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Peter Biondo Wins His 45th NHRA National Event at the Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals

30 Aug 2012

Emily and Biondo share the Bristol Dragway Winners Circle

A reality of professional racing is the press release, when creating them some teams choose to document nuances ranging from weather and track conditions, to exact details regarding throttle response during the race. While others opt for a more direct and environmentally conscious approach, whereby saving energy and ink, and they simply e-mail;

"I won Super Stock and my girlfriend won SG at Bristol with my championship corvette. What a weekend! Thanks to K&N for all the support!"

Biondo's 42nd Annual Englishtown Toyota SuperNationals cover shot

You sort of want to add to that with – good night, don't forget to tip your waitress, and turn off the lights when you leave. But, when you're a NHRA National event winner in five categories, knocking on the door of a historic sixth category, and when you have as many notches on your holster as Peter Biondo – that's pretty much all you need.

Biondo entered 2012 following one of his best seasons ever. He earned the NHRA Super Gas World Championship in 2011, his sixth title and his first in the 9.90 category, in addition he finished second in the national Super Stock standings. He opened the 2012 season with a pair of Super Stock semi-final finishes at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals and NHRA Arizona Nationals. He then won the $10,000 Big Buck Bracket Race at Atco Raceway in New Jersey. That purse helped the Maspeth, New York racer and business partner, Kyle Siepel, in pulling off without a hitch, their K&N Spring Fling 20's, a drag race they promote in Bristol, Tennessee.

During his latest venture to the renowned track, Biondo raced to his 45th NHRA National event win at the 12th Annual Ford NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, which now accompany his six NHRA Lucas Oil National Championships, and his 13 divisional championships to date.

The K&N sponsored racer's final Super Stock round in Bristol leaving the starting line

For all of us that will never have a race winning weekend with our significant other, what's that feel like, and who gets to swagger the most?
"It's one of those times in your life where you think – is this really happening?" The fact that Emily was the pair in front of me and we turned the win-lights on back-to-back made it even more dramatic. I would say she gets to swagger the most because her batting average in NHRA SG is a perfect 1.000! That was her first and only NHRA Super Gas race."

Give us a brief update on some of your favorite 2012 highlights up to this point?
"2012 has been a whirlwind of good things happening. Probably the best spring I have had to date. It started out with our K&N Spring Fling 20's race in Bristol. It's a bracket race we have every year in May and we broke all kinds of records for car counts as we had 458 cars in one eliminator. Following that I won two NHRA National events back-to-back in E-Town, and of course our Bristol wins." (Biondo who has won in nearly every Sportsman class added Super Street to his resume, winning the 42nd Annual Englishtown Toyota SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.)

Have you raced since your win at Bristol, and how did it go?
"I have done some bracket racing and won a big dollar bracket race back at Atco which paid $10,000, and goes along with the two $5000 bracket events I won earlier in the season."

How would you rate this season overall so far, and what's up next?
"To date, it has been a great year, and it ranks up there in my top three for sure. Although I am not chasing the points, we made some special memories this year. As I type this I am high in the sky (gotta love in flight Wifi) heading to the biggest event of the year; the US Nationals in Indy. I have had some good success there and am gonna do my best to get in the winner's circle on Monday."

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.

Simple Performance Upgrades for Toyota Tacoma Pickups

28 Aug 2012

Toyota Tacoma Performance

Toyota's path into truck prominence has been direct and straightforward. They entered the U.S. light truck market in 1964 with their introduction of the Toyota Stout, which was marketed until 1969, when it was succeeded by the smaller Hilux. Between 1964 and 1999, Toyota steadily built its reputation for truck quality on a solid line of little pickups. Beginning in 1976, these resilient vehicles were simply called compact pickups. The badge Tacoma wasn't attached until 1995, and back then its mission was to continue in the tread marks of their legendary line of popular light trucks. It was their sixth generation of Toyota trucks.

