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NHRA Pro Stock Racer Allen Johnson Takes Early Point Lead in 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge

10 Aug 2012

Mopar Pennzoil racer Allen Johnson at 2012 Mopar Mile-High Nationals

Mopar Pennzoil racer Allen Johnson No. 1 at 2012 Mopar Mile-High Nationals

Each and every NHRA Pro Stock team take earning every point they can very seriously, and especially those that are earned for a shot to take part in the biggest single day payout race-within-a-race, the prestigious K&N Horsepower Challenge. Earning those points for the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge just got more exciting with the recent announcement that next year's championship run-off would be held at not only a new venue on the NHRA Full Throttle tour, but earlier in the season. The next installment of the K&N Horsepower Challenge will be held during the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next spring and with the news Allen Johnson is extra pleased with his start to the new season's chase.

"I think they ought to change [the location] every couple of years," he commented on the move to Las Vegas. "I'm all for that. This way, we can spread around the Pro Stock flavor to a lot of different venues and fans who can attend the shootout in person."

While Johnson didn't have the memorable 2012 Horsepower Challenge event he had hoped for, when he took an early bow out during the first round, he has now put together three consecutive number one qualifiers since the points began accumulating for the new season. The 2009 K&N Horsepower Challenge champion took the pole, the maximum points and the $3,000 K&N Low Qualifier bonus check at Norwalk, Denver and most recently at Somona Raceway during the 25th annual NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

2012 Mopar Mile-High Nationals Pro Stock winner Allen Johnson.

"Anytime you can qualify number one it's great, especially in regards to the K&N Horsepower Challenge points and bonus money," said the Mopar Dodge Avenger driver from Greenville, Tennessee. "It all goes to building up to the new event location in Las Vegas. We are getting an early start on it."

During the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals held at Bandimere Speedway, natural aspirated engines struggle for whatever air Mother Nature will give them, and even though the temperatures and humidity were brutal the event before in Norwalk, Ohio, for the Denver event the adjusted altitude handed to the Pro Stock teams during the race were even worse as they soared near the 10,000 foot mark.

But the massive change in weather conditions from one venue to the next is all a part of the game for professional teams like Johnson's and they are prepared well in advance of the race. "We have to change everything on the car," he said of going to the Denver event. "But of course, we have a lot of notes and we tested the week prior also. We were set up and ready for it."

From the time the Pro Stock cars took to the strip for their first hit on Friday all the way through the fourth and final qualifying lap on Sunday, Johnson and his team had the quickest hot rod each session. Johnson opened qualifying at number one with a 6.982, he followed it up with a 6.962 and by Saturday's sessions he found even more by lowering his number to a 6.956 and finished with a 6.951 to start Sunday's event on top.

The Mopar Mile-High Nationals kicked off what is affectionately known throughout the NHRA ranks as the "Western Swing", three consecutive weeks/races that start in Denver, move on to Sonoma, California and wrap-up in Seattle, Washington. Teams need to be ready for the big swing in air conditions when heading from the Denver race, to the plentiful good air available to tune with for the next event on the "swing" at Sonoma Raceway, which provides near sea level altitudes.

Sonoma Nationals Victor & 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge Point Leader Allen Johnson.

"You have to change everything back to really near sea level conditions," Johnson pointed out. "So where we started with the car at Norwalk, to Denver, well to go to Sonoma we go completely the other way with our tuning, even past what we were at for the Ohio race. Just a lot of changes."

Even with back-to-back events that are thousands of miles apart, the teams are well prepared for their road trips well in advance. "Well, we've done it so long that we have everything set up in a 'canned-type' program,' he disclosed. "We know exactly what, where and how to change everything on our car and we know going in where we are going to start with our tune-up."

Thanks to his back-to-back number one qualifiers, Johnson holds on to an early lead in the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge standings, and headed further west to try his hand to make it three in a row and an event swing of his own.

With much more comfortable temperatures in the mid-seventies and an adjusted altitude some 8,000 ft better, Pro Stock cars had a great opportunity to lay down numbers that they were a little more familiar with and Johnson soared right to the top of the heap from the word 'go'.

Pro Stock racer Allen Johnson gets 2012 Sonoma Nationals Wally.

"We just had a really-really good hot rod right out of the box," he said of his track record setting 6.536 lap during the first session of the Sonoma event. "Friday night's session, even though we bettered our E.T. [6.527], Mike [Edwards] matched us during that run, but we were able to hang on for best of the session with our M.P.H. We really didn't make that good of a run like we could have."

