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Two Comp Eliminator Finals for David Rampy at NHRA Nationals in Brainerd & Div 3 in Bowling Green

7 Sept 2012

David Rampy drives a Bantam dragster in the extremely competitive NHRA Competition Eliminator class

With an outstanding professional sportsman drag racing career that keeps going like the Energizer Bunny, David Rampy recently added two more Competition Eliminator finals to his sensational total. Rampy first put his K&N A/EA 1932 Bantam into the final round during the 31st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota and after making near one thousand mile trek from Minnesota to southwest Kentucky, he did it again the very next weekend during the final NHRA Div 3 event in Bowling Green.

The Piedmont, Alabama racer not only competes with his 1932 Bantam at each event he attends, he also wheels his K&N backed Camaro in Super Stock, but that car wouldn't be the one taking him to either of his latest finals. "It was just one of those races in the Super Stock car and you gotta have some of that luck and it just wasn't there for the Brainerd race," he pointed out.

Qualifying position in both of the classes that Rampy competes in are very important and depending on what particular cars are entered and how many that makes final position especially crucial at some races even more than others. "There was a short field in Comp and actually most of the classes there were kind of short," he stated. "Sometimes I wonder why they [NHRA] has that race way up there, but the fans they get for that event are just incredible. But the car count is a little lower, just because the location is so far away. But, since the car count was short, I hate to admit it, but for this event I really didn't care where I qualified as long as it was on the other side of the ladder from Bruno [Massel]."

"So, we accomplished that," he continued. "I felt like it probably wasn't the best spot in the world, it was a decent spot, but like I said, the main thing was to stay opposite of Bruno, so if we did have to meet, it wouldn't be until the final. Right now, he's so dangum fast, ain't nobody that can outrun him."

Rampy recenlty made it to the final round of elimiations at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota

Competition Eliminator is a highly complex category made up of a multitude of classes, each with their own index based on weight verses cubic inches. A category where you can find everything from high winding twin-turbo 4-cylinders, to big block Chevy's and even crazy seven second inline 6-clyinders that were swiped out of a Chevy Trailblazer. It's all about getting there first, which most of the time will take running well under your class index, and unlike other categories there is no breakout to worry about, but you can "hurt" your index or take a "CIC" hit that a driver will have to carry into any further rounds for the remainder of the event.

Rampy made his way through his first round match up with Frank Cervelli where the pair left nearly identical on the tree, but it would be Rampy just edging Cervelli for the win light, doing so while carefully protecting his index. Next the K&N racer would race Pat Nahan, who was trying to claim one at his home race. This time Rampy wouldn't be quite so fortunate in the CIC department and would take a three hundredths hit when he dipped .532 under his 7.84 A/EA index after posting a 7.308 to take the win and move on to the semi-finals.

"That was just going to be a very tough run," he noted of the pass against Nahan. "I'm not saying any negative, by any means, about him, but he's still a little inexperienced. I felt like if I could cut a good light and he might make a mistake, and he did when he was a little late on the tree, that we would be able to squeak by. I'm glad that I didn't have to use anymore [index] than I had to there."

"The weather over the event was about as perfect as you could ask for," he pointed out. "It was about as beautiful as could be, but there is no barometer there. Normally, if you were to have been about anywhere else, folks would have been a lot faster and the low barometer affects altitude there and just makes a difference on how the cars run. The cars still ran good, just not like what they could say if you were closer to sea level."

Rampy's car was still certainly running good enough to take down yet another competitor in the semifinal round. Even though he was now carrying .03 on his index, Rampy's next opponent, Shaun Vincent was carrying even more after taking a big chunk of the stripe in his previous round win. Rampy slightly edged Vincent at the line and the two fought to take the stripe by as little as possible, both drivers dipping over .500 under their index. Rampy came out on top, grabbing the win, and unfortunately picking up an extra hundredth of CIC in the process to make his total .04 heading into the final.

On the other side of the Comp Eliminator ladder, Bruno Massel was also making his way to the final round. In his 2010 Cobalt that he competes with in DD/AT, he had two lucky rounds right from the word go, when his first round competition was unable to make the call and that set him up for the bye in the quarterfinals. It was in the semifinal round where Massel gave himself quite a large tenth of a second CIC to carry on to the final round pairing with Rampy.

