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Vaughn Gittin Jr. wins Formula Drift Round One at The Streets of Long Beach
The last seven days have been much like a dream for K&N drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. First came the announcement of a new co-sponsor - Monster Energy - to his program; next, came a huge party at Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory to celebrate that new partnership and to reveal the new 2011 Monster Energy/ Falken Tire Ford Mustang competition car; and finally, came the delicious icing on the lime green Monster-flavored cake: winning Formula Drift Round One at The Streets of Long Beach.
Vaughn Gittin Jr.'s new 2011 Monster Energy / Falken Tire Ford Mustang
Vaughn had only driven his new comp car one time previously before coming out to practice on Friday, so he was very excited to get in the Mustang and blaze through the Long Beach city streets. "Right off the trailer the car felt great," says Vaughn. "I was able to find my line that put me right up against the walls and the new Mustang chassis paired up with the new Falken RT615-K tires gave me the grip I needed to carry good speed throughout the entire course. I was having so much fun!"
Vaughn has been using K&N air and oil filters on his competition cars since the beginning of his professional career seven years ago. "My new 2011 Mustang uses K&N filters just as my previous competition Mustangs did, as well as my personal Mustang," says Vaughn. "The reliability and quality of their products is just incomparable, and lets me go out on the track and really push the car to its limits."
Vaughn Gittin Jr celebrates after winning Formula Drift Round One
And push the Mustang to its limit he did during top 32 qualifying when he threw down a score of 84.7 on his second run that put him in third place overall behind Rhys Millen and Tyler McQuarrie, respectively.
Saturday was a sold-out event with fans packing the stands and crowding the pits. "The vibe at this event every year is electric," says Vaughn. "It seemed like there was always a crowd surrounding the Mustang. The response to the Monster Energy/Falken Tire Ford Mustang has been huge."
Vaughn was paired to go up against Dennis Mertzanis in the battle of the top thirty-two. He put down a solid leading run - mimicking the same line, speed, and angle as he had all weekend - and then put the pressure on hard when following. Vaughn was awarded the win.
He moved in the Sweet Sixteen to face a fellow Mustang driver, Tony Brakohiapa. Vaughn led first and entered turn nine with insane angle, and unfortunately, Tony took it into the tire wall while trying to stay with him. When following, Vaughn ran him pretty hard and stayed tight to his door. The Monster Energy/Falken Tire Ford Mustang was moving on to the Great Eight.
In the top eight, Vaughn met his Drift Alliance bro, Ryan Tuerck, to battle it out. The runs between the two drivers were extremely close, except for one minor correction by Ryan when he straightened up after tapping the wall in the first outer zone. "Tuerck is such a good driver and a great friend; I really enjoy running with him as there are no games - just go out and drive the best you can."
Vaughn moved on to the Final Four, where he faced Fredric Aasbo who had been on fire all day. Vaughn knew this would be a tough battle. He managed to pull away from Aasbo in the quick Supra after the first clip when leading, and then stuck to his door when following. It was close, but Vaughn was awarded the win, and was moving on to the Finals to face Rhys Millen.
Vaughn gave chase first, following Rhys' line. The line was a shallow one however, which made it hard for Vaughn to transition properly. But Vaughn kept the Mustang tight on the Genesis through the course, until Rhys went wide through the hairpin. When it was Vaughn's turn to lead, he knew he had to do something drastic to seal the deal. "I took a big chance and went as fast as possible and threw the car in as hard as I could on the widest line," says Vaughn. He was able to stick it, but Rhys was not and backed it into the tire wall.
When he learned he had officially won, Vaughn jumped out of his car to see the crowd going nuts with cheer, and ran up to the fence in front of the grandstands and began climbing it - until it started getting sketchy and falling down on him!
"What an amazing week it has been," says Vaughn. "First with the announcement of my new partnership with Monster Energy, then the reveal of our new competition car at an awesome party at the Fantasy Factory, and now winning Round One. Everything has fallen into place after months of hard work, and with the season starting on such a good note, I can't wait until Atlanta. Thank you all for the support; you are an integral part to my success and I sincerely appreciate it!"
