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Matt Coffman Earns Top 16 finish at Formula Drift Atlanta, Sits 14th overall

May 26, 2017

Matt Coffman qualified 16th at Road Atlanta with a score of 80 points

After a disappointing early exit at Formula Drift Orlando due to irreparable damage in practice, Matt Coffman piloted his Coffman Racing Nissan S13 to a Top 16 finish at Formula Drift Atlanta, losing to top qualifier Vaughn Gittin Jr. in a tough battle that left the team happy with the results. Coffman currently sits in 14th place overall after three events and is on pace for his best career Formula Drift championship finish.

Coming off of a disappointing Orlando round where the team was unable to run their Top 32 battle due to damage from practice, several repairs were made between rounds to ensure the car was 100% for the weekend. After a shakedown run in practice, the new power steering rack was showing signs of weakness under the strain of competition driving and was replaced. The rest of the weekend resulted in no other mechanical issues, a testament to the preparation and hard work of the entire Coffman Racing team.

Matt Coffman currently sits 14th in the Formula Drift Championship standings, a career best standing

Friday’s qualifying session was moved up several hours to avoid a pending thunderstorm, which cut down practice time substantially. A pair of consistent qualifying runs by Coffman were scored within three points of each other, resulting in a 16th place qualifying effort that paired him up in tandem with Pat Goodin. Coffman and Goodin were the first tandem battle of Top 32 due to the bye run granted to top qualifier Vaughn Gittin Jr., and a rain shower just moments before Top 32 started led to inconsistent traction levels across the entire track. Thankfully, the drivers were given a recon lap to test out the situation prior to the run. Unfazed by the moisture due to living in the Pacific Northwest, Coffman put down a pair of consistent runs while Goodin had several steering correction on both runs. All three judges voted for Coffman to move into the Top 16.

Matt Coffman was introduced in front of the packed Road Atlanta crowd

After Top 16 opening ceremonies, Coffman was paired up against top qualifier and fellow K&N-sponsored driver Vaughn Gittin Jr. in the first tandem battle on the competition schedule. Coffman has a stylish chase run with good proximity through the keyhole, but lost proximity across the early and late portions of the run which likely put him at a disadvantage. Coffman’s lead run was equally as stylish as his chase, but Gittin Jr. maintained consistently better proximity in his chase run and was handed the unanimous win from the judges.

Matt Coffman was eliminated by top qualifier Vaughn Gittin Jr. in the Top 16

Overall, Coffman finished the event in 13th place, and currently sits in 14th place overall in the championship standings. After his Top 8 finish in Long Beach, Coffman is motivated to repeat the finish and continue to improve his championship standings. The series rolls into Wall, New Jersey at an event dubbed “The Gauntlet”.

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WALSH Race Craft's Parker Wewerka the #1 Rookie in AMA ATV MX National Championship

May 26, 2017

Parker Wewerka racing in the AMA ATV MX National Championship

Parker Wewerka is the fastest rookie in the AMA ATV MX National Championship

Parker Wewerka of WALSH Race Craft is making waves in his rookie season as a professional rider in the AMA ATV MX National Championship series. The K&N-sponsored rider is proving to be the cream of the rookie crop in the highly competitive field.

Round 1 - Daytona International Speedway, Daytona, Forida

Daytona would mark Wewerka’s first race as a Pro ATV racer. The Wewerka team decided not to race in the Pro-Am because points did not matter for any of the classes outside of Pro.

Wewerka qualified with a 5th place finish in his first heat race. In the main event, Wewerka came out strong, rounding the first corner in seventh position. Wewerka maintained good speed and consistency through the entire race, finishing sixth overall for round 1.

Smart and consistent racing has payed off for Wewerka in the first two rounds

Wewerka finished the 2017 Daytona ATV Supercross in the highest position of competing rookie Pro racers.

Round 2 - Underground MX Park, Kemp, Texas

Round 2 in Texas was slated to reflect to the normal racing schedule, running Pro on Saturday and Pro-Am on Sunday. However, the threat of bad weather in the forecast for Sunday moved the Pro-Am to the last moto on Saturday.

Showing consistency uncharacteristic of a rookie, Wewerka finished both Pro class motos in eighth place. The matched pair of showings gave him eighth place overall. Again, Wewerka finished in the highest position of competing rookie Pro racers.

Wewerka leads the Pro-Am class of the AMA ATV MX National Championship

The Pro-Am race was limited to one moto at the end of Saturday. Wewerka came off the line with a strong start. He made it around the first corner in second place and quickly moved into the lead before the end of the first lap.

Wewerka made the rest of the moto look easy as he rode a near perfect race. He extended his race margin to a 12.9 second lead by the end of the moto and set the fastest lap time.