Rampy points out that with the way Massel's car is running compared to his classes assigned index, barring something breaking or odd taking place, it would be quite a feat to take him down and when asked what kind of mindset that would put him in going side-by-side, he was quick to say there was no pressure. "You just go out there and do your best and I didn't want to red light to him, because then he wouldn't have to take any permanent hit to his index," he explained. "I knew that I at least needed to try to put together a good run. It is very frustrating to go to the starting line knowing that unless he breaks or something that you are not going to win, but that's just part of the way things are in Comp Eliminator."

While Rampy was correct in knowing the event win would go to Massel, being the smart planner that he is, he made Massel work for it and by doing so, Massel's index took a slight permanent CIC adjustment. Rampy noted that it just may help the rest of the class some during future.

With runner-up honors in tow, Rampy packed up from the NHRA National Event and headed south to the final NHRA Division 3 event of the season. Much like the national event, Rampy swatted his way through four tough rounds of Competition at Beech Bend Raceway. Unfortunately for the multi-time world champ, he didn't get a say in how things would go down the in final round against fellow K&N racer, Brian Browell. During the semi-finals, something went awry on his normally trusty 1932 Bantam that had he and his crew chief thrashing feverously before the final.

It was just not meant to be for Rampy and when it was time to go, his car stumbled off the line allowing Browell the victory.

Rampy will continue his chaotic schedule of back-to-back events with his next stop being the NHRA U.S. Nationals just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana. A much shorter between event road trip for he and his Super Stock and Comp Eliminator cars, where he'll have just a couple of days to get them ready before the first scheduled qualifying sessions, for what many consider to be the biggest, most prestigious drag race each season.

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Western Speed Racing's Cody Gerhardt Takes 2nd at 2012 Al Pombo Classic

7 Sept 2012

USAC Western States Pavement Sprint Car Series drivers Cody Gerhardt and Tim Skoglund currently in second and third place overall

Located smack-dab in the middle of California's Central Valley you'll find Madera County Fairgrounds. It's on West Cleveland Avenue and that's where they keep Madera Speedway. The track bills itself as "The fastest 1/3 mile in the west." On Saturday June 9th Madera Speedway paid tribute to arguably one of the greatest Central Valley racing legends with the annual Al Pombo Classic. Local folklore has it that Pombo kissed bumpers and babies during his hard-charging auto racing career in the Central Valley, as he often angered fellow competitors nearly as much as he captivated the imagination of fans, both young and old.

Western Speed Racing's Cody Gerhardt earned a very impressive second place finish at Al Pombo Classic

Pombo, who launched his career in the jalopy class in 1948, went on to compete in dirt cars, hardtops, Sprint Cars and Super Modifieds, winning more than 500 main events, seven NASCAR Super Modifieds titles and numerous championships at short tracks throughout California before retiring in 1971. He was inducted into the Fresno Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.

"It was an honor paying tribute to one of the greatest racing legends from California, and it is always a great accomplishment for our team to receive a podium finish," remarked Western Speed Racing's and Madera native, Cody Gerhardt. "Congratulations to Brian McClish on his first win of the 2012 season," added the magnanimous team owner and Cody's dad, Kevin Gerhardt. "Brian was also a past driver of Western Speed Racing in 2005."

Western Speed Racing brought home a second place finish at the Al Pombo Classic in the Western Sprint Car Series with K&N's Cody Gerhardt. The team's other driver, Tim Skoglund from Fresno, California delivered with a solid fifth place finish in his Western Sprint. Skoglund was the second top qualifier with 13.503, and Gerhardt's qualifying time was 14.100, and because of the inversion Gerhardt started on the pole. His car proved to be ideally set up for the long 50 laps, as reflected by his time on lap 44, a 13.364 lap and the third fastest on the track that day. In order for Gerhardt to claim the second tier on the podium he needed to get around multi-time champion Tony Hunt, series champion Scott Pierovich, as well as veteran driver Shauna Hogg. This was clearly a stellar achievement for the talented teenager. Skoglund and Gerhardt currently sit in second and third place respectively in the USAC Western States Pavement Sprint Car Series.

