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K&N sponsored Team High Lifter - Polaris is very confident going into the last two races of the season.
While most of us are careful to maneuver around mud puddles, Team High Lifter - Polaris continues to be very successful at racing smack through them. A huge crowd of ATV enthusiasts were in attendance recently to catch the mud-whomping action at Lower Place Motorsports in Martin's Mill, Texas.
JW Otwell earned a third place finish in the Pro A Class on a Polaris Sportsman 850.
It has been a very triumphant year of racing indeed for the K&N sponsored Team High Lifter - Polaris, as they continue into the final stretch with plenty of momentum, capturing seven podium finishes so far, including two wins at Lower Place Motorsports.
Team racer Brian Robertson took first place in the RUV Class on his Polaris Ranger XP. His wife and teammate, Maggie Robertson, placed second in the Women's Class, riding a Polaris Sportsman 850, while team racer, JW Otwell, pulled out a third place finish in the Pro A Class on a Polaris Sportsman 850. The big winner of the day however was the newest member of Team High Lifter - Polaris Racing, Brian Haughton. Haughton took first place in the Bogger Class, on his Polaris Sportsman 550.
The Bogger Class name originally comes from a class used in the mud truck racing industry. It is a type of tire designed specially to be used in extreme mud driving. For ATV's it denotes the middle-class sized engines, single-cylinder 500cc and up. In the ATV mud racing industry the class criteria continues to evolve as the OEMs constantly make changes and we try to keep the requirements for each class as even as possible.
Haughton wasn't content with just the one victory though, he also took third place in the Open Class, on his Polaris Sportsman 850, and another third in the RUV Class, aboard a Polaris Ranger RZR-S.
"I'm very proud of the team's accomplishments this past season, remarked team manager Tracie Engi. "I believe one of the main reasons that we've done so well this year is a combination of a great group of dedicated racers and our fine tuned Polaris machines. Our team members spend a lot of time with their bikes making sure they are maintained and in top running condition at all times."
The 2010 High Lifter PSR tour heads into the final stretch with only two races left for the season. The next race takes place in Splendora, Texas at Splendora Motocross Park on September 11th , with the final race concluding the series on September 25th, at High Lifter Off-Road Park in Shreveport, Louisiana.
"I am looking forward to the final race this season for a few reasons," adds Engi. "First, it is going to be held at High Lifter Off Road Park in Shreveport, Louisiana, which has great trails for after the races. Second, it will be great to see what individuals will be on top and win the series for their classes. Everyone has worked hard all year and this is the race they prepare for. Everyone will come bringing their best in order to get those final points."
"It's been a great racing year for all the members of Team High Lifter-Polaris Racing. Without incredible Sponsors, such as K & N Engineering, the success the team has had this season would not have been possible."
K&N-sponsored midget and sprint racer Ryan Kaplan (of Kaplan Racing) has returned to his best form, and as of August has gathered a fine new pile of on-track success. Following a BCRA Midget win at Silver Dollar Speedway in August, Kaplan plucked a fifth in the winged sprinter, and then took a fourth in the same car in Antioch at the Golden State Challenge.
K&N-sponsored midget and sprint racer Ryan Kaplan of Kaplan Racing
When he's not running a tractor at the family farm (fastest pistachios in California?), Ryan Kaplan has refocused his efforts on a strong end to his race season, both in the Kaplan Racing 410 car and their USAC/BCRA Midget.
On August 6, Kaplan won the Bay Cities Racing Association race at Silver Dollar Raceway in Chico, CA, putting a fine point on his return to form. After sweeping his heat in the Chrysler-powered #20 BCRA Midget, he started eighth in the main, and won that too.
Kaplan's win in the midget was from a field of 29 BCRA cars, which packed Silver Dollar's quarter-mile with twitchy little four-wheeled hornets. He waited until the final lap of 25 to scoot low on Ryan Margeson, and took his first win in too long.
The current Chrysler motor in the midget is a 380hp four-banger, turning 8700rpm at peak, but the Kaplans will be returning to the Esslinger-prepared Ford four for the rest of the season. Everything Kaplan runs breaths through K&N Filters. Kaplan says, "We love the K&N products because they keep the engine clean - that's all we need. We run the air filters and oil filters too, and all we need to do is wash them out after a race."