The Winningest Driver in Comp History uses many K&N products from Scoop to Oil Filters
With not a drop of rain in the forecast, Alabama resident and newly nicknamed David "Wild Willey" Rampy made his way to the staging lanes for the third qualifying session at the NHRA Spring Nationals in his Comp Eliminator The Racers Edge 1932 A/EA Bantam Roadster.
Rampy in his Bantam and Fletcher in his Cobalt await their Final Round
Carefully watching each pair in front of him, Rampy's plan was do what he needed to hold on to his qualifying spot and avoid the possibility of a first round pairing with the number one qualifier.
Thanks to Mother Nature, and a stay shower that halted all track activities just before he was to make his run, Rampy would have to wait patiently, as the only Comp car to not have run during the session, with his car parked under the Houston Raceway Park tower for over five hours until he could make the final run.
Rampy and crew celebrate big with National Event win number 72!
"It definitely changes your thinking," said Rampy of the lengthy unforeseen weather delay. "And there have been many times they would just cancel the remainder of the session and say the field was set and move on. Here we were pretty concerned if they were going to give the run to us or not."
"I was sixteenth before that session started and it was kind of where I wanted to stay," continued Rampy. "The guy that ran right before it started to rain bumped me back to seventeenth and I did not want to run number one qualifier first round."
Fletcher in the far lane and Rampy in the near, ready to make his move
While track conditions are never exactly the same after any lengthy weather delay, one doesn't become the winningest driver in NHRA Comp history without knowing how to handle the situation. Rampy did just what he needed and when he was able to make the run he managed to propel himself to the number nine spot.
Rampy wheeled his way through the first four rounds and continued to do so without racking up any "CIC" penalty, a very important feat in the Comp class, where he would then find himself in his 118th NHRA final and against fellow K&N racer, Dan Fletcher who was headed to his 100th.
Just coming off of his Comp Eliminator National Event win two weeks ago at the last NHRA race in Charlotte, Fletcher had to carry a hefty .08 CIC penalty throughout the entire event, but still sliced his way through the rounds and made it to a second Comp final in as many races.
Out of their hundreds of combined final round appearances, one may find it hard to believe that Rampy and Fletcher have only met up on two other occasions in a national event Comp final, where they had an even score of one victory a piece.
"Because we both also run Stock, we have actually raced more against each other there than we have in Comp, mainly since Dan just started competing in this class several years ago," noted Rampy.
Fletcher had the starting line advantage, which he needed all he could get due to his large CIC penalty, but it was still no match for Rampy who was able to come into the final "clean".
"He was already down eight and even though he had me by two hundredths on the tree, that gave me a six hundredths advantage right off the bat," said Rampy of the final with Fletcher.
Thanks to his wise choices over the course of the weekend, Rampy easily took the stripe and put his Racer's Edge/K&N 1932 Bantam into the winner's circle.
"When I caught him, he knew he couldn't get there, so, we call that a little bit of courtesy," he continues. "Instead of just pushing right up to the end where you could end up taking a permanent CIC, he just showed me the courtesy after I caught him that he just shut off. That way neither one of us had a chance of taking a penalty and one sure doesn't want to take a penalty on a loss."
"Fletcher is a smart racer. It's kinda like I scratch your back this week sort of thing. If it would have been a closer race, well things would have been different in how the stripe was played. I consider ourselves pretty good friends and the time will come around again and the roles will be reversed," he chuckled.
With this latest victory, Rampy has now racked up a whopping seventy-two NHRA National event wins and for a team to make it to that many finals, let alone win, having all the right pieces is only half the battle.
