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NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Driver Ryan Gifford Wins Blue Ox 100 at Richmond International Raceway

18 May 2013

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East racer Ryan Gifford

It took Ryan Gifford more than three years and some time racing in the dirt to win his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race.

Gifford took the lead from Cole Custer on lap 78 and won the Blue Ox 100 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia, the fourth race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver Ryan Gifford won the Blue Ox 100 race at Richmond International Raceway.

"This is something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life," Gifford said. "To come here after four years being in the series, coming up short so many times, to be able to go out and do this is just awesome. I want to celebrate it and make it a memory I'll be able to tell my children."

Gifford won his first race in 44 career starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

He qualified 11th and had to work his way through the field to take the lead. Gray Gaulding won the pole and became the youngest NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver to win a pole, breaking the mark held by Chase Elliott. Gaulding is 15 years, 2 months and 15 days.

Gaulding led the first 53 laps of the race before making contact with Corey LaJoie. Both drivers, the top two qualifiers in the race, did not return.

Custer took the lead from Gaulding on lap 54 and was out front for 24 laps. Gifford passed Custer for the lead and held it for the final 23 laps of the race at Richmond International Raceway.

Ryan Gifford celebrating his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race win at Richmond International Raceway

"I think this one was good, but I think there's many more to come," Gifford said. "I think now we got the ball rolling, I feel like there are a 1,000 pounds lifted off my shoulders to go out and get this first win. Now we can go out there and hopefully click them off."

Brandon Gdovic passed Custer and finished in second place. After the race, he said he was happy to see Gifford finally win a race.

"I know he's been wanting one so bad," Gdovic said. "He's been in the series longer than I have. It's great to see him in Victory Lane. The win probably helps the crew more than the driver. It reflects all the work they put into the car. When the car runs wells, they did their job right."

Gdovic started seventh and like Gifford had to work his through the field to reach the front.

"The car was definitely right tonight," Gdovic said. "I think we had the car to beat. Unfortunately came up one short there. My guys put in so much work to get this new car out here. Obviously they did it right."

Custer, a rookie making his fourth start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, finished third, but triggered a crash at the end of the race.

"I wish we could have won it," Custer said. "I feel bad about stacking up the cars behind me."

Brett Moffitt, the leader in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings after four races, was sixth. Gifford moved into second place in the K&N Pro Series East standings, seven points behind Moffitt.

Mackenna Bell, Gifford's teammate, was fifth. For the first time in the 26-year history of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, a woman driver has finished in the top five in three races in a row. Kenzie Ruston finished in the top five at Greenville Pickens Speedway and Five Flags Speedway. Bell made it three in a row with a fifth-place finish at Richmond International Raceway.

The next race on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule is the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina on June 1.

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.

Related K&N News Articles about NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: Ben Kennedy Wins First NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race of His Career at Five Flags Speedway; Dylan Kwasniewski Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Season Opener at Bristol Motor Speedway; NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Racer Gray Gaulding Gears up for 2013 Race Season; Corey LaJoie Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race at Greenville Pickens Speedway;

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Vincent Jardine Becomes Latest K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes Grand Prize Winner

18 May 2013

2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge Champion Allen Johnson and Sweepstakes grand prize winner Vincent Jardine

During one of the most exciting events each season for the NHRA Pro Stock class, the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge more than lived up to its long history of exhilarating rounds of racing. Just as the elite eight Pro Stock drivers all had their eye on the $50,000 check to the champion, the eight K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes finalists were quite enthusiastic in their chances of winning the keys to the special edition 2013 Toyota Tundra.

Vincent Jardine won the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes after a race win by Allen Johnson

Vincent Jardine, of Rockland, Illinois was the lucky finalist who was paired with 2008 K&N Horsepower Challenge champ and 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge top seed, Allen Johnson. Thanks to Johnson’s second career K&N Horsepower Challenge victory, during the shootout event held during the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jardine instantly became the proud new owner of one fine looking brand new Toyota Tundra.