But then, there was Saturday morning and the best air conditions that teams had been given to work with in many races, with seventy degrees, an adjusted altitude of under 1,300 ft, combined with low humidity, it was time for the naturally aspirated 500ci Pro Stock power plants to show their stuff and again, Johnson was right out front.

"That fifty-one [6.517] was a really good run and I think a fifty-three was the closest to it that round," he said. Although Johnson was unable to improve during the fourth and final session, he still outran the class as the quickest of the session with his 6.525. "We've been doing really well and I think since Chicago, there has been only one session where we haven't been the quickest and we are really proud of that."

Johnson's 6.517 in session three stayed as the number one spot and his third number one in a row, giving his a nice leg up in the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge standings. Johnson has already earned the maximum 525 points available since the slates were wiped clean for the new season. Jason Line sits seventy-five back at number two and K&N's Mike Edwards at number three, eight-five points out of first.

"That's our third number one qualifier there, three years consecutive and I didn't really realize that until I saw it in the press release," he confessed of his latest feat in Sonoma.

Johnson not only qualified number one, but he also went on to win the event, just like he did the week prior in Denver. Now he looks to do it all over again for the third and final leg of the "Western Swing" as the teams are rolling north to compete in Seattle.

"We have a great car and a great team, really as the driver, I feel like I'm the only one who can screw it up," he laughed. "So, really a little bit of added pressure. We're always out to get the bonus money that K&N puts up for us and get those bonus points, that is very important in our book."

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.

Ben Therrien's Red Lion Motorsports is a Time Tested Automotive Parts Powerhouse

10 Aug 2012

The R33 was Shane Therrien second complete restoration.

When you have toothache you go to a dentist. When automotive pain strikes because substandard parts continue to DNF your ride, you contact Red Lion Motorsports. Ben Therrien and his son Shane own RLM, which is currently a dealer for over 300 of the leading automotive companies. They can get you anything, from a radiator cap for a 1920's Ford Model T, or a K&N cold air intake for a 2012 Silverado 1500.

"We started using K&N air filters in 1973 when I was racing drag bikes," said Ben. "And it continued on through motocross, desert, speedway, and then flat track. I really noticed how the K&N air filter really kept the dirt out of the carb and that was the deciding factor for me.

Ben recently stopped by K&N headquarters to show us his rare 1995 Nissan Skyline R33 with right hand drive. He was passing through on his way to the Qualcomm Extreme Autofest Show in San Diego on July 29, 2012.

From that point on K&N has been all I use on anything we have that requires an air filter. As a retailer we do sell other air filters too, but we will only recommend K&N because they are tested and proven by RLM."

In May of this year RLM launched a membership program similar to what Costco does. Membership entitles you to a discount on over 200,000 performance parts and accessories. In the first 45 days after debuting the RLM Team membership concept it spread to seven states. "We were blown away by the success," adds Ben.

Things haven't always been peaches and roses for the Therrien's, as with any success, it requires perseverance, hard work, vision, and perhaps a little luck. Ben relocated from California to Flagstaff, Arizona to "raise our kids," as he puts it. The memories of his dad restoring classic cars drove him to open his own shop in 1991. "I built my shop and started to restore classic muscle cars and street rods. We named ourselves Red Lion Hot Rod." And for a while things went well for Ben.

Although being a retailer for many products, K&N is the only brand Ben has been recommending of over 30 years.

"By 2008 the economy took a crap and we had to close the shop," reflects Ben. "We kept all our retail outlets and just did retail. My son asked me if we could do something for all his import friends. So we started being a dealer for more companies. That's when we decided to change our name to Red Lion Motorsports. By 2010 the Cobalt SS my son had been restoring was completed and we were asked to put it in the SEMA show by one of our sponsors. While at the SEMA show we were one of only 53 cars picked for the Optima Streetcar Invitational and the Cobalt got displayed on the a Speed Chanel show that ran for almost a year. We placed 28th overall, with the only front-wheel drive, 4-cylinder car competing against V8s. My son was driving and that event put RLM on the map."

The Cobalt SS was Shane's first complete restore and the car they say got the ball rolling for RLM.

For Shane's next restoration project he found a 1995 Nissan Skyline R33 that had just crashed into a wall at a drift car event and the owner was tired of fixing it. "We got the car home and started learning all about Skylines," explains Ben. "Come to find out there are no body parts made for this car, whatever you can find is all used. The body kit came from Japan, the taillights from Madagascar, the taillight bezels from New Zealand."