2005-2015 Toyota Tacoma 4.0L Replacement Air Filter

The early Tacoma was offered in both 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive models with two body styles: regular cab and Xtracab. Then in 2005 the Tacoma was redesigned and reclassified to a mid-size. The second-generation Tacoma immediately shot to the head of the class, becoming Motor Trend Magazine's Truck of the Year for 2005. For 2012, the Tacoma got another moderate refresh, with new looks and even more high-tech features, like Toyota's Entune voice-command infotainment system.

Toyota Tacoma 2.7L Engine Bay

The 2012 base engine is a 2.7 liter, 4-cylinder engine producing 159 horsepower, which offers some rather notable mpg stats with 19 city and 24 highway. The Tacoma has always been considered one of the more nimble trucks for daily chores and commuting, or as worthy off-road contender for weekend warriors, and test drivers claim that in its X-Runner trim, the Tacoma is by far the sportiest mid-size pickup truck on the market. If you're looking to add a bit more performance to your Tacoma truck, K&N has a solution for the entire lineup of Toyota Tacoma's.

Toyota Tacoma Air Intake Installed

K&N can bump up your truck's performance with several amazingly easy options. The easiest of these is by simply upgrading the existing factory air filter with one of K&N's Toyota Tacoma performance air filters. K&N is the inventor of the high flow performance cotton air filter. These filters are made from a special woven cotton material that improves air flow while also providing excellent filtration. The special cotton fabric is completely washable and reusable, and can go up to 50,000 miles before cleaning is needed depending on driving conditions. This air filter should outlast the life of your Toyota truck - K&N just about gives you their word on it with their 1,000,000 mile limited warranty. Plus, installing the K&N air filter is exactly the same as replacing the factory installed filter, with absolutely no modifications required.

Toyota Tacoma Performance Air Intake System

For serious power and torque performance benefits, look no further than K&N's Toyota Tacoma performance air intakes. K&N offers a complete line of air intakes and cold air intakes for most Toyota Tacoma trucks. K&N produces these air intakes custom made for each pickup model to gain power you can feel. Some have a black heat resistent non-metallic tube and some have great looking aluminum tubes with a chrome like finish. K&N's exceptional intake designs are engineered to lower the air restriction that the factory installed air box produces, which will deliver a guaranteed power improvement for your Toyota Tacoma, while also providing outstanding air filtration.

Toyota Tacoma Pro Series Oil Filter

All K&N air intakes come with a washable and reusable cotton gauze filter element. These filters can be used for up to 100,000 miles before cleaning is needed depending on driving conditions. K&N air intakes are also easy to install and usually only take about 90 minutes from start to finish. Estimated horsepower increases are based on dyno testing. See the K&N website or Toyota Tacoma performance air intake product pages for estimated horsepower gains.

Wrench-Off Oil Filter for Toyota Tacoma

K&N also offers Performance Gold Wrench-Off oil filters, Pro Series oil filters and washable, reusable oil filters by Pure Power. Toyota Tacoma oil filters from K&N provide exceptional levels of protection against harmful contaminants and nasty debris that can damage engines, while at the same time, they provide high oil flow rates. K&N Wrench-Off oil filters for the Tacoma are made with a one inch nut welded to the top of the canister for easy removal. Toyota Tacoma Pro Series oil filters from K&N offer great protection and performance at a low cost. K&N's reusable oil filter by Pure Power provides a housing, bypass valve and call plate that are all CNC machined from Billet 6061 T6 aluminum, so under normal operating conditions, they are also built to outlast the life of your truck.

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.

Michael Lewis Finishes 6th in Formula 3 Euro Series at Nürburgring in Germany

24 Aug 2012

Moving up through the field during the 20-minute sprint Race 2, Lewis quickly marched from his 15th starting position to an impressive 9th in just 15 laps.

