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Sheldon Gecker Wins Top Dragster for the Second Time This Season

Jul 11, 2011

NHRA/IHRA Racer Sheldon Gecker and son

After competing in the NHRA Divisional, Sheldon Gecker, of Surprise, Arizona, had one more stop to make before returning home. Sheldon rolled in to Salt Lake City on June 26 having already won one race in the Top Dragster class during the 2011 season, with anticipation of experiencing another successful outing. Just as the driver had hoped for, at the end of the weekend, he had managed to win yet again in the Top Dragster class at the IHRA event.

Sheldon Gecker grabs Top Dragster at 2011 IHRA Nitro Jam

According to Sheldon, 25 cars showed up at the event, and the competition was stiff. "For the most part, the competition was more than I expected, considering they don't usually run that category at that track," shared Gecker. "In that area of the country, there aren't a lot of racers competing in the Top Dragster class, but people showed up from different areas of the country. It was a different group of people than we normally see for the most part at the NHRA events. There were some pretty fast cars, cars that ran around 200 miles per hour at altitude. I was impressed," he continued.

When asked the importance of his recent win, Sheldon said, "It was important. With fuel prices around $4.00 per gallon, it's expensive to go down the road, so we're not competing in as many races as we would like.

"It's a good feeling getting caught up and starting to win some rounds. We were feeling pretty good going into this race, and were runner up just last week in Fallon, Nevada." explained Gecker.

Referring to the key to success during his most recent win, Sheldon suggested that regardless of venue, success depended a great deal upon having rapport with your vehicle, and knowing how it will perform under various track and weather conditions.

Sheldon stated that experiencing success throughout the remainder of the season depended partially upon actual time behind the wheel, and keeping your vehicle in one piece. "If you sit out too long, you tend to get a little stale," explained Sheldon. "If you start changing combinations and changing engines, the learning curve becomes too steep in a short season."

Sheldon said that his race car has been performing well throughout the season. According to the driver, of the five races they have competed in, Gecker and his crew have earned a spot in three finals. That said, the driver is aware that properly maintaining the internal components of their engine is of utmost importance. Speaking of K&N products, the driver said, "we use them on the air cleaner and the oil filters. We've been using K&N products for about 15 years, and have had very good luck with them. I think in any scenario, they're hard to beat," he continued. "Their filters are all-around good filters, and we've never had any problems with them. We use them on our support vehicles also."

Sheldon Gecker and his crew are presently in the process of preparing for upcoming divisional and national events to be held in Sonoma, California. According to the driver, the NHRA divisional race is scheduled for July 22-24, and the NHRA national event will take place one week later, beginning on July 29, and continuing through the 31st.

Sheldon Gecker stressed the importance of his team, and was quick to show gratitude toward his sponsors and fans. "Most of the products we run, we've used for the past fifteen or twenty years, because they're the most reliable products out there, and we can depend on them," shared Sheldon. In closing he said, "I'd like to thank our sponsors and fans for all of the support that we have received throughout the years."

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 Sponsored Adam Ellis Leads French Speedway Championship

Jul 11, 2011

Ellis believes that 2011 may be his best season so far.

European Speedway fans have a bright new star to illuminate the racing future of their sport. Adam Ellis is only 15-years-old, and after the first four rounds of the French Speedway Championship, Ellis has the points lead. The talented young racer took second place at Ledbury, United Kingdom, a third at Morizes, he won in Artigues de Lussac, and earned another second place in St. Macaire, the last three all being in France.

After the first four rounds K&N sponsored Adam Ellis leads the French Speedway Championship.

For those not up-to-date on Speedway racing, it generally involves four to six riders, racing four explosive counter-clockwise laps on hard dirt, grass, or loosely packed shale oval tracks. Adding to the controlled pandemonium is that speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes.

Clearly Ellis is an extreme sports fanatic, as his hobbies include surfing and snowboarding. Ellis in fact looks like he's straight out of Central Casting with his laid back Southern California appearance, although he calls Taillecavat, South of France his home. Ellis has more in common with So-Cal teenagers then he has differences, his favorite food is Chinese, his favorite song "Free Fallin" by John Mayer, and his movie of choice is "Jackass 3D." Ellis' biggest fans are his mum Julie, his dad John, and his sisters Leigh and Jasmine. For his racing ambitions Ellis simply says "To be the best!"

Ellis has finished on the podium in all of his first four races this year.