Jardine, who spends his days as a fork lift operator for Chrysler, loading body parts into a robot that does welds and makes part of the car, had never entered the K&N contest before. “My wife got me started on it actually. She had been entering it, so I thought why not, I would this year, too.”

“I used to watch drag racing a very long time ago, probably about twenty years ago. But I’ve never been to a race,” he admitted. “I had always wanted to go, but just didn’t. Well, after this one let me tell you, I’m totally hooked.”

Vincent Jardine is handed the keys to his special edition 2013 Toyota Tundra, the K&N Horsepower Challange Sweepstakes Grand Prize

Just as in previous seasons, fans simply entered on K&N’s website for a chance to be selected in the random drawing as one of the eight finalists in the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes. Jardine was quite surprised when he received the call that he would soon be flying to Las Vegas to take part in the festivities and the shot at the grand prize. “I was at work when I got the call,” he explained. “It was hard for me to hear and all I could really hear was the part about winning a trip to Vegas. I had to walk outside of the plant to be able to hear what the call was really about and she then told me about my chances to win a truck. I thought awesome, I’ve always wanted a truck my whole life and I’ve never had one.”

“When I called my wife and told her that I had just got a call from K&N and that we were going to Vegas, she was really excited,” he added.

Once at the event, Jardine joined his fellow finalists to be paired with one of the eight NHRA Pro Stock drivers who would be competing in the Challenge. “Oh, everybody was so nice and we all got along so well and just had a great time,” he explained. “I actually made a couple of new friends while I was there. This whole experience was awesome and a once in a lifetime ordeal. Not very many folks can say they got to go to the drags like this and win a truck. We had such a wonderful time thanks to everyone at K&N being so awesome, they are really a class act.”

When it comes to the K&N Horsepower Challenge, any of the racers could win the event, but when Jardine was paired with the number one qualifier, Allen Johnson, he certainly liked his chances of going home a big winner. “When I looked at all the names that were in for the race and was kind of trying to figure out who I hoped to be paired with, it was Allen Johnson,” he explained. “So when I drew his name, I was totally shocked like there was no way I just drew his name. I was just floored.”

As Allen Johnson made his way through the rounds, Jardine pointed out just how intense the excitement was when he was whisked to the top end of the track to prepare for the final round in the K&N Horsepower Challenge. “Oh it was crazy with the ESPN guys, Toyota and K&N guys down there. I was asking everyone how was I going to know who was winning because I wasn’t going to be able to see the lights on top of the [score]board and they said here, just look at the monitors.”

When Jardine witnessed the final round pairing between Erica Enders-Stevens and Allen Johnson, he could hardly contain the extreme enthusiasm. “When I saw Erica fall behind and Allen take the finish line, I had so many emotions going through me, I was just too excited. I think you could see on ESPN2 that I may have acted like a little bit of a fool,” he laughed. “But there aren’t many times in your life that you get to be that excited and act like I fool, I suppose. I went over and shook my competitor’s hand and you know, we became really good friends that weekend. I actually wanted Glen to ride in the new truck with me back up when we went in front of the crowd, but [laughs] they said he could ride in it another time.”

“Allen and his whole team were just so hospitable to us the whole weekend,” he added. “Thanks to this spectacular opportunity we won from K&N, we are already looking forward to our next drag race. Allen already got us tickets for the NHRA race that’s close to home in Joliet. I can’t wait for it to be June and get to go back.”

“I can’t thank everyone at K&N and Toyota enough,” he stressed. “This is an experience that I will hold dear and cherish for many years to come.”

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.

Related K&N News Articles about K&N Horsepower Challenge: 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge Champion Allen Johnson Sweeps NHRA Event in Las Vegas; 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge Field Set for NHRA Pro Stock $50,000 Showdown; For Second Consecutive Year Jeg Coughlin Dominates the K&N Horsepower Challenge Fan-Vote; NHRA Mello Yellow Drag Racing's Pro Stock Drivers Battle for Position in K&N Horsepower Challenge;

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NHRA Super Comp Racer Al Kenny Wins 4th Annual Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals

18 May 2013

Al Kenny puts his JEGS/K&N Engineering Super Comp dragster in the winner’s circle

The defending 2012 NHRA Super Comp world champion, Al Kenny just might be working on keeping that number one on his Dan Page dragster. During his most recent outing, for the 4th annual Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Concord, North Carolina, Kenny whipped his way through six rounds to put his JEGS/K&N Engineering ride into the Super Comp winner’s circle.

