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The Baja 1000 is one of the toughest off-road races in the world
The Baja 1000 is an amazingly tough race and the adventure of a lifetime and Brad Lovell said he hopes to be back in 2010
No 703 Torchmate Ranger entered a class in the Baja 1000 with 8 other trucks, only two trucks finished the loop race of 672 miles
Remote areas of the Baja 1000 make good use of GPS systems. Many teams have to be recovered from the brutal desert.
Tough desert terrain with sand traps and silt are only part of the Baja 1000 many obsticles
The Baja 1000 is considered the toughest off-road race in the world. “To understand it, you must experience it,” said Brad Lovell. “I thought I had during pervious Baja races, but I learned a valuable lesson this year. Some races are longer and some are rougher, but no other competition creates the same challenge.”
Lovell and the No. 703 Torchmate Ranger with K&N products entered a class with 8 other trucks in a total field of 340 trucks, buggies and motorcycles for a loop race of 672 miles.
“Three different crews piloted the truck,” said Lovell. “Bill Knuz and myself to race mile 206, Greg Jones and Nick Socha to race mile 420 and Marty Fiolka and JT Taylor from there to the finish.”
The team pre-ran its sections in 2010 Ford F-150 Raptors, a factory modified pickup designed for the abuse Baja is known for. “We dinged the running boards and banged the undercarriage a bit,” said Lovell. “By the end of the week, our Raptor had 800 brutal off-road miles on it.”
From the pre-run to the starting line, Knuz and Lovell waited for the green flag to
drop at 11:37 am Friday morning. “We were both calm but did not underestimate the change in rhythm that was about to occur,” said Lovell. “We had 31 hours to reach the finish line.”
In the first 30 miles the roads were windy and dusty. They were also lined with spectators. “We had problems along the way,” said Lovell. “Eight miles in, the team ahead of us ended their race by hitting a boulder that was rolled on the course. At mile 16 a silt bed created a log jam of stuck trucks.”
Lovell smashed into a dirt bank but made it through. “We charged a slower truck and lost the road in the dust near mile 19,” he said. “We heard clanking and banging and came to a stop. A rock had broken the transmission pan.”
During the two hour wait to get moving again, Lovell said they thought about their mistake. “The open race course was now a stream of on-coming traffic and broken racers,” he said. “Near mile 30 we met a stuck chase truck which blocked the course. We struggled to free him before giving up and barely made it around him on a risky side slope.”
Lovell and Knuz had to wait again near mile 31 for the recovery of several race buggies that fell down a 30 foot ravine. “When the race resumed we reached the more remote areas and found our pace,” said Lovell. “We made good time to mile 206 for the driver change.”
Around 1:30 am the crew woke to a satellite phone report that the truck was hopelessly stuck in a sand wash nearly sixty miles away. Lovell and Knuz took their Raptor to try and pull them out.
“Armed with a GPS, we headed into the most remote area of the course to recover the team,” said Lovell. “While we were driving, Greg and Nick frantically dug for six hours and freed the truck a foot at a time.”
Lovell and Knuz were within 8 miles of the second crew when the race truck started moving again. The minutes were ticking away along with the miles but the No. 703 made it to mile 420 for the next driver change.
“At that point we were racing the clock,” said Lovell. “The team had to travel 115 miles in about 3.5 hours. Marty and JT had no problems setting a good pace.” Unfortunately the crew was not able to make the next checkpoint closing time and they called the race.
“Not finishing stings,” said Lovell. “It is little comfort, but only two in our class of nine finished the race. Now we have more knowledge of what Baja is about, how to race it and how to prepare. Our whole team worked as hard as they could to fight the circumstances.”
Lovell said he hopes to face the Baja 1000 again in 2010. In the meantime the Torchmate Ranger is getting prepped for the last race of the season, the BITD Henderson Desert Classic in Nevada on December 5th. “We are currently 2nd in points and hope for a strong finish,” said Lovell. ““There is a lot of silt and fine dust on these courses,” said Lovell. “K&N filters keep the debris out of our engines and our sensors do not clog up.”
The 69th Running of the Lucas Oil Turkey Night Grand Prix will take place Thanksgiving night at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, California. It is a racing tradition and a highlight for race fans across the United States.
Turkey Night is on Cody Swanson's racing agenda Thanksgiving Night at Irwindale Speedway in California
The Speedway’s RV area is filling up with motor homes where many traveling fans will prepare Thanksgiving dinner in the parking lot before the race. The tripleheader will host some of the fastest cars to compete on half and third mile oval tracks.