"In my first heat I had a bad gate, but I managed to work my way up to finish in second place, said the K&N sponsored rider, referring to the fourth round at St. Macaire. "The second heat went much better, and I led from start to finish, beating the current World 250cc Champion (Richard de Biasi). In my third, and last heat, I crashed while fighting for the lead, but neither me nor the bike was badly hurt, and I still had enough points to finish second overall in the meeting."

"My next meeting is the 250cc World Championship in Tayac, France," adds Ellis. "I am in good form and aiming for a place on the podium to make this season my best season so far."

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.

Hancock and Lane's Jeff Lane is Second All-Time in NHRA Divisional Wins

Jul 11, 2011

If you're a drag racing fan, you know who John Force is; Don Garlits is a household name; and you probably have Don Prudhomme's diecast on your mantle. But unless you follow the roots of drag racing, the sportsman ranks, you probably don't know who Jeff Lane is.

Hancock and Lane's Jeff Lane is second all-time in divisional wins in the NHRA.

Lane and his partner, Jerry Hancock, have been terrorizing the sportsman scene for over 30 years. Their Hancock and Lane team have combined to collect 7 divisional championships in three different classes, 8 National Event victories, 18 national records, a win at the prestigious JEG's All-Star Race, and two Driver-of-the-Year awards. And if that wasn't enough, Lane is second all-time in divisional wins in the NHRA.

This season, the team is off to another stellar start. With wins at Mission, Canada and Spokane, Washington, they sit second in national points. A win at their next even, in Woodburn, Oregon, would put them at the top of the Competition Eliminator point's standings. Their Chevy has been dominant this season, winning from the pole in a repeat effort at Spokane.

"It means you are doing well when you repeat," Lane said when asked about his teams second consecutive win at Spokane. "It keeps your confidence level up when you're able to repeat year after year."

"Every race track is unique and each race changes from year to year. Last year when we won at Spokane, it was really hot and slick. It was a drivers race. This year, the track was cool, but we had a great performance advantage."

Lane expects his team to continue its performance through the season, but this year they face an even greater challenge in their quest for a National Championship. The NHRA reduced Comp Eliminator races on the west coast, making every race essentially a must win.

"To do well without having to travel back east means we need to do well at the limited races that are available to us," Lane added.

With their innovative approach, there is only one brand of filters Hancock and Lane rely on.

"K&N racing is always on board with innovation and cutting edge technology. Whenever we need something made, they have engineers that we can talk with to try and sort out solutions. Their shelves are always stocked with oil and air filters, which we use on our race engines and towing equipment. K&N products are second to none."

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.

Cody Rahders' Brightest Moment in 2011 Came at the Historic Glen Helen Raceway

Jul 11, 2011

Cody Rahders' Podium at Glen Helen Raceway

In the ever growing world of off-road racing, one name sticks out when talking about the expanding UTV class; Cody Rahders. The youngster from Alpine, CA, is in his second season in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series' SR1 class. Last season, as a rookie, Rahders finished 5th in the championship chase. This year, he finds himself 4th, but the performance on the track is indicative of an even better season.

UTV Driver Cody Rahders is 4th in the 2011 championship chase

"I'd rate my season as a five on a ten scale," Rahders told K&N News. "We've had three victories, but far too many DNF's (did not finish). A blown hose at Firebird, a fire at Speedworld, two separate steering failures in Utah. That's just too many."

Rahders brightest moment in 2011 came at the historic Glen Helen Raceway, where he managed to recover from a rollover to win his race, earning a sweep of the weekend's events. "The sweep at Glen Helen showed me that I was able to come back from adversity and win. I feel it proved I'm a driver who never gives up."

Cody Rahders in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series' SR1 class

That quality must be true for Rahders. At round 8 in Utah, Rahders was walking away with the race, when his steering broke three laps from the finish. But he still has his sights set high for the rest of 2011. "My goal is to finish on the podium at every race for the remainder of the season."

And following Rahders to the podium will be K&N. "K&N makes my car perform faster and stronger. I have nothing to worry about. My air filter and oil filter always hold up under the constant strain of eleven thousand RPM. It lets me concentrate on one thing, winning!"

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.

Paul Brown Wins Again at Mosport and Regains Lead in World Challenge GTS Championship

Jul 11, 2011

Reclaiming the championship lead at the mid-season break was precisely what Tiger Racing's crew needed to keep the fire stoked for the rest of the season according to Brown.