Racing and being a racer, has offered Michael Lewis parameters to a life few of us could associate with. Since before he can even remember not racing, it has defined who he is. He has an innate endowment for translating what he feels through a steering wheel and pedals and computing a dozen critical decisions at light-speed. That gift became obvious to anyone that saw him win the Pomona Valley 1/4 Midget Association Senior Honda and Light 160 Honda Championships when he was barely a teenager.

Last year when Lewis won the Rookie of the Year honors racing in the 2011 ACI Sport Formula 3 Italia Championship, and finished second in the point chase, just barely missing the overall title, his move into the Formula 3 Euro Series seemed instantly destined to be jam-packed with even more career significant highlight moments. And to be absolutely clear, he is still on an accelerated learning curve in 2012, but for Lewis, anything less than a podium trip just isn't acceptable, so he pushes himself even harder. His mixed results at Germany's famous Nürburgring last weekend, which marks the beginning of the second half of the 2012 Formula 3 Euro Series, left Lewis and the PREMA Powerteam looking for answers.

Lewis adjusts his helmet just prior to climbing in to his PREMA Powerteam Dallara F312 race car powered by Mercedes for Sunday's Round 15 of the Formula 3 Euro Series.

However, from a humble outsider's point of view, one pragmatic factor might be that in his car, the one place Lewis has always been able to find peace from outside influences, and enact evenhanded control over his world, has suddenly become too loud. The mounting pressures and responsibilities to win for everyone else that Lewis feels, are beginning to creep into his helmet, and all the pushing and mental preparation is only tightening the knot. So, now it seems decisions that normally come instinctively and at the speed of thought, he's second guessing, and in a world measured in hundredths of a second - that changes everything.

"I have studied very hard for the last two weeks preparing for my first visit to Nürburgring by watching video and studying my team's engineering reports from past races here," remarked Lewis prior to qualifying. "I feel that I have a good grasp of what I need to do to be among the fast drivers here."

Friday's qualifying for the Euro Series' visit to Nürburgring featured grid positions for Saturday's Round 13 that were determined by only hundredths of a second, which placed the K&N sponsored American in 10th place on the starting grind.

Lewis started Sunday's Round 15 in 10th and quickly moved up the field. At one point, he dropped several positions, but charged through the field to finish.

Saturday morning 17 Formula 3 Euro Series cars were placed on the grid for the 29-lap, or 40-minute race. Lewis got a strong start and chose the inside line for the important turn one battle for position. He was able to overtake one car and then gained another position on the next corner. However, Michael went wide on the track and lost the positions he gained. As the first few laps unfolded it was clear that Lewis had the speed to move forward, but passing at Nürburgring is tough. Lewis followed closely on the rear wing of driver Tom Blomqvist as Blomqvist kept on the rear wing of William Buller, and they continued on for a number of laps. Later in the race, Lewis spun and went off the track but was able to keep the car running to rejoin the race. He came back to finish 15th.

"I put myself in a tough position for this Nürburgring race as a result of Friday's qualifying effort, which was not want I wanted to happen," said Lewis after the race. "I knew going into the race that I would have to pass to move forward and the two cars ahead of me were running about the same pace I was running, so I started pushing to get by Blomqvist and unfortunately flew off the track."

Michael Lewis sits ready to launch into the Formula 3 Euro Series race

The second race of the weekend, Round 14, was a 20-minute, 15-lap sprint race. The starting grid for this race was determined by the finishing order from Saturday's first race, which placed Lewis in 15th on the grid. By lap-7, Lewis had worked his way into 10th, and on lap 14 he made a classic pass at turn-1 to claim 9th position, where he finished the race just behind his PREMA Powerteam teammate Daniel Juncadella.

The third and final race of the Formula 3 Euro Series' race weekend took place on Sunday. Lewis once again started 10th. After a lot of shuffling for position during the middle laps, for the last 8 laps of the race, a torrid battle ensued by the top four drivers while they challenged for positions 3 through 6. When the checkered flag waved, Lewis crossed the start/finish line in a solid 6th place.

