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K&N Sponsored Bobby Santos Bounces Back with Back-to-Back Wins at Stafford

Jun 27, 2011

With his last two wins at Stafford, Santos jumped from 31 to eighth in the NWMT point standings.

"It was a relief to come back after our broken motor and to get a win at Stafford, and a third in two races," said K&N sponsored Bobby Santos. "I know it's a long season, but getting right back in the points is important.

Santos said his car was prepared perfectly and ran well from lap one.

Santos shot back into the points race in a very big way after a dominating victory in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway. The semi-banked half-mile paved oval is located in Stafford Springs, Connecticut and it is part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. That win backed up his last NWMT race at the track, and it propelled him for 31 to eighth in the NWMT point standings.

"This was a huge win because it got us back in the race in the points, but every win means a lot," added Santos.

Santos posted the fifth-fastest time of 17.972 seconds in practice and laid down the third-fastest qualifying lap of 17.992 seconds. And when the green flag dropped, Santos shot to the lead by the first lap. By lap 60, he pulled out a lead of over two seconds in the No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge.

"I really don't know, I guess I really enjoy the track and have a positive attitude about going there, which helps me," commented Santos when asked why Stafford agreed with him so well.

"The car was just good from lap one too," added Santos. "We passed both the leaders on the first lap and led a bunch of laps. The guys gave me a good pit stop. We had a ton of restarts at the end, which was kind of frustrating, but we had a good race."

"Every restart we were getting a good lead, but Rowan (Pennink the series points leader) was really good at the end of the race, and he was right with us. There was definitely some pressure to get a better restart than him because he was as quick as we were. If we made a mistake, he probably would have got us. It was really exciting to win the 40th Spring Sizzler and to win again at Stafford. The track has been really good to me."

Santos was back racing in his family-owned sprint car at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis for the USAC Sprint Car pavement event recently, and then he returned once more to Stafford Motor Speedway on May 27th.

"We raced our Santos Motorsports Sprint Car at IRP on May 12th," Said Santos. "We had a solid run after a few motor problems to start the day. The race went caution free, and after starting in the back, I made it up to fourth."

"In the May 27th IRP Midget race we kinda struggled, our car was loose all night, but I managed a top-ten finish. We also recently raced at the Milwaukee Mile in the Santos Motorsports USAC Midget and Silver Crown car. We got a fourth place finish in both races. The midget was an exciting show, with me coming from a 17th place starting position, and with only one caution."

The Santos Motorsports team will be racing at Iowa Speedway this Friday June 24th in another Midget, Silver Crown double header.

"We are really looking forward to this one," Santos said, "since we won the midget portion the last two years in a row."

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Jason Patison Pursues Lucas Oil Slick Mist Super Late Model Division Championship

Jun 24, 2011

#17 Lucas Oil, Magnaflow, E3 Spark Plug, K&N Filters Super Late Model. Photo by: www.bcsportsimages.com.

Building a career in racing usually requires two things; talent, and luck. For Corona, California's Jason Patison, one of those things has eluded him in 2011. And it's not talent. The veteran of several NASCAR series decided to pursue a championship in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist Super Late Model division at his home track, Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, this season. His #17 Lucas Oil, Magnaflow, E3 Spark Plug, K&N Filters entry has been fast all season, but lady luck continues to escape Patison.

Jason Patison's #17 Super Late Model. Photo by: www.bcsportsimages.com.

"The season is going really well, but it's still not as well as I was expecting," said Patison, who is currently third in points, just 14 back from leader Kevin Thompson. "We decided to run the entire year at Toyota Speedway so we could win races and a championship, but we've had mechanical issues twice, one of which allowed Jack Madrid to catch and wreck us."

The wreck Patison is referring to happened on opening night at the half-mile speedway. Madrid, a 16-year-old rookie, made contact with Patison with less than 10 laps remaining. The impact was devastating, destroying Patison's racecar and leaving him sore for days.

"That wreck cost us a lot. It took a lot out of our budget and cost us several points. Had we not wrecked, we'd be leading the points right now, but like they say 'that's racing,'" Patison added.

While Thompson has the points lead, it's actually 21-year-old rookie Rod Johnson, Jr. who poses the biggest threat to Patison in the championship battle. Johnson has lead more than 90% of the laps he has completed so far, but a flat tire put him in the wall two races back, and Johnson sits second in points, 8 ahead of Patison.