As of late, Kaplan's focus has been on his father, who surprised everyone - including himself - with triple-bypass surgery in July. He's doing a lot better now. "It's a big weight off my shoulders," Kaplan added. "The midget race was his first race back since his surgery, and it was really nice to have him out there to see my win."
On the day this release was written, Ryan Kaplan and Kaplan Racing were headed for a weekend at Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, CA, to run the #20 with the USAC Midgets. On Wednesday, Kaplan Racing was going to be at Silver Dollar in Chico again, to run #20 in a BCRA race for the start of the Gold Cup. He's also racing the team's 410 car in the Gold Cup Race of Champions on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Busy guy, and he's stayed in school as well.
The Kaplan Racing 410 car, also #20, is family-owned. Kaplan Racing's main sponsor is K&N. Kaplan would also like to thank Simpson Race Products, FK rod ends, JE Pistons, Fuel Safe, Met Tec, and Redline Oil.
When racing flows through your blood it can often appear to consume everything else, yet at the same time, it can define your world with such clarity and detail, that you may otherwise have missed it. It becomes then the most welcome of obsessions.
The Folk family racing team has shared great success at the IHRA Nitro Jam event, Brian and Nick each won in 2008, and Nick won again this year.
Case in point, the Folk family race team, like most months, they spent much of the last month on the road, attending big dollar bracket events in Atco, New Jersey and Stanton, Michigan and the annual IHRA Nitro Jam event at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan. At that race Nick Folk, the youngest son, secured his second Stock victory in three seasons at the event, and once again hoisted the IHRA trophy.
"That whole part you mentioned about a busy month is very true," commented Nick. "We are now headed to the Million Dollar Bracket Race in Indianapolis, Indiana. We just finished attending the U.S. Nationals at the same location, with far from impressive results. I guess when you race every weekend that has a tendency to happen."
The team's patriarch Ron Folk, Ron has been racing for four decades, since the age of 15. Brian got started in Super Class Racing, with a string of successes from his entry in 1995 until the present. He has also been a national event winner in IHRA top dragster. And Nick started at age 16. His website states that he is the last person any stock eliminator driver wants to see in the other lane.
The Folk family has had huge success at the IHRA Nitro Jam event in the past, as Brian and Nick each won in 2008. Plus, the event annually features one of the richest and most prestigious shootouts in all of sportsman racing, the Moser Engineering Axle Mania Shootout. Between the two Folk brothers, the team had three entries in the Axle Mania Shootout - Brian in both Top Dragster and Super Rod - and Nick in Stock. Brian advanced each of his entries to the quarterfinal round before dropping both decisions in that frame.
"I will have to admit that the Martin Nitro Jam has been very good to me," adds Nick. "With a win in Top Dragster in '06 and now Stock in '08 and '10 I have been very fortunate. The facility itself is one of the most impressive around, and the fact that it is reasonably close to home has a lot to do with my luck there."
The Folk family racing team will enjoy another busy month of September as well, as the team travels to O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis for the annual NHRA U.S. Nationals, and the Mickey Thompson Million Dollar Race. The team will wrap up the month with big dollar bracket events near their Durand, Illinois home.
"Sometimes it crosses your mind for a second - when will this year slow down? But if we really wanted that we'd only be kidding ourselves," says Nick.
The Folk family has been onboard with K&N for over six years. "Everything is always flawless from their product department," adds team leader Ron Folk. "When you make around 700 runs per-year, you cannot have marginal equipment, and they have helped dramatically in that department! We are now up to eight drag cars in the Folk Race Cars stable, and every car is equipped with every possible item from K&N."
The unpredictability's of racing can be brutal enough, toss in an aggravated mother nature and you get a season poxed with cancellations and inconsistencies. Miss Executif Racing and their UL-11 hydroplane just got back to racing a month ago after a cancellation back in June.
The UL-11 Power Punch Race Team/94Five Roxy/K&N Engineering hydroplane is declared winner of the Polson Regatta.
"The Missouri River was flooded," said team owner Darren Bartels. "There was a lot of debris in the river and our pit location was under nearly ten feet of water."
The weather related cancellation of the race in Chamberlain-Oacoma, South Dakota further shortened an already abbreviated race schedule. However, when UL-11 does race, it does very well thank you.
The UL-11 Power Punch Race Team/94Five Roxy/K&N Engineering, with the Local Support of Ricciardi's Italian Seafood House, was declared winner of the Polson Regatta in Polson, Montana. The team won both preliminary heats on Saturday earning 800 points, which turned out to be huge.
