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Mark Faul Makes it Back-to-Back Stock Wins at JEGS 2011All-Stars Event in Joliet

Aug 8, 2011

The five-time All-Stars racer is currently headed back home to Washington for the Seattle National.

In classic case of déjà vu all over again, Mark Faul, from Tacoma, Washington made it two-in-a-row at this year's 2011 JEGS All-Stars event at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Illinois. The five-time All-Stars player grabbed the win in Stock, after taking the starting line advantage, and winning the double break-out race over another K&N sponsored driver, Slate Cummings.

Mark Faul made it back-to-back All-Stars wins, taking out Slate Cummings with a double break-out victory.

Last year when K&N Race News reported on Faul's All-Stars win he remarked "Victories like winning the JEGS' All-Stars definitely make it worthwhile. I'm fortunate to have certain freedoms without a regular job, and wins like this are necessary to be able to keep going."

After repeating this year, with his round three win in the NHRA Full Throttle Series, Faul added, "It feels great. It was a tough race weekend with the heat and humidity. I think I was able to focus well, and I was lucky to get the job done."

About squaring off with Cummings, Faul commented, "I knew how Slate had been driving, and I figured if I had a good reaction time and ran under my dial in, or close to it, I'd have a good chance."

Asked about winning Stock All-Stars back-to-back, he continued, "It feels incredible! I was fortunate enough to win last year, and to return this year as the blocker, and win again was great." Next up for Faul is the national event in Sonoma, California, then he heads back home for the Seattle National.

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Tommy Phillips Continues His Benchmark 2011 Season with JEGS All-Stars Win

Aug 8, 2011

Phillips said he intends on introducing his third team car around the U.S. Nationals event.

Pressure generates an ambiguous dilemma, so the distinction between winning, and yet another rationalization, is so often determined by which side of the two-head beast you chose to embrace. The laws of psychics dictate that pressure can either weigh us down, or push us higher. Tommy Phillips, the Forney, Texas, Texan has clearly aligned himself with the latter.

The All-Stars win at Route 66 Raceway added yet another ingredient to Tommy Phillipsâ€™ season to remember.

Over the course of his 20-plus year career, pressure has lifted Phillips to 23 NHRA national event titles and 27 NHRA Lucas Oil Divisional wins, along with his six NHRA Division 4 Championships. The K&N sponsored racer has finished in the top-ten an astounding 18 times, six of those come as the second place national finisher. The case can be made that Phillips competes with the ferociousness of a tiger, as depicted by his Tigerflow/K&N team paint scheme. Recently Phillips and his crew competed in the NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois; it was the team's sixth NHRA national event of the season, and when the smoke and rubber settled, the Tigerflow/K&N team stood tall, hoisting the Super Comp All-Stars gold.

With all that Phillips has accomplished thus far in his career, it's nearly incomprehensible to believe that 2011 is shaping up to perhaps become a defining season. What is it that continues to fuel Phillips to greatness, and why does he cuddle pressure with such affection? He claims its all luck. We think he's being respectfully humble.

How does it feel to get the round three win in the NHRA Full Throttle Series, does any one thing standout from the race, and what all went right to contribute to the victory?
"It felt great to get the win in the finals of the All-Star race. That is a very difficult race to even qualify for, and to win it is one of the most rewarding moments a sportsman racer can have in their career."

"There is a lot of pressure at the All-Star race, not only because the bonus money is very rewarding, but because you have teammates that are relying on you as well. The team concept is very unique in our sport, so I definitely wanted to have my 'A-game' with me, because I didn't want to let anyone on the team down. In qualifying for the race, we count all round wins within our LODRS events, with no waiver races. In other words, every race counts...good and bad. Even in the LODRS National Championship chase, we are allowed to take our best eight of 14 races, so the All-Star event is actually more difficult to win in some ways. It all adds up to a large commitment of time, effort, and financial obligation for each of the competitors that qualified for the event, and you have to be near perfect on one single day to reap the rewards. That's tuff! As a result, it was a huge relief and very rewarding, both individually and for our Division 4 team to leave Chicago as a 2011 JEGS All-Star Champion."

