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Super Late Model Racer Chris Ferguson Reflects on 2012 Race Season

26 Feb 2013

The televised Fastrak World Championships was a 2012 highlight moment for Ferguson.

Racing isn't simply about the black and white of winning or losing. It exists in the vast gray area between those polar opposites. The ability to spot the details in the brilliance between those extremes, and then connect the dots, gives you a far clear overall perspective.

Chris Ferguson had his ups and downs in 2012 but the highlights hint at a potentially stellar 2013.

"2012 was a tough season for us," remarked Ferguson. "There is no doubt that we should have won a lot more races, but the results don't show it. I think this year was one of the toughest of my racing career, but we managed to make some noise with some big wins."

"My biggest highlight of the year had to come from winning at The Dirt Track in Charlotte in May. We qualified on the pole with over 40 cars in attendance. After the pill redraw, we had to start fourth. After chasing down the leader for 26 laps, we passed him with 4 laps to go and then held on for the win. It was awesome being in victory lane there with over 15,000 people in the crowd."

Clearly that qualifies in the "best of times" column, but Ferguson illustrates how a DNF can represent one of those sparks of brightness that exists only in the aforementioned gray area. The Chris Ferguson Motorsports team returned to the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for their NDRA-sanctioned event, and they were looking to defend their win from earlier that year.

Cherokee Speedway was another highlight in Ferguson's year.

Ferguson set fast time among the 43 cars on hand and appeared to be on his way to another big win when he suffered a broken shock after leading the first 17 laps. He was able to hold on and still get a 4th place finish, but he was nevertheless disappointed.

"We had the race at Charlotte won. I was just trying to stay out of trouble and trying to take care of the car. The track was just so rough. And that's not an excuse. We all had to race on the same track but we broke a shock and it slowed us way down," commented Ferguson after that race.

After peering into the rearview mirror of 2012 he adds, "We were on track to win the October race at Charlotte after setting on the pole and leading 17 laps, before the right front shock broke. Those were two of the coolest highlights of the year, running that good in front of that many people, and also in front of my hometown crowd."

The K&N sponsored driver is looking to convert the lessons of 2012 into a successful season this year.

Another highlight for the Ferguson Motorsports crew came when he won opening night of the Fastrak World Championships. That particular event will be televised on Fox Sports Network in February 2013.

"With over 80 cars entered, we qualified 8th, won our heat race, and started fourth in the main event. After chasing the leaders early, we look the lead on lap 8 and never looked back. Winning in front of the camera was a first for me, and I'm very blessed to be able to compete at that level."

Then just a couple of months back in November, Ferguson climbed back aboard his CFM Vic Hill powered No. 22 Warrior Race Car and head for Madison, North Carolina and the confines of the 311 Speedway for the Carolina Clash $4000 to win "Clash Bash." That event signaled the season finale for the Super Late Model Series. Ferguson had already found victory lane at 311 earlier in the season, in the crate machine, and he expected to apply some of what he learned in the Crate car to the Super Late Model for this event.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the finish we wanted in the Carolina Clash Bash Finale," said Ferguson. "We started 10th in the feature and finished in 10th. The track was very tough to race on so it made the passing minimal. However we brought the car home in one piece and finished the race."

"I will start my 2013 season driving for two different teams, then back with my own team in March. I will be racing the East Bay Winternationals with the McCarter Towing/David Smith team January 31st, February 1st and 2nd. I will then be racing for the Mike Mercer owned crate team that I drove for in 2012, at Screven Raceway Winter Freeze February 7, 8, and 9th."

In March we will debut with Chris Ferguson Motorsports with a brand new Warrior Chassis and Clements Racing Engine at Gordon Park Speedway March 2nd. Then we will head to Cherokee Speedway for the $10,000 to win March Maddness."

When asked if he had made his peace with the 2012 season Ferguson said, "Fortunately I have, and that's because in racing luck can go either way. I've learned to not get upset with bad luck, and to celebrate with good luck. All you can do is go out there and do your best every time."

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.

Team Faith Rider Kelly Smith Fourth in AMA Amsoil Arenacross Series Points Race

26 Feb 2013

Missing his original flight into Tulsa, Team Faith's Kelly Smith arrived at the BOK Center with only minutes to spare.

Team Faith shares many similarities with their competitors in the AMA Amsoil Arenacross Series. Each and every rider spends countless hours not only fine tuning their skill levels, but also getting physically prepared for the rigors of the sport. Each team enters every venue with high hopes of walking away with the victory and improving their position in the points race.

Team Faith Rider, Kelly Smith, recently jumped into the fourth spot in the points race in the AMA Amsoil Arenacross series

Team Faith also has another goal that they find equally as important as positions on the podium. As a non-profit multi-faceted ministry, they strive to "impact people who are enthusiastic about moto and action sports."