The deeper they got into it, the more they realized just how rare the R33 truly is. When the R33s were first imported into the U.S. they failed government crash test standards and they were banned. The cars that were already on American soil were "grandfathered" in and given a separate VIN number from the Department of Transportation which made them legal.

"We keep hearing that there is somewhere between five to 37 of these in the U.S." says Ben "It's been hard trying to confirm this, but every show that we do with this car, everyone that knows what this car is asks us how we got it in the U.S. legally."

It all first started in 1991 for Ben with Red Lion Hot Rod and dazzling restoration work such as this sweet ride.

In January Optima contacted the Therriens, asking if they'd be interested in putting a car on display in their booth for a presentation in the corporate headquarters of Pep Boys in Los Angeles. "We brought the Cobalt all lettered in Pep Boys logos," said Ben. "While at the event we told the Optima reps about our Skyline R33."

"The L.A. event had a good turnout that they asked us if we wanted to do some NHRA events and again put the Cobalt on display. We said yes, but I think the R33 would bring a bigger crowd to your booth."

Ben's automotive instincts were once again spot on, as the Optima booth at the NHRA event in Phoenix, Arizona was blitzed with people looking to photograph the elusive R33.

"Optima called us that night to see if we were interested in doing 16 more NHRA events," said Ben "We said yes again, but were still waiting on that. We are also hoping to get the Skyline in this year's SEMA show and Optima Challenge."

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.

Round 3 of the K&N Supported Maxxis British Drift Championship Returns to the Thunderdome

10 Aug 2012

Fickle weather that continued to turn on a dime became one of the overriding challenges for everyone.

Fan reaction to Round 2 of the British Drift Championship at Norfolk Arena pegged the excitement meter at near maximum limits. After Round 3 returned to the Teesside, Autodrome in Redcar, England, where it all got started, it became apparent the BDC would need a new meter, one capable of absorbing a much larger induction of sheer exhilaration.

Billed as "Return to the Thunderdome" this was the second visit to the Autodrome for BDC. Drivers where challenged and kept on their A-game by a completely new track layout, yet the overriding challenge for all the teams was the multi-personality weather that changed from rainy to windy and sunny by the hour.

The Team Triple Drift event during Round 3 at the Teesside,Autodrome surpassed all excitement expectations.

Drivers struggled at first getting a handle on the tricky conditions, which only contributed to upping the ante for the fans already fully invested the action.

Round 3 marks the halfway point for the championship and drivers and teams are fully aware that this is the time to turn up the heat and readjust game plans. Track conditions during Friday's qualification session were slippery at best, and they changed once again for Saturday's action, pitting drivers to draw on all their skills, while fighting the greasy track surface. Drivers artfully slithered around the course bumpers-to-doors, teetering on the edge of bedlam, much to the delight of everyone in attendance or watching on TV.

Racing on the edge brings with it the prospect of occasionally crossing over its limits.

Before the final 16 drivers in each class waged their high-speed duals, fans were yet again given the opportunity to get thoroughly engaged in the Meet-and-Greet out on the Teesside tarmac. This highly popular feature allows spectators to mingle with the drivers and teams, making it one of the more unique characteristics of this motorsports.

Spectators were treated to another special and highly anticipated feature as well during the Round 3 festivities called the annual Team Triple Drift event. This yearly assault sees teams engage in full-on show-time mode as they line up door-to-door with their team mates to hit the highest score possible in knockout battles with other teams. The event follows the same format as the normal rounds; in the sense that there is qualifying sessions and then it get's skimmed down to 16 teams for the knockout stage. The main morning buzz in the pits and on everyone's lips in the stands was - Triple Drifting.

The podium was once again filled with the customary champagne bath and frivolity.

Once the smoke and dust lifted on the weekend, the biggest overall winner of the Round 3 contest proved to be Maxxis tires, as all three tiers of the podium enlisted the advantage of the company's exceedingly consistent MA-Z1 rubber. Team Japspeed driver Shane O'Sullivan clinched his second victory in three appearances, while teammate Steve 'Baggsy' Biagioni took the third spot, picking up some valuable championship points. SATS Motorsport's Mark Luney completed the podium for Maxxis by claiming second place.

The Return to the Thunderdome will go down in the books as one of the most eventful and thrilling events of the BDC to date, for both spectators and participants alike. So far each round has surpassed the expectations set by the previous, and as zealous fans continue to spread the word about this thoroughly entertaining motorsport, we can only hold on to see where Round 4 at Lydden Hill on August 11th and 12th will take 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.