Following the Al Pombo Classic, on July 14th the team took part in the 9th Annual Gerhardt Classic, an event very near and dear to their hearts. "This race is in memory of my great grandfather Fred Gerhardt," said Cody. Western Speed Racing finished 3rd and 4th place in the event.

"We've had a great year so far, both Sprints finished in top five and we've had a couple of second place finishes in the 2012 season. It would be real nice to have a feature win though," admits Cody. "We are already planning our 2013 season with some Pavement Wing Sprint races in Canada, and Idaho. Also, I want to add that my success this year couldn't have happened without the help we get from K&N Filters and Lucas Oil."

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.

ASCS Championship Driver Jason Johnson Leads After a Sizzlin' 2012 Speedweek Performance

7 Sept 2012

Jason "The Cajun Sensation" Johnson and the Stenhouse Jr. K&N Racing team currently have the ASCS championship points lead.

A common attribute shared by winners is the knack to induce amnesia at will. Dwelling on things that go crazy-awful during races would drive anyone wacky, so a fully functioning capacity to compartmentalize is a must. It's a key part of a champion's skill-set to immediately forget those things that didn't work out and remain steadfastly focused on all that did. One of the definitive tests of that ability, facing both drivers and their entire team, is the ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek. The event has been absent from the line-up since 2008 so its return to the 2012 race calendar was highly anticipated and thoroughly prepared for. In what most consider to be a bona fide test of a team's ability to overcome adversity, drivers of the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series compete seven times in just nine days, in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

"Speedweek is a fun part of our Stenhouse Jr. K&N Racing team schedule," commented Jason Johnson. "It can become real intense as the week goes on depending on the results produced. Obviously the crew guys have very long days of work to perform. From racing all evening, to the car wash and the travel through the night to the next event, it leaves very little time for sleeping and getting prepared for the next day's event. To compete in seven events in nine days it's important to keep the team alert on striving for victories day-in and day-out. As the driver it is instrumental to make sure that after each night's performance, to get a good night's sleep, and start the new day with a fresh state of mind. It's easy to get over confident when things are going well, but it's also frustrating when the week is one tough task after another. Thankfully, our JJR team keeps moving forward and focused on good performances!"

Born in Eunice, Louisiana, Jason "The Cajun Sensation" Johnson was looking to put on a great show for his hometown fans when the JJR team visited Jackson Parish to race at Jones Motor Speedway on Monday, June 18th. Johnson disappointed no one except the competition as he brought the No.41 Maxim across the stripe in first place for his 58th career ASCS National Tour victory. "The Stenhouse Jr. K&N Racing team is doing an excellent job," said Johnson in victory lane. "The last lap got a little hairy there as I didn't know where to go. But, I am glad it worked out and we got the victory with our Roush Yates Ford Engine!"

For 2012 Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have teamed up to run Roush Yates powered Ford sprint 360 engines in the ASCS series and the relationship is working pretty much as planned. Johnson currently sits atop the leader board with the ASCS points lead for the championship. In 2011 Johnson won a series leading six races and successfully defended their owner's point title.

On Tuesday, June 19th, officially the fourth day of the 2012 edition of ASCS Speedweek, Johnson and the team raced Diamond Park Speedway in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Johnson started 15th and finished 6th. And what the team focused on after that race was that this was his 38th top-ten finish in 2012, which breaks down to a sizzling 77.6 percent top-ten success rate this season.

The day after Arkansas it was off to Lawton Speedway in Oklahoma. Johnson started this one in 11th place and finished third. Once again the attention remained on the positive, as Johnson's third place finish was his 29th top-five finish in the 50 events he has entered in 2012, which is an impressive 58 percent top-five performance rate.

The driver and team got a day off from racing on Thursday as they next headed to Salina Highbanks Speedway, also in Oklahoma, for night six on Friday evening. In that contest Johnson started 1st and finished the same way. This was a series' leading fifth win for Johnson in 2012, and his 59th career ASCS National Tour victory.