"After my spin on the first lap I had to make up ground quickly," explained Lewis. "Because I had such a good car from the PREMA Powerteam, I passed cars and made up time. I got back up to the front and challenged the three drivers that were all vying for third place. On the last lap I made an attempt to pass Tom Blomqvist in Turn 1 but could not make it stick. It was a fun race and I earned some championship points, too."

Lewis' next race will be this coming weekend when the Formula 3 Euro Series visits Circuit Park Zandvoort in The Netherlands.

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.

K&N's Steve Williams Tunes Up for Indy With Super Comp Final in Seattle

24 Aug 2012

NHRA sportsman racer Steve Williams prepares for the legendary quarter-mile at Washington's Pacific Raceways

Most of the NHRA sportsman racers, especially those who compete on the West Coast of the U.S., might find it quite odd that by this time in the season, K&N VP Steve Williams has not already racked up a good handful of victories. But with his latest final during the NHRA Div. 6 event in Kent, Washington when he took his K&N dragster to the Super Comp final where he met up with fellow K&N racer Aaron Kinard, Williams seems to be just warming up for what's yet to come in 2012.

Steve Williams and his Super Comp Dragster at NHRA Div. 6 event in Kent, Washington

"It was really hot during the national event up there and I lost a close race in the semis," he said. "So going into this weekend for the divisional, the bottom line is, everybody is racing the same race track for two weeks in a row, so the racing was really close. Like the really close race in Super Gas [9.90 Index Class], just by a couple thou and it was probably one that I should have won."

"In Super Comp, it was just crazy," he said of his car's consistency. "I just changed to a set of Weld's brand new wheel they just came out with and a new set of Hoosier tires and my sixty foot times only varied six thou all weekend. That car has never been that consistent and I feel that was the key to my success."

Williams sent home a slew of tough racers along the way, including a good round with Bob Woodruff where his .018 starting line advantage played right into his hand to force Woodruff under the index and in the process picked up the all-important bye into the final.

"When I got to the semifinals I had a bye and I had packed the box up, because I didn't want anybody to know what I was setting up on," he explained. "And I'm going down the track and all of a sudden about eight hundred feet the car starts popping and missing. When I get back, I know they aren't going to run the final without me, so I changed the ignition box, the distributor cap and rotor. I actually go into the final not knowing if it's going to miss again or if it's going to be clean."

"It ended up being the cap and rotor and the car ran perfectly clean," he continued. "But now, it's six hundredths faster than it was the round before. I went down there in the final and made it as close as I could. I mean, Aaron is a good racer and he did what he was supposed to do. I was set up on probably about a three or four thou stripe and you know he just dropped really hard. So I'm out, I'm 8.87 and he's 8.896. If I would have had a decent tune-up, it would have been a good final and I would have given him a good race."

"With the way my year has been going, you know I've been in five semifinals and now a runner-up," he pointed out. "I mean I'm getting close [to winning], I'm just not busting one out. My daughter said to me that the last five weeks dad, you've lost fourth round, fifth round and sixth round and it's time to win."

Both Williams Super Gas Corvette Roadster and his Super Comp Dragster are fully equipped with K&N Engineering products, including the K&N composite scoops and one of the latest offerings from K&N. "The motors for both cars are built here at K&N in our race shop and everything is Brodix," he noted. "We have the new 5" center Brodix along with Sunset Racecraft components. I'm running the new billet K&N washable/cleanable oil filter on both cars," he noted. "It's a lower pressure drop filter, so the standard spin on canister filter has what is called resin impregnated paper that the oil has to be forced through. This K&N filter is a surgical stainless steel screen that stops particles at about twenty microns. Because it flows oil easier, than the paper, it actually has less pressure drop across the filter and therefore it takes less horsepower to force the oil through the filter."

"That's not the only benefit," he added. "With a spin on filter, not all the oil is going through the filter, some of it actually is bypassing. With a K&N billet reusable filter, since it takes less force to push the oil through the filter, you filtering all the oil and you are keeping the bypass closed."