"I have been running K&N products for years and to be able to work with a company who understand what you are going through as a racer, many of the K&N guys are racers," he paused. "Wow, it makes a big difference. Not every company can say that. I feel that companies like K&N work harder than others that aren't racer oriented. They are much more hands on and involved. I just can't say enough about Steve, Bob and everyone at K&N."
Mike Edwards won the Pro Stock class at the first ever 4-wide event in NHRA history
After qualifying number one for twelve consecutive NHRA National Events, K&N Pro Stock driver Mike Edwards's streak came to an end two races ago at Charlotte during the event at Zmax Dragway when Jeg Coughlin edged Edwards out during the final session.
Mike Edwards continues to hold down the number one spot in the 2010 K&N Horsepower Challenge
Number one qualifier or not, what Pro Stock powerhouse Edwards wasn't able to accomplish in qualifying he more than made up for during eliminations as he went on to win the Pro Stock class at the first ever 4-wide event in NHRA history.
Looking to build on his success in Charlotte, Edwards managed to lay the first piece of groundwork and start what he hopes to be a new number one Pro Stock qualifying streak at the NHRA Spring Nationals in Baytown, Texas, just outside Houston.
Numerous drivers and teams made career best passes during the Houston event but it still wasn't enough to top Edwards, who not only was the quickest of the Pro Stock pack during each of the four qualifying sessions, but also did so in what turned out to be the quickest Pro Stock Field in NHRA history.
While E.T. is where it's at and what wins professional drag races, Edwards showed he is no slouch in the speed department either by posting a 212.43, a career best MPH.
"Getting all the available bonus points during qualifying is really important and we had a really good handle on things on Friday and Saturday," said Edwards who also continues to hold down the number one spot in the 2010 K&N Horsepower Challenge.
Somewhat of a rarity in other professional drag racing classes, being hands on in everything from car set-up to tuning is something that is quite prevalent for the drivers in Pro Stock, with Edwards among them.
"For me, that's the way I like it," notes Edwards. "I know a lot of the Pro Stockers, or for the most part, work on their own cars in addition to driving."
"I think that really helps as far as knowing what is going on with the set-up and then knowing how to adjust it after you make the run," he continued.
After a fantastic showing during qualifying, Edwards and his team went into Sunday's eliminations ready to make up for bowing out in the semi-finals during the Houston event last year and rather high hopes of their first win at the event since the 2006 season.
During the semi-final match up with Jeg Coughlin, the car had other ideas.
"On Sunday we just went a little too far one way and just never got a handle on it," explains Edwards who had his opponent more than doubled on the tree.
Edwards's car launched and shook the tires fairly hard in the top of first gear, abruptly bringing to an end the team's hopes of back-to-back victories.
"It wasn't going to go no further, that was it," said Edwards. "I just shut it off since it wasn't going to make the run."
With no rest in sight, Edwards and the rest of the Pro Stock contenders head to The Strip @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway for this weekend's SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals with all intentions of gaining as many precious points as they can for the K&N Horsepower Challenge, the largest single payday in NHRA Pro Stock.
Over 25,000 people at the Scottish Bike Show recently got to view the OTSS Kawasaki Superbike first hand
Loch Lomond, Scotland based Mark Buckley is a tremendously talented international road racing star with a particular knack for getting things done. Last season, riding against the world's top factory backed teams, Buckley broke into the top-ten at the definitive Isle of Man TT event, finishing eighth.
Buckley took off a full two seconds around the Oulton Park circuit aboard his new bikes
Buckley also made the history books by finishing third in the world's first clean emissions Grand Prix run on electric motorcycles at the TT.
"For me as a fulltime road rider, the Isle of Man TT is definitely the ultimate challenge, and it is definitely on the top of my racing calendar for 2010," remarked Buckley.
"I entered the TTX GP last year, which was the world's first clean emissions GP on an American backed electric bike. Not only did the whole experience give me worldwide coverage, but it let me step onto the illustrious Isle of Man TT podium, an experience not many will have."
