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2012 is the first year Buddy Prijis will be sponsored by K&N and he feels he's ready to become World Champion.
Forget everything you know about riding bikes on the street because Speedway bikes are meant to be ridden around oval dirt tracks, and the machines are meant to be power-steered via the rear wheel, going sideways in order to go forward. Four riders turning left over four laps with races lasting just over a minute, how tough can that be you ask? Very, very tough is the answer.
Speedway riders need to be fearless and talented, as the racing is an absolute blur of non-stop frenetic racing action. For that reason Speedway's popularity continues to grow throughout Europe. One of the brightest new stars on the scene is 14-year-old Buddy Prijis from De Krim, Holland and by every indication he's ready to take his rightful position near the top of the European Speedway scene this year.
In the first four races of his 30 race schedule, Prijis already has two firsts and two second place finishes.
"This is my second season of racing Speedway," said Prijis. "I have already raced in four matches this season- two times I was first and two times I was second."
Speedway racing isn't a particularly high-tech but it more than makes for that shortcoming with explosive racing action. Speedway bikes are mostly Czech-made Jawa motorcycles fitted with 500cc air-cooled SOHC single-cylinder carbureted engines, which burn pure methanol and produce about 85 horsepower. Although that doesn't sound like a great many ponies, keep in mind the bikes tip the scale at barely 176 pounds. To put that in perspective, that's a better power-to-weight ratio than a Suzuki GSX-R1000.
A Speedway motorcycle accelerates from zero to 60 in less than three seconds, and with a single-speed gearbox and no brakes, Speedway bikes are vicious little buggers that'll spit you off in an instant unless you've got your riding technique spot on. Experienced riders that have ridden these bikes claim it's the most intense motorcycling experience they've ever had, yet Prijis pilots his K&N supported bike with a veteran's ease and finesse.
"I got interested in Speedway racing because my dad also raced them when he was a kid," explains Prijis. "In 2012 I will race in about 30 matches, and now having K&N to sponsor me is great support. I emailed a person from K&N Holland (Marcel Blom) and he said yes, he would like to sponsor me, and that's how that happened. My goal for this year is to become World Champion, and that match will be later this season in Germany."
Last year, I got a call from Ford about building a F-150 EcoBoost for the 8100 class.
Racing drivers are taught from the beginning to persevere, and perseverance is going to be key for Randy Merritt and his Mongo Racing team this season.
After a broken back sustained in a racing incident put Merritt out of action, the Mongo team appeared to be down and out. But last season, Merritt returned to the drivers seat and finished a remarkable second in championship points. This season, the Mongo team is jumping up a class in the Best In The Desert series, unveiling a new Ford at the prestigious Mint 400 in hopes of regaining the championship form of years past.
Merritt missed the first race of the season, instead having a substitute driver start the race so the team got starting points and stayed eligible for a championship.
"After I broke my back, I decided I was done with the (8100) class," Merritt said, referring to the limited-travel stock class he was running in. "Last year, I got a call from Ford about building a F-150 EcoBoost for the 8100 class. I said to myself 'this is my last year in this class' and Tracy Rubio at TNC started building me a long travel unlimited V6."
Merritt missed the first race of the season, instead having a substitute driver start the race so the team got starting points and stayed eligible for a championship. Round 2 found the team taking delivery of the new Mongo Racing Ford on the Friday before the Mint 400. After guessing on the setup, they managed to come home in sixth.
With time in the truck as a driver, I will get more comfortable and learn what it can do out there.
Merritt said he was extremely satisfied with the way the weekend unfolded considering the time crunch everyone was under. After the Mint 400, the team was able to get in the shop and put the finishing touches on the new Ford. They also spent several hours testing, hours Merritt thinks will pay off immediately.
"With time in the truck as a driver, I will get more comfortable and learn what it can do out there. The one thing that was on our side is our experience, I have the same core friends and teammates that I had when we started racing, and we all know how to succeed."
The new truck hopefully will take on a life that resembles its driver and team. The name Mongo came from an old radio commercial that featured a man named Mongo selling big clothes. The team was known for it's big trucks and big personalities and he name Mongo Racing was born. The team was successful from the beginning, winning five-straight Parker 400's at one point.
