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The RAM Off-Road Park at Colorado Springs, Colorado hosted the XRRA (Xtreme
Off--Road Rock Racing) National
Championship. The top 32 rock racers from across the United States competed for
the crown over the weekend.
Roger Lovell with the checkered flag after his big win
Driver Roger Lovell did not disappoint his hometown crowd and raced his
Alloy USA Ford Ranger with K&N Engineering products to victory. “This was a huge
win for the team,” said co-driver Brad Lovell. “Roger has had a tough first
season but earned every bit of this win.”
Team Lovell at RAM Off-Road Park in Colorado Springs
Roger Lovell is a veteran spotter and co-driver. This was his first season
behind the wheel for Team Lovell. The team dealt with mechanical problems in
three out of four races during the 2007 season and barely qualified for the
finals. “To top it off, we drew the first starting position,” said Lovell.
“Things did not start off so well in what turned out to be one of the most
unique races of the season.”
The green flag dropped on what most competitors called the best rock racing
course of the season. There were jumps, climbs and side hills to challenge the
teams. Team Lovell decided to take a risky strategy. “We played everything
conservative,” said Lovell. “The course was tough enough and the jumps were big.
We knew people were going to be breaking down and hope to win by driving smart.”
The pair was not the fastest on any single course during the day, but they were
extremely consistent. As the final round started, the Alloy USA Ranger with K&N
products was in third place, only two seconds ahead of defending champion
Shannon Campbell.
“We decided not to change our tactics which put us in the finals,” said Lovell.
“We wanted to lay it all on the line because we knew how fast Shannon can go,
but after a lot of thought we were going to make sure we finished.”
The Lovell strategy paid off. Campbell hit a banner while landing a jump and
ended up wedged in a notch. The second place qualifier suffered a similar fate
after his steering went out. With one race left, Team Lovell had a lock on
second place if they finished within the time limit.
“We narrowly escaped the rock notch without rolling and carefully, but quickly
crossed the finish line,” said Lovell. “We were rewarded when the last runner of
the day and race leader Brian Shirley ruined a rear axle housing as he landed a
triple jump. We were the only team to finish all the courses.”
The Lovell Racing crew went wild with the win and started celebrating
immediately. Roger paraded the checkered flag through his hometown crowd before
claiming the XRRA National Championship Cup.
“We didn’t have the fastest single time, but we ran the smartest race,” he said.
“There is a lot of silt and fine dust on these courses,” said Lovell. “K&N
Filters keep the debris out of our engines and our sensors do not clog up. There
is also a slight taper to give us the clearance and flexibility we need to get
this kind of win.”
Brad Lovell will race the Fabtech Ford Ranger at the UROC Rockcross October 6
and 7 in the Off-Road Expo at Pomona, California.
Follow Team Lovell throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the
K&N
dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
Jeff Arend had a great qualifying effort at the O’Reilly Fall Nationals at Texas
Motorplex in Dallas, but a momentary lapse of concentration cost him a big first
round.
Jeff Arend's Team CSK Crew
Funny Car Racer Jeff Arend
he best part of the Motorplex weekend for Arend was another strong
qualifying performance in his CSK Impala. He ran three sessions in bright
sunshine, with the track temperatures at over 130 degrees. However, every Funny
Car competitor knew one session on Friday night was going to be critical.
Jeff Arend uses K&N Premium Performance Gold Oil Filters
“As soon as we got here we started sweating and we knew the Friday night
thing could be the whole ball of wax,” said Arend. “While you need to make your
best lap is on that run, it also helped to make the best possible pass on Friday
afternoon. That way you could be as far back in the line as possible on Friday
night. On that, we totally messed up. We smoked the tires early in the first
qualifying session and had to run at the front of the field on Friday night. We
did pretty well anyway.”
“The term pretty well is not fitting,” said Team Manager Bob Wilber. “Jeff
accomplished 4.788 pass at 320.36 mph and the No. 2 qualifying spot on Friday
night. He knew the only way he’d slip from the No. 2 position was if he forfeited
his time and went home. We know, with our K&N Engineering Oil Filters on our
cars, that we can have confidence in our lubrication system, and that’s critical
to success in this high-performance sport.”
With both Saturday runs scheduled for the afternoon, 4.90s were going to
represent good laps. Arend was secure in knowing they would run from the front
of the line on Sunday.
Arend made a full pass on his first Saturday run, dialing-in a race day set-up
with a 4.956, then clicked his car off a little early in the fourth round.
Sunday had a different feel, it was overcast and there were morning sprinkles.
The conditions were better than the day before. “My object was to go out there
and run a very low 4.80, and my guys did their part perfectly,” said Arend.
“They gave me a 4.81 race car.”
Arend and Tommy Johnson were the fourth pair in round one. After the burn-outs,
both cars pulled forward to stage and both lit the top bulbs nearly
simultaneously. Both pulled forward to stage and John’s car rolled slightly
farther than normal, not quite taking out the top bulbs in a full roll-in, but
instead flicking the top bulbs two or three times before settling in. Arend
admits he then made a critical mistake, one he’ll never make again.
“Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the blinking yellow lights and I just looked
over there,” said Arend. “It was just an odd thing, something you’re not used to
seeing and it caught my attention. Tommy didn’t do anything wrong. I messed up,
big time, because as soon as I looked back to the vertical amber lights they
flashed. All I could think was, I hope he red lit because I’m in a world of hurt
here.”
Johnson did not foul at the start, but left with a solid .065 light. Arend was
late with a flicker-induced .153 and the race was nearly over at the start.
