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Tommy Phillips got his 23rd NHRA National Event win during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee.
Now in his fourth season competing in his 1957 Corvette Roadster, Tommy Phillips has even more reason to love the car after he acquired his 23rd NHRA National Event during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee.
Phillips, who competes very successfully in both Super Comp and Super Gas, found himself with an uncharacteristic early exit in Super Comp when he bowed out in round three to eventual class winner, Shane Carr. But it was a whole different story over in Super Gas.
Tommy Phillips' 1957 Tiger Flow/K&N Corvette Roadster
Phillips was on an absolute beeline for the final right from the start, with the very tight packages he put together in his Tiger Flow/K&N Corvette, in the ultra-competitive 9.90 index class.
In round one, Phillips put together a very safe .014 light and a 9.907 to take out his competition and place himself number four on the qualifying ladder for round two pairings where he would meet up with Richard Campbell. Campbell gave it a good shot, but with Phillips' .009 total package which included his near perfect reaction time, there was little room for him to get in and Phillips was on his way to round three.
It would be an easy lap for the Texas resident in the next round as his opponent, Dale Koncen was timed out at the tree, sending Phillips on a single and giving him an extra free shot at the track to dial his car in just that much more.
The competition single proved to be a bad thing for the gentleman in the other lane during Phillips' quarter final match up. With a .013 light and a dead-on 9.900 ET, Phillips held off Division 1 standout, Tom Stalba all while taking nearly foot feet at the stripe.
"That was the key round," he confessed. "I had just lost in Super Comp, and had to face Stalba in Super Gas. Anyone who follows the sport knows he's a top contender, so I had my hands full. He hit the brakes at the finish line, and I didn't do a horrible job but I took the stripe by more than I wanted to. It just worked out: 9.900. Like I said, that could've easily been 9.899. But when it's your day the thousandths fall your way. This time they fell my way."
Next Phillips sent David Owens packing in the semi-finals after more than doubling him at the hit and sailing past Owens 9.904 effort, when he squeezed the margin of victory to a mere .005 at the finish line.
Over on the other side of the ladder, Scott Lawton had a mixed bag of luck when his semi-final match up ended in a single after his competitor broke, but picked up a few gremlins of his own on his way to meet up with Phillips in the championship round.
With the Thunder Valley Nationals plagued by rain on two different occasions, NHRA was running rounds at a very rapid pace Sunday evening, with barely enough time for teams to do the minor between round maintenance, let alone anything major.
Lawton made it to the line but was unable to launch and could only sit and watch Tommy Phillips drive away to his 23rd NHRA National Event Wally, in his 29th final round.
"What can you say when things fall into place," noted Phillips. "My Tigerflow and K&N Engineering backed Corvette Roadster was flawless. My driving was pretty solid, and I got the breaks when I needed them. My first two opponents made really good runs, but we were able to be just a bit better. In the quarterfinals, I ran 9.900 against Tom Stalba. That could've easily been 9.899; and we might be talking about his victory. Then Scott Lawton broke in the semi's and limped the car up for the final round. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic to win the race; but no one wants to win that way. I felt bad for him."
Let's face it, there seems to be something to the old expression, "Ladies First." In this case, it's NHRA Pro Stock driver Erica Enders, the only lady currently competing in the highly competitive class. Erica was the first team to qualify number one right out of the gate during the NHRA season opener earlier this year in Pomona and she did it again during the NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk. That made her the first to grab all the available points and the bonus money to start off the new season of qualifying for the 2012 K&N Horsepower Challenge.
K&N Horsepower Challenge and NHRA Pro Stock Driver Erica Enders
The jam-packed schedule for the NHRA event in Norwalk, Ohio originally had the normal four professional qualifying sessions planned, two during Friday's festivities. Once again, Mother Nature had a say in that and due to constant on and off again rain, the complete day and on track activities for all classes were cancelled.
That left two sessions for Saturday, in addition to the running of the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge. Originally, the eight teams in the Challenge would have run the first round as a part of the third session. Since not one professional category had been down the track during the event, NHRA officials made some schedule adjustments, which allowed the Pro Stock teams to get in a session first, prior to the first round of the Challenge.
"We thought we might still get at least one round in one Friday, but the rain just kept on coming," she explained. "The round we got before the Challenge was beneficial. When we got up there, we just wanted to make sure we got down the track for qualifying purposes. We may have been a slight bit conservative."
New Orleans based Enders, who was number eight in the challenge by winning the fan vote, has had a very strong entry as of late. She managed to nail the number three spot with a 6.591, just behind Rodger Brogdon's 6.587 and Jason Line's 6.598.
Round one of the K&N Challenge was held during the second and final session of Pro Stock qualifying, so while the other teams were just looking to improve and get their race day setups, the eight teams in the Challenge had that and more on their plates.
"We knew going into the Challenge we had to be on," she continued. "We were paired with Jason Line and he's not only a great driver but they have tremendous horsepower."
