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Caitlin O'Connor appeared in the 2015 star-studded movie Southpaw before working with K&N

This experience was exciting, but nothing new for Caitlin. She has worked as a TV host for Maxim, Arsenic TV, and the Chive. She has also modeled for Target and Macy’s. Life in front of the camera is familiar and comfortable for this Pennsylvania native. She also works on social media brand partnerships. Perhaps the most exciting tidbit, Caitlin tells us, “I am producing four feature films.” This girl is on her way to superstardom.

Caitlin O'Connor has modeled for Maxim, Macy's, Target, and K&N among others

She attended Uniontown Area High School where she cheered. She also took dance classes. Caitlin comments, “I hated going to class and graduated high school six months early to start attending UCLA.” Here, at university, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. An English major, she spent her days reading and writing, but another path was waiting just ahead.

Caitlin broke into the world of modeling through an opportunity at UCLA. She was a Bruins Bear Wear model. For this first gig, she was only 18 years old. Bruins Bear Wear gave way to bigger things, and Caitlin soon found herself with a bevy of clients. Again, her resume is packed with big-name brands—Maxim, The Chive, Target, Macy’s, K&N, and many others.

Now in Los Angeles, California, Caitlin is constantly working. Always on the job, she lists her hobbies as, “sleeping, working, sleeping.” She is committed to her career, but not afraid to treat herself. She admits, “The day I got my first big paycheck, I bought a classic car—a 1971 Lincoln Continental.” A spitfire with a solid work ethic and bright future, Caitlin O'Connor will continue to be successful in sunny L.A. and the world over.

IG Handle: @caitlin_oconnor

To see what Caitlin O'Connor is up to, follow her on Instagram at @caitlin_oconnor

Denny Hamlin and the trophy for winning the Overton's 301 with his backup car

"Yeah, it’s just a great feeling," Hamlin said. "I know we’ve been getting better and better as the year goes on, but definitely needed a win for the organization and for myself and just kind of get some momentum going with the playoffs coming up—so we’ve got to get going. Really this is awesome.”

Hamlin broke a 20 race drought with this win, stemming all the way back to last season’s playoff event at Texas Motor Speedway. This was his third win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and the 30th win of his career. Hamlin passed teammate Matt Kenseth and had a 2.5-second advantage on Lap-268. Hamlin led twice for 54 laps and received 5 playoff points and 51 points for the win.

“I feel like I have been a good teammate to all my teammates, I like the dynamic that we have now and that we will have later,” Hamlin said when asked about his Joe Gibbs Racing team and what it takes to lead in this sport. “We have some young talent coming in and they will be the future. You just have to lead by example and show the work ethic that it takes to be a winner on a weekly basis and that infectious atmosphere blends in.”

Kyle Larson finished in second place, a remarkable finish considering he started the race from the rear of the field due to an illegal rear decklid fin and his qualifying time wiped out. Larson, who was faster than any car during the race, could not close the gap close enough to really attack Hamlin and finished in second for the seventh time this season.

“Finished second, but another hard-fought race,” Larson said. “You know, this is the third time we've had to start last and drove up to second. I wish we could have been a spot better again, but really proud of my team and proud of the cars that they're bringing for me to drive each and every week.”

“It seems like we have a target on our back,” Larson said. “But that's a good thing, too. It means everybody is paying attention to us. This is my fourth year, and I've never been in the position to where NASCAR and other teams are paying so much attention to our race car. That's a compliment to everybody at our race shop.”

Denny Hamlin celebrating his win at the Overton's 301 with the backup car after a crash in practice

Martin Truex Jr currently sits in first place of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Standings with 758 points and 29 playoff points. Kyle Larson is in second place, 38 points behind Truex with 720 points and 13 playoff points. Kyle Busch is in third place, with 650 points and 5 playoff points.

The next race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Sammy Halbert ran away from the field at the 2017 X Games flat track race

It Runs in the Family

Some fortunate people are said to have been born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Well, Sammy Halbert may have been born with a silver steel boot on his left foot. Okay, maybe not. However, flat track racing is certainly a family affair in the Halbert home.

“My mom, dad, and grandpa all used to race flat track,” Halbert told K&N. “We always had bikes around. Then when I was ten and my older brother Jethro was twelve, we decided we wanted to get into racing, and from there that’s what we did as a family pretty much every weekend.”

Clearly, foot dragging, dirt roosting, and checker flag chasing runs deep in Halbert’s DNA.

X Games Gold

Halbert finished with an impressive 2nd in the inaugural Harley-Davidson X Games Flat Track competition in 2015 in Austin, Texas. In 2016, the X Games competition returned to Austin but Halbert finished with what was surely a disappointing 12th.

Halbert found gold in the Minneapolis, Minnesota X Games

"Winning X Games gold is like a dream come true for me and will be a weekend I never forget,” said Halbert.

American Flat Track Action

Halbert’s main racing gig is in the Professional American Flat Track circuit. In 2016, Halbert scored a win at Daytona I and racked up two additional podiums at Daytona II and the Circuit of the Americas. He finished the 2016 season with an encouraging fifth in the GNC1 points.