"As far as things going right for me to win - almost everything went right. My car has been really good all year and it was near flawless at this event as well. Gary Stinnett was having some mechanical gremlins that weekend, and didn't put down the run I would have expected, so I was able to take advantage and get the win light. I had some really good fortune in round two when, Sherman Adcock, broke on the starting line. He is a very consistently successful driver and drawing him at any event is no bargain at all. The fact that I got a free run when he broke was definitely a stroke of good fortune."

"The final really stands out because Michael Miller was the defending champion in Super Comp, a great racer, and I built the car he is driving. He and his family do an outstanding job with their race team, but that day it was just my time. It was a very close race and I was fortunate to get the win."

From your perspective how would you say your season is shaping up overall at this point?
"I am having a very good year so far and hope I can finish up. I am currently leading the LODRS national points championship in Super Gas, and fourth in Super Comp. There are several drivers that are right there with me though, so it will be a battle to the end. That's the best part of racing for a championship though, because I love it the best when it matters the most!"

What's up next for you and the team?
"I will introduce a third car to my team around the U.S. Nationals event. I am finishing up a 2005 Cavalier to run in Super Stock, which was prepared by Bret Voges, from Van Buren, Ohio. His stuff is always fast and flawless, so I am very excited to get my new car."

"In the meantime, I am off for three weeks, or so, and will spend that time with my family relaxing. I have a brand new granddaughter, Presley, and I am enjoying the time with her. She was born the day that I left for the All-Star event in Chicago. My next race will be in Cordova, Illinois for a LODRS Division 5 event, then on to Brainerd, Topeka, and Indy for the U.S. Nationals. I have 11 races in 14 weeks to close the year, plus four appearances at local vocational schools, so it will be a busy few months, but what a great and fortunate life I have to be able to do this!"

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K&N's Mike Ferderer Makes it Two for Two in NHRA Top Sportsman Events

Aug 8, 2011

Mike Ferderer grabbed his second NHRA Top Sportsman National Event Wally

While most know K&N's Mike Ferderer for his fantastic success in sportsman drag racing, especially in the index classes of Super Comp and Super Gas, it truly doesn't seem to matter what class the Washington state resident enters. Ferderer proved that during the 24th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals when he grabbed his second NHRA Top Sportsman National Event Wally, in only his second time entering the class.

Mike Ferderer and his K&N Pontiac Grand Am

"I guess you could say I'm batting a thousand," chuckled Ferderer, when speaking of his latest accomplishment. "I better quit while I'm ahead. I've only entered two [NHRA Top Sportsman Races] and I've won both of them."

Ferderer hasn't been on the scene as much as usual this season, due to several surgeries since learning of his prostate cancer in January of this year and a recent hernia surgery. "It's taken my eye off the ball, so to speak. We're getting back on track, but I wouldn't say we are one-hundred percent yet," he said of his medical situation.

Obviously, one would have never known of the hurdles Ferderer has overcome, as he did not show one ounce of weakness and was as strong as ever behind the wheel of his K&N Pontiac Grand Am in Sonoma, California all throughout both qualifying and eliminations.

"The car was pretty much flawless," he said of the weekend. "I just switched over to Red Line Oil and that really worked out good. Saturday I did a pretty good driving job, but Sunday I left my driving brain in the trailer or something. But luckily, I was able to make it through."

"You know to get ready to run in this class, there are a ton of changes that have to be made to the car," Ferderer pointed out. "You have to move the four-link, the shocks and this and that. Just a bunch of stuff has to be done. It's not just taking the stop off the car, not in my car."

Unlike many cars in Top Sportsman throughout the country, there are no power adders such as nitrous to be found on Ferderer's K&N Grand Am, just good ol' raw horsepower. "I had a guy come up to me and ask me what did that thing run, like he was almost in disbelief of what he saw. I said, oh 7.35 at almost 186. And he goes, 'With an air filter in the hood scoop?' And I said, 'Well yeah, it's a K&N Air Filter. That's why it goes that fast. Then he told me, 'Wow, I gotta get me one of those.' Yes, the K&N filters and scoops really do their jobs."