After the first two rounds of the AMA ATV MX National Championship series, Wewerka sits in 8th place in the Pro class. He is 2 points behind 7th and 6 points ahead of 9th. He leads the Pro-Am class with a 5 point margin over the rider in 2nd. Nice start rookie!

Parker Wewerka runs the K&N RU-4260 universal clamp-on air filter and the K&N KN-116 oil filter. For your ATV filtration needs check K&N’s online application tool.

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Ford Mustang RTR Driver Chelsea Denofa Finishes Top 16 at Formula Drift Atlanta

May 26, 2017

Ford Mustang RTR driver Chelsea Denofa finishes Top 16 at Formula Drift Atlanta

Chelsea Denofa, driver of the K&N/BC Racing Nitto Tire Ford Mustang RTR finished the Formula Drift Atlanta event in the Top 16, winning his first tandem elimination battle before losing in a “one more time” battle with Formula Drift veteran Ryan Tuerck in the top 16. The finish marks the first Top 16 appearance of the season for Denofa as he continues to get used to the power and grip levels of the Ford Mustang, and the team feels optimistic that results will continue to improve through the weekend.

Denofa joined the Ford Mustang RTR team in the off-season, and the increased amount of grip and horsepower have required Denofa to learn the new setup over the past few events. On Friday, Denofa qualified 7th on the grid with a score of 88 points, just 6 positions behind his K&N/Mustang RTR teammate Gittin Jr. who sat on the pole position. Denofa and the team were excited and confident entering the tandem eliminations. In his first battle, Denofa faced local rookie Taylor Hull in the Top 32 round and would earn the win with two consistent runs and a lead run that left Hull many car lengths behind in proximity. Hull would have mechanical issues on his second run and would be unable to finish his lead run, but Denofa had a clear advantage even before the mechanical DNF for Hull.

As Denofa heard his name being announced in front of the packed crowd at Road Atlanta, he mentally began planning ahead for his Top 16 battle with Formula Drift journeyman Ryan Tuerck. Although the two have never done battle previously in Formula Drift competition, both drivers were pumped to compete against each other as they both are perceived to be championship contenders. The battle between the two was fierce, with nearly identical runs in the lead and chase position. Denofa’s aggressive chase run was enough to earn the vote from one of the three Formula Drift judges, but the other two judges voted for the drivers to battle in a “one more time” sudden death round.

K&N-sponsored Chelsea Denofa drifting in front of a packed house at Road Atlanta

The second pair of battles was just as tough, with both drivers laying down a pair of nearly identical runs which thrilled the crowd. While one judge decided that the battle was worthy of yet another “one more time” round, the other two judges sided with Tuerck. Denofa accepted the defeat with grace, knowing that the finish was his best of the season, and is already looking ahead to the next round of competition.

“I feel like I’m finally one with the car,” said Denofa after the event. “I’m stoked, I had the best run I’ve had all year with this car, it feels like an extension of me.” Denofa continued. Denofa and Gittin Jr. swung by the Roush Yates Engine factory earlier in the week, who’s the engine provider for both cars, providing some demos and ride-alongs for employees of the company. Both drivers will be running demonstrations at the Street Driven Tour event at Virginia International Raceway this weekend as well before heading to Wall, New Jersey for Round 4 of the Formula Drift championship on June 2nd and 3rd.

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Bradley Morris Has Tough Weekend at Wild Horse Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona

May 26, 2017

Bradley Morris sliding his K&N Filters Pro2 through the corner

The 2017 season opener for K&N-sponsored driver Bradley Morris was full of ups and downs. Rounds one and two of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series were held in Chandler, Arizona, at the Wild Horse Motorsports Park. Bradley and the team had been anticipating the beginning of the season with a late start, which allowed the team to finish the new Stamper Chassis Pro 2 and make some additional modifications to the Pro 4. These modifications were noticeable in the practice sessions on Friday at the race, and Bradley was right up with the leaders around fifth in both trucks.

K&N Filters-sponsored Pro4 driven by Bradley Morris flying through the air

First race up for the opening weekend was the K&N Filters and Maxxis Tires Pro 4. At the start of the race, all the trucks jumped on the gas to make it through turn one and over the two jumps. Heading into turn two it was super wet and slippery and the trucks in the front were not able to make the turn and brake properly and collided with each other. The rest of the trucks behind them ended up slamming on the brakes just to slide into one another, causing a full restart three times before the race was underway. After the trucks were able to make it through turn two on a green flag, the battles began. Bradley would start to push towards the front at a steady and smart pace. Working his way forward, he got up to the top five and then up to third place. Bradley was battling for second when the truck slowly lost the handling which was caused by the contact on the first few laps. He tried to stay with the leaders but slowly slipped down to fifth place when the checkered flag was waving.

Bradley Morris showing why K&N Filters are so important in off road racing

The second round in Pro 4 was one of the lows for the weekend, where Bradley qualified ninth and started him towards the rear of the pack. With a strong start, Bradley would battle for the first third of the race before breaking and having to pull off the track, finishing in eleventh.