4th annual Dollar General NHRA Four-Wide Nationals win for Al Kenny

Time runs for the sportsman classes were conducted on Friday morning of the event, well before the rain came in and washed out most of the day’s on-track activities. With such a change in air and track conditions the following morning for first round of eliminations, Kenny refers to the time runs the day before as more of “exhibition runs”, since there wasn’t a whole lot of info drivers gained from their first day on the track that could be used on Saturday.

“The data was showing almost a tenth and a half faster Saturday morning than the day before,” Kenny explained. “That is a tricky track anyway with the winds. We had some tailwinds, but it’s kind of a stadium style track, so you’re not really sure where the winds are picking you up. That one and Chicago are probably the two worst because the winds get to swirling around.”

With everyone pretty much in the same boat when it came to lack of data for round one on Saturday morning, Kenny pointed out the air and track conditions were certainly leaning to the cool side. “It was cold Saturday morning, even by Canadian standards,” he joked. “My tires were chucking pretty hard and as I came up on [Ed] Richardson, I saw the back end of his car start to waggle a little bit, so I thought, well this is good for me. Basically the cold track meant a super slow race and I didn’t think it was a close as it was down there until I saw the time slip.”

That would set Kenny up to meet Chuck Westcott and his 1996 Beretta in round two. “There’s a big mile-per-hour difference between us, so I tried to dial it close,” he said. “He was way out on me and I knew there was no way I was getting there. With that massive air change and everyone was dead slow in round one, because I think the track was so cold, most of us ran mid-nineties, so we knew we couldn’t go back up there and run a ninety-five and hope to win the round. So, I’m just guessing here, but that he sped it up to make sure that he ran at least a ninety and by that point the track is better and he was way fast.”

NHRA Super Comp champion Al Kenny

Round three, Kenny and his K&N dragster would face Todd Kujawa who in the previous round did not get a hit at the tree and that may have been the reason for his very late light. “When I went past the tree I thought holy cow his stage light is still on,” laughed Kenny. “Actually, it wasn’t to that extreme, but I’m getting better at saying man, I think I got that one and that time I was absolutely sure.”

Kenny used his .022 to Kujawa’s .090 to safely take the stripe with ease and move on to the quarterfinals to pair up with Ken Griffiths. There, Kenny turned on the win light in his lane once again with his lesser of two evils double breakout, 8.888 to his opponent’s 8.871, thanks in part to his one full hundredth starting line advantage.

The semifinal would be the round Kenny would consider his “lucky” round of the weekend after making it past Danny Waters Jr. “That was just me tightening it up almost a little too much,” Kenny admitted of the .0003 margin of victory at the stripe. “Again, I didn’t think it was that close and I had backed into him and saw my win light come on. Now, if you would have asked me before I got to the ticket booth, I would have said yeah, it was close but maybe like five thou or so and I had no idea it was three ten-thou.”

Kenny was now moving into the Super Comp championship round to line up with Jason Lynch where it would be a quick one when Lynch turned it red.

“My four rounds on Sunday, my sixty foot only moved three thou,” Kenny pointed out. “My window was tremendous [range of reaction times] and for the final, we just bumped up the launch RPM. I was like .022 to .026 every hit and feeling like I’m really hitting it, so apparently that’s all I got, so we gave it some more RPM. Honestly, two-hundred RPM shouldn’t have moved it up that much, so I’m guessing that final round adrenaline, better concentration or a combination of above, well I came up double-oh.”

“That was kinda cool,” he continued about his reaction time. “I was happy to see the red-light, but had he not been red, I think I would have had a pretty good shot at it with a light like that.”

