Cody Swanson is a competitor on the move. The 16-year-old kart racer from Norco,
California had the opportunity to drive in the Legend Season Opener at Irwindale
Speedway on April 14th.
Cody Swanson with Brian Won
“I was not a complete stranger to the track because of my first test
session earlier in the year with K&N Engineering Sports Marketing Director
Charles Maier,” said Cody Swanson. “Even though I tested in the K&N Ford Focus
Midget, this was my first race on the track and my first time with other cars. I
was nervous but very excited.”
Cody Swanson in lapped traffic at Irwindale Speedway
Swanson qualified 11 out of 37 cars and went straight to the main event.
“My goal for the evening was to learn from the more experienced drivers,” he
said. “I also wanted to finish somewhere inside the top ten in the Speed Wong
Racing # 90 Legend car.”
The main event was 35 laps long around a 1/3 mile track. By lap five, Swanson
was in 9th place. On lap 22, he was in 8th position. With four laps remaining,
he passed one of Team Speed Wong’s main competitors for 6th place. “I was able
to hang on and finish in at 6th in my first circle track race at Irwindale
Speedway,” said Swanson. “I also wore my K&N driving suit and many people gave
me compliments. This gave me the opportunity to talk about K&N products.”
Swanson will be driving in the Legend Car Series second race of the season on
April 21st.
Follow Cody Swanson's progress throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. 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.
Funny car driver Jeff Arend had one great qualifying session followed by a stout
evening round at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada. Arend was one of the few
who managed a solid lap in session one, putting a 4.915 on the board at the
SummitRacing.com Nationals.
Jeff Arend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Another close one for Jeff Arend
After landing 4th in the first session, he missed putting a stout number
on the night run and his placement dropped to 15th place. “Everyone else did it
just the other way, barely getting anywhere on the first run but then putting
big results on the board Friday night,” said Arend. “We felt really good about
our first pass, but we had some issues with some things inside the car and we
slipped down near the bottom. There was no doubt we’d have to improve to make
the show.”
Team Worhsam uses K&N Products
Jeff Arend's qualifying run at The Strip
On Saturday, Arend was part of a large group of drivers who could not negotiate
the full length of the track during the first session. Stars like John Force,
Tony Pedregon, Jack Beckman, Tim Wilkerson, Gary Densham and Jim Head were all
in danger of not making the field.
At the line and 4.818 seconds later, Arend was back in the fray. Pedregon and
Densham made it to the top half of the field. Wilkerson was bumped out and John
Force made it to the 16th spot. Force knew his amazing streak of 395 races and
20 years was on the line. Beckman outran Force’s time and left the 14-time
champion on the sidelines for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Jeff Arend finished in 13th position.
Arend was set in a match against POWERade points lead champion Ron Capps, the
No. 4 qualifier in Sunday’s race.
“There is a lot to be said for the theory that you often win or lose your first
round race when you’re qualifying,” said Arend. “But, we’ve seen enough huge
upsets on race day to know that’s not always the case. No. 16 qualifiers beat
the No. 1 guy all the time, so all we concentrated on doing was making sure the
car made a full lap under power. We wanted to give ourselves a chance to win,
and if things lined up just right, we could even outrun them.”
Arend saw his teammate, Del Worsham, run 4.842 to take out Gary Densham by the
slimmest of margins. He knew his Team CSK car would run something close to that
number.
Arend left the starting line first, and the race was on in a side-by-side battle
of two fast race cars. At the stripe Capps won by 11-thousandths of a second.
“I’m beginning to understand how Del felt last year, because this is two races
in a row where we really ran well,” said Arend. “We’re feeling good, we have two
solid race cars now, and I don’t think it’s a surprise to anyone when either of
our cars win rounds or qualify well. We are in the hunt for the top eight.”
Worsham Racing uses K&N Engineering products on its Funny Cars. “The thick
canister walls on the K&N Oil Filters have extra strength and durability,” said
Team Manager Bob Wilber. “It reduces the risk of damage from debris on the
track. K&N is never a factor we have to worry about when we race.
Follow Jeff Arend's progress throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. 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.
Jonathan Allard scored a podium finish Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway in
Chico, California in the Williams Motorsports K&N Filters No. 0 Sprint Car.