K&N sponsored racer Cody Swanson was second in the USAC Ford Focus Dirt Nationals and second in USAC California Ford Focus Dirt Series points in the 2009 season
Turkey Night also marks the conclusion of the 2009 North American Motorsports racing season. K&N sponsored racer Cody Swanson will drive for the VanDyne Engineering Racing
Team in the USAC Western States Midget Series.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to race on Turkey Night,” said Swanson. “I ran last year and it was a great night of racing with the USAC Midgets, Sprint Cars and Ford Focus Midgets.”
Swanson competed in his final dirt race of the USAC California Ford Focus Dirt Series in Ventura, California. “The format for this event was different than anything the Ford Focus series had run previously,” he said. Each team ran an eight lap heat, a 12 lap qualifier and finally the 30 lap feature.
Swanson started the heat race in the 5th position and quickly raced to 2nd place. In the qualifier he finished 3rd. Swanson earned the most points in the heat and qualifier races, but with the 6 car invert he started the feature from the 6th position. It set the stage for a good battle between Swanson and the No. 81 car. He was not able to pass the No. 81 and took second position.
In the end, Swanson was second overall in USAC California Ford Focus Dirt Series points and second in the USAC Ford Focus Dirt Nationals.
“All in all it was a great season,” he said. “I want to thank all my sponsors including K&N. K&N protects our engines and allows them to breathe. Dirt is never a problem on the track with K&N.”
Every year there is a multi week, multi event marathon of big dollar bracket races throughout South Georgia and Florida. Over the last 25 years, the Winter Series races have been predominately dominated by the greatest sportsman class competitors in the United States.
Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida held the money ticket for Luke Bogacki who drove a Malibu Station Wagon to victory, courtesy of BME Photography
Luke Bogacki’s wins in the sportsman ranks is on his racing resume. The
28-year-old Alabama resident has earned a reputation as one of the most
successful ET bracket and sportsman class racers in the country over the last
decade. However, the young veteran racer is still missing a handful of
accomplishments.
Bradenton Best of Both Worlds Winter Series Championship $10,000 windfall for sportsman racer Luke Bogacki, courtesy of BME Photography
This winter, Bogacki knocked off one major triumph off his races to-win list
in the South Georgia Motorsports Park New World 5 day Championship Series. He won his first winter series event at the Bradenton Best of Both World Winter Series Championship and took home a $10,000 windfall.
“Coming into the season, I felt like I still had four major goals in racing that I hadn’t accomplished,” said Bogacki. “I wanted to win a NHRA national event, a day of the Winter Series, a major NHRA or IHRA world championship and a Winter Series Points title. I still have the dream of becoming a world champion or 5-day points champ, but it’s been a great season. I was able to mark two of those accomplishments off my list.”
Bogacki earned his first NHRA
national event victory in April with a Super Comp win at the Southern Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia. He backed it up with a second title at the Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tennessee in October. He also earned multiple victories during this seasons’ Winter Series.
After the Bradenton win, Bogacki took another final round in a 1/8th mile event at Palm Beach International Raceway. Bogacki drove Jon Siegel’s Wheelie Wagon Malibu Station Wagon.
“Brian and I are pretty good buddies,” said Bogacki. “We talked about re-distributing the purse a little bit and even agreed to race for $1.000. Then we decided to split it even and swapped cars for the final. The tech guys at the end of the track were really confused when we got out of each others’ cars. It was a lot of fun.”
With a couple of bracket outings remaining in 2009, Bogacki has raced in 20 final rounds coming out with 16 event victories. In addition to his two NHRA national event crowns, Bogacki also claimed a pair of IHRA national event wins and the IHRA Summit All Stars Title in Top Dragster. On the bracket racing scene, Bogacki picked up three $10,000 triumphs and a pair of $5,000 victories.
Bogacki uses K&N air filters. “K&N helps my engine perform the way it should,” he said. “I can also count on K&N for additional power and great filtration to help me get to the Winner’s Circle.”
Bogacki will wrap up his 2009 campaign with pair of big dollar bracket events at Holly Springs Motorsports Thanksgiving weekend and at Carolina Dragway next week.
Ryan Gates won the Modified Class in the Redline Time Attack season finale and took the overall 2009 Redline Time Attack Championship at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Gates also set the new Modified AWD track record with a 1:43.4. "Every Time Attack race gives you a chance to perfect yourself as a driver," said Gates. "It's called Time Attack because someone puts up a time and everyone else tries to attack it."
Ryan Gates put his K&N sponsored 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X on display at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada
Ryan Gates works on his Mitsubishi Evo X before the Redline Time Attack season finale at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California
Three days earlier, Gates destroyed the splitter on his 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X in the Super Lap Battle at the Buttonwillow, California track. The Evo was also running very lean.
Ryan Gates is the 2009 Redline Time Attack Series Champion in the Modified Class
Ryan Gates and the AMS team defeated all the issues and made it through the final weekend of the Redline Time Attack Series with another win to complete a perfect season
“We touched up the front bumper for reinforcement without the splitter,” said Gates. “We did this because of the high speeds you can reach at Auto Club Speedway.” During practice Gates discovered there was still a lot of work that needed to be done.
