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AMA Hall of Famer and friend of K&N, Dennis Mahan was on hand at the Arizona Mile

The Legends

The Arizona Mile was officially kicked off with a spirited four-lap riding demonstration by flat track racing pioneer Buddy Stubbs. The fit 77-year-old roosted his vintage 1972 Harley-Davidson® XR750 around the Turf Paradise oval just after the national anthem.

That beautiful Harley® flat tracker was appropriately fitted with two K&N pod filters. The classic lines of that XR750 was tangible proof that power and style never go out of fashion. The K&N filters were a testament to the enduring combination of performance and protection that has served as the hallmark of the company’s 4-plus decades of racing dominance.

Stubbs was not the only racing pioneer to grace the Arizona Mile. It’s not every day that an AMA Hall of Famer and motorcycling legend walks the pits of a modern flat track race. However, thats just what motorcycling icon Dennis Mahan did in the Arizona sun. Mahan is a long-time friend and former employee of K&N Engineering.

Buddy Stubbs opened the day's festifities on his K&N-equipped 1972 Harley flat tracker

The Racers

K&N has a rich history of flat track team and racer sponsorship that goes back to the company’s earliest years. K&N sponsors a number of both established superstars and rising talents in the sport.

K&N-sponsored Brad Baker has emerged as one of the true hotshots of the dirt oval. Baker, a racer for the powerful factory Indian racing team, was a magnet for autograph seekers in the pits, and fan-favorite in the packed grandstands as he raced to the podium in Arizona.

Another fan favorite at Turf Paradise was gender-stereotype-shattering racer Shayna Texter who competes for the K&N-backed RMR Racing Team. Shayna’s brother Cory is a K&N-sponsored racer and up-and-coming star of the sport. Fast runs in the family, and K&N is proud of the speedy siblings.

K&N-sponsored racer Brad Baker is among the sport's biggest stars

Other notable K&N-backed racers in American flat track are Kenny Coolbeth Jr., J.R. Addison, and several others that we will keep you up to speed on throughout the season.

The Bikes

The American Flat Track paddock is filled with bikes trusting their performance and protection to K&N filters. It’s not just the K&N-sponsored teams and riders that choose our products.

As you will see in the photos below, there is no other company that even comes close to K&N as the filter of choice for the fast dirt oval. Enjoy the eye-candy!

K&N protects Jake Shoemaker's Kawasaki Ninja 650

J.R. Addison's very trick Kawasaki Ninja 650 is protected by K&N

Jarod Vanderkooi's RMR Kawasaki is also K&N protected

Many of the AFT Singles wear K&Ns too

Sammy-O Racing's V-twin proudly wears K&N technology

A close-up of Estenson Racing's filter of choice

The Willy-built Kawasaki breathes through a K&N

Another of Jake Shoemaker's K&N-protected Kawasaki Ninja 650s

Of course, Sammy Halbert's Yamaha FZ-07 performs with a K&N

Buddy Stubbs' vintage XR750 proudly displays big K&N pods

The K&N 63-1136 air intake has an RU-5064 rubber air filter fully encased in a full filter housing

The company became a major player in the ATV industry when it introduced its Ranger Utility Vehicle (UTV) in 1998. The Ranger featured Polaris exclusive On-Demand six-wheel drive, a rear cargo box and side-by-side seating to accommodate two adults. It became a mainstay vehicle for hunters, farmers, ranchers, and homeowners who work on their land and outdoor enthusiasts who wanted to traverse the rugged off-road terrain for recreation.

In 2007, Polaris unveiled the RZR, a UTV meant to challenge Yamaha’s Rhino, which had helped to win a major share of the UTV market for the Japanese manufacturer.

The RZR did not only challenge the Rhino, it actually redefined what a UTV was. The vehicle looked different than any other UTV in the market and it was specifically designed to offer off-road fun to riders. The vehicle was only 50-inches in width, which permitted it to go on trails where no previous UTVs could go. Many trails had a maximum width of 50-inches and most UTVs were simply too wide to ride them.

It wasn’t long before the RZR was one of the most popular all-terrain vehicles in the market and it helped Polaris become the leading UTV manufacturer.

The most recent RZR vehicles to come from Polaris are the 2016 RZR XP Turbo and RZR XP 4 Turbo EPS.

A 925cc, 4-stroke, twin cylinder, double overhead twin cam engine with electronic fuel injection powers both the RZR XP 4 Turbo EPS and XP Turbo. The engine delivers 144-horsepower. What’s unique about it is that it delivers the same horsepower at higher elevations.