Arend then streaked to a gigantic 4.813, the second quickest run of the first
round, as Johnson clicked through the lights with a strong, but much slower
4.867. Despite Arend’s big E.T. advantage, the win light was on in Johnson’s
lane. The math told the story, 4.813 plus .153 equals 4.966, while Johnson’s two
numbers combined to equal 4.932. Johnson beat Arend to the finish line by .034
of a second.
“I’m just sick about it because my guys gave me a winning car and I let them
down,” said Arend. “I’m going to try to make it up to everyone at Richmond.”
Arend will get that chance when the POWERade tour reconvenes in Virginia in two
weeks.
Follow Jeff Arend's progress throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the
K&N
dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
Brian Folk of Durand, Illinois has won a lot of races in his career. The
35-year-old has won 18 National events, six division championships, over 25
divisional events and many big money bracket races.
Brian Folk runs Camaro record to 14-0
With Folk’s racing resume, unprecedented feats are rare. Last weekend
brought one of those rare occasions for Folk. At the IHRA Suzuki Motor City
Nationals at Milan Dragway in Michigan, he earned the first national event “Double” of his career, taking
home the iron man in both Top Dragster and Super Rod.
Brian Folk's Top Dragster triumph
Folk then scored his third Super Rod victory in two weeks at Suzuki Motor
City Nationals. He was driving his Camaro Roadster, giving it an unblemished
14-0 record in competition. “Isn’t this crazy,” said Folk. “We brought the
Camaro out to Osceola last weekend when I hurt the motor in the Cavalier as a
replacement. The car has won all three of the races we’ve entered it in.”
Folk knocked off a group of very formidable competitors for his Super Rod
victory and had an uphill battle for Top Dragster. His side of the Top Dragster
ladder at the Suzuki Motor City Nationals read like a who’s who of IHRA
competition. First round, he beat big dollar bracket racer and current Quick Rod
championship contender Brett Nesbitt. Next, took his Undercover Dragster to
defeat Al Sexton in round two.
That set up another battle between Brian and his brother (former IHRA Top
Dragster World Champion) Nick Folk. Brian beat Nick, went onto the final and
beat former IHRA World Champion Ricky Adkins. The Folk family uses K&N Products
on all their vehicles. “Our K&N oil filters are the best on the market,” said
Folk. “The dirt stays out of our engines and the filtration is great for a big
competitive edge.”
“I was lucky all day,” said Folk. “I wasn’t that impressive on the starting
line, but I did a pretty good job at the finish line to make up for it.”
Folk has moved to the national points lead in the Super Rod category. There are
only two national events left in the 2007 schedule and Folk will do battle with
Steve Furr. “Everyone, including me, thought Steve would run away with the
championship,” said Folk. “These last two weeks have been incredible, and we’ve
got a shot. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Follow the Brian Folk throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the
K&N
dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
Cherokee Speedway at Gaffney, South Carolina hosted the tenth and final round of
the City Chevrolet Big 10 Series.
Chris Steele gets podium finish at Cherokee Speedway
For Chris Steele and the 2 Crew it meant a top five finish. Steele spent most of
the week putting his 602 engine back in his GRT race car. He qualified third
fastest and went to the outside pole for the first heat. Steele took the lead on
the start and never looked back, taking a flag to flag victory.
The heat race win meant the Rock Hill, South Carolina racer scored the pole
position for the feature event. At the start of the race Steele discovered the
inside pole was not the best place to be. “The bottom groove was very greasy,”
he said. “I was not able to get a good start.” Steele slipped into third
position and had to settle for third place.
“We really worked hard to get here,” he said. “We had a good night and are third
in the final overall City Chevrolet Big 10 Series standings.”
“We wouldn’t be here without the support of our sponsors,” said Steele. “Our K&N
Engineering products worked awesome, as always I really couldn’t picture racing
without them.”
Steele and the 2 Crew head back to Cherokee Speedway this Saturday for a Fastrak
Weekly Racing Series at Gaffney, South Carolina.
Follow Chris Steele throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the
K&N
dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
Jason Crump seized the moment in the semi-final Grand Prix at Slovenia to secure
his place in the all-important World Speedway final.
Jason Crump fourth at Slovenia, photo by Mike Patrick
The hard-charging Australian rode wide on the first corner hoping the dirt
would add to his speed. But the dirt was graded away on the track
minutes earlier leaving Crump trailing the field to finish in fourth place.
Crump is third in World Championship Standings, photo by Mike Patrick
“I felt really good and I was riding the best that I have all year,” said the
newly deposed World Champion. “I could have taken a different line and followed
Nicki Pedersen for second but I didn’t race for second place. I tried a line
that was working well two races earlier but the track changed for the final. You
win some, you lose some. This time I lost.”
The double World Speedway Grand Prix Champion said his job now is to finish the
year with the bronze medal in the championship. “If I win at Germany that will
secure third place,” said Crump. “It will also secure me $100,000.00 in U.S.
money as a grand prize and make my wife Melody, and the bank manager very
happy.”
The Australian Ace uses K&N Engineering products. “I love K&N products, the K&N
Filters are the best in the world,” said Crump. “I have solely used K&N products
and never had a problem. K&N is the best for dirt track racing.”
The final round of the 2007 World Speedway Championship takes place at
Gelsenkirshen in Germany on Saturday October 13.
Follow Jason Crump's progress throughout the racing season at the
K&N news site. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the
K&N
dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
Roger Lovell with the checkered flag after his big win
Team Lovell at RAM Off-Road Park in Colorado Springs
Roger Lovell with the checkered flag after his big win
Team Lovell at RAM Off-Road Park in Colorado Springs