"When you are headed to Indy, you go right past Topeka, so it just makes sense to stop and take in that divisional event," noted the California resident. "I've missed a few division races out this way, so that will help me make one up. I'm really looking forward to racing at Topeka, since I have a lot of good friends who will be there like [Gary] Stinnett and Tommy Phillips, they are all buddies of mine. Plus the nice thing about this race is that it is a Friday-Saturday race so you can hit the road and get into Indy at a decent time. Then after Topeka division and Indy national, I'll still have Vegas divisional, national and Pomona national to finish out the season running in both Super Gas and Super Comp at each event."

While Williams was very pleased to make it to the Super Comp final at Pacific Raceways, especially after being away from the track for a while, he also points out what it means to him to be able to compete across the country at this level. "After Houston, I hadn't raced in two months so the last four weeks I have been out and it's always good to go rounds," he admitted. "I always want to thank K&N for the great opportunity for me to not only be able to work for a fantastic company that invests in racing and gives back to the racers , but also by allowing me the opportunity to get out there and help develop new products that helps keep K&N on the leading edge. So, I'm always very thankful."

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.

Outstanding First NHRA National Event Near Double for K&N's Luke Bogacki

24 Aug 2012

Luke Bogacki made his first NHRA national event double final at Brainerd International Raceway

When one races as much as Luke Bogacki does, and as successfully as he has been over the years, it may be hard for some to fathom that he still has quite a few items to check off of his drag racing bucket list. But after his weekend competing in Brainerd, Minnesota for the 31st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals, the Carterville, Illinois resident marked one more off that list when he put both of his K&N/ThisIsBracketRacing.com entries into their respective final rounds, winning Super Gas and taking the runner-up honors in Super Comp. Luke Bogacki made his first double final at a NHRA national event.

Super Gas Win for Luke Bogacki at 31at annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota

Super Gas Win for Luke Bogacki at 31st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota

"I got really lucky when I ran Jerry Hoss," he said of his first round of Super Comp. "He runs 8.90 at like 138 [MPH] and by the time I realized that I was going by him, it was really too late and I really got on the brakes and still got to the finish line first and ran an 8.902. So that was my lucky win there and doubly lucky because the 8.902 ended up being low qualifier and gave me a bye in the second round when we were all put on the ladder."

After his single in round two, Bogacki and his 2010 K&N American dragster would face Kevin Dyck, and Bogacki was looking for a better outcome than their last meeting on the track. "It was a round I was a little concerned about," he confessed of round three. "He beat me in the semi's there at the division race. He's a really good driver and has a great tune-up. I was fortunate that round when he missed the tree a little bit and was a little slow in his time."

Bogacki's .013 starting line advantage over Dyck allowed him to take the stripe for the holeshot win and make it look great for those watching the boards with his 8.934 to Dyck's 8.933. He would do it all over again in round four. After another consistent near perfect light, Bogacki sent his next competitor packing by grabbing just enough stripe to turn on his win light and a second holeshot victory, 8.929 to Steven Michaels' 8.924.

The next round of Super Comp was a chance to Bogacki to grab what doesn't happen very often in NHRA racing, a second scheduled bye, but first he would need to get past Steve Evans. "I know he has more mile-per-hour than I do and when I saw the time slip, he has a 1.34 60ft, when he's normally 1.60-something," he explained. "So, I didn't get a chance to talk to him later, but with his .032 red, he must have had some kind of mechanical problem, but I don't know what it was."

Evans' red light meant Bogacki was going to final in Super Comp by now earning his second bye of the race and this wasn't the only bye into the final that he now had earned. Bogacki has also been slaying the driver's in the other lane in the very similar Super Gas category. "In both classes, the opportunity to get the bye into the final was very cool and Super Comp was actually my second quarterfinal of the day, so when his red-light came on and I knew I was going to two finals and that was a heck of a feeling."