Ender's team stepped it up for the session and not only did she send Line back to the trailer in round one of the Challenge with the .009 margin at the stripe, she also took her ZaZa Energy Cobalt right to the pole position when she put a 6.585 up on the board. That ET also took away the track Pro Stock ET record set just a short time earlier by Brogdon in session number one.
While Enders wasn't able to pull out a victory in the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge, she was quick to point out how much being a part of the elite race meant to her. "I was very honored to be a part of the race," she said. "K&N does a great job with it. All those drivers in Pro Stock are so appreciative of the fact that K&N puts it on in the first place. For my fans to come through for me like that and to get me into this race, I just can't be thankful enough."
"It was unfortunate that we were unable to actually earn a position based on actual points, due to my limited schedule last year," she continued. "Coming into this season with Cagnazzi and having a competitive car and team, hopefully we will solidify a spot in the Challenge for us next year. My guys have given me an awesome car all year long. We win together and we lose together. It is absolutely the best team atmosphere I have ever been involved with."
Enders is already on her way. With the number one qualifier at the Norwalk, Ohio event, she grabbed the maximum 175 points along with the cool $3,000 bonus check from K&N Engineering.
After several back-to-back weeks on the road, the Pro Stock teams get the holiday weekend to spend with their family and friends before heading to the next event on the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle schedule, Route 66 Raceway, in Joliet, Illinois July 9-12 and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals.
There are many young, second generation drag racers who get their start in the sportsman ranks of NHRA. Super Stock driver Mike Mans is no exception. He has been involved with his family racing efforts for as long as he can remember. His parents were heavily involved in drag racing through his childhood as his father started racing Stock Eliminator with a 1969 Camaro Z/28 in the late 1970's and moved up to Super Stock in the late 1980's until present time. When Mike turned 16 his father passed his place in the driver's seat to Mike. In Fact, Mans' first big win came during a $12k Stock/Super Stock event when he was a Senior in High School.
Mike Mans has been involved with his family racing efforts for as long as he can remember.
Running out of NHRA Division 5, Mike Mans has followed in his father's, also a national and divisional race winner, footsteps and has had his share of success. "I've been fortunate enough to win a national event (Chicago, 2006), and collect 6 LODRS divisional event wins in 9 finals over the course of my career." His first divisional win came against his father in the final round at his home track of Brainerd, MN in 2001. He also qualified #1, and set the national record that same weekend! In addition to these achievements Mans has finished in the National Top 10 in points with #9 place in 2006 and #6 place in 2007. The Mans Family also runs an in-house engine program and has set 5 national records and won class eliminations over 25 times.
Mike credits his family as one of the reasons for his success "My Dad's support and experience has been by far the biggest influence on my success and racing with your dad is definitely the most fun a son can ever have. My mom has always been 100% excited about racing and tries to attend every race she can throughout the year. She is far more instrumental in our success than she realizes with the help she brings to the table. Her experience and confidence on finding the best groove on the starting line has helped us make good runs when nobody else can get off the starting line - and having that really keep my confidence high as a driver. She gets extremely nervous when eliminations roll around, but I think that somehow makes me calmer by joking around with her when the time comes to get to work."
Mike Mans Racing Super Stock Pontiac Firebird
After a roller coaster start to the year, Mike qualified for the Jeg's All-Stars race representing Division 5 in the Super Stock category. "I was definitely excited to be a part of such a big event! It's a huge honor to qualify for the All-Stars race with the rest of the Division 5 team." Now halfway through the 2011 season, Mike is finding his groove. "My dad has been hard at work in the shop preparing everything and I am confident that we will roll into Joliet, IL for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals with both guns loaded and ready to put up a fight against the other 7 drivers! Our motto has always been that preparation is 75% of this sport, and when you are in an 8 car field consisting of world champions and perennial Top 10 finishers - you had better be prepared!"
One of the things the Mans Family does to prepare is making sure they have K&N Filters installed on their car. Every part in the Mans Racing Pontiac Firebird is equally demanding of quality and performance, that's why they depend on the K&N filters to keep their motors at peak power and consistency. "Every racer will tell you that we couldn't do what we do without the support of great people and companies behind us. In addition to the great people at K&N, we are fortunate to have Red Line Oil, Mickey Thompson Tires, and Jeg's Mail Order in our corner."
The Thunda got its start as a bronco horse for the Rugby League team, the Brisbane Broncos.
It seems only fitting that only days before the 4th of July we report that the Australian based, KC's Fireworks Displays Aust Pty Ltd, has joined forces with Riverside, California based K&N Engineering. Their unique agreement will feature K&N products on all KC's vehicles in shows across three continents for the next year.
KC's Fireworks Outback Thunda will once again fly the K&N flag when it competes in the Paul Shafer Motorsports Monster challenge.
For over 20 years, KC's Fireworks have put together fireworks displays, or a variety of other forms of entertainment, for their global customers. To date they have produced over 2000 fireworks oriented shows around the world. Over the last two decades their shows have grown from world-class fireworks displays and a compelling multimedia "Water Screen Spectacular," to now include stunts and monster trucks.
