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Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series' Steve Bucaro and His 400cc Pilot Class Buggy at Lake Elsinore

13 Sept 2012

Steve Bucaro became a fully sponsored driver this year, joining Kenny Osborne's Black Rhino team, a move that is paying huge dividends.

It can be argued that no nickname fits a person better than Steve 'Wheels' Bucaro. A double meaning, Wheels earned the nickname for both the right and the wrong reasons. A paraplegic as a result of a motorcycle accident, Bucaro now relies on a pair of wheels to perform everyday activities, but when it's time to prove to people that his disability is just a minor inconvenience, Bucaro turns a set of wheels with a little bit of horsepower.

This season Steve Bucaro is running in the Pilot class for the regional Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.

"For me, driving is the ultimate freedom from being in a wheelchair," Bucaro said. "And then you get in a racecar and have people chasing you as well as yourself trying to chase down someone else is great."

Bucaro has looked into all forms of racing, but he found a passion in off-road racing. This season Bucaro is running in the Pilot class for the regional Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Because the Pilot program is still growing, the division runs with the SR1 Rhino class, and Bucaro loves every minute of it.

"I am pretty darn quick for a twenty two year old, 400cc buggy. I have an absolute blast every time I strap in, and my results are proof of my passion for racing. With the exception of one (did not finish), all the other races have resulted in first place."

Bucaro became a fully sponsored driver this year, joining Kenny Osborne's Black Rhino team, a move that is paying huge dividends not only now, but also hopefully down the road as well.

Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series' Steve Bucaro and his 400cc buggy

"To be able to pit under a tent and with such a great company and group of people is flat-out awesome. Being the only paralyzed driver in our series and having someone recognize your passion and drive is the best feeling in the world, so to that I owe a 'thank you' to Kenny and everyone at Black Rhino.

"My goal is to be in a SR 1 Rhino next season and just keep moving up from there, hopefully into Super Lite and Pro Lite trucks."

While Bucaro has enjoyed jumping back onto a specially modified motorcycle, he says nothing fills his need for speed like off-road racing.

"I think the rush and easy accessibility, plus getting a little dirty makes off-road racing the most fun and best choice. I have drifted, still ride street bikes and drive every chance I get, but nothing takes the cake like one of my races. Pushing yourself for a faster time and smoother line is something that can't be matched. Plus, you get out and roll away in the wheelchair and people like at you saying 'what?' I think that's funny."

Wheels is looking forward to the season finale coming up in Las Vegas, where the California series will run a combined event with vehicles from Utah and Arizona as well. Bucaro thinks the event is "going to be explosive."

Bucaro also wanted to thank K&N for their support of his racing career.

"K&N is the only oil and air filter I have or ever will use. Proven performance, more horsepower and a family-like company, what else could you want? Everyone at K&N is great and my loyalty will always lie with them. I'm looking to get that second championship this season thanks to them."

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.

Ray Cook Finishes Top 5 at Smokey Mountain Speedway in Ultimate Super Late Model Series

11 Sept 2012

After a rocky ride during mid-season, Ray Cook is back on track and looking forward to the remainder of the season

Ray Cook and team D&R Motorsports, recently rolled into Maryville, Tennessee, eager to race in the Late Model class at the Smokey Mountain Speedway. Four-thousand dollars awaited the winner of the Ultimate Super Late Model Series event. Cook and his team were confident they had a good chance to walk away with another victory under their belts. To this point, the season had been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for the team, but it appeared that everything was finally starting to pan out.

"We started the season out really well," recalled Cook. "In fact, we had the best start that I have probably ever had. And then about the middle of March, we had some engine troubles and pretty much struggled through April and May, because we didn't have a good engine package back. During those couple of months, we really weren't happy with our performance, because we were behind the eight-ball. We got our new engine back in July," he continued, "and it really turned our program back around to where it was at the beginning of the season. We had some setbacks, but now we have it back on track and hope to end the year like we started."

Entering the race with confidence on his side, Ray Cook qualified fourth quickest and in turn, earned an outside spot on the second row for the forty-lap main event. At the waving of the green flag, the Brasstown, North Carolina native embarked upon a hard-fought battle remaining in the top five of the field. At the waving of the checkered flag, Ray Cook crossed the finish line in the fourth position, just missing a spot on the podium behind Vic Hill, Tommy Kerr and Billy Ogle Jr.