Typically, a UTV engine will lose about 3.0% to 3.5% of its horsepower for every 1000 feet gain in elevation. So, for example, at 7,000 feet, a non-boosted 100-horsepower engine is actually delivering an output power of between 75.5 to 79-horsepower. The Polaris ProStar Turbo engine is not affected by higher elevations because it includes the turbocharger.

The engine can achieve 0-60-mph (0-96.6-kph) in 5.89-seconds and offers more than 45% more torque than other engines. In fact, this engine is the most powerful side-by-side engine available. In order to achieve its extreme performance, the engine includes a number of high performance parts including forged pistons, an upgraded 270-degree firing order forged crankshaft, high strength connecting rods, a closed deck cylinder, sodium filled exhaust valves and a new oil lubrication system. It performs consistently in all temperatures because it includes a new liquid charge air cooler with front-mounted radiator and high-flow electric pump.

To manage the massive power of the turbocharger, the engine also includes an engine management system with knock detection, boost control and a high-flow return style fuel system. All of this ensures that the engine performs at maximum power in all conditions, altitudes and temperatures.

The K&N 63-1136 air intake is designed for the Polaris ProStar 925cc, 4-stroke turbocharged engine

The RZR XP Turbo EPS also features a suspension system with highly tuned FOX Podium® Internal Bypass Shocks that include large diameter bodies (3-inches/7.6-centimeters in the rear, 2.5-inches/6.4-centimeters up front), adjustable remote reservoirs and increased fluid capacity for dramatic improvement in heat dissipation, fade resistance, and durability.

To complement the shocks, Polaris includes bigger coil-over springs. Also included are 29-inch (73.7-centimeter) Maxxis Bighorn tires on 14-inch (35.6-centimeter) cast rims.

The vehicle features a 90-inch (228.6-centimeter) wheelbase, 18-inches (45.7-centimeters) of rear travel and 13.5-inches (34.3-centimeters) of ground clearance.

K&N has recently introduced the 63-1136 air intake kit specifically for the 2016 Polaris RZR XP 4 Turbo EPS and Polaris RZR XP Turbo. Dyno tests confirm that the kit offers an estimated boost of 4.09-horsepower at 35.8-mph.

The kit includes a K&N washable and reusable RU-5064 universal rubber air filter. It features a multilayered cotton gauze media that has been treated with a special grade of oil, which makes the cotton strands very sticky.

K&N also offers the 99-5000 filter care service kit that is specially formulated to cleanse and rejuvenate the air filter so that it can be used over and over again for the life of the vehicle.

K&N is so sure of the quality of the air filter, it backs it with a 10-Year/Million Mile Limited Warranty. The document promises that the air filter will perform for up to 10 years or 1,000,000 miles without needing replacement.

The air filter is totally encased within the air intake kit. The kit also includes a free-flowing aluminum intake tube, nine stainless steel clamps and two couplers.

The air intake is designed to dramatically reduce intake restriction because it provides a smoother and straighter path for the airflow to reach the engine. This allows the engine to breathe more air than the factory air intake assembly permitted. The result is a boost in horsepower, acceleration, throttle response, and improved engine sound.

The K&N 63-1136 air intake kit can be installed in about 90 minutes using common hand tools. It is designed for the following vehicles:

2017 POLARIS RZR XP TURBO 925 - All Models
2017 POLARIS RZR XP 4 TURBO EPS 925 - All Models
2016 POLARIS RZR XP TURBO 925 - All Models
2016 POLARIS RZR XP 4 TURBO EPS 925 - All Models

Kathy waits out the weather in her trailer at Virginia Motorsports Park

Nonetheless, Kathy and her husband Kevin, who run the team from their shop in Lima, Ohio, see 2017 as their best opportunity to take the Top Dragster championship in the 1/8 mile PDRA series. Last year Kathy finished fourth in the championship and was only able to attend six of nine races. In addition she’ll be running at NHRA Divisional and National events not just for the 1/4 mile experience, but also to further support her marketing partners.

While she was knocked out in the second round at the first PDRA event of the year, at the NHRA Divisional at VMP she qualified second. The event couldn’t be completed so it will be run as part of the August race. In the meantime, Kathy made it to the semifinals at the NHRA Nationals in Atlanta.

