Comandini. “And what is more American then a supercharger application on an engine? This was my starting idea when I asked Joost if K&N would be interested to cooperate with Bimota.”

The new Bimota motorcycles with K&N air filter technology were a big hit at the EICMA show in Milan

Comandini is a highly accomplished and respected engineer with many years of motorcycle R&D factory experience. Until a few months ago, Comandini was the only person at Bimota referenced for engine developement and calibration, including all electrical parts applications. “Now I’m the project leader for the development of the DB11 VLX (with supercharger) and DB11 (naturally aspirated) engines,” he adds.

What was the initial overall reaction to the new Bimota motorcycles at the EICMA show? “The comments were unanimously great!” reports Adriaans. “Everyone loved the new bikes, especially the DB11 VLX, which uses a supercharger to take the standard 162 BHP of the DB11 all the way up to 191 BHP. Another favorite was the Tesi 3D. This bike uses a highly innovative steering mechanism to create a perfect weight transfer under braking and accelerating.”

Comandini concludes with his own world visionary prediction, “Soon the rest of the world will know about the K&N and Bimota partnership.”

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.

John Wargo from The Custom Shop Builds a 1971 Cuda and 2012 Durango for SEMA 2012

Dec 18, 2012

1971 Cuda sporting K&N filter at SEMA 2012

John Wargo is the owner of The Custom Shop, and for the last 25 years he has been building custom cars. He is known for high end customs as well as radical custom paint jobs which are evident in all of his builds. Another excellent talent of the Custom Shop is frame restorations. You can see his great talent in the 1971 Hemi Cuda he built for SEMA 2012. The owner of this car is Brad Weber.

This 1971 Plymouth Barracuda made a splash at the 2012 SEMA Show

For this car he used Blue Pearl and Brilliante Black paint that really makes the car sparkle. John did a very fine job in going into great efforts to make the interior follow the color scheme of the car. "It takes alot of hard work and dedication to make SEMA," John tells us. He has been building SEMA cars for 15 yrs completed every project because not finishing, he explains, "is not an option."

John has been using K&N products for the last 25 years. His first experience was way back in the 80's when he put K&N filters on his lifted Toyota Pickup 4x4. John uses K&N products because they have been around longer than his own business and it's a solid product. On the Cuda John used a cold air intake system, the car had a shaker hood so they wanted to ensure a way to get cold air into it. Other modifications include:

This 1971 Cuda was shown at SEMA 2012 by owner Brad Weber

-426 cubic inch Generation 3 Hemi motor
-Bowler Performance FL80E transmission
-Paddle shifter
-Leather and suede interior by Deno's Upholstery
-QA1 coil over suspension
-Alterkation sub frame
-Wilwood brakes
-Weld racing wheels
-Continental tires
-K&N Air Intake
-Magnaflow exhaust

K&N intake system part number 77-1560KTK was found on the 2012 Durango at the 2012 SEMA Show

Other than being shown at the SEMA 2012 the Cuda was shot for the Mopar Muscle and Popular Hot Rodding magazines. You can expect to see this sweet ride at a show near you once it goes on tour to select events.

A second vehicle in which John has recently built, is his wife's 2012 Dodge Durango. He chose this car to work on because he liked the style and he was able to add a SRT sporty theme to it, which is apparent in the custom paint job with the gray and blue outlines on the front end of the vehicle. The Durango is equipped with:

This 2012 Dodge Durango was displayed at the 2012 SEMA Show

-Lower suspension
-K&N Air Intake 77-1560KTK
-22" rims
-Two tone leather interior
-Custom paint
-Cowl hood
-Sony audio and video electronics

The Durango is going to be a demo car for the Custom Shop throughout 2013. It has been on display at the Muscle Car Nationals and hopefully in the future in will be featured in magazines. Outside of going to multiple car shows, John also plans to take this car on many cruises.

This 2012 Dodge Durango was build by The Custom Shop for the 2012 SEMA Show

John not only works on automotive side but powersports as well; specifically, Harley Davidson. The Custom Shop builds have been in 156 magazine features and 14 cover cars. He has been able to live his dream of building the best cars he can.

Make sure to check out Amber Logue's 2011 SEMA Dodge Charger, the Breast Cancer Awarenwss Dodge Challenger from SEMA 2011 and the Hot Wheels Die Cast SEMA 2008 1970 Plymouth Barracuda.

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.

