Classic to Late-Model Corvettes Reinvented and on Display at SEMA 2017
- Nov 15, 2017
He won the K&N Pro Series West season finale at Kern County Raceway Park in California. It was the first win of his K&N Pro Series West career and it helped him lock up the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. Kraus took the lead from Dillon Bassett on lap 106 of the West Coast Hall of Fame Championship 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts and led to the checkered flag. With Eric Holmes, a former NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion, as his spotter, Kraus was able to maneuver his way to the front of the field. Holmes told Kraus repeatedly to save his tires throughout the race. I paid off during the last 50 laps of the race. “I think my car had better long-run speed and that’s what really helped us to win the race at the end of the night,” Kraus said. Kraus posted three runner-up finishes in his rookie season before breaking through in the season finale. The car in the Kern County race was the one his team used in the first four races of the season. It posted some good finishes but didn’t notch its first win until the final race. "It had a bunch of great finishes in the first four races,” Kraus said. “It didn’t finish out of the top four. It was fun.” Kraus had nine top-five finishes in his rookie campaign, a number matched by fellow K&N Pro Series West rookie Will Rodgers. Kraus won the rookie of the year award by seven points over Rodgers. “It means a lot. It was a really tight battle between me and Will the whole season,” Kraus said. “They kept us on our toes the whole time. There was no time for breaks or relaxing. He was within five points the whole year, I’m pretty sure. That’s what made it fun the whole year.” Kraus said he gained a ton of experience in his rookie season in the K&N Pro Series West. One of the biggest benefits was traveling to different race tracks, especially Sonoma Raceway in California, the only road course on the schedule. “The hardest was getting adjusted to the new tracks,” Kraus said. “Every track we went to was brand new for me. That’s what I like about it too. The hardest part was getting adjusted to every new track that we went to. It was really fun learning all these different tracks, Kern County, they got a really nice place out there in Bakersfield. Tucson, Arizona, I really liked their track how you can spread out a bunch. Iowa I really enjoyed and Sonoma as well. Kraus finished second at Sonoma, behind NASCAR Monster Cup Energy Series driver and champion Kevin Harvick. “We were really good at Sonoma,” Kraus said. “That was my first time ever on a road course. That was probably the most fun I’ve had. It was a fun year for sure.” Kraus said when he tested with Bill McAnally Racing before the season started, he knew he would have good cars. The testing gave Kraus a ton of confidence heading into his rookie season. “We knew that it was going to be a really good piece that we were in,” Kraus said. “I knew we had to take advantage of it. Every race we went to we were really good. That helps a lot. They are a really good team. Everyone works together really well and a lot of teamwork.”
“With Todd and Chris being my teammates, that’s really good,” Kraus said. “They can help me with anything on the track and off the track. It was a really great year having them beside me the whole year.” Having K&N as a sponsor and supporter of the series gave Kraus opportunities he wouldn’t have otherwise. “They put on two great series, the East and the West,” Kraus said. “It helps younger drivers like me perform and show what we can do at the shorter tracks. It’s where we grew up racing. It gives us younger drivers an opportunity and that’s what I really like about it. We can showcase our talent.” | |||
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Toni Elias In just his second season in MotoAmerica Superbike, Toni Elias dominated the series like few others have. Elias racked up a staggering 10 wins on his way to the 2017 Superbike title. He now has 16 Superbike wins overall, which places him in a tie with racing legend Wayne Rainey for eighth overall in career wins in MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike history. “This year was a dream season for me,” said Elias. “I again want to thank...everyone on the Yoshimura team who helped make it possible.”
Roger Hayden Showing amazing resilience and the heart of a champion, Roger Hayden fought through family tragedy to earn three wins over the course of the 2017 season. Those wins, combined with double-digit podium finishes secured second place in the series for Hayden. Hayden, who now has seven career MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike victories, also claimed a series-leading seven Superpoles in 2017. In the last leg of the MotoAmerica season at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, Hayden added both a win and another Superpole. “I really like racing at Barber and my crew gave me a great motorcycle,” Hayden said. “It felt good to come out and win a race like that, leading every lap. It was a great way to close out the year and makes me really look forward to next season.”
