First National Event on IHRA Tour has Last Minute Changes

Brian Folk drove his Top Dragster to victory at the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals for his 17th career national event title win. This trip to San Antonio was Folk’s first IHRA 1/8th mile national event.

Brian Folk wins IHRA National Event
Brian Folk wins IHRA National Event
The fist national event on the 2007 IHRA tour was originally set to be a quarter mile contest. Initial time trials and qualifying for the sportsman classes were held at the standard quarter mile distance. However, the first professional qualifying session exposed problems in the track surface, forcing the IHRA to make a tough decision and make the track 1/8th of a mile.

“It was wild,” said Folk. “We made some time runs Friday, we woke up Saturday and they were repaving the track. We’re racers, whether the distance is a half-mile or 330 feet, we give it a try. Between big money bracket racing and the IHRA Pro-Am events, we get to do a lot of the 1/8th mile racing. Personally, I prefer quarter mile competition. I think you have to drive a little bit more to be successful. Given the circumstances and the fact that a lot of the competitors, like us, were a long way from home, I agree with the IHRA’s decision. I also applaud them for making a quick decision and completing the event on schedule.”

The 34-year-old Durand, Illinois racer is a multi-time IHRA and NHRA Division Champion with a long list of top ten finishes to his credit. Folk also has several Moroso 5-Day bracket championship titles.

At San Antonio, Folk’s first IHRA 1/8th mile National Event may be even more memorable than his prior victories. “I beat my brother Nick, a former IHRA Top Dragster World Champion in the final round,” said Brian Folk. “Nick was the runner-up. Of course, there is a pretty intense sibling rivalry, so that round was really important to both of us.”

The Amalie Oil Texas Nationals marked the Folk Racing Team’s second week at the San Antonio facility. They arrived one week earlier to compete in the IHRA Division 4 Pro-Am event. The Folk family dominated the Top Dragster class, as Nick earned a final round victory over his father, Ron Folk. Nick also was victorious in Stock Eliminator with his Gebhardt Trailer Sales backed Camaro.

The Folk Racing Team uses K&N Engineering products. “We have 3 dragsters and two stock eliminators,” said Folk. “We use K&N Oil Filter HP-3002 and have for years,’ he said. “We depend on the durability and reliability of K&N Filters and won’t use anything else.”

Follow the Folk Racing Team'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.