"We race at Smokey Mountain Speedway about four or five times a year," recalled the driver. "It's a nice facility; a great family oriented race track. We had been there a couple of times this season. We had finished second and third and it seemed like the engine was our problem. We knew we had a good chance of winning, because we had all of the pieces that had been missing before." When asked the importance of setting an impressive qualifying time at this event, Cook continued, "Qualifying is very important. That determines where you start. The better you start, the less you have to pass."

Ray Cook, and team D&R Motorsports recently finished in the top five at the Smokey Mountain Speedway, in Maryville, Tennessee

Although success depends a great deal upon Ray Cooks driving skills, he is also aware that his team is of utmost importance. "They're very important. Believe it or not, when the night goes well, they don't have to do as much," he explained. "The nights when everything goes wrong are when they're really important. That's when we really need them. They do a lot or work at the shop before we get to the races. When you unload and are prepared, that's as good as it gets."

Referring to keeping his car on tip-top condition, the driver continued, "Maintenance is one of the most important things you do, because if you don't do it, you don't get to finish. I go back to the old saying, "In order to finish first, you must first finish", he replied.

With that in mind, Ray Cook and his crew are strong advocates of taking proper care of their engines. They have an acute understanding of the importance of keeping the internal components of their motor free of any foreign debris. To ensure their filtering needs are met, they depend upon K&N products. In fact, the driver uses K&N oil and air filters, along with pre-filters, valve cover breathers, and K&N cleaning oil and lubricants.

Referring to K&N products stability and quality Cook said, "They've been around a long time. When you take one of their products out of the box, you don't have to worry about it. You know for sure that you're getting first quality products, and that's very important. I've been using K&N products since 1996."

When asked what he enjoys most about racing, Ray Cook said, "It's the competitiveness of it. It started out as a hobby, and it eventually turned into my job. I feel fortunate that I don't dread getting up and going to work every day. I enjoy being around good people and loving what you do."

When asked, what fans can expect from him and his crew throughout the remainder of the season, Ray Cook said, "Hopefully to have more wins, and if we can't win, to stay on the top five. We've got a new engine, and our car is in good shape, so hopefully, we can end the season on a good note."

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.

Willie McCoy Wins Second Springfield Mile in AMA Pro-Harley Grand National Championship

11 Sept 2012

Willie McCoy recently walked away victorious from the Springfield Mile, which was held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds

Willie McCoy and his crew recently showed up at the Illinois State Fairgrounds with anticipations of chocking up a victory at the Springfield Mile, in the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship.

"Springfield was my first race of the season," recalled the rider. "I'm a part time racer with a wonderful family and great job; I don't have the time to race full-time anymore." Referring to his mindset going into the event, he continued, "Confidence is always good going into Springfield, because Kenny Tolbery taught me how to build and make these Harleys run fast. I love the track, and usually do pretty good at Springfield. I have been close to winning there before, and just came up a half-second or less from the victory. That is, until last September, when I finally got my first GNC win."

As the temperatures soared into the 90's, McCoy lined up against his competitors with intentions of following the same game plan that earned him a victory at this venue the year before. At the waving of the green flag, the riders shot out of the gate, and the heated battle was underway.

The recent Springfield Mile turned out to be a toe-to-toe race that was finally cinched in the final seconds by Willie McCoy

McCoy started the race off in eighth place during the first lap, but the rider had no intentions of letting a slow start get in his way. In fact, he immediately began maneuvering his bike toward the front of the pack. With perseverance and unadulterated will power, the rider finally caught up with the leaders about halfway into the race.

"Once I caught up to the lead pack, I was not sure how I was going to move to the front. They were all going really fast," shared McCoy.

The fierce battle continued throughout the twenty-five lap event. With riders going toe-to-toe, not a single competitor took a commanding lead until Willie McCoy finally took the front position within a stone's throw of the finish line. "Things just worked my way into second with a few laps to go," recalled the rider. "I got a good draft off of Brian Smith coming out of turn four on the last lap, only to lead about the last ten feet of the race."

"I was riding so hard throughout the main event that I wasn't sure what to do, except keep charging forward," he continued. "Everything just worked out perfectly. My Harley-Davidson of Wausau/Independence Harley Davidson, with awesome K&N air filters just pulled me to the finish line first. The competition is always stiff at Springfield, or any of the other AMA, GNC races. There are a lot of great riders with a good chance at winning any time you line up next to them on the track."