After rounds five and six, the midway point of the SCCA Pro Racing Pirelli World Challenge season, Tiger Racing's Paul Brown has once more reclaimed GTS Driver's Championship lead, and in doing so has helped to increase Ford's lead in the Manufacturer's Championship. The weekend, like the roller-coaster that is Mosport International Raceway, had its ups and downs, but Sunday ended on a high note with Brown taking the checkered flag.

Paul Brown's second win of 2011 at Mosport positions him back on top of the SCCA Pro Racing Pirelli World Challenge season.

When asked about how the Lucas Oil/K&N Mustang Boss 302S was performing, Brown said, "Ford Racing has done such a good job with this new Boss Mustang program that it makes my job easy. The more I drive it, the more comfortable and the faster we keep getting. I would have to add that it was our ERP, custom valved, JRZ shock package that really helped us win this weekend too. This was Brown's second win of the 2011 season on the challenging track located north of Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

Halfway through the season, Paul Brown has led the most laps in GTS, has put in the fastest race lap five out of six times, qualified on the front row six out of six times, has three poles, two wins, one second place and is leading the Championship. The team is looking forward to a bit of a break, but also plans on some testing, media events and then getting back into it at Mid-Ohio.

Besides having Lucas Oil/K&N Mustang Boss 302S performing at its peak, Brown also credits his JRZ shock package for the win at Mosport.

You do like Mosport, what is it again that suits you so well about that venue?

"Mosport is one of those gut check tracks. In fact, the first time I raced there back in 1994, I slide my car off track and went over a tire wall. Luckily, we didn't do that this year! The track has a tremendous amount of character and I often describe it as a roller coaster for your car. It has huge elevation changes, with diving off-camber corners, rolling into hard uphill breaking, followed by a winding straight. Our Boss 302S has reached 147 mph at the end, before a fast sweeper into some "Esses," then back on the short front straight to do it all over again. It is very much a rhythm track. If you get it wrong, you lose a bunch of time, or can damage a car very quickly, as I found out years ago."

When he's not racing Brown busies himself attending media events such as the weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the 37th Annual Mid America Shelby and Ford Meet.

"Once you connect with the track, it becomes a pretty special place as you're rolling though the countryside, up and down the hills, through the woods and then you think, Mosport dates back to the early days of the thundering, big block, Can-Am cars like McLaren and Lola, and the screech of Formula 1 with Surtees, Stewart and Clark... what a time that must have been. Sometimes I feel privileged to be at these tracks. You almost feel like you become part of history. It's pretty cool."

Talk a little about those new ERP shocks, how much are you enjoying them?

"The guys at ERP (Eisenlohr Racing Products) are the US importer of the JRZ racing dampers and have been great to work with. ERP works directly with the factory in the Netherlands and we've been working together to develop a new shock package for the Mustangs. There are many cars in our series running the JRZs, but we are the only team using them on the new Boss Mustangs, and I think it's paid off. We also have JRZs on the K&N G35 that I drive in Redline's Pro Time Attack series, and I'm leading that championship as well... coincidence?"

"We have spent extra time examining every aspect that might give us that extra tenth a lap. Not only have we done this with JRZ, and helped them develop new parts for the Mustang, but we have also done this with Baer Brakes, who developed a new caliper for the class. Fluidyne upgraded our cooling system and Bassani added a 3" exhaust and free flowing mufflers, to name a few more."

"We've even spent time with the guys in K&N's race shop testing filters just to get that extra three horsepower. At this level, you can't just do what everyone else is doing, you need to do it for yourself and work outside the box.

How's it feel to regain the points lead before the break?

"The season so far has been a roller coaster and to take a break on the up side of things was really the morale boost we all needed. After falling out of Saturday's race with a mechanical issue, we lost the championship lead by 30 points. That was a big hit."

"I knew what I had to do on Sunday. I've won all kinds of races, in all different series, but this one was different. After the ups and downs of the season and the tireless work that the crew has put into this effort, it was the payback that we all needed to keep the fire alive."

When do you get back to racing?

"At this point in my career, I try to keep in a car as much as I can. We just did the Tulsa event for fun, then I jumped in a 1975 Alfa Romeo FIA prototype and spent the weekend testing at Pocono, prepping for a vintage race coming up in September. This weekend I'll be driving the K&N G35 in Redline's Time Attack and Pro Track Challenge to see if we can keep K&N on top there as well. After that we head back to the Midwest to make some required changes to the Boss 302S, do some more testing and then head to Mid Ohio Sports Car Course for the next two rounds of the Pirelli World Challenge Series. It's been a pretty crazy year so far, but I'm not sure I'd have it any other way."

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.