The reigning NHRA Super Comp champion uses numerous K&N Engineering products not only on his trusty Dan Page dragster that his grabbed the Super Comp Wally with during the national event, but also on the entire fleet of Kenny family race cars that son Jason and Samantha drive. “This dragster has the 2nd Gen K&N composite scoop with the high flowing K&N filter, plus we use the K&N HP-3002 wrench-off oil filter and various other smaller filters on the breather tanks and such.”

While Kenny is pleased with the performance he enjoys with the K&N filters on the race cars, it just may be the excellent results he has experienced getting to and from the events with the addition of the K&N Heavy Duty filter on the team’s semi chassis based motorhome.

“Already this spring, we have had a couple of truck drivers ask us at truck stops about the K&N filters,” Kenny said. “When Greg Boutte at K&N had us try them, he told us we wouldn’t down shift going up hills. I thought, OK that’s the salesperson in him and wow, let me tell you, you can feel the difference. Going up hills with the rig is incredible. Like the big hill on I-77 coming out of Charlotte when you hit the Virginia line [approximately 1,500 ft climb over a six-mile grade], the last third of that, I used to go up in ninth gear at about 35 MPH. The last two trips with my K&N air filter, I’m going up in eleventh gear at 55 MPH.”

“I mean that’s huge,” he stressed of the results. “Well, diesels are all about compression and if it’s flowing a lot more air, well the compression is going to be a lot better and I can tell, more power.”

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.

Related K&N News Articles about Al Kenny and Super Comp: NHRA Driver Luke Bogacki Experiences a Stellar Super Comp and Super Gas Race Season; Samantha Kenny Makes Strides Towards Successful Career in NHRA Super Comp Class; Exciting Super Comp Final for K&N's Greg Boutte During NHRA National in Las Vegas; Alan Kenny Wins First NHRA Super Comp Championship with the Help of Son Jason Kenny;

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Andy Gregg Wins Wing 360 Sprint Car Race at Placerville Speedway in Northern California

18 May 2013

Andy Gregg and his Wing 360 Sprint Car

Andy Gregg won his first Wing 360 Sprint Car race of the season at Placerville Speedway in Northern California, completing the final seven laps of the race with a broken shock. Gregg passed Mason Moore for the lead on lap six and was able to extend his lead on the dirt track, but ran into some trouble in the closing laps of the race.

“Something happened and the bolt pulled out of the shock,” Gregg said. “I was able to make adjustments to my line and my driving to accommodate for it. We actually were still able to inch away a little bit from second place to keep our comfortable lead even with the shock not being there.”

Andy Gregg now third in Wing 360 Sprint standings after Placerville Speedway win

Gregg said his left front shock was knocked out of place on lap 18 of the 25-lap main event.

“The track was pretty hooked up and the car wanted to wheely up a little bit sometimes coming out of turn 2,” Gregg said. “One of the times when I wheelied up, when the front end came back down, it was just the right angle and the right pressure on the shock and it just popped it off. I think it was just kind of a fluke thing. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

It was Gregg’s first win in eight starts at Placerville. He has four top-five finishes at the track. He qualified second for the race, but had to pass two cars to take the lead. “Once I got the lead, I could pick and choose my line,” Gregg said. “We started to stretch out a little bit of a lead.”

He was fifth in the heat race, but Gregg said he wanted to take it easy early in the night and try to avoid the last-chance qualifier to make the main event.

“Sometimes it’s better just to settle in and take that transfer spot than to not make a direct transfer in to the main event,” Gregg said. “Heat races don’t pay any money. That fifth-place finish doesn’t necessarily reflect how good the car was. The car was handling great. We had a lot of momentum. The heat race is more strategy than anything.”

Gregg, who lives in Placerville, was third in the Wing 360 Sprint standings at the track after winning his first race. Even though Placerville Speedway is his home track, he doesn’t race there as much as he would like to.

“It’s actually my hometown track, but I don’t get to race there that often because we are constantly chasing the bigger races,” Gregg said. “We venture up into Oregon and Washington, Nevada and Arizona, too. It’s a lot of racing to do.”