After a lot of time and effort the car was moving in the right direction and Gates felt better about the setup.
The AMS crew tuned the boost down to well below 20psi, normal is 31psi. Gates said the car was still running lean but he pressed on and finished out the day.
On Sunday, Gates planned to take it easy in the first session. Unfortunately, as
Gates headed out to the track his crew discovered a large crack in the turbine
housing. They were able to swap it out in time for the second session. "I did
not want to lose," he said.
Gates took a safe lap to get a time in the books and planned to press harder on the third lap. “I drove the car at ¾ - throttle and posted a 1:43.4 lap time, the fastest of the day in the Modified Class,” said Gates. “It was also a class track record.”
During the final lap, a few bolts fell of the turbine housing and caused problems with the boost. Even with all the issues, Gates and the AMS Team made it through the final weekend with another win to complete a perfect season.
Gates won each race he entered in 2009 and set records at each track. “Without the help of my sponsors, this season would not have been possible,” said Gates. “My K&N products last forever and help make power. The K&N air filter protects my engine from track debris. My K&N oil filter keeps a constant flow of fresh oil circulating through the engine. Oil filters are important in Time Attack because the engines are constantly revving at a high rate and K&N oil filters work.”
Gates will be back for the 2010 Time Attack season and is also testing out a Porsche for another possible racing series.
The first attempt to get Jessica Clark, from Westlake Village, California, to set aside time for this story had to be adjusted – she was apologetic, but homework just plain had her swamped. Clearly, this is a young lady with her priorities in perspective – on or off the racetrack. The sixteen-year-old Clark maintains a 4.0 GPA at Westlake High School, and she successfully reassigns every bit of that work ethic and intelligence from the classroom to the racetrack.
Midget Car Racer Jessica Clark on the Track
This year is Clark's fifth year racing overall, she got her start in go-karts, running a couple of southern California tracks, Santa Maria Race Track and Button Willow Raceway. She competed in karts for a year and a half, and then graduated into Jr. Midgets for an additional two and a half years. Clark's first Jr. Midget race took off at Ventura Raceway, Ventura, California.
In her first full season of Jr. Midgets she was awarded the Most Improved Driver and finished second in the points standing. Ever the achiever, the very next season she won the most races and top-five finishes of anyone. In October of the following season Clark applied to Ron Sutton's Winners Circle program and was one of only twelve drivers accepted out of 750 drivers that applied for the 2008-2009 season. This year will be her first full season running in the USAC Ford Focus Midget series.
USAC Ford Focus Midget Racer Jessica Clark
"Ron Sutton's Driver Development Program conducts a national talent search each year for young racers between the ages of 11-19 who have the talent and the desire to go all the way to a professional racing career in NASCAR. A driver selected to be part of the RSWC Driver Development Program will be groomed, coached, tested, trained and molded into what NASCAR Cup teams want in their drivers" says Clark.
Jessica Clark Was Awarded the Most Improved Driver in Her First Full Season of Jr. Midget Racing
750 racers from across the United States, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico, and Sweden applied to the program in 2008. Only 44 drivers with impressive enough winning results were selected to participate in a driver Shoot-Out held at Roseville Speedway in Sacramento, California. The Shoot Out included multiple diverse tests over a 3-day period to evaluate the drivers who have the potential for a professional racing career. All drivers were tested in identical Ford Focus Midgets.
Experienced personnel rated the drivers' on their ability to be coached, their levels of accurate feedback, focus, training retention, motivation, communication skills, personality, aggressiveness, learning rate, confidence and lap times. Out of the 44 drivers at the Shoot-Out, only twelve select drivers demonstrated the potential aptitude to go onto a career in NASCAR.
"Being apart of Ron Sutton's Winners' Circle has been a life changing experience," says Clark. "I have learned more in one year racing with Ron than I have in all the years I have been racing combined. I have learned how to be a positive role model as a driver, on and off the track. I am very grateful to have the privilege of racing with this outstanding team. The USAC Ford Focus Midgets race on a quarter-mile asphalt track – it's a fast and thrilling open-wheel racecar experience."
"We use the K&N air filter, which is awesome, because it lasts forever and provides optimum airflow to the race engine. In any engine that is important, but in a spec-engine like the USAC Ford Focus Midget series, it is really an important advantage. We also use the K&N oil filters, which insure we keep the engine oil clean and protect the engine. Lastly we use the K&N breathers on the crankcase."
Next season Clark will once again be racing with Ron Sutton's Winners' Circle in a Ford Focus Midget. "The support that K&N filters has provided Ron Sutton's Winners' Circle has been extremely helpful to my racing career and I feel honored to be affiliated with such an exceptional company."