Merritt said the support his team gets from K&N has been huge. "The race truck has K&N products anywhere I can put it," Merritt said. "But one of the more important things that is overlooked is the support vehicles. In the bigger races, the support vehicles go through some nasty, silty roads to get to the pits, and in desert racing there is no time for break downs so air filters are crucial to the support trucks."
Specific vehicles are targeted to specific audiences and the Nissan Maxima is no different. There are many family oriented drivers out there that appreciate what the Maxima has to offer. The sporty handling and spacious interior complement each other quite well. When a new born is on the way many sacrifices must be made, but a vehicle with considerable power is not one of them. There is no need to commit to a minivan when the 2008 Nissan Maxima 3.5L functions as a suitable baby mobile and provides the desired horsepower.
K&N Air Intake System for 2004-2006 Nissan Altima 3.5L, and 2004-2008 Nissan Maxima 3.5L
57-6015 Air Intake Installed in Nissan Maxima
If your daily driver is used to cart the kids off to school before work and act as the transport for a night out on the town, you may want to make some minor upgrades such as sleek wheels, or even a few engine modifications. Let's face it- a few extra horsepower wouldn't hurt, right?
Well in that case, check out the K&N air intake system part number 57-6015. The 57-6015 air intake fits several Nissan Maxima and Nissan Altima models with the 3.5 liter engine. See the list below for details. A set of dyno runs showed an average estimated gain of 7 horsepower with the K&N intake installed. This could offer the extra performance to give you piece of mind when you need to have a private getaway. The key to truly enjoying your vehicle is to reveal the true potential it holds.
This K&N air intake comes equipped with a washable and reusable K&N high flow air filter, a custom designed roto-molded intake pipe, heat shield, and a hardware pack that includes detailed installation instructions. The average installation time for this kit is about 90 minutes and can be done with simple hand tools.
K&N air intakes add lasting power and performance while providing outstanding engine protection. The components used in air intake number 57-6015 are made for the utmost quality and come backed by the K&N Million Mile Limited Warranty. Every K&N air intake system is tested on their respective vehicles with safety in mind, so there is no need to worry about voiding your vehicle's factory warranty.
Brett Moffitt leads the pack in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond International Raceway
Brett Moffitt edged Chase Elliott on the last lap of a green-white-checkered flag finish and won his first race of the season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. Moffitt, in his fourth year in the K&N Pro Series East, crossed the finish line 0.011 seconds ahead of Elliott, who was making only the 15th start of his K&N Pro Series East career.
Brett Moffitt in victory lane after winning his first K&N Pro Series East race of the season.
"We were really good all race long," said Moffitt, who won the eighth K&N Pro Series East race of his career. "We were struggling right off the truck, but these guys really pulled together and worked hard all day. They gave me the car that we needed to win. Chase Elliott and Corey LaJoie were both really fast at the end, and Ryan Gifford through the middle of the race. They really gave me a run for my money, but we were able to hold on out front and bring home the money."
Moffitt won the pole and led a race-high 92 laps. He was out front for the first 71 laps of the Blue Ox 100 before Ryan Gifford took the lead. Gifford and Moffitt swapped the lead over the next 13 laps before Moffitt took over on lap 84. Moffitt was out front for the remaining 19 laps of the race, including the final two on the green-white-checkered flag finish.
Elliott and Moffitt collided on the last lap as the two drivers battled for the lead all the way around the track.
"He is a wheel man," Moffitt said about Elliott. "He can drive the wheels off of it. Anyone up there, running up there, can and deserves to win. I was worried like crazy. We had been sitting out front all race long. We got passed a couple times by Gifford and once by LaJoie. It's always nerve-wracking when you lead a whole race."
Elliott, the son of NASCAR Cup champion Bill Elliott, posted the best finish of his young K&N Pro Series East career and took over the lead in the East Series standings.
"I really wanted that one," Elliott said. "If we can keep running like this, I think we will get one."
Elliott is four points ahead of teammate Ben Kennedy in the K&N Pro Series East Series standings after three races. It was Elliott's third top-10 and first top-five finish of the season. He said the last-lap battle with Moffitt might have come too late to make a difference.