Ferderer qualified seventeenth and was paired up with Craig Olson in round one and while Olsen went .001 red, Ferderer would have been pretty tough to beat with his good light and 7.391 on his 7.39 dial. He went on to beat Johnny Matassa in round two but first killing him on the tree with his .004 to Matassa's .036 reaction time. That would set him up for a strange round in the quarter-finals with Curt Geise.

Both competitors started their burnouts and then Geise's turbo GTO got into his own oil and nailed the guard rail with the right front fender, which gave Ferderer a competition single and a chance to easily get his tune up ready for the semi-finals against Dan Borg. Ferderer had a very uncharacteristic late light and his competition just missed the tree going .005 red and send Ferderer into his second Top Sportsman final.

"As I mentioned before, on Sunday I just got lucky," confessed the multi-time NHRA National Event Champ.

"The final was a calamity in itself," explained Ferderer. "I was feeling very confident going into the final and I had been the slower car all day. So all I had to deal with was the delay on the starting line. I cinched her down a little bit and I figured a fifteen light would be good. And as it would have been, I forgot the guy next to me was dialed slower, so I had to use the cross-talk. I never used the crossover. So he went red by .002 and I went red by .202 because we both left at the same time."

"So that's why I was real-real lucky," he added. "I mean I know how to do it [cross-talk and being the quicker car], I just forgot to do it. I wasn't real proud of my driving but evidently I was making less mistakes than my competitors."

Ferderer was quick to point out the folks who helped him throughout the weekend to win his 23rd NHRA National Event Victory, "Mike Henderson, who runnered-up in Top Dragster. So towards the end there, we were both kinda busy. So he really couldn't help me anymore and I normally help him when I'm not running. Travis Hodges, who works with Steve [Williams] was helping both of us. So Travis pretty much gets all the credit for working on two cars over the weekend and getting both of them into the final."

"Travis worked his butt off. He was really the man of the hour," he continued. "Both K&N cars with Henderson and I, and it was just great."

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Allen Johnson Gains Ground in K&N Horsepower Challenge Standings After Repeat Pole in Sonoma

Aug 8, 2011

Allen Johnson at the 24th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway.

NHRA Pro Stock driver, Allen Johnson proved that his team has a tune-up to cover everything from the mountains to the valleys after putting together back-to-back number one qualifiers in Denver and more recently in Sonoma, California, during the 24th annual FRAM-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway.

Allen Johnson and his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger

Johnson and his Team Mopar Dodge Avenger were out of the gate very strong during the first session and posted a stout 6.576 at 210.37. Johnson's elapsed time was nearly a full four hundredths of a second in front of the second quickest effort of Erica Enders and the only car to make it into the fifties during the session.

The Mopar team was far from through and the evening session actually made for some great numbers from many of the NHRA Pro Stock teams. While seven other teams were able to break into the fifties, Johnson continued to lead the way when he made another huge leap to lower his earlier effort by almost three hundredths when he laid down a 6.547 at 210.50.

"We made a good run, the air was about a thousand foot [corrected altitude] and last year it was about four hundred," said Johnson. "That just goes to show you how much power we have picked up in Pro Stock in a year. If it would have been four hundred, we might have gone a 6.49."

Saturday's first Pro Stock session proved to be the best one for the Tennessee resident. Johnson and his team had managed to find just a little more on both sides of the timeslip, gaining just shy of a hundredth of a second all while boosting their MPH numbers. His 6.538 not only became the new Infineon Pro Stock Track ET Record, but Johnson also reset the MPH Track Record for Pro Stock with his 211.56.

"We had to change motors from last night. We came in the morning and had a little problem, so we had to put the back-up motor in," Johnson said after the track record setting run. "So it felt really good to do that."

Johnson is always quick to point out that his dad, Roy, "has got a handle on those Hemis."

"We've got about three or four we can put in there that'll do about the same thing. It's actually the engine we ran at Denver. We had a new one in for the first two runs that was even better. We carry about seven engines with us, and Vincent [Nobile] runs them, also. But just flip a coin which one you want to put in," he added.

During the fourth and final session, Johnson was off his early set pace and while he managed to stay in the fifties, made only the sixth quickest lap of the pack. 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge Champion, Greg Anderson made the best pass of the session with his 6.566, but was unable to improve on his earlier time and remained in the number two slot for Sunday's eliminations.