More images of The Custom Shop SEMA Show vehicles:

SEMA 2012
Dodge Durango 22" Rims

SEMA 2012
Custom Dodge Durango

SEMA 2012
1971 Plymouth Barracuda

High Xpectations Builds 2012 Caddy CTS For the 2012 SEMA Show

Dec 14, 2012

Scott Lowe's 2012 SEMA show vehicle of choice was a matte black Cadillac CTS

Scott D Lowe, president and founder of High Xpectations, is no stranger to SEMA, as he attended his first event in 1999, and was obviously bitten by the bug. In fact Lowe and his restyling company recently built a 2012 Cadillac CTS with the 2012 show in mind.

“We have been building rides for SEMA for about ten years now,” explained Lowe, “and even won the award for Best Interior Design, presented by Chevrolet at the 2000 Light Truck and Tire Expo held in Detroit, Michigan.”

Referring to the theme behind the build, he continued, “The vision, initial color rendering, and the final product is exactly what it should be. Matte black exterior with touches of machine and chrome finishes set off with big red brakes on a lower suspension. I really like the matte look, and adding matte black wheels to the car really helps the other details pop out at you.”

One would be right in suspecting that hours of thought went into the project before the first wrench was turned. With all of his ducks in a row, Lowe first focused on providing a little extra "umph" to the Caddy’s overall performance. The Luxury CTS came off of the showroom floor with a single outlet exhaust. Opting to upgrade the exhaust, Lowe turned to MagnaFlow, who provided a dual stainless cat-back system.

This 2012 Cadillac CTS was not Scott Lowe's first SEMA show vehicle

Although satisfied with the stock JE5 brakes, the owner chose to powder coat the rotors matte black to improve aesthetics. Adding a little more punch to the looks, he added MGP caliper covers in a red finish with silver Cadillac CTS accents.

An E&G Classics, two-piece mesh grill fit perfectly into the theme. Lowering the stance of the ride with Road Magnet performance lowering springs lent to the specific look he was after.

This 2012 Cadillac CTS was wrapped and ready to show just in time for SEMA 2012

Of course, the appearance, overall feel and performance of any ride can be swayed by tires and wheels. That in mind, Lowe opted to go with Advanti Racing 15th anniversary 20X8.5‘ wheels. Their matte black finish, with a machined undercut, complimented the chrome package on the car and accentuated every detail.

The final modification of the car’s exterior was as important as any other change the vehicle had undergone, if not more so. Lowe opted to wrap the entire vehicle in a black matte 3M vinyl.

Confident that attendees of SEMA 2012 would find the car’s exterior stunning, he then focused on sprucing up the interior. Once setting his sights to the inside of the vehicle, Lowe turned to VizuaLogic to rig the vehicle with the latest innovations in electronics.

The wheels are on this 2012 CTS complete a show car look worthy of the SEMA Show 2012

Although the Cadillac CTS already sported a classy interior, the owner could still include a few more touches to the build that would separate it from the rest. In fact, he added a one-off floor mat set from Auto Custom Carpet. The new rug added punch to the remainder of the build - a silver mink loop material, with the Cadillac logo in black scriptwriting.

With the interior and exterior of the vehicle meeting Scott D. Lowe’s standards, it was time to crawl under the hood. Lowe opted to install a Triple Threat Ny-Trex wet full nitrous system by Design Engineering Incorporated.

That extra boost of power was welcomed by the owner, but he also understood that no modification was more important than keeping the internal components of his engine contaminant free. That in mind, he finished the build off with a bang by installing K&N oil and air filters.

“Adding K&N to the car was a no-brainer. When thinking of upgrading our air system, the first name that came to mind was K&N,” recalled Lowe. “I began using products on our first project car back in 1998. We noticed performance benefits, as well as fuel cost savings. Basically, the overall drivability of our vehicles has improved.”

Much preparation went into this 2012 Cadillac CTS for the 2012 SEMA Show

With SEMA 2012 behind them, Scott D. Lowe and High Xpectations are already looking forward to the future. “I am already looking forward to the new C7 2014 Corvette in January, as well as the newly redesigned Silverado,” he explained. “I am hoping to add both of these vehicles to our stable for entrance in SEMA 2013.”

In closing, Lowe said, “I would like to thank my wife, Jean, for all of her love and support. We were just married in June, and she has been very understanding during the build. I would also like to thank the unbelievably talented High Xpectations Graphics designer, Mark Cisney. Without him, I would have a vision in my head, and no design on paper.”

Also check out these related Cadillac news articles articles:

Performance Upgrades for Cadillac CTS
Land Speed Cadillac XLR

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.