The ASCS National Tour competitors pulled their haulers into the pit area at Lucas Oil Speedway for the final night of Speedweek 2012 on Saturday, June 23rd. Johnson finished 14th after starting in 17th. "Not the finish we wanted tonight, but we will go on to Little Rock next week and look for better results," said Johnson after the race. "We had a really good Speedweek capturing two wins and a lot of top five finishes. It was a fun week of racing!"

"Little Rock has been really good to us this season," continued Johnson. Each time we have made the trek down to Arkansas they have provided us with a great racing surface. This allows our Stenhouse Jr. K&N Racing team to showcase first class racing producing multiple victories at Little Rock this season. We are definitely looking forward to the Short Track Nationals down in Little Rock this October. It is one of our marquee events for the season."

"To this point of our season, we would consider 2012 a success," reflects Johnson. "Working with our new crew chief, Philip Dietz, and our unique engine package with the Roush Yates Ford 360 power plant, we set our standards high to be among one of the best. With lots of hard work and dedication from all involved, we keep striving to capture the 2012 ASCS National Points Championship. Next on our schedule is Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It holds a special place in my heart ever since I captured my very first World of Outlaws victory there back on October 11, 2003."

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.

Holland's K&N Team Brabo Lights Up the 2012 NL Dutch Drift Series

6 Sept 2012

It would be interesting to know just how many tires a season Team Brabo blows through.

In Holland as throughout most of Europe drifting continues to be one of the fastest growing of all motorsports, and one of the hottest new teams lighting up the Dutch Drift Series is K&N's Team Brabo. The team competes in a totally rebuilt-specific 1989 BMW E34 M5 powered by a 5.0 liter V8 from an E39 M5. Dennis van der Prijt is the driver and team owner. Van der Prijt also owns Brabo Rolls-Royce and Bentley Specialist in Holland, and as the name infers they specialize in Rolls Royce and Bentley motor cars.

2012 is the first season that Team Brabo has been sponsored by K&N and they are already looking forward to continuing that relationship into next season.

"I started drifting as a hobby together with a friend three years ago," said van der Prijt. "We drove a drift course at Circuit Park Zandvoort. He drove a Mercedes and I drove my BMW."

Circuit Park Zandvoort is a motorsport track in Burgemeester van Alphenstraat, located in dunes north of the town of Zandvoort in the Netherlands, along the coastline of the North Sea. Shortly after that initial introduction into drifting van der Prijt was hooked.

"After about two years of playing around with drifting I wanted more and I started with the twin-drift battles in the NL Drift series," explains van der Prijt. "The first season I managed to climb up in the top-10, out of a total of 50 teams. This season we are currently in fourth place in the series' championship with three more events to go."

Team Brabo slows to take a few pictures - can you say Reypenaer artisanal cheese?

The automotive finesse art of sliding and spinning a highly powered car on the brink of chaos through a controlled course immediately captured the imagination of van der Prijt, as it does with anyone watching or within audible range. Folklore attributes the technique of drifting to Kunimitsu Takahashi, a former professional motorcyclist who would integrate the technique into races to throw off his opponents and block their racing line during the 1970's. Then in 1980's a young man by the name of Keiichi Tsuchiya began developing Takahashi's technique into what we know as drifting today. Although deeply rooted Japanese culture where it originated, the drifting talent pool didn't really begin to fill until it reached the street culture in the United States, and tire manufacturers have been smiling ear-to-ear ever since.

Dennis van der Prijt and five other teams entertained over 600,000 fans at the Rotterdam City Racing Drift Show.

Although early on it was called "drift racing," racing doesn't really come into play, and to be absolutely clear, it's also not power sliding. The key distinction between a power slide and a drift is that a power slide is initiated with brute force and kinetic energy, whereas a drift is instigated with varying techniques involving the shift of weight in the car and the shift of power between the wheels. This is one of the reasons why a limited slip differential and a rear wheel drive car such as the BMW van der Prijt's drives are essential to drifting.

Jim Liaw, president and co-founder of Formula Drift, North America's foremost drift championship series is quoted as saying. "Drifting is a judged sport. It's not about crossing a finish line, as in drag racing, but about performance, style and technique."

Up in smoke - that's how K&N's Dennis van der Prijt and his 1989 BMW E34 M5 rolled through the mean streets of Rotterdam.