Of course, there are always uncertainties in the world of racing, but upon recently rolling into the BOK Center at Tulsa, Oklahoma, the drama was more intense than usual for Team Faith. Rider, Jeff Gibson would not be attending the event, and rightfully so. He and his wife, Shannel, had been blessed with a beautiful baby girl just s few days prior. Sitting fourth in the points race and 15 points ahead of the fifth-pace rider, Gibson could afford to spend this valuable time with his wife and first child.

"We knew before the season started that Jeff's wife, Shannel, was pregnant, and the timing was such that he was probably going to miss a round of racing," recalled Team Faith member, Brian O'Rourke. "We are thankful that it happened to be a round that consisted of only one night of racing, rather than two. For our team, family comes before racing. We supported his decision to stay home one-hundred-percent. And as it turned out, he only lost one positioning point, and that was to his teammate, Kelly Smith."

As Gibson was not scheduled to attend the race, Kelly Smith was the only rider scheduled to represent their team. As luck would have it though, the lone team rider's flight out of Detroit was delayed. It was starting to look like a race that had likely been anticipated for months was on the road to disaster.

"Kelly missing his first flight into Tulsa from Grand Rapids was starting out to be one of those weekends," shared O'Rourke. "I saw our friend, Justin Buckalew, walking around in the pits, and I seriously asked if he'd be willing to ride either Kelly's or Jeff's bike if neither showed up! But the airline got Kelly rebooked for the next day (raceday) with an arrival time that still made it possible for him to make at least one of the two practices. As it turned out, the flight was early, and he made it just in time to do both practices, which was good, because Bucky said he was on the tenth step of his twelve-step program to quit racing. And we were making it really hard for him to say no."

With a rider on the premises, Team Faith was geared up and ready to roll. After finishing 12th in practice, Kelly took his first holeshot of the night when the gates dropped, indicating the beginning of the second heat. After leading the pack for about one-half the race, the rider fell into second place, where he would cross the finish line.

Kelly took the holeeshot again in the first main feature, and held the lead for the first lap. But the current AMA Amsoil Arenacross points leader, Tyler Bowers, managed to work his way to the front where he would remain until earning the checkered flag. Managing to stay in front of the remainder of the field, Smith earned Team Faith a second place finish.

After the inversion, the rider was scheduled to start the second main of the night with a seventh gate pick. In spite of another great start, Kelly Smith "got pushed wide into another rider", and fell back into the eighth position. The rider remained eighth throughout a majority of the race, but lost another spot to fellow rider, Zach Ames in the final lap. When the dust had settled, Kelly finished the night sixth overall, not a bad conclusion to a night that started off chaotic at best.

When asked about the team's confidence level, O'Rourke answered, "After Tulsa, Kelly jumped into fourth and Gibby fell only one spot to fifth. So we are gaining confidence with every round of racing. Both guys are dialing in now, and the whole team is working well together. We expect it only to get better."

Referring to their game plan throughout the remainder of the season, O'Rourke continued, "Once the points are reset for the Chase to the Championship, the keys to success are going to be getting great starts and beating Tyler Bowers. The guy is a phenomenal Arenacross racer and at the moment is proving very hard to beat."

O'Rourke and the rest of the crew are also aware that maintenance will play a significant role in their overall success. "Maintaining our race vehicles is extremely important," he ensured. "It can make the difference in winning and losing."

That in mind Team Faith strives to keep their engines contaminant free. "We are thankful for sponsors like K&N, who makes great products that stand up to the rigors of the high intensity racing that we participate in. We've been using K&N filters since we started racing in 1994," explained O'Rourke.

"K&N makes the highest quality products, hands down. In fact, I think we drive our K&N rep., Johnny Jump, crazy with how often we change our oil filters. Truth is, we probably do not need to change them as much as we do. But to my knowledge, we have never had a mechanical failure due to a K&N product.."

With a good idea of what it will take to end the season in the winners circle, Team Faith is focused and eager for each and every race lurking down the road. But the crew is also eager to reach each and every spectator and fan.

"Fans can expect us to be competitive for the remainder of the season," explained O'Rourke. Both Kelly Smith and Jeff Gibson are seasoned veterans of Arenacross, and they know what they need to do to win. And they both want to win! The team crew is solid, and we have our routine down. So I don't see any reason why we can't go out and perform to the level we are capable of and come out on top on any given weekend. We are all working hard, and we should be right there in the mix week in and week out."

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.

Modified 2007 Dodge Magnum R/T 5.7L HEMI V8 Powered SEMA Feature in DUB Booth

25 Feb 2013

Dodge Magnum at SEMA amazing custom exterior paint

Dodge Magnum R/T at SEMA amazing custom exterior paint

As a great man once said, "a picture is worth a thousand words." In the case of Rudy and Sonia Lopez's 2007 Dodge Magnum, the picture is a large one with many subtle and obvious details. Introduced in 2004 as a 2005 model year, the Magnum name has adorned many different platforms with the most recent being a rear-wheel drive station wagon donning multiple personalities.

