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The IHRA and State Capital Dragway agreed to hold the Mardi Gras Nationals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 2009. This deal brought IHRA racing into the backyard of one of the most successful sportsman racing families in the history of the sanctioning body, the Cummings family.
IHRA driver Slate Cummings Doubles up at Mardi Gras Nationals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Cummings Motorsports is a family automotive business that fields a 9-car team and has been a staple along the IHRA circuit. Slate Cummings has a pair of IHRA World Championships in the Top Dragster and Super Stock categories. Slate’s brother Britt Cummings’ Quick has a Quick Rod crown. After nearly two decades of chasing the IHRA tour, the team, also known as the Bayou Boyz finally had the opportunity to enjoy a national event competition within an hour of their Hammond, Louisiana home.
It’s a great feeling for racers to emerge victorious in their home town and Slate Cummings made the most of this opportunity in front of his fans, family and friends at State Capital Dragway.
Cummings captured the Super Stock category in his Moser Engineering backed Cavalier with K&N products. He saved his most impressive race for last. At the wheel of his Moser Engineering backed Pontiac Firebird
with K&N products, Cummings advanced to the final round of Stock Eliminator. “We use K&N air filters and oil filters on all of our vehicles,” said Cummings. “With K&N I’m faster and very consistent on the track.”
He faced Division 4 standout Jarrod Granier in his second final round of the day. Granier posted a .013 reaction time, and dead-on 11.143 for a great .016 package. That run should be good enough to win most Stock final rounds throughout the season. It was, however, not enough to deny Cummings’ bid for a double victory. Slate trumped the great run of Granier, posting a .005 reaction time of his own, and running dead-on his 10.29 target with a 10.298, stealing the victory by a mere .003 of a second.
“This is a great feeling,” said Cummings. “I’ve won several national events. I even was able to double up once before. But to win both classes here, in Baton Rouge, with our family and friends here, this is something I won’t forget.”
K&N sponsored Sportsman Class Racer Mike Ferderer bested Michael Miller in Super Gas at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series in Tucson, Arizona. At the start of the 2009 season this was Ferderer’s third consecutive final round appearance. Out of 21 possible NHRA round wins, Ferderer has won 20 rounds.
NHRA Racer Mike Ferderer's K&N Filters 2004 Pontiac Grand Am
Sportsman Class Racer Mike Ferderer has three NHRA final round appearances at the start of the 2009 season
“It’s just one of those things where everything is just working great now,” said the Longshoreman from Buckley, Washington. “But,
you just never know when a wave is going to come, hit the beach and knock you over.”
He is tied with Sheldon Gecker for the most national event wins in Super Gas.If Ferderer wins the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada he will break his tie with Gecker and it will bring him one step closer to a possible NHRA Super Gas World Championship.
“I get some of my best speeds and consistency on the track because of my K&N filters,” he said. “K&N helps me
get to the Winner’s Circle.”
Rockstar Hart and Huntington Honda Team Rider Matt Boni made his debut for Carey Hart's Team at the Daytona Supercross in Florida.
Hart and Huntington new addition Matt Boni on Honda CRF450 with K&N air filters
Boni raced his way to the main event with the H&H Honda CRF450. A crash in the race limited Boni to an eighteenth place, but overall it was a strong showing for the Geneva, Florida racer.
Hart and Huntington Honda Team at the Daytona Supercross in Florida
Rockstar Hart and Huntington’s other rider, Troy Adams was in the front of the heat race until he crashed and failed to make the main event. Adams is twenty-fifth in the overall points- standings. Boni stands at sixteenth, and is one of the top privateers in the series.
“I’m happy with Matt’s ride, he was only on the bike a week so for him to come out here and do as good as he did is pretty good,” said Team Manager Kenny Watson. “We’ll get Troy up there next week as well.”
The Rockstar Hart and Huntington Team uses K&N products. “It’s important to have the best products on our bikes,” said Carey Hart. “The truth is, K&N filters are hands down the best. It’s all the pieces together that make a great bike and when you are dealing with motors and carburetion, you have to have the best filters protecting your motors. K&N gives us performance too.”