Jonathan Allard at Silver Dollar Speedway, photo by Steve Cox
Jonathan Allard's K&N Filters No. 0 Sprint Car, photo by Steve Cox
The Defending King of California Champion was set to start sixth in the
second heat race, but a false start by the front row moved Allard up to fourth
place for the start. He jumped into second place at the first set of corners and
stayed there for the rest of the eight lap contest.
Defending King of California uses K&N Products, photo by Steve Cox
In the feature Allard had a great start and moved into third by the first lap.
By lap ten, leader Sean Becker hit a slick spot on the track and Allard tried to
make a move up, but remained in third place.
As the race continued Allard tried everything to pass could not get enough
traction. The battle continued for runner up spot between Allard and Willie
Croft over a handful of laps. Allard slipped back in the remaining part of the
feature and he had to use the high track line on the final lap to score third
place.
“Racing may have its ups and downs,” said Allard. “But, the one thing that stays
on top is the performance of our K&N Filters.”
Rain cancelled Saturday’s Golden State Challenge Series at Ocean Speedway. Next
week Allard and Williams Motorsports will compete at Chico again on Friday and
Petaluma Speedway on Saturday.
Follow Jonathan Allard's progress throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. 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.
Top drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. stopped at K&N Engineering, Inc. in Riverside,
California one day after his EZ Lube Team Drift Challenge at Long Beach.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. at K&N Engineering Headquarters
The K&N sponsored racer and his Team Drift Alliance finished 4th overall. “We
only had two cars and each scored an eight out of ten,” said Gittin. “We beat
two teams that had three or more drivers.”
The teams were judged on speed, angles and crowd reaction. Judges were also
looking at each team’s choreography and ability to work together.
Gittin has done demos and events all over the world with Team Drift Alliance.
“It’s amazing because as teams we don’t compete against each other in this race,
we drive in sync,” he said. “Think of the Blue Angels in the air and how they
work together, it’s almost the same for us. Drifting is about going fast,
sliding and having smoke streaming out of the back of the car.”
Chris Forsberg and Ryan Tuerck were on Gittin’s team. “I’m very comfortable with
them,” said Gittin. “We’ve done some really crazy stuff together on the track.
There are always mistakes and if you don’t’ know who you’re driving with enough
to read them, there will be problems. It felt good to run with the guys.”
Gittin has put his heart and soul into this sport. He also used K&N products
long before starting his professional career. “I read all the flow charts and
realized K&N was the best for me because of the abuse I put my cars through,” he
said. “When I’m in a cloud of smoke on the track, it’s not just smoke. That
cloud is filled with rubber parts and without K&N Air Filters my $40,000 motors
would be damaged. K&N Oil Filters also keeps metal debris out of my engines.”
Gittin will spend a few days in the California sun before he heads back to
Virginia. “I love Long Beach,” he said. “It’s like no other event. The crowds
are great and it’s definitely a thumbs-up situation all the way.”
Donny Schatz scored his third straight runner-up finish in the 2007 season
Friday night at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Schatz raced from an early
4th place position into a three way battle for victory during the final four
laps of the 30 lap FedEx Outlaw Thunder World of Outlaws “A” Feature.
Donny Schatz at Eldora Speedway
“We came on at the end and almost got the win,” said Schatz. “It was
important for us to come to Eldora and challenge for the win. It’s no secret
that this hasn’t been my best track, but we’ve really gained on it the last year
or so. We were strong early in the night and in the dash, but the track fooled
me just a bit by how slow it got.”
Schatz and ParkerStore Team use K&N Carbon Airbox
In the late stages of the feature Schatz was able to run around Jason
Meyers for second place. Meyers was then able to pass Schatz. In the end Schatz
came in second place. “We use K&N Engineering products,” said Schatz. “Our K&N
Airbox helps us achieve maximum horsepower at every race.”
Schatz’s second place finish was also his third consecutive runner-up at Eldora
Speedway, following last year’s runner-up finishes in July and August. Friday's
race will air on SPEED-TV May 13th at 2 p.m. est.
The ParkerStore Team will stay in Ohio this week. They return to action on
Friday night at Attica Raceway Park. On Saturday they will travel to southwest
Indiana at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt.
Follow Donny Schatz's progress throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. 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.
Cody Swanson with Brian Won
Cody Swanson with Brian Won