"It was beyond time to go and the chance was now or never," Elliott said. "Obviously I would have liked to have the bottom. When I got the lead from Brett down here in three, I guess Corey, he followed me through. He gave me a nice bump down there in one and two. We did some awesome short track racing."
LaJoie, son of two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie, finished third in the K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond for the second year in a row. He is third in the East Series standings, nine points behind Elliott.
"Everything looked like it was falling our way," LaJoie said. "That last run with 10 to go or something, the 2 car (Gifford) spun out, or I don't know what happened. It kept going green and I had Brett passed. The caution came out and set up that green-white-checkered, which I didn't want to see."
The race also featured Travis Pastrana and Ryan Blaney. Both drivers made their NASCAR Nationwide Series debuts at Richmond on Friday night. Blaney was 22nd and Pastrana followed in 23rd in the K&N Pro Series East race.
Jesse Little became the youngest driver, at 15 years, 11 days, to start a K&N Pro Series race. He qualified 15th and finished 11th.
The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race is at Iowa Speedway on May 19.
Florian "Superflo" Wedenig put on a show of his off-road talents by battling from the back of the pack, pulling out a seventh and fifth place finish.
The International Austrian Supermoto State Championship got underway last weekend in Burgenland, Austria and for K&N's Team Honda Austria, weather proved to be the most challenging opponent. What makes Supermoto racing so compelling for the growing legions of fans is that it combines motocross and road racing skills into one exciting event, and at these opening rounds those skills were put to a thorough test.
Andi Rothbauer overcame the extreme weather conditions in Burgenland finishing both race one and two with a solid fifth place.
Team Honda Austria is one of the premier international Supermoto teams with International Supermoto stars, Florian Wedenig and Andi Rothbauer as team riders. Florian "Superflo" Wedenig competes in Class S Open, and Andi Rothbauer battles in the elite Class S1, and both riders overcame some intense challenges presented by severe weather. Heavy rain and extreme hourly weather changes presented problems not only with track conditions, but also with finding the correct bike set-up.
The two Team Honda Austria riders had the benefit of using two separate bikes, one for rainy and one for dry conditions which allowed them to use every single practice minute. The weather in fact became such an issue that for the first time in the Austrian Supermoto history, a decision was made by the organizers to keep a portion of the off-road section open so that races wouldn't be run only on the tarmac.
"This was a correct decision," commented Rothbauer, "they did a perfect job on preparing the off-road section, but during the day this was something that really split the Supermoto riders. Like myself, I have no off-road background such as motocross, so these muddy, slippery conditions were very tricky. Also, we did not get to practice on the off-road section on Saturday because it was closed during free practice, which did make for really exciting racing."
On Sunday during the Class S1 warm-up laps Rothbauer realized that the weather was creating problems for his tear-off goggles, signaling that he would be experiencing problems during the race. In the first race Rothbauer got off to a good start securing third coming out of the first corner, and that's when the trouble with his vision started and he fell back to fifth. Rothbauer was able to stay close with the riders in front of him to lock up a solid fifth place finish.
In the second race Rothbauer and his perfectly prepared Honda CRF450R got off to another strong start, yet with 20 other riders all cramming into the first turn seemly at the same time, he was again pushed into fifth place. Rothbauer fought through the brutally slippery conditions, pushing the riders in front of him the entire way and finished with another strong fifth place.
In Class S Open Wedenig had his chance to highlight some of the motocross skills he brought with him to the team. Wedenig got the hole-shot in race one, but the slippery conditions proved too much and he went down, dropping him back to 15th place. Wedenig immediately got things righted and for the next 20 minutes he put on a show by passing one rider after another until he finished 7th overall.
The second race started off nearly perfect again for Wedenig, until a rider in front of him crashed taking him down as well. This time Wedenig found himself back in 13th position, and once again the exciting chase was on. Wedenig once more displayed his off-road prowess as he battled all the way up into a fifth place finish.
After the opening rounds Team Honda Austria Press Coordinator Claudia Rothbauer remarked, "Conditions were very tricky, but it was the same for everybody. This year we will have seven events with 14 races overall, so it was very important for us to keep the risk to a minimum. But, now we definitely know that our Honda CRF450R's very competitive overall. We didn't make the podium this time, but we proved we are capable of getting there real soon."
