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K&N once again sponsored the UTV World Championship in Laughlin, Nevada

UTVWC Contingency

The K&N tent and display was a centerpiece of the lively UTVWC Contingency. The event was again staged on the property of Don Laughlin’s Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino on the banks of the Colorado River.

Vendors displayed the latest UTV performance and safety products in the contingency area as racers went through tech inspections nearby. K&N representatives were on hand to hand out swag and answer question on our newest performance intake, filter, and protection products for UTVs like Polaris, Yamaha, Arctic Cat, and Kawasaki.

Mark Queen gets serious air in his K&N-equipped RZR at the UTVWC jump competition

K&N UTV Racers

K&N sponsors some of the top talent in virtually every form of racing. The UTV racing world is no exception. K&N stars like 2018 King of the Hammers Champion Mitch Guthrie Jr. and 2017 UTVWC Champion RJ Anderson were back in Laughlin putting the pedal to the metal.

Other K&N stars like Mitch Guthrie, Katie Vernola, Bradley Morris, and Murray Racing also displayed their talent in the Nevada desert. K&N’s roots run deep in the UTV racing world and there is little doubt as to why so many top racers trust K&N to deliver world class performance and protection.

Bradley Morris' UTV on display at the K&N tent

Motion Pro Nevada 200 Trail Ride, April 13-15, Caliente, NV

VT Construction Silver State 300 presented by Polaris, May 3-6, Alamo, NV

General Tire Vegas-to-Reno presented by Fox, August 15-18

Method Race Wheels Laughlin Desert Classic presented by Canidae Tap It, October 11-14, Laughlin, NV

Pahrump Nugget 250 presented by Polaris, November 29-December 2, Pahrump, NV

K&N-sponsored Katie Vernola's very cool support truck in the UTVWC pits

Tech inspections were conducted for two days at the UTVWC Contingency

The K&N camp was the center of action in the UTVWC vendor village

UTV race machines parked at a pre-race BBQ in the UTVWC pits

Murray Racing proudly displays their K&N support on their impressive race hauler

Andrew Madrid's K&N-equipped RZR ready for tech inspection

The K&N Horsepower Challenge, a race-within-a-race, brings the top 7 Pro Stock drivers together for a three-round shootout offering nothing but glory and a $50,000 paycheck. The drivers have accumulated points since the previous K&N Horsepower Challenge and the top 7 in points lock in a spot to compete, then the 8th driver is voted in by the fans.

The Fans have spoken and they want to see Vincent Nobile, the driver of the Mountain View Tire Chevy Camaro, in the 8th spot.

The top 8 Pro Stock drivers get ready to face off in the K&N HPC in 2017

Vincent Nobile vs. Bo Butner

• Vincent was the youngest K&N Horsepower Challenge Champion back in 2012, then he went on to win the main event, as well
• Bo Butner is just coming off his best season as the 2017 Pro Stock Champion, which helped him get to the No. 1 Qualifier position in the K&N Horsepower Challenge

Greg Anderson vs. Erica Enders

Vincent Nobile takes the 8th spot in the HPC being voted in as the fan-favorite

• Greg has won the K&N Horsepower Challenge the past two years and has 6 titles overall
• Erica won back-to-back K&N Horsepower Challenge titles starting in 2014, where both years