The 2017 AFT campaign has Halbert in a spirited battle for a season podium finish. After 11 rounds, Halbert is a single point behind Brad Baker for 3rd place overall in the series. He is the only rider that currently has a legitimate shot at breaking up the stranglehold that the Indian Wrecking Crew team currently has on AFT.

“I had a pretty consistent year going in AFT holding down third place in the championship until we had a mechanical at the Lima round,” Halbert said. “Since then I've closed back up on third place and hopefully can take that back over even while developing the Yamaha FZ-07 for flat track.”

The final rounds of the AFT season will tell the tale. Halbert is racing strong and is poised to ride the Estenson Racing Yamaha FZ-07 onto the season podium.

Into the Future

Halbert checking the set-up his race bike. Notice the attractive decal on the tail section

“At this point in my career, I'm only focused on flat track racing,” Halbert says. “I do enjoy doing road race and motocross track days though.”

K&N congratulates Sammy Halbert on his X Games win and his dogged pursuit of a top-three season in American Flat Track.

To help your Yamaha FZ-07 perform its best, take a look at the K&N YA-6814 direct replacement performance air filter. Sammy trusts K&N performance and protection, and so should you.

Sean Zeigler's custom Honda Silver Wing defies conventional bike building wisdom (photo Brad Holt)

A 16th-century proverb states “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” Clearly, the idea is that something innately ugly can’t be transformed into something beautiful, even in skilled hands. Well, the scribe of the adage clearly never met a creative force like Other Life Cycles.

The fascinating “Supermotoscramblerstein” built by the Texas-based custom motorcycle company, is living proof that great things can come from very humble beginnings. In fact, another ancient pearl of wisdom comes to mind - “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Aristotle would be impressed by the build that began as an unassuming and even homely early 1980s Honda.

Yes, the name is a bit unwieldy, but as Sean Zeigler of Other Life Cycles puts it, Supermotoscramblerstein is a name that reflects the amalgamated unity that the bike exudes.

Clean simplicity defines the Supermotoscramblerstein project (photo Brad Holt)

“The ‘supermoto’ comes from the fork and 17-inch front and rear wheels,” Zeigler said. “‘Scrambler’ comes from the basic high pipe design of the exhaust and the dual sports tires. ‘Stein’ comes from, well, the mismatched parts all being made to work in harmony. The result is something that is part dirt bike, part urban scrambler, part street tracker, part cafe, and 100% fun.”

Supermotoscramblerstein has, at its core, a 1981 Honda GL500 Silver Wing. The Gold Wing’s little brother has been called many things over the years, but beautiful is not typically one of them. The half-liter mini-tourer is propelled by a modestly-powered, opposed twin, water-cooled engine that intrigued Zeigler. Zeigler said that the motor, “responds pretty well to being kicked in the pants with some simple modifications.”

So the Silver Wing’s engine was attractive to Zeigler, but that was not true of the rest of the Honda – especially when it was undressed.

“When you strip the bike down past the plastic and trim, it can look awkward, even a little unbalanced,” said Zeigler. “As I (say) that, I kinda wonder what possessed me to start with this base. All I can say is that I like a challenge…”

K&N pod filters breathe life into the the 500cc twin (photo Brad Holt)

Let’s start with that 500cc engine that serves as the centerpiece of the build. Zeigler left the internals of the motor completely stock. He cleaned it up, repainted it, and polished the valve covers. He refurbished the engine badges and added some aesthetic details to complete what he calls the “utilitarian” look of the engine.

Zeigler focused his performance modification efforts on the Silver Wing engine's intake and exhaust. He replaced the stock CV carburetors with a set of round-slide Mikuni VM34 carbs. He also cleaned up the intake path.

“(I installed) a set of lightly ported and polished aluminum intake manifolds that feed fuel and air into the cylinders more directly,” said Zeigler. “All is capped off with pod filters from our friends at K&N filtration.”

After allowing the GL engine to breathe more freely, Zeigler shifted his attention to the exhaust side.

“With the fuel supply side of the engine bumped up a little bit, I dumped the stock 2 into 2 ‘H-box’ travesty of an exhaust system and designed and built up a shorter more streamlined stainless steel 2 into 2 exhaust tipped with short 8-inch slip-on mufflers from Cone Engineering,” reported Zeigler. “Since these pipes were tucked in close to the frame and engine, I machined heat shields out of aluminum that harkens back to the old Honda CL scrambler pipes.”

Flat track and supermoto design elements meld perfectly in the Silver Wing build (photo Brad Holt)

The forks that Zeigler chose for his build were sourced from a Suzuki DRZ. The forks were shortened by five inches, and Racetech springs and gold valves were installed to make the internals perform better. He retained the DRZ’s supermoto style rotor and dual piston brake caliper. Finally, he laced a Sun aluminum 2.75 x 17 rim to the DRZ hub Buchanan’s spokes.