Explaining his take on this particular venue, the rider said, "I think the Springfield Mile is the greatest flat track race in the world. It is our most prestigious race in the history of our sport. Back in the day, prior to the present point system, if you won the Springfield Mile, you were the champ that year." When asked what advantage he had over his competitors, McCoy's answer was short and to the point, "God was showing me the way to the front."

Willie McCoy was quick to credit his team for the role they play in his success. "I think having a good team is very important," he stated. "You have to have great support to help you do your job, which is, win races."

Along with his riding skills, Wille McCoy was quick to credit his team, proper maintenance and God for his recent win at the Springfield Mile, in the AMA Pro Harley-Davidson Insurance Grand National Championship

The rider is also a strong advocate of maintenance and relies on K&N products to handle his filtering needs. "Maintenance is very important, especially on these Harley Davidson XR 750s. We are making probably thirty more horsepower than they were designed for," he explained. "And we are revving up the engines probably four-thousand rpm's higher than what they were designed to handle."

In reference to K&N products, he continued, "I use the RU-1240 oval air filters, because they give you the most protection from all the dust and dirt, while giving you awesome horsepower. I have been using K&N air filters my entire professional racing career, which is going on twenty-three years. K&N products are the best in the world. I use K&N products on all of my motorcycles, race bikes, dirt bikes, street bikes and my race transporter."

When asked what fans can expect throughout the remainder of the season, Willie McCoy said, "Other than winning races, I enjoy the big family and friends that most all of us in the flattrack racing world share. Fans can expect lots of smiling, having fun, trying my hardest, appreciating everything that I have, and enjoying this wonderful life that I've been blessed with. Thank you. Thanks to God, all my family, friends and all of the supporters who have made my racing career and success possible."

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.

Casey Currie Wins at Crandon Earning 2012 Pro-Lite World Championship in TORC Series

11 Sept 2012

2012 was Casey Currie's second World Championship title at Crandon Raceway, his first came in 2010

The big one at "The Big House"-aka the Traxxas TORC Series, presented by AMSOIL returned to Wisconsin's Crandon International Off-Road Raceway for three days of high-flying, rip-roaring, dirt- spewing professional short course off-road truck and buggy racing. Crandon on Labor Day is the considered by most to be the absolute pinnacle of short-course racing in the United States, it's the one win you need on your resume in order to be tagged an indisputable World Champion. K&N's Casey Currie and team returned to Crandon, the site of his first World Championship in 2010, and Currie proceeded to open a Monster size can of whoop-ass on the competition, winning back-to-back Pro-Lite races and leaving no doubt about who gets to wear the crown.

The K&N backed driver said his truck ran clean all weekend, with no problems, and the track was great

"Being back in Crandon is a great feeling," beamed Currie. "The vibe is great, the huge amount of people is insane, and you just can't beat the support in the stands with such a large crowd. Crandon is the track that has the fans. For me it's about putting on a show. You can hear the crowd cheering you on when you come through turn one! Also, the land rush start makes it a fair race. Everyone has a chance for a win or a hole-shot."

Unlike other venues, there aren't shinny bleachers set up, Crandon is more like a rock and roll carnival experience with over 50,000 plus fans bringing their own lawn chairs and blankets and completely filling the grassy hills surrounding the track. With motorhomes and tents lining the perimeter of the pits, it's wide open motorsport entertainment on the highest level that doesn't stop just because the sun goes down.

Qualifying fifth on Friday, Currie lined up for Saturday's race in the traditional land rush start at Crandon Raceway. Currie's reaction was spot on as he got off to take second place coming out of the first turn. The gifted K&N driver wasted little time in grabbing the lead, leaving the rest of the field with nothing to do but follow him to victory.

For Sunday's race Currie was lined up in the number six spot on the start. As soon as the green flag dropped, he hammered down on that throttle, out-braked the competition through the gravel pit, and took a wide outside line in turn three to take the lead in only the first lap.

"Once we reached the head of the pack, we held our line and were able to keep up to 30 car lengths on everyone," explained Currie. "The truck ran clean, with no problems, and the track was great. On top of it all, the fans were amazing and we can't wait to do it again next year!"