The Rockstar Hart and Huntington Team will wear pink race gear and have pink Hondas this coming weekend. The new color is in tribute to Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation. The Make It Right Foundation is an organization which helps rebuild New Orleans lower 9th ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
IHRA Sportsman Driver of the Year Luke Bogacki kicked off his 2009 campaign in style by winning the Quick Rod category at the IHRA Nitro Jam opener.
IHRA Sportsman Driver of the Year Luke Bogacki behind the wheel at State Capital Dragway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, photo by BME Photography
Bogacki was at the wheel of his winning American Dragster at the IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals at State Capital Dragway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He drove the same car to a Northern Nationals Quick Rod victory and a 4th place national finish in 2008.
IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals Quick Rod Win for Luke Bogacki, photo by BME
Photography
The Louisiana win marked Bogacki’s 6th IHRA national event victory. “It was a really good weekend,” said Bogacki. “My car was flawless, and I felt like my driving was pretty solid for the most part. Throw in a lucky break or two along the way, and we were fortunate enough to hoist the iron man in the end.”
Bogacki used a string of great reaction times and close ET’s throughout eliminations. Disregarding his semi-final competition bye run, his reaction times varied only from .015 to .003, with a strong .006 in the final round that became unnecessary when opponent Robert Cool fouled with a -.005 red light.
In addition to picking up the national event victory and the prize and contingency money that comes with it, Bogacki also earned a berth in IHRA’s Tournament of Champions. The new program is a one-race runoff for the 2009 world championship. Racers earn seeds in the runoff by winning national events, sportsman national events, or placing in the top three in their division standings throughout the season. At this early point in the year, Bogacki joined Immokalee Sportsman Nationals winner Brendan George as the first two seeds in the Quick Rod tournament.
Bogacki uses K&N air filters. “K&N helps my engine perform the way it should,” he said. “I can count on K&N for more power and great filtration in every competition.”
“I still don’t have a stance on the tournament of champions,” said Bogacki. “I could make an argument either way, so I’m going to wait to pass judgment for a year and see how it goes. It is what it is, and this is the way the championship will be decided in 2009, and probably beyond. I’m very excited to know that I’ll be a part of the championship tournament this season.”
There is a first for every aspect of a young racers career. For 18-year-old Andrew Madrid, it came at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Arizona. He won his first Wally.
NHRA Sportsman Class Racer Andrew Madrid won his first Wally at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson, Arizona
“I’ve wanted it for a long time,” he said. “It’s a cool feeling. I put it in my trophy case, but my mom wants to put it in the living room. Maybe we will.”
NHRA Sportsman Class Racer Andrew Madrid in front of one of the fastest dragsters on the Sportsman Class circuit
The Chatsworth, California resident has been racing for six years and moved up from the junior dragster circuit with a divisional win at the Lucas Oil Division 7 Points meet.
“I’m fortunate,” said Madrid. “In the first round my opponent red lighted against me. This allowed me to run the car out to see where I was on the tune up. We put the wrong numbers in the timer that controls the throttle stop. If my opponent did not red light, I would have lost. I would have been set up wrong and hit the finish line with a car that was way too fast. After that, each run was a crap shoot but we got closer to the dial each run.” In the final the K&N
and Lucas Oil sponsored racer beat Gabriel Torres in Super Comp.
Madrid also has a new dragster with a 605 cubic inch Chevy motor. It’s 245 inches long and hits speeds of 177 mph on average. “It’s one of the faster cars out there,” he said. “I’ve used K&N my entire career. My dad raced and used K&N. We also use K&N on our tow vehicles and our daily drivers. You can’t loose with K&N filters on your vehicles, on or off the track. We get more air and filtration with K&N.”
Another first may be coming up for Madrid. He is looking forward to the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. “I'm going to try for my first Wally in a National event win,” he said.