In competition drifters are judged on speed, line and angle, and more subjectively on overall impression. Drifters need keen steering, braking, shifting and accelerating skills to control the car as it drifts around turns, and van der Prijt has displayed a highly refined and instinctive talent for the sport.

"We compete in five or six event a year and we do a lot of training whenever we get the chance," adds van der Prijt's. We also do some demonstrations like the Rotterdam City Racing Drift Show. It's a very popular event watched by over 600,000 people lining the streets and on Dutch national TV. This year we did two, fifteen-minute runs through the city of Rotterdam, along with five other drifters and people on the street where cheering the entire time."

Team Brabo will be back competing at Circuit Park Zandvoort on September 9th.

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.

Andy Forsberg Earns 9th Win of the Year in a History Making 100th Win 2012 Season

6 Sept 2012

The Forsberg Family No. 92 heads to Calistoga for the Louie Vermeil Classic non-wing USAC show this weekend.

The one thing you can depend on with racing is that it's never linear, it oscillates and twirls betwixt highs and lows, podiums and DNF's. After a 13 race hot streak that had Andy Forsberg win four races and never finish less than fourth, things went figuratively south for a few events. On June 23rd while leading a race with only five laps to go, Forsberg was taken out by a lapped car leading to a 15th place finish, then a DNF, an 8th place finish and a 7th place finish. A less experienced driver might have started second guessing and pushing too hard, but Forsberg understands that in racing as with life - fortune favors the prepared.

Andy Forsberg reached a career defining 100 wins in 2012, winning the last two races in one remarkable night.

On Saturday July 7th the K&N backed F&F X1 car was in Petaluma, California for another Civil War show. Forsberg was 7th quick and 4th in his heat race and would line up 5th for the A main event. Forsberg progressively moved his way forward through the field and when the checkered flag flew he was in second. It was the result the team had patiently been working towards to get the momentum train back on track.

On August 25th Forsberg Racing was in back in Placerville, California for a 360 points event. He timed in an uncharacteristic 10th quick, but would finish 2nd in his heat race, and then started on the pole of the A main event. It was a long crazy race according to Forsberg, but he fought off all challengers and held onto the lead through the entire race, inking win number nine of his record setting 2012 season.

After the hot streak what was your thinking when things cooled down for a few races, do you simply chalk it up to the ebb and flow of racing, or do you start making changes? "Mostly it's an ebb and flow thing, but sometimes during the summer months in California the tracks do tend to start slicking up a bit more, so at that point we start messing with the car to hook it up a little more."

The K&N sponsored Forsberg Family No. 92 headed to Watsonville for a Non-Wing USAC race, the night was short lived though as Andy tipped over while qualifying, destroying his car.

This has been a huge year for you, give us a brief update on some of your 2012 highlights from your perspective? "Winning career main event win number 100 is the main highlight of 2012 so far. On top of that I won number 99 and 100 on the same night. It was a combo 360 and 410 race in Chico, California. We won both main events that night. I couldn't have scripted it any better."

Count them out loud, it's nine wins for Forsberg Racing in 2012, but the year isn't over yet.

How did it go at the Forni Memorial 360 back on Friday the 13th? "The Forni was an awesome race! I started 5th and by lap 9 was in the lead. But on a lap 16 restart I hit the cushion wrong allowing Jon Allard to get by. He led until lap 23, that's when on another restart, he made the same mistake. We sliced and diced the last two laps, and we just nipped him at the finish."

How would you rate this season overall so far, and what are you looking forward to next? "I'm happy with 2012 so far, there have been a few races that slipped away that I would like back, but that's racing. The Placerville point race will be done this Saturday Sept. 1st. Then we still have three more Civil War races to run and a whole bunch of open shows and non-points events all the way into November. World of Outlaws, USAC and Trophy Cup are the events we will be competing in the rest of the 2012 season."

This upcoming Labor Day weekend there are no races on Friday. On Saturday September 1st Forsberg and the F&F X1 will be back in Placerville for the final 360 race of the year. On Sunday September 2nd the Forsberg Family No. 92 heads to the famed Calistoga 1/2 mile for the Louie Vermeil Classic non-wing USAC show.

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.

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