Kathy, alone with her thoughts before her run, planning out each move to the microsecond

Kathy got her start drag racing like most kids – competing in her father’s Nova. While working to establish her career in broadcasting didn’t leave much time for drag racing, but she was slowly drawn back in. First it was racing her own Camaro (on which she installed her first K&N filter), and then through various steps ended up working for Frank Hawley's NHRA Drag Racing School. While working for Frank she earned her Top Alcohol license and she was on her way.

Now her sites are set on becoming one of the top 1/8th mile Top Dragster racers in the country. And she has the car to make it happen.

Warming up her Mickey Thompson slicks before a run. Top Dragsters run automatic transmissions.

Stan started with off with a Brodix Big Block punched out to 547 CID. Heads are aluminum B3 units from Brodix as well. Pistons are from J&E and the crank is from, of course, Ohio Crankshaft. Air is drawn through a K&N filter by the F3-121 Procharger, and into the engine via a single-blow-through carburetor.

Upon hearing the motor start for the first time a former team member referred to its sound as "thumpy goodness." Some of that is due to Kevin, who fabricates the headers himself out of Borla pipes. As the President of Performance by Fisher, a custom exhaust and repair facility in their hometown of Lima, he certainly brings the skills to the job. Once the welding is done the headers receive an Armor Coat ceramic coating.

Power is driven back not through a direct drive using a series of clutches like a Top Fuel dragster, but rather a heavily-modified Abruzzi two-speed Powerglide with an aluminum torque converter. The chassis is an American Race Cars 272-inch wheelbase dragster out of Millbury, OH (see a trend here?).

The ultimate selfie. Actually a frame grab off a video of one of Kathy's runs. Trade seats anyone?

As performance by Fisher is also a independent repair garage that focuses on performance work, Kevin and his crew install K&N filters on customer cars. As Kathy says, "use ‘em, love ‘em, sell ‘em."

Travis Miller won the first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race of his career at South Boston Speedway

Miller, who started in the second row, passed rookie Chase Purdy for the lead on lap 59 after the only restart of the race. There was one caution for four laps, from laps 55-58.

"I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work there," Miller said. "That was probably the winning move on our part."

Chase Cabre won the pole and led for the first 19 laps of the race. Purdy took the lead on lap 20 and was out front for 39 laps. Cabre fell back and finished in seventh place. Purdy crossed the finish line in second place.

"He was definitely faster than me at the end of the race," Miller said about Purdy. "He drove me really good and I actually cut him off once or twice. I definitely appreciate him driving me clean even after I did that. All in all it was a good race."

Purdy posted his first top five finish and second top 10 in five K&N Pro Series East races.

"That was down to the wire," Purdy said. "Hats off to my crew. The work they do in the shop all week doesn’t compare to what you see here. They work their butts off. They give me a fast race car and that was just hard racing right there."

Travis Miller led 40 laps of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at South Boston Speedway

"That was the game changer right there," Miller said. "It was really hard to pass on the bottom here. That’s what won us the race, that restart."

Todd Gilliland, the 2016 K&N Pro Series West champion, finished third. Dillon Bassett was fourth, followed by Harrison Burton in fifth.

Burton took a 14-point lead over Gilliland in the K&N Pro Series East race after the first race at South Boston Speedway. Purdy was third, 24 points behind Burton.

K&N cold air intakes are designed to feed your engine more air thus giving it more power

The paper OEM filter and corrugated air tube that likely came with your truck from the factory worked well for what the engineers needed. However, enthusiasts are often left scratching their heads and asking, “who designed it like this?” Unfortunately, engineers are under a lot of constraints when manufacturing a vehicle. Everything from time and money limitations to keeping the sound levels and power numbers at the correct levels often plague engineers during the build. That is why companies like K&N Engineering offer solutions like cold air intakes.

The install of a K&N cold air intake takes around 90 minutes and can be done with common hand tools

Another part of the cold air intake equation, besides getting more air into the engine, is the quality of the air. As stated before, these systems typically have a heatshield or air box to separate the air filter from the engine bay. The air in the engine bay is quite warm, while the outside air is relatively colder. Cold air has more oxygen molecules than warm air. The mass airflow sensor in your vehicle can detect the temperature of the air and inject more or less fuel as necessary.

One of K&N's newest series of cold air intakes is the Blackhawk Induction line of intakes

K&N offers several different cold air intakes for vehicles depending on individual needs. These vary from a traditional oiled cotton media to a non-oiled synthetic media. The choice is yours. So if you need a boost in power and the ability to filter out dirt and dust before it reaches your engine, check out K&N to see all the intakes and other products they have to offer.