But to get that rare shot at doubling up at an NHRA national event, the K&N racer would not only have to do some tremendous driving, but have a few of those fortunate Super Gas rounds along the way in his '63 Corvette Roadster that he had also enjoyed in Super Comp.

It all started with his Super Gas round one match up when his opponent was leaking on the line and was shut off, allowing Bogacki a single run and a chance to tighten his tune-up that much more for the coming rounds and that would prove to be a lethal thing for the rest of the Super Gas drivers who would cross Bogacki's path over the remainder of eliminations.

Since this was only his third appearance to run the Brainerd national event, Bogacki points out that he isn't as familiar with the group of racers this event draws, as he may be at other venues. "No, I'm blind to most of these guys. I've been running division five this year, but Brainerd is so far removed from the rest of the division, a lot of the guys I just didn't have a lot of background information on at all."

And for "Cool Hand Luke", that didn't seem to be a problem. He continued his winning ways as he trailered Doug Legner, Chris Bishop and Troy Coughlin, Jr. in rounds two, three and four, each time taking a great starting line advantage that helped him tickle the win light on in his lane.

His next little bit of Super Gas luck came in the quarterfinals where he would have his first meeting of the day with Steve Mikus. Just like every round before, Bogacki still had the lead at the hit, but this time it was by the smallest margin of all his rounds [.005] and would make for some super tight top end racing where both seasoned drivers took their rides well under the 9.90 index, both trying extra hard to earn the bye into the Super Gas final. "I think what I had going for me in that round was that it was the first round of the day on Sunday," he noted. "Mikus is running that Nova wide-open when he runs it in Super Gas and he's not using a [throttle] stop. He's a very talented racer and the best time to run him if you have to, is the first run of the day. Obviously, we were both a lot faster than we thought we would be and I just came out on the right end of it."

"When I made both of the bye runs, I was just really trying to get some incremental numbers in both cars and to be honest, just take it all in," he admitted. "I mean this was a great opportunity to be in two finals and I probably looked up in the stands a little more and actually took a deep breath and thought to myself, "This is pretty cool."

Now Bogacki found himself in two finals at a NHRA national event for the first time in his racing career. Being in two finals, whether it's your first time or tenth, can make things very tight jumping from one car to the next all while keeping up with the amount of time you are allowed to return to the staging lanes with the next car. NHRA officials ran Super Gas first and moved Super Comp to the end of the order, allowing Bogacki just enough time to switch cars.

In his first final, Bogacki sewed up the first half of a possible double when Mark McMasters just couldn't run the number. "I never got a chance to talk to him later, but he was about where he was supposed to be at about 1000' and then his car laid over," he reflected. "I'm assuming that he broke. My car was running really good and I liked my chances of winning it, but it was a tough break for him."

One NHRA national event Wally in hand and his second this year in Super Gas, Bogacki returned to the staging lanes in his dragster to face Steve Mikus one more time, but for Bogacki the tables would turn from their earlier match up. Mikus took just a slight .004 starting line advantage and with just a .007 margin at the stripe, denied Bogacki of his first NHRA national double, as they both went under the 8.90 index and Mikus closer to the number. "It was a heck of a race and obviously I was really disappointed not to see my win light come on and have the chance to double," he said. "But like I told [Alan] Reinhart on stage that you are not going to run someone the caliber of Mikus and beat him twice in one day."

Bogacki is always quick to credit the companies and the products that get him to his numerous final rounds and wins, including his latest accolade during the 31st annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd and top of his list is K&N Engineering. "That's a lot of rounds to put together and you need to count on the cars being there and being consistent," he said. "The dragster is loaded with K&N products from the 1st Gen composite scoop, oil filter and miscellaneous K&N filters throughout the car. The Corvette has K&N's complete induction setup with the Pro Stock scoop, the sealer tray, the air filter insert to the oil filter. I probably sound like a broken record but K&N is the leading supplier in the filtration industry and their products just provide the highest peace of mind for us when we are out there doing what we do."

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.