With local support of the race uncertain, ULHRA officials worked hard lobbying with the Confederated Kootenai/Salish Tribes and held the race on tribal land and water.
This however left the race course in more unprotected water, subject to high winds. The UL Final scheduled for Sunday was once again canceled due to weather, with winds gusting over 25 mph. With two teams tied at 800 points from Saturday's races, the tie-breaker was based on total points earned in 2009 and that put the UL-11 team on top.
"We really wanted to run the final," remarked Bartels. "Our belief is we would have done well enough to gain some points in the high point standings. We'll take the win, but we really wanted the opportunity to prove what we can do in competition." The win and the points moved Miss Executif Racing from fifth into fourth and within striking distance of second place according to Bartels.
"Consistency, or lack of it, has been the key all year long," explained Bartels. "We had a real bad weekend in the Tri-cities a month ago earning just 127 out of 1200 points available. Steering issues were our downfall that weekend. Otherwise we've been a strong contender. We got the second highest qualifying lap speed in Seattle three weeks ago, at over 108 mph and almost blew the boat over doing so."
The team won the heats on Saturday despite only running on seven cylinders. During an engine test on the trailer they discovered a rocker arm broken on the number seven cylinder "Luckily we had just got some spares and the other damage was minimal," added Bartels.
For rookie driver Kevin Eacret, This is the second win in four races this year, both called because of windy conditions.
"We know the boat can win, we have the power. We wanted nothing more than to run the final. That wind today was wicked, it just wouldn't have been safe. We'll just have to show them in San Diego next month." said Eacret.
"It just goes to show that preliminary heats are just as important as the final. Without strong showings early on we couldn't have taken the title at the end of the weekend," added Bartels.
On the schedule next is San Diego September 18 and 19. "Sponsorship issues with the event organizers may cause some issues there too," says Bartels. "In terms of races this year, it's been pretty dismal. It may be only four races of six we had scheduled. We went into this year expecting six to eight race weekends, but with Mother Nature and the economy playing their hand, we're pretty disappointed."
This was Frankoski's second podium at Hickory Motor Speedway this year, the first being a win at the USAC Ford Focus "Shootout."
"Yes, I am still working very hard to race," remarked the 24-year-old Huntersville, North Carolina driver. "The challenges I have been faced with are the same as they are for the majority of car owners in our area - it's not so much about hard work in the garage or even talent - it comes down to dollars. It is very difficult to stand out and get noticed. I just have to continue to out work, and out race, everyone when I get the opportunities."
Although Jeremy Frankoski hasn't been in a midget since April, he managed to out race nearly everyone, earning a second place finish at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Out work and out race is exactly what Frankoski did last weekend at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, North Carolina. This year marks the 59th season of competition at the .363 mile Hickory Motor Speedway bullring. The speedway has been labeled as the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars" and "America's Most Famous Short Track."
"I haven't been in a midget since April and this is a very competitive series here, said Frankoski. "So, it is difficult to just hop in the car and hope you can be as fast as the guys running all year. We had a lot of help in the shop setting the car up and the whole Brown and Miller Racing team really came through for me. We ended up finishing second out of 15 cars. I am very thankful that Wade Brown and Brad Noffsinger gave me a ride for that race."
Frankoski's season has been divided between midgets and NASCAR late model racing. He started the season strong with a USAC Ford Focus "Shootout" victory at Hickory Motor Speedway, driving for Brown and Miller Racing. Then it was back to focusing on the late model driving for Chad McCumbee Racing at Myrtle Beach Speedway.
"I had two top-five and four top-ten finishes in six starts," says Frankoski. "Then we raced in a big UARA touring event. We had to make a carb change after qualifying, so we had to start 27th out of 27 cars. By lap 90, out of 150, I was running in the seventh position and moving forward. Unfortunately we had battery problems and had to pull in. I believe we would have ended up in the top three. But, since that last race in the late model at the end of June, we were forced to sit out due to the lack of funding.
At his youthful age, Frankoski has already inked over 15 years of racing experience to his resume, and he's used only K&N products during each of those years.
"I use the K&N air filter, filter spray, and oil filters on my race cars. They are the only filters I trust to give me the performance and reliability needed to continually run up front!"