The frame posed a problem when Zeigler shifted his focus to the rear end.

“In the back of the bike, I went about reworking the frame to help get rid of the stance issue this frame has,” said Zeigler. “To my eye, the stock Honda Silver Wing sits on its butt too much. I swept the tail section of the frame up 10 degrees and fabricated a new subframe to help get the bike to stand up better. I also lowered the gas tank mounts to flatten out the line that runs from the front to the rear of the bike along the tank, seat, and tail.

“The rear suspension was also upgraded using a rear shock from a CBR990RR which gives the suspension an additional 10mm in eye to eye shock length and shock stroke. That translates into a 1.5-inch rise in the tail height over stock. I fabricated a mount for the external reservoir on this shock that tucks in behind the engine and in front of the rear shock. Lastly, I installed a new Racetech spring on the rear shock.”

The Supermotoscramblerstein cuts a lean and trim posture (photo Brad Holt)

Zeigler crafted custom CNC tank badges to go on the tank and built a custom aluminum rear battery cover. He fitted a tracker style number plate up front to go with the custom aluminum 7-inch headlight surround. The bike was completely rewired and LED lighting was employed throughout. He then turned his attention to the coatings that would complete the transformation.

“All the tins were painted using a combination of House of Kolor tangerine candy and apple red for the base color,” said Zeigler. “The tins were then embellished with hand applied white gold leaf and burnt orange pinstripes and graphics designed by my friend Sean Starr at Starr Studios.”

The silk purse was complete and the end result was truly greater than the sum of its parts. K&N is proud to be part of the magic. Nice work Mr. Zeigler!

The podium has become familiar ground for Jim McConville (left)

McConville currently sits as the points leader in the ASRA Sportbike class (600cc) and is trailing the leader in the ASRA SuperStock class (1000cc) by a minuscule 4 point margin. As impressive as those standings may be, McConville is quick to point out that it is persistence and determination rather than raw talent that have gotten him to this point.

“I wouldn’t say I have a natural racing talent, as I’ve been a slower learner than many of my competitors,” McConville told K&N. “I’ve just been slowly progressing towards my goals.”

McConville's GSX-R is protected by K&N filters and his head by a K&N painted Arai helmet

“I’ve always been into motorcycles and always had an interest in riding on the track,” McConville said. “A good friend of mine was a former racer and was currently a tire vendor for the local road racing series. He brought me with him to a few race weekends to help with tire changes and loading the trailer. The first time I went to the race track, I decided this was for me.”

After being hooked by the sport, McConville began the methodical process of developing the skills to compete. He also continued his relationship with the friend that introduced him to the sport.

“I started doing track days in 2009 and bought my current race bike in 2010,” McConville reflected. “In 2011, I started my rookie year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Loudon Road Racing Series. I chose the race number 105 as a dedication to my friend that brought me into this community and became my mechanic as well as racing coach. After missing the Rookie of the Year award by just 8 points, I continued with the LRRS season and began control riding for the local track day company at NHMS.”

McConville (#105) is leading the pack in the ASRA Sportbike class

“In 2013, I tried racing with the CCS series at New Jersey Motorsports Park as well as my first ASRA race at NHMS, which was my first win ever,” said McConville. “I finished the ASRA SuperStock series 3rd overall and decided to switch my racing program towards the CCS and ASRA series. In 2014, I completed 84 of 85 races in 18 race weekends, including 7 of the 8 ASRA rounds. I was able to finish 1st in the Super Stock class and 2nd in the Sportbike class on my 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 600 and bring home a National Championship.”

While 2017 looks like it may mark his return back to the top of the national rankings, McConville’s development as a top road racer has not been without its setbacks.

Rain does not dampen the spirits of the K&N-sponsored racer (left)

In keeping with his innate humility and sense of humor, McConville says racing is the perfect disguise for his 9 to 5 existence. However, to us, it appears to be a bit of a Clark Kent / Superman situation.

“Outside of racing, I’m a computer nerd,” quips McConville. “My exact title in the office is Senior Server Engineer. Racing is a great way to hide my true identity as a computer nerd, and it scares the crap out of my parents. So it’s a win-win for me. After work, I’m usually in the gym for 2-3 hours a day, five times a week. It’s a great stress reliever for me when I’m not wrenching or turning laps.”

K&N has proudly sponsored McConville for his entire racing career

“To be honest, I’m hoping for more rain as I’ve been very successful in the rain so far,” said McConville. “It’s weird to admit, but I prefer to race in the rain more than dry conditions. As far as preparation, I will be coaching for a track day as well as some race practice days to keep my legs and bike ready for the next ASRA round in September.”

No matter what happens the rest of the season, we can count on McConville returning to the racing life and the sport he loves in 2018.

“I've always enjoyed traveling across country solo in a homemade open trailer to race at a new track I've never seen before,” said McConville. “Also, I would like to thank K&N Powersports for the sponsorship they’ve had with me since 2010. The point of contact may have changed over the years, but their awesome service and communication never did.”