In Australia KC's has already kicked-off a brand new 12 date "Hell Raisers of Insanity Extreme Stunt and Monster Truck Show" tour that officially started in Darwin on June 11. The show features car stunts by Florida based Chris Morena, motorcycle stunts by the legend himself Doug Danger, a brand new Jet Quad built by USA's Tim Arfons, Roly Poly Cars and trucks, and Drago the transformer dragon.
Drago, we are told, transforms into a towering giant dragon, dino-like, winged fire-breathing monster, capable of delivering an atomic blast with his breath, and it has terrorizing laser piercing eyes. The Drago experience is a sixteen-minute show and is geared at the younger children's market. Kids that have seen it around the world seem to love it.
The monster sized fireworks shows will also launch a new style of monster truck action shows featuring Thrillmaster, Taz and Scooby Monster trucks. The Monster trucks will compete in a special race series, as well as a trick show and the normal freestyle.
At the same time, plans are well under way with Thailand based promoter, Myke Brown, to launch a "World Monster Truck Racing Series" in Central Asia in mid September. This show will feature four monster trucks and all of them will be running brand new K&N products.
And of course, there are the fireworks and laser light show, Freestyle FMX, Jet Cars and a full support show. KC's owner, Clive Featherby, will head the Australian side and USA drivers Dan Patrick, Bobby Holman and Paul Shafer, are all expected to appear during the tour.
Completing the totally terrific trifecta, KC's favourite baby, the brand new Outback Thunda truck that now lives full time in Westville, Indiana, will once again fly the K&N flag when it competes in the Paul Shafer Motorsports Monster Challenge at Dupage county fair on July 30.
The Outback Thunda originated in 2003, after spending two years being a bronco horse for a Brisbane based Rugby League team, the Brisbane Broncos. After travelling to the USA to promote a number of shows on the east coast, Featherby concluded that his vision had always included a more significant venture into what he terms, "the big world of America," hence a more overall Aussie name was needed, something with the outback mentioned. At the time Thunderstruck was playing everywhere, so Featherby came up with "Outback Thunda" and from there an Australian Monster truck star was born.
The Monster Challenge at Dupage will also feature the likes of the legend Monster Patrol and Ballistic Monster trucks and many more, in a full on side-by-side racing and freestyle Inter-Nations shootout.
Featherby says "I'm very grateful for the K&N support and I hope all forthcoming productions and shows worldwide this year will be great promotions for K&N Air Filters."
The 15-year-old kart racer already has ten years of racing experience and seven championships.
For seven time kart champion Kyle Denmyer, any stretch without a win is way too long. The Joppa, Maryland racer competes in the non-restricted Briggs 340 and Animal 340 classes, and last week at Hunterstown Speedway, Denmyer at last put it all together for his first win of the 2011 season. Last season in his inaugural year competing in the adult classes, Denmyer became the Briggs and Stratton 340 Champion on the same track.
Kyle Denmyer got his first Animal 340 win last weekend at Hunterstown Speedway.
In the Animal 340 class Denmyer started the heat race in seventh position, but he wasted little time moving to the front, and went on to win his heat. Then, starting on the pole in the feature, Denmyer had a sluggish start, but was patient and he was back out front within five laps and pulling away from the field. Denmyer stretched his lead and put his K&N sponsored No. 38 kart in victory lane.
"It felt awesome to finally get back in victory lane," Denmyer told K&N Race News, "It has been a rough start to the 2011 season. With the tough competition you have to be up on the wheel every lap, but with about 20 more races left in the season, I'm feeling pretty confident that we will have the 38 back in victory lane."
In the Flat 340 Denmyer was leading until the white flag lap, that's when he was hit in the left rear, sending him into the wall. The kart had some damage, but his team was able to get it fixed in time for the feature. Starting the feature from the back, Denmyer quickly made his way through traffic pulling off a strong third place finish.
Denmyer loves his local Gettysburg, Pennsylvania track, and his dog loves him.
Racing in the Flat 340 was a great opportunity for me," Denmyer said. "The kart is owned by, Walt and Dotty Smith, and they thought enough of me as a driver to put me in their kart. It was a learning curve since I have never raced this chassis, so we are still trying to get all the bugs worked out of it, but I think we will be in the front of the pack real soon."
The K&N sponsored driver currently is in second place in the Animal 340 and third in the Flat 340 point standings.
"Like always, the goal I set out for every year is to win the championship and to win a Burris Money Series race, but if that is not possible I would like to put the K&N Air Filters and Dart Power Racing Engines 38 in victory lane as much as possible."
Denmyer's next race is back at his local Hunterstown Speedway in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
"I race there on Saturday nights, after that there will be a Burris Money Series race on Sunday July 17, then on to Selinsgrove Speedway July 30, and Path Valley Speedway, August 14 for the PDKS (Pennsylvania Dirt Karting Series)."