Rudy and Sonia Lopez's 2007 Dodge Magnum at SEMA

Available with the standard V6 or the legendary Hemi V8 motors, consumers have the ability to pick and choose whether to walk on the safe side or drive like a bat out of hell.

For Rudy and Sonia, they chose the 2007 Dodge Magnum R/T equipped with a powerful 5.7 liter Hemi V8. Being "average" car enthusiasts, Rudy and Sonia arrived at the 2012 SEMA show to high accolades with an above average ride, or should we say a low ride. Completed with no donations or sponsorships, save for their hard earned money, these two car enthusiasts had only attended SEMA once previously in 2011 as spectators. Having dabbled slightly in air suspension and bodywork, Rudy is more of a "detail guy making whatever it may be sparkle and shine" and who wanted to build a car with "no theme or special interest ... other than wanting the "wtf" reaction out of people when they see it."

SEMA 2012 DUB booth featured custom 2007 Dodge Magnum R/T

SEMA 2012 DUB booth featured custom Dodge Magnum R/T

The intricate "ghosted and hologrammed" details of the paint job leave onlookers astonished by what they see and what they possibly didn't see. Plenty of people though see the amount of work and detail that has gone into this Magnum and have given Rudy and Sonia something else to show off:

Modified Dodge Magnum with K&N air intake system at SEMA

Modified Dodge Magnum R/T with K&N air intake system at SEMA

numerous car show awards, features in Streetseen Magazine, J-Lug Magazine, the 2013 Route 66 Casino Calendar, Piloteando TV, and other social media sites. When asked why they chose K&N, Rudy replied "we have the K&N cold air intake on the vehicle, reason being number one just the quality of the product, and overall performance, appearance, durability and the warranty of the product."

These two newly inducted SEMA veterans are planning on modifying Sonia's 2007 Chevy Avalanche with air bags, 28 inch wheels, a full Coach interior and new paint. Here is a list of the modifications done to the Magnum:

SEMA featured 2007 Dodge Magnum R/T with 5.7L HEMI V8

Air ride suspension
Full leather interior
Suede accents
Painted interior panels
Exterior paint

We asked Rudy what their goals are for the future and he replied "for this upcoming year is more exposure, more magazines, more awards and just keep doing what we love to do fixing up are cars as a hobby, showing at car shows and bringing smiles to people's faces." Sounds like a great plan to us.

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.

KWS Motorsports Wins 2012 WERA Superbike National Championship in Dramatic Finals Showdown

25 Feb 2013

Luie Zendejas rode his most consistent race at the finals, rounding off the podium with a third place finish for the championship.

"The harder the battle the sweeter Jah victory," wrote Bob Marley. After a historic WERA Grand National Finals that saw Sean Dwyer and Tim Bemisderfer battle all the way to the last corner for Superbike National Championship, those words couldn't resonate any clearer. For the first time in its 40 year history, WERA, the oldest and largest national motorcycle roadracing sanctioning body, contested the final stop of their National Championship at Barber Motorsports Park.

Sean Dwyer clinched the WERA Superbike National Championship with a last corner pass at Barber Motorsports Park.

It came down to the last race, Dwyer versus Bemisderfer, whoever won the race earned the title. Dwyer lost ground going into the last lap, and most fans didn't think he would be able to make it up. Dwyer however didn't read that script, he put his head down on the back straight and went after Bemisderfer, squeezing past in the last corner and beating him to the finish line by a fraction of a second. Millennium/KWS Racing Teammate, Luie Zendejas rode his most consistent race to date, finishing third in the race and the championship. The team also credited their crew chief, Michael Godin for all his tireless hours at the shop, traveling and for his work at the races, for helping to get his guys on the box so often.

How does winning the championship in such a spectacular finish stack up against your other championships?

Millennium/KWS Racing is extremely optimistic about their 2013 season.

Dwyer - "In the past, I've honestly never really paid attention to championships. I have won many, but I've always just cared about winning races and figured if I did that, the championship would take care of itself. That being said, coming into this season, I really wanted to win this WERA Superbike Championship. I see it as the premier event at the WERA Nationals, the best riders, on their best bike, pushing at the limit. I guess that is why it seemed worth it, because of the level of talent and how hard it would be. That's what it's all about. We really had a lot of good people behind our effort this year and I wanted to give 100% towards this championship as a way to thank all those people for their support."

"The final race of the season was just an epic way to decide this championship. With Tim and myself separated by only a point or two and three points spread between 1st and 2nd place, it was basically a "winner take all" situation. The race itself turned out to be a war, with close racing throughout. I led some, Tim led some, and there were some bar banging moments and just good hard racing. Coming to the white flag, I thought I might not be able to get it done, but just decided at the beginning of the final lap that it was worth hanging it all out. Tim made a mistake and I put together a real good lap. In the final corners, I had been saving a move all weekend that I hadn't shown to anyone, even in practice. I wasn't sure it would work, but I threw everything I had at it and got it done. What a race!