Taking the K&N Filters Pro4 around turn one in Chandler, Arizona

After driving in the Pro 4, Bradley would jump out of the truck and get right into the Pro 2 with only two classes in between. With this being Bradley’s rookie year in Pro 2, many thought that he would have a difficult time switching between the trucks. Many of the best drivers have a hard time for the first few races getting used to driving the two different styles of trucks. Bradley did a great job all weekend with keeping the driving styles separated, and Bradley would start on the fourth row in the Pro 2 for the first race. Bradley started off very strong and was making passes on every lap until the truck started to overheat, and just before the half-way mark of the race the driveshaft ended up breaking loose and took Bradley out of the race. This is not how Bradley wanted to start off his rookie season, even though he finished in the top ten with some other trucks crashing and breaking before him.

Bradley borrowed a truck for Round 2 in Pro2 to gain valuable points

The bad luck didn’t stop there, and while in the pit the team realized that the overheating issue had actually destroyed the motor. With the truck being so new, there was not a spare motor completed yet. The team thought they were done with the Pro 2 for the weekend when one of the other drivers that was hurt during the first race offered to let Bradley drive his Pro 2. This would allow Bradley to not only get precious points for the championship, but also rookie of the year points. The team tried their best to mount the bedsides on the other driver’s Pro 2 to showcase his sponsors K&N Filters, Kicker Audio, and Fallen Patriots. Bradley started the race at the very back because he did not qualify and wasn’t even expecting that he was even going to be racing the rest of the weekend in Pro 2. With never driving the loaned truck before, he knew he had to drive smart and clean to get the most points he could but at the same time staying competitive with the rest of the trucks to make his sponsors look good. Bradley did a great job finishing seventh.

Bradley Morris flying the Pro2 across the starting line

The opening weekend was not the one that Bradley had planned or hoped for, but the team was able to make some great changes to the trucks by making them faster and getting Bradley more comfortable in them. One of his new partners for the 2017 season is Children of Fallen Patriots, who help provide college scholarships for kids who have lost a parent in the line of duty. Bradley said, “I am glad that I could go out and show Fallen Patriots that even on a bad race day there can still be some good, which is something that Fallen Patriots does for all the children. I was happy with the changes we were making to the trucks, which was giving me more control and greater speed. I can’t wait to head to Mexico and race for my first time.” The next two rounds are at Estero Beach, Mexico, where Bradley will race for the first time on the sandy track. The trucks will be ready for battle and with the changes that were made in Arizona they will be even faster than before. So watch out for Bradley Morris and the BME Motorsports team for the rest of the season, where they will be working hard and climbing towards the top.

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Kyle Busch Gets First Win at Charlotte Motor Speedway at Monster Energy All Star Race

May 24, 2017

Kyle Busch celebrating his win at Charlotte Motor Speedway after the Monster Energy All Star Race

Kyle Busch won the Monster Energy All Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, his first ever win at the track. He did so in impressive fashion, having the lead at the final restart with 10 laps left. The stakes were high for all the racers, $1,000,000, in the non points race of the season. Busch, who passed Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson entering the final restart, finally got the win at Charlotte.

“Yeah, it means a lot, first of all to finally win at Charlotte for one, then to win the All-Star Race,” Busch said. “It's an exciting race. This race was kind of born off of exciting events that were in the race, bold moves, things like that. We did one of those tonight to win the race”.

The race, which did not count towards the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Standings, was still very critical for all the drivers. Busch of course, the winner of the race and the $1 million, and Chase Elliott who was voted into the race by the fans. Busch led once for ten laps.

Kyle Larson finished in second place, the winner of the first stage of the race, passed Johnson on the final lap. Larson would have been leading the race on the final restart, but a maintenance issue caused him to drop three spots.

“Yeah, that sucks,” Larson said. “But we had a dominant car all race. I thought initially our pit crew struggled that last stop. Our jack post on the right side broke off at some point throughout the race. So the jackman had to make a couple more pumps to get the car up. It slowed the stop down enough that we got beat off pit road by three cars. That was kind of the difference in the race for us.”

Kyle Busch won for the first time at Charlotte Motor Speedway at the Monster Energy All Star Race

Jimmie Johnson finished in third place, after being passed by both Busch and Larson. Johnson pushed his car too hard, which caused Busch to be able to pass him.

“Competitive night for us,” Johnson said. “When the race first started, seemed like there was a little less grip. As the sun continued to go down, the track picked up some grip. We never really ran long enough to try the high lane and make up any time on it.”

The Standings in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series remain the same, with Kyle Larson leading with 475 points and 7 playoff points. Martin Truex Jr. is in second place with 431 points and 15 playoff points. Brad Keselowski is in third with 408 points and 12 playoff points.

The next race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race will be the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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