At the end of last season Buckley fulfilled a long time ambition and raced in the Macau GP in China with a current British Superbike team. "This was definitely an adventure never to be forgotten, as it was amazing from the outset. The circuit was so fast, and being it's fully lined with steel barriers, that made the race even more exhilarating."
The worldwide exposure Buckley alludes to provided him the opportunity to accomplish one other long time ambition. For this 2010 season Buckley and his OTSS Racing team will have a full stable of Kawasaki motorcycles in the Supersport 600, Superstock, and Superbike classes.
"At this moment we don't yet have full backing from Kawasaki, but we are working with them, along with others such as Paul Bird Motorsport, who run the World Superbike team," explains Buckley.
"I just finished testing both our Superbike and Supersport machines and I went two full seconds quicker around the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire, England than I ever have. The bikes felt fantastic right from the very first lap. This is very promising for the future."
As a part of the unveiling at the Scottish Bike Show, the OTSS Superbike took center stage on the official Kawasaki stand, where over 25,000 people in attendance during the two day event could view it.
"For 2010 we have full support from K&N, which is proving to be very beneficial after our initial tests on all the new Kawasaki machinery. Everyone knows how fantastic K&N products are, but I can tell you that I have personally seen, and felt, the gains that the filters have given my bikes just after fitting them."
"My team has worked really hard over the winter months and put together the perfect package for me to further my career in 2010," adds Buckley.
And indeed, 2010 will be a very busy season for Buckley. "I will be doing a lot of road races on my Kawasaki machinery and with my team OTSS Racing. I will also be riding at selected races on my electric bike such as Laguna Seca and Imola, along with Moto GP and World Superbike events. I am also preparing to ride at the Macau GP again, with the factory BMW British Superbike team this time, and hopefully I will continue to show what I'm fully capable of at these races."
Max Gresham became the second rookie in a row to win an East Series race this year
With 16 rookies in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, there are sure to be plenty of first-time winners.
Max Gresham led the final 13 laps of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
Max Gresham became the second rookie to win an East Series race, dominating at South Boston Speedway in Virginia on April 3.
He became the second rookie in a row to win an East Series race this year. He was making his second career East Series start at South Boston. Last year, he finished impressively in fifth place at South Boston in his East Series debut.
This time around, he had the car to beat, winning the pole and leading all but four laps of the 150-lap race.
The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series race is at Iowa Speedway on May 23
"It's been a great day here," Gresham said after winning the race. "I've got to thank Joe Gibbs and Toyota for putting such a great car together, and my crew chief Mike Sibley. The whole team was just excellent."
He led the first 30 laps of the race before yielding to Brett Moffitt for two laps. Gresham regained the lead on lap 33 and held it for the next 101 laps and four caution periods.
Cole Whitt took the lead briefly for two laps, 135 and 136, but Gresham led the final 13 laps.
"We definitely put a great car out there and we were fast the whole race," Gresham said.
Gresham and Whitt battled for the lead over the final 15 laps of the race.
"The last 20 laps was a lot of fun," Gresham said. "I've got to thank Cole Whitt for racing me clean."
Gresham bounced back after a 23rd place finish in the East Series season opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. He is seventh in the East Series standings after two races.
Whitt posted his second runner-up finish in a row and has the lead in the East Series standings. Even though he challenged for the win against Gresham in the closing laps of the South Boston race, Whitt said afterward that he had his hands full with Ryan Truex to secure the second-place spot.
"I got to the outside of (Gresham) -- I think twice; I think we would have had him the first time if the yellow didn't come out," Whitt said. "That made it a little bit tougher. And then I had to fight Ryan off. That was a good battle. I got back to the outside of (Gresham) one last time at the end and he was pushing us up. It's short track racing. He was doing his job, just like I was doing mine. I have to congratulate him."
Whitt has a 25-point lead over rookie Ryan Gifford in the East Series standings. The next race is at Iowa Speedway on May 23.
"We were here to get a good run and come out with the points lead," Whitt said. "That's what we came in here to do."