Currie wasted no time in grabbing the lead both days and then setting the pace for the rest of the field

After their stellar performance at Crandon the Casey Currie Motorsports headed back home to Anaheim, California to begin prepping for the Lucas Oil Off Road's rounds 11 and 12 at Las Vegas Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"This year we have had some great races in TORC and Lucas," commented Currie regarding his overall view of 2012. "We won in Reno, which was great! And of course winning in Crandon, and being crowned World Champion is always a cool thing. We are working on all types of new things for next year, but we will definitely be racing Pro-Lite, that's for sure!"

A land rush start is when all 25 trucks line up parallel, and when the flag waves it's an explosion of horsepower and willpower rushing towards the first turn. "When we hit turn-one we can only fit three wide," adds Currie, "So it gets tight and the racing gets good right from the beginning."

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.

K&N's Shea Holbrook Streams Live In-Car Video from Her TrueCar and Virgin Sportscar

11 Sept 2012

Shea Holbrook is the first and only Pirelli World Challenge driver to stream live video from the cockpit of her No.67 Honda Civic Si in 2012

Every racing enthusiast has at some point spent time daydreaming about what it would be like to sit shotgun next to a world class racer sharing the adrenaline surge with them in real-time. K&N's Shea Holbrook has come up with a novel approach to bring all her fans along for the ride of their life. The TrueCar and Virgin sportscar racer recently became the first and only Pirelli World Challenge driver to stream live video from the cockpit of her No.67 Honda Civic Si during all on track sessions beginning at the Mid Ohio Sportscar Challenge.

"We had been thinking about featuring live in-car feed for a while now and we made it happen for the Mid Ohio races," said Holbrook. "We did it to give a unique insight that the fans would only get in the cockpit of my racecar and give added value to our wonderful partners. Not only can you watch the live in-car but, you can also hear all radio communication between the team, my coach, and me. It's pretty rad and we're the only team in the series doing it. Being the first team in the series to provide the free Livestream account is also very exciting for us. This technology is just one more way that we enable our fans to experience all of the on-track action and truly become a member of the TrueCar/Shea Racing Team."

The K&N sponsored driver made it to the podium twice at Mosport, the fastest race track in North America, according to Shea Holbrook

Shea Holbrook became the first women to ever win a Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car race in 2011, winning the Long Beach Grand Prix, along with winning Best Standing Start and the Hard Charger Award. Many people might believe a talented driver's life is one dimensional, filled only with all things racing, but Shea Holbrook is wholly multifaceted. At the same time that she has been creating an enviable racing career, she was also a fulltime college student.

"Well, I'm a college graduate! I graduated from the University of Central Florida in May with a Communications and Marketing degree," said Holbrook. "Boy, I'm glad that's over with (haha)! It was my goal to finish my four year degree within four years no matter what. I'm extremely happy I stuck with it considering my life changed dramatically after my involvement with TrueCar Racing. My degree is absolutely beneficial and paralleled in my racing career. And life is good."

Life and racing has indeed been good to Shea Holbrook once again this season as she finished fourth place overall in the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge. In recounting some of her highlights from the season Holbrook says, "Mosport was an unbelievable weekend for us, as we qualified P2, and I was on the podium twice. Mosport is the fastest race track in North America, so to have such a great performance like we did, I felt it really set us apart from our competitors. We continued that momentum into the Sonoma championship weekend. At Mosport, I felt wicked fast, at Sonoma I felt extremely confident. Sonoma was emotional for me, as it was my first 'championship' race after a full season of pro racing."

Shea Holbrook the college grad is looking forward to the Pirelli World Challenge Championships in 2013

"We definitely came into the Sonoma weekend with confidence and the determination to perform well," Holbrook continued. "Although we were a solid 4th place finisher for the three races that weekend, I believe we had a better overall racecar, and my on track performance was strong. We held as high as P2, won the Cadillac CTS-V Move of the Race for overtaking three cars, and turned heads because of our multiple on track battles."

The next event up on Shea Holbrook's race calendar is "The FireBall Run" which kicks off September 21-29th. "I was asked to participate in another rally too called 'Her Highway' which benefits breast cancer," she adds. "I'll finish up with them November 2nd in New York City, and for sure you'll see me in the Pirelli World Challenge Championships 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.