He does not plan on racing for the track championship at Placerville. There are races in Oregon that he plans to enter during the summer.

“We’re not committed to the championship there,” Gregg said. “At the moment we’re third in points. We might venture out to some bigger, more prestigious races.” He credits the K&N air and oil filters for allowing to his team to compete at such a high level.

“Every little bit helps,” Gregg said. “They’re air filters are bar-none the best when it comes to dirt. It’s really strong and can really handle the abuse. That’s why their stuff is far superior than the other Sprint car air filters out there. Their oil filters are my favorite. On the bottom of them they have the nut, where you can use. There are times when things get really greasy and dirty and it’s hard to get the oil filter off. The K&N brand has the quick remove.”

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.

Related K&N News Articles about Andy Gregg and Sprint Car racing: Andy Gregg Kicks Off 2013 with a Strong Showing at Marysville Raceway Park; New Golden State Challenge Sprint Car Track Record Broken with Fastest Time at Ocean Speedway

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ASCS Lucas Oil National Series Sprint Car Win for Jason Johnson at I-30 Speedway

18 May 2013

Jason Johnson gains third win of the season at ASCS Lucas Oil National Series at I-30 Speedway

It was a night of near perfection for Jason Johnson in the ASCS Lucas Oil National Series at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas. The three-time and defending series champion started on the front row, waited patiently for an opening and attacked when the time was right to win Round 8 of the sprint car series and take a commanding lead in the points standings. It was Johnson’s third win of the season.

“Anytime you can win an ASCS National tour event, it is a big night,” Johnson said. “We always look forward to coming to I-30, and the management changed the surface up this time, so we had some work to do. The team did a great job dialing in the Maxim Chassis to perfection.”

Johnson used the cushion to make the pass for the lead and then took advantage of lapped traffic to hold off Johnny Herrera in the final laps. Johnson currently leads Herrera by 43 points heading in to the April 27th event at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Johnson’s Stenhouse Jr. racing team is on a tear lately. The team dominated the weekend at Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Arizona., in early March.

“The team put together a picture perfect weekend by sweeping both events,” Johnson said. “Cocopah Speedway has promised a bonus if any driver can sweep the four ASCS events at the track, so we are definitely looking forward to that challenge.”

The only hiccup in Johnson’s season came the night before his win at I-30. The ASCS National Tour race at Golden Triangle Speedway in Beaumont, Texas, was set to be a good race, but Johnson spun himself out in turn one on the first lap. After restarting in 24th, he managed to work his way back to fourth before the checkered flag flew.

“No doubt, if it was not for our first lap incident, I feel we had a car good enough to add to our victories,” Johnson said.

Johnson said continuity is the biggest reason his team has carried over its success from last season.

“Philip Dietz, Tim Courmier and Jamie Martin have been working together for a few years now, and they work well together,” Johnson said. “That continued relationship plus the relationship with all of our marketing partners and product partners give us confidence to represent all of those brands well both on and off the track.”

Of course, it’s never too early to start looking ahead to the most prestigious event in dirt track racing, the Knoxville Nationals.

“We’ve won championships and races at Knoxville, but it’s always our goal to win the 360 Nationals and have a strong showing in the 410 Nationals,” Johnson said. “We are confident that our Roush Yates Racing Engines will give us that opportunity come Knoxville time.”

One constant in those engines is the protection provided by K&N Filters.

“K&N Filters have become an important ingredient in the success of our team year in and year out,” Johnson said. “K&N has kept our Roush Yates engines at peak performance while filtering out all the dirty environments we race in. From air filtration to oil filtration, we have had no engine troubles related to our K&N Filters.

“K&N Filters give us the opportunity to compete for championship.”

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.

Related K&N News Articles about Jason Johnson: Jason Johnson Rolls Into I-30 Speedway With Points Lead; ASCS Championship Driver Jason Johnson Leads After a Sizzlin' 2012 Speedweek Performance; Jason Johnson and Stenhouse Jr. Racing Have Successful First ASCS 305 Outing; Jason Johnson and JJR Puts I-30 Behind Them and Focuses on Remainder of the Season;

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