Zendejas - "I think this year's championship was unlike others, and the reason for that is the lack of money in motorcycle racing as a whole. We did a very good job on supporting our sponsors and focusing on care and attention to detail of our equipment, rider training (on and off the track) and a more strategic team focus. I believe those are the key ingredients in our success this year."

Crew chief Michael Godin flanked by Dwyer and Zendejas (left to right).

Godin - "This championship means so much to us. It is a series that really reflects the talent of the riders and the dedication of everyone involved. It has been over ten years since we last won a championship (2001 Formula USA Superbike) and after running the AMA series for many years against the factory and big budget teams, we went back to where we started and have been focusing on the WERA Nationals and Regionals. This is the heart of our customer base for roadracing, and is a place where winning on Sunday sells on Monday."

What was the overall reaction to having the final stop of WERA at Barber Motorsports Park this year?

Dwyer - "We really liked the GNF at Barber. This was my first GNF experience, but certainly not the teams, and the track made for a perfect venue for a winner take all situation. The track is really challenging and a joy to ride. Barber is a real "riders track" and for that reason, it makes for a great place to decide a championship."

Zendejas - "It's a great facility and a challenging track, however the history of having the GNF at Road Atlanta is hard to beat especially for the super bikes. Road Atlanta suits us for high speed and big power, and I kinda miss that in the Grand National finals."

Anything new planned for next season that you'd care to share?

Godin - "There is possibly of a bike change for Luie while Sean will be defending his No. 1 plate. We are also adding another support rider, James Dellinger, into our lineup, and we're looking to sweep the podium at all the race's we enter. And we are always looking to squeeze out those last few ponies out of any of the bikes we race, and it all starts at the K&N air filter. Huge thanks to K&N Filters for the support this year. The filters were great and a big part of our excellent power. Thanks guys. Look for us on the podium in 2013!"

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.

Dual Performance Air Filters for 2012 McLaren MP4-12C 3.8L are Designed to Increase Horsepower

25 Feb 2013

K&N 2012 McLaren MP4-12C 3.8L Air Filters

The McLaren MP4-12C has been tagged the perfect supercar, with a Jekyll and Hyde personality that can at one moment soak up freeway miles like the cushiest land yacht, and the next hammer down your favorite back road like a fire spitting Formula 1 racer. Yes, it actually does shoot flames from the exhaust. Its lines are so utterly sexy it appears to flirt its way through wind resistance. Swipe your hand underneath the handle-less door and the 12C's dihedral, insect-like entrance opens forward and up, similar to the doors on the 1993 McLaren F1, which many still worship today as the definitive supercar of that era.

K&N Air Filters for 2012 McLaren MP4-12C 3.8L

The 12C is in fact the first production car entirely designed and built by McLaren since the F-1. A big part of the McLaren's adaptability comes from its advanced and rather unique suspension design. By utilizing electronic dampers and a hydraulic roll control system that acts as a virtual anti-roll bar, the car can be set up to ride cushy and compliant, or firm, which keeps body roll practically nonexistent. This makes the 12C a useable supercar you can actually drive to work.

Flow Chart for K&N E-0667 McLaren MP4-12C 3.8L Air Filter

The MP4-12C features a carbon fiber composite chassis and it's powered by a mid-mounted McLaren M838T, 3.8 liter, V8, twin-turbo. With a 4000-rpm spread between torque and horsepower peaks, the 12C's engine feels more like a V10. And with 593 horsepower keen on chaos, zero to 60 mph runs slam you back in the seats for a mere three second, and it dashes through a quarter-mile in less than 11 seconds. Even with those impressive powers, 2012 McLaren MP4-12C models with the 3.8 liter engine can improve performance with the dual, high flow air filters, in K&N part E-0667. K&N's McLaren MP4-12C replacement air filters are designed to improve horsepower and torque while providing excellent engine protection from dirt and debris.

K&N performance air filters for McLaren MP4-12C, part E-0667, are washable and reusable, which means buying new air filters to replace your dirty filters is a thing of the past. Cleaning your K&N performance air filter is as easy as following the instructions in a K&N Recharger Kit. Depending on your driving circumstances, the two K&N air filters included in part E-0667 can go up to 50,000 miles before cleaning is required depending on driving conditions. K&N E-0667, high flow replacement air filters, are backed by K&N's Million Mile Limited Warranty and will be the last set of air filters you'll ever need to purchase for your 2012 McLaren MP-4-12C.

K&N E-0667 (2 filters per box) will fit a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C with a 3.8 liter V8 engine.

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.