"That last run we were just a tick off of what we should have done there. We'll put it back like we did this morning and come back out," Johnson remarked of his final qualifying session numbers and thoughts on Sunday's set up.

Nonetheless of the final session, Allen Johnson and his team remained solidly in the top position on the NHRA Pro Stock qualifying sheet. With the feat Johnson gained the maximum qualifying points for the 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge and moved just thirty points out of number one, behind current leader, Erica Enders. While the points are extremely important to each and every Pro Stock team, so is the $3,000 Low Qualifier Bonus check awarded to the driver who grabs number one at each and every NHRA National Event.

"The K&N Horsepower Challenge is very important and much appreciated by all the Pro Stock teams," said Johnson. "What K&N continues to do for the sport and our class is fantastic. I hold the K&N Challenge in highest regard to everything, with the exception of the Pro Stock Championship itself."

The NHRA Professional teams will wrap up their three-race-in-a-row "Western Swing" this weekend with the 24th annual O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways just outside of Seattle, Washington. While no Pro Stock driver has a shot a win "sweep" this season, at least Johnson has a shot at sweeping in the number one qualifying department.

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.

Kekich Racing's Adam Bomb Explodes to his Best 410 Sprint Car Finish Yet

Aug 2, 2011

Kekich sets getting the ROY title as one of his race goals for 2011.

Growing up, Adam Kekich, the young-gun 410 Sprint Car talent from Hermitage, Pennsylvania, referred to as "Adam Bomb," had racing imprinted on his destiny as he watched his dad and uncles race.

"For as long as I can remember, all I ever wanted to do was race," Kekich told K&N Race News. "When I was eight-years-old I got my first go-cart. My dad (Mike) took me around Pennsylvania and Ohio, where I raced at different tracks every week.

Adam Bomb Kekich says the biggest adjustment moving into the 410 Sprint Car was how much faster it accelerated.

My first year racing we won the track championship at Slippery Rock Raceway.

In winning that first championship, the teenager captured a total of nine wins out of 12 races at the track. Kekich raced go-carts until he was 13 and then he upgraded to racing limited sprints for the next two years. Kekich capped off that experience by winning Rookie of the Year at Sharon Speedway.

"After those two years my dad gave me the opportunity to race the 410. Even though we only have half of the season completed, I have had a lot of fun, and I am enjoying every minute of it."

And why wouldn't Adam Bomb Kekich be enjoying himself, last weekend at Mercer Raceway Park it was a night of firsts for the Agway of Hermitage Sprint Car race team. With each race Kekich is getting visibly more confident and familiar with the 410 and his results continue to reflect that.

The third place finish at Mercer Raceway Park was Kekich's best 410 finish yet.

The No. 5K machine started the last of three heat races on the front row, and that is right where he stayed, leading all eight laps for his first heat race win in a 410 sprint. In his first lap Kekich recorded a blistering 14.98 circuit, one of the fastest laps of the night.

Pumped up by their driver's performance, the crew got busy preparing the car for the feature. "The car is just awesome tonight," Adam commented after his heat race. "It's such a pleasure to race this K&N sponsored, Kriner powered J&J every week."

In the feature Kekich lined up on the third row. After successfully avoiding being taken out in an early racecar flip, the young rookie settled into his rhythm, running a smooth controlled line and navigating through lapped traffic. By lap 19 Kekich worked his way up behind the leaders. He held on to finish in third place, recording his best finish of the year, and his first ever 410 podium.

"The biggest adjustment for me was the initial takeoff when I moved into the 410 Sprint Car," Kekich remarked, "Getting from point 'A' to point 'B' was so much quicker at first, but after a few races it has become just a normal reaction."

Kekich currently holds fourth place in the championship point standings, and he says that he and the crew are looking forward to a strong second half of the season. "These guys just put their heart and soul into this team and I am just so fortunate to be driving this car."

Kekich's goals for the remainder of the 2011 race season include getting his first 410 feature win, and finishing in the top-five, and to earn the Rookie of the Year title. "But, my main goal for every night is to load the car back up in one piece, and to learn something new after each race, to help me get better."

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