Allen Johnson Sets Pace for the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge

10 Aug 2012

Former NHRA Pro Stock K&N Horsepower Challenge Champion Allen Johnson

As one of the most coveted chases in all of NHRA Pro Stock, the K&N Horsepower Challenge is in the record books for 2012 with the youngest winner to date, Vincent Nobile inking his name in history by grabbing the sought after K&N trophy and the $50,000 single day race championship check. The slate has now been wiped clean and the quest to earn a shot to compete for the next K&N championship is underway with Greenville, Tennessee's Allen Johnson leading the way.

With his strong qualifying performance, as of late, Johnson was somewhat of a favorite to do very well during the 2012 running of the K&N Horsepower Challenge event at Summit Motorsports Park, but it was not to be this season for the former K&N Horsepower Challenge champion.

2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge Point Leader after NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series win in Norwalk.

Johnson had a very uncharacteristic first round which turned into an odd loss during the K&N Horsepower Challenge and when asked what happened he responded, "Oh you wouldn't believe it if I told you. Crew chief was backing me up and he was hollering 'Right, go to your right' and I was going right, right, right and I knew I was way out of the groove, but I thought he was trying to keep me out of something on the track or he was trying to keep me from somewhere he didn't want me to be. In all actuality, he meant left. So I had backed up into the clutch dust and the marbles and got them all over my right tire. By that time I had to pull forward and back to get straightened up and I had stuff all over my tires."

"When I dropped the clutch, I about went over the centerline," he added. "Mistakes happen, and you just have to put them behind you and move on."

However, Johnson did manage to put his Mopar Dodge Avenger at the top of the Pro Stock heap for qualifying and did so starting with the very first lap on Friday. With a track temperature of nearly one-hundred fifty degrees, Johnson outran his fellow competitors by being the only car to sneak into the 6.60's range with his 6.699 at 207.18.

"Oh man, it was hell actually," Johnson confessed of the wicked temperatures and humidity. "Putting on and wearing those [SFI] 15 fire suits was certainly something to reckon with."

With the horrific temperatures that plagued the majority of the event, teams knew that the second session on Friday, which was during the slightly cooler evening hours and less sun on the track, would be their best shot to make a move. As track temps settled to a now more manageable one-hundred nineteen, numerous teams made their best runs of all four sessions and once again Johnson powered above the rest by laying down what would remain the number one run for qualifying.

It was no surprise that Johnson's smooth 6.663 from Friday evening held through the final two sessions on Saturday, when air and water grains peaked, pushing the heat index well over one-hundred ten degrees.

By taking full advantage of the conditions on Friday evening, Allen Johnson qualified number one for the sixth time this year and the twenty-fourth time in his career. For his efforts, Johnson grabbed the maximum one-hundred seventy-five points for the kick-off of the 2013 K&N Horsepower Challenge chase, as well as the $3,000 K&N Low Qualifier bonus check.

"Norwalk is an overall great event and a fantastic facility," he noted. "It's all around the K&N people that we focus on and I know I had a bad event for the Challenge, but ended up qualified number one and was able to get a great start on my points for next year's chase. So, we have a little heads up and something in the back on that and hopefully we can take that and run with it."

"The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a very important program for the NHRA Pro Stock class and we take every event and every race very seriously right from the start," he added. "We are looking forward to getting up on the mountain to see if we can do it again in Denver."

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.

Video - Vauxhall Astra MK6/Opel Astra J 1.4L Turbo & Chevy Cruze 1.4L Air Intake Installation

7 Aug 2012

2009 to 2016 Vauxhall Astra MK6 & Opel Astra J 1.4L Turbo and 2011 to 2016 Chevy Cruze 1.4L Air Intake Installation
This K&N performance air intake 69-4521TS was designed for the 2009 to 2016 Vauxhall Astra MK6 & Opel Astra J 1.4L turbo models and also fits the 2011 to 2016 Chevy Cruze 1.4L. This K&N air intake modification showed an estimated gain of 6.6 horsepower at 4800 RPM when tested on the K&N in-house dynamometer. Discover how easy it is to install power-gaining performance in your 2009 through 2016 Vauxhall Astra MK6 or Opel Astra J 1.4L Turbo. 2011 to 2016 Chevy Cruze models equipped with the 1.4L engine also find additional power and torque with K&N's 69-4521TS cold air intake system.