To call the debut season of the all-new Suzuki GSX-R1000 a success would be a profound understatement. The 2017 Gixxer was clearly the class of the field from start to finish in the MotoAmerica Superbike season. The fact that they were given such a fast bike on which to shine is not lost on either Elias or Hayden. “I want to thank Suzuki for giving us such a great weapon in the GSX-R1000,” said Elias. If, like Elias and Hayden, you ride the newest version of the GSX-R1000, K&N has some great products for your Suzuki. K&N has developed the SU-1017 direct replacement air filter for street use and the race-specific K&N SU-1017R for the closed-course.
Elias 2017 Season Rank: 1 Hayden 2017 Season Rank: 2 Elias Season Wins: 10 Hayden Season Wins: 3 Elias Total Laps Led: 115 Hayden Total Laps Led: 125 Hayden Season Superpoles: 7 | ||||
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With over five decades of Mustang production, you’d imagine that the booths inside the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2017 SEMA show, as well as the display areas around it, would be chock full of Ford’s groundbreaking pony car. And you’d be right. Every generation of Mustang was on display in one form or another. Some more than others, as you might expect. Here are a few of our favorites: 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302
1970 Boss 351 Convertible
1967 Ford Mustang Fastback Reproduction
1979 Ford Mustang Pace Car
Here are some shots of a few more Mustangs that caught our attention as we walked the SEMA Show. |
Anderson comes into the finals as the leader in the NHRA Pro Stock standings. He has a 40-point lead over teammate Bo Butner. Jason Line, the third-place driver in the NHRA Pro Stock standings, is 76 points out of first place. To make it more challenging, NHRA is awarding 1.5x points to the drivers this weekend. The top-four drivers in the standings are within striking distance of the Pro Stock championship. Still, Anderson said he wants to treat this weekend’s finals like it’s any other race. “I try not to do anything out of the norm,” Anderson said. “Try not to make it more than it is. Obviously, it’s what we race for all year long. You’re supposed to put it all on the line and do something special and try to get it done. If you do that, you’ll probably make a mistake. Put too much pressure on yourself and go backwards. Just trying to stay calm and relaxed and trying to tell myself that it’s just another race. It’s not. But that’s my goal.”
He won the championship in 2010 in the Countdown to the Championship format. The final six races of the season are the playoffs for the drivers and riders in the NHRA Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle divisions. “It’s crazy. I guess that’s the design,” Anderson said. “They want it to come down to the end of the day on Sunday. And that is certainly the coolest way, it makes it tougher on the drivers. I’ve been here before and I’ve witnessed that deal.” Anderson won two events in the Countdown to the Championship, most recently the event in Las Vegas. He is a 12-time winner at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona and has 90 victories in his career. But this year has been one of the more competitive ones in Pro Stock. Anderson said as many as 10 drivers and teams have the potential to win the season finale at Pomona. “Every year it seems like it does get tougher,” Anderson said. “The only way I can explain it is they learn the right way to race. They learn how to race at that top level. Every year we have more and more depth in the field.” Unlike Anderson, Butner is experiencing the Pro Stock Countdown to the Championship for the first time. Before this season, Butner never won a Pro Stock race. He has won four times this year. He still considers himself a sportsman racer, but he has become one of the top Pro Stock drivers quickly. “It’s a great year,” Butner said. “It’s a dream season, probably even beyond that because it’s in the pro category. I can’t ask for anything better. I’d like to be ahead, don’t get me wrong. We have a shot and that’s great.”
Butner has never won a Pro Stock race at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona. The odds might be stacked against him heading into the final race of the year, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. “This is a different deal. It’s a dream,” Butner said. “That’s all I’ll ever be is a sportsman racer. It’s been great, but it would be unimaginable to get up there on stage. I don’t know what else you could possibly do. I’m not going to quit by no means. “I have zero nerves. I’m having a great time. It’s fun. I do this for enjoyment, not for a living. | |||
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