"He's not unbeatable," Patison said when asked about Johnson. "I think we actually had the better car last time out (June 4th) but he got a clean start and we had to work through some slower cars. When I got in clean air, I cut his lead in half, but we ran out of time."

In recent years, Patison has gone down the route of getting as much seat time as possible. That's meant running races in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East, but nothing is in the plans for now.

"I'd really like to find a ride for the K&N Pro Series West race at Irwindale this year," Patison said of the event on July 2nd celebrating Independence Day. "We have a pair of top five finishes in five starts in the event, and I really think he can jump out and win the race."

Without a ride, Patison will be on the sideline for the event, instead pondering how to turn his luck around, and hopefully in the process bring home his first checkered flag of 2011.

Patison was thankful of all of his 2011 sponsors, and had some kind words for K&N Filters. "K&N has been an amazing sponsor. The people at K&N have always been very friendly and helpful when it comes to technical support and their products are second to none. K&N Filters give me the performance I need to compete at a high level!"

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Dan Fletcher Puts Both His K&N Camaros into Finals at NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals - Nearly Doubles

Jun 24, 2011

Dan Fletcher wins Stock Eliminator in NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway.

Churchville, New York's Dan Fletcher found himself with a shot to double up at an NHRA National event, for the eighth time is his career, during the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, taking both his Stock and Super Stock class cars all the way to the finals of the rain plagued event.

Dan Fletcher gets his 73rd NHRA National Event win.

Fletcher, who has had success at the facility in years past, notes that his very first time to the Tennessee track was back during the IHRA days. "That was actually the very first track I traveled away to with my father when I was sixteen," he said. "You know it was my first away type race and it was the IHRA bracket finals."

Qualifying, for both of Fletcher's classes, was completed on Friday and the first three rounds of eliminations were held on Saturday where he put away his competitors, even if there was a little luck involved. "I was very fortunate," he pointed out of his second round in Super Stock. "I red-lighted but my opponent was red ahead of me. So after that, it was all found money, that's the way I looked at it."

"I should not have been red second round," he continued. "When I'm early, I know it. I wasn't early and when I got the ticket and it said ten [.010]. And then I said, well there's a minus in front of that. I was just flabbergasted. Then I ran the left lane the next couple of rounds, where I went with my normal setup, where I felt everything should be [reaction time] and everything was fine. So I get put into the right lane again in the semi's. I thought I would see the light better because by this time it's dusk. I was fortunate again as I was fifty-seven on the tree to my opponent's teen but I was going under. I managed to drop it dead-on the dial and he went under by one and a half."

K&N 1969 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Dan Fletcher

Thanks to his top end driving skills, Fletcher moved on in his K&N SS/AS Camaro to meet up with Mike Saye for the Super Stock final. Although the two had competed many times before, this would be their first meeting in a final round.

Before business could be taken care of in the Super Stock final, Fletcher had things to take care of in Stock where he had also made his way through the rounds.

"Honestly, I only put this motor in the car about a year ago," he said of his K&N E/SA 1969 Camaro. "I'd been have a carburetor issue that only occurs during very low barometer conditions. You know that at Bristol it's a low barometer and pretty slow. My car started screwing up on me and it would go out about thirty feet [makes car noises] and then down the track it would go. Sunday during the long rain delay, I went through the whole carburetor. I had leaned it down to go there but put it back to my normal set up, which I didn't like to do [in the middle of a race] but I felt like I had to. Well, and it still screwed up."

"I don't really know what to say about my Stock rounds," he continued. "I feel like I drove pretty well. I know I was late one time in the semi's and running against a pickup truck. [Randall Campbell, 1986 Chevy C-10, R/SA] He's a fourteen second thing and I'm forty on the tree, which is unacceptable after coming off of two .003 lights. But I just slid on down there and managed to take .007 of the stripe."

"That guy was driving great in that truck," he added. "The light in the semi's was his worst light of the weekend and he was just driving really well."

With the round win, Fletcher moved on to the final in Stock to meet up with Joe Santangelo. Fletcher's dial would have him leave first posting a nice .013 light and before he could make it past the tree, Santangelo handed him the Stock Eliminator win by going .013 red.

Fletcher only had a moment to enjoy his spectacular 73rd NHRA National Event win before returning to the staging lanes and hopping in his Super Stock Camaro for the last final to close out the event.

"I was back in the left lane and just put everything back where I felt it should be," he said of his Super Stock final. "I put it in just a little deep and tried to correct for it and I was .004 red. It was kinda of maddening, but what are you gonna do."

Prior to his huge success during the Thunder Valley Nationals, Fletcher's week started by representing K&N at a different kind of event. "I was in Nashville the week before at the CMA Fest that is a week-long affair. I was there displaying one of the cars on behalf of K&N there in downtown Nashville area. Those types of things I don't get to do every often, but it was definitely fun."

"It just goes to show you how I am truly blessed to be able to work with and represent a company like K&N," he continued. "To be able to go to an event like Bristol and take two cars deep into eliminations for a company that has the faith in me that they do is really pretty special,"

"Being a part of the K&N family, well I couldn't be more proud," he smiled.

There will be no rest for the champion racer as he heads to the next event on the 2011 NHRA tour in Norwalk, Ohio for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, June 23-26. Fletcher will once again wheel his K&N Super Stock Camaro and change it up a little with his second entry coming being a dragster in the 8.90 Index Super Comp class.

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K&N's Mike Edwards Makes It Three NHRA Pro Stock Wins in a Row at Thunder Valley National Event

Jun 24, 2011

Mike Edwards on the podium at the Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol

2009 NHRA Pro Stock Champion Mike Edwards came very close to taking it all in the extremely tough class at the most recent event NHRA National event in Bristol, Tennessee and while he just missed being number one in qualifying, he and his Penhall/K&N/Interstate Battery team saved the best for last.

Penhall/K&N/Interstate Battery Pontiac

During the second session of qualifying for the Thunder Valley Nationals, Edwards moved up into his familiar territory of number one when he easily bumped Rodger Brogdon from the number one spot with his 6.679 ET, more than a whopping two-hundredths quicker that Brogdon's earlier pass.

"The starting line got so much better in the evening session than in the first," Edwards said of his second qualifying run. "We ran later than what we expected and when this track cools off, this track gets really, really good."

Edwards wasn't ready to begin any type of celebration on his potential pole as he quickly pointed out the turn of events during the same race in 2010. "I was sitting here on a Friday as the No. 1 qualifier and some guy named Allen Johnson came along and kicked me," Edwards said with a smile.

2009 NHRA Pro Stock Champion Mike Edwards

Saturday's two qualifying sessions would be separated by the first of two rain delays that plagued the weekend. The air earlier in the day for session three was pretty thick and not very friendly to the naturally aspirated Pro Stock combinations. Edwards, like most other teams, was unable to improve on the previous evening's session, although he did manage to remain on top. And then the first rain came.

The air was still very heavy with moisture by the time the NHRA Safety Safari had the track back in shape for the fourth and final session on Saturday evening, but the track temp was certainly much more favorable. Unfortunately for Edwards, it was a little too favorable for other teams, namely one Allen Johnson. Just like during the same event in 2010, Johnson swooped in during the final session and stole the pole position away from Edwards with his 6.668, a full hundredth of a second quicker than Edwards prior day run.

Come Sunday, teams were wondering if they would even get to see a round of competition when the skies opened up around 9AM and didn't let up until midafternoon.

As a side note, Edwards had been dealing with a knot in his back and while the heavy rains came down, he decided to have it looked at by the onsite doctor, not expecting for the event to be run until Monday. The doctor cut him open and he was reportedly in a lot of pain during the rest of the day.

Much to the surprise of many, the show would go on after all and for all the fans who stuck it out, by shortly after 4PM the first pairs of professional teams were making their first rounds of eliminations down the track.

Qualified number two, Edwards met up with Richard Freeman in round one. He took a small starting line advantage and never looked back, putting up a 6.701 for the round win and picking up lane choice in round two over Vincent Nobile.

With the best reaction time pair of the round, Nobile and Edwards made it a great drag race from the hit with their .012 and .010 respective lights. Edwards came out on top and took a little over one hundredth at the stripe with his better 6.697 to Nobile's very respectable 6.708.

That would move Edwards to the semi-finals where he would pair up with Greg Anderson. Edwards once again treed his competition, and although it got a little hairy for him shortly after the launch when his car made a few little moves, he still managed to out ET Anderson by two thousandths to make his way to the final round.

On the other side of the ladder, 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge Fan Vote Winner Erica Enders had used a holeshot advantage to take out hometown driver and number one qualifier, Allen Johnson. While she had been in a Pro Stock final before, she was looking to make history with her first win and a first for any female in NHRA Pro Stock.

Enders' car had been like a bracket car through the rounds leading up to the final, posting three 6.69 passes in a row, it was going to make what should be an exciting match up in the final with former champion Edwards, who was looking to make it back-to-back National event victories.

When the two lined up and the tree came down, it looked like Edwards might be in trouble when Enders took a huge five hundredths advantage. But sometimes it's just your race to win, and Edwards was able to take his Penhall/K&N Pontiac right down Broadway for the win when Enders car had major trouble shortly after the launch.

"Me and my team fought through it," he said about the weekend. "We made some ugly runs. Somehow we were able to turn on the win light. Some days you pull up there it seems like no matter how bad you do, you win. That's the kind of day we had. Congratulations to my team. This car has given us some headaches."

The Pro Stock win put him on a very special list joining only Top Fuel's Tony Schumacher as competitors to grab three victories in a row at Bristol, "Winning three times straight at anything is really hard to do. And then spread it over three seasons, that makes it seem almost impossible," Edwards said.

"I praise The Lord, just thank Him for my blessings. It's all about Him. It's just a great day, anytime you can win one of these things, especially here at Bristol. It's an awesome place. It means so much to me," Edwards said.

"I want to dedicate this win to my good friend, Jeff Byrd," he added. "The people, fans, and everybody here, I want them to know he's got a special place in my heart and in my team's heart."

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Sergio Peña Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Langley Speedway

Jun 22, 2011

Sergio Peña wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Langley Speedway

The tracks in Virginia have provided Sergio Peña a bit of a home advantage in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

Peña won the VisitHamptonVA 175 at Langley Speedway on Saturday night for his second win of the K&N Pro Series East season. He won his first race at South Boston Speedway in Virginia in April.

Sergio Peña passes Max Gresham for the win

Too bad for Peña the K&N Pro Series East doesn't visit a Virginia race track again in 2011.

"This run was unbelievable," said Peña, who is from Winchester, Va. "Being able to lead the most laps was awesome. Racing hard with Coleman Pressley, Matt DiBenedetto, and just everybody, it was really fun."

Peña led a race-high 99 laps. He took the lead for the first time in the race on lap 44, passing Pressley, who won the pole and was out fron for 42 of the first 43 laps.

"In the beginning I was trying to save tires as much as I could and that's when DiBenedetto and the others flew by me and pretty much left me," Peña said. "Then my spotter and crew chief told me to step it up a little bit. I was able to get by them before that last caution and that's what put me in position."

Victory burnout from Sergio Peña

Max Gresham passed Peña for the lead on lap 84, but Peña worked his way through lapped traffic and regained the lead on lap 117. Peña was out front for the remainder of the race.

As impressive as Peña was in winning his second race of his K&N Pro Series East career, Brett Moffitt battled to a second-place after cutting a tire on the first lap of the race.

Moffitt had to pit early to repair the tire. It put him down two laps, but Moffitt rallied through the field and jumped up to second place behind Peña in the closing laps.

"I was pretty used up at the end there. He was too," Moffitt said. "I was slowly catching him. Congratulations to them. This is their second win of the season. That's awesome for them. I was praying for a caution there at the end, hoping we could work something out. Second's not bad after the night we had."

Gresham finished third, followed by DiBenedetto in fourth and Chase Elliott in fifth.

Gresham moved into first place in the K&N Pro Series East standings after seven races. It is the first time in his career that he has led the K&N Pro Series East standings. Gresham, who led 33 laps in the race at Langley Speedway, is 17 points ahead of DiBenedetto.

"I had a lot of fun racing here at Langley Speedway," said Gresham, who posted his sixth top-five finish in seven K&N Pro Series East races. "To come home third here is a great night for us, a great points night for us. I'm glad to be up front. All these solid top-five finishes we're getting recently is definitely helping us."

Peña is in seventh place in the K&N Pro Series East standings. His two wins are his only top-five finishes of the season.

The VisitHamptonVA 175 will be broadcast on Speed on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

The next K&N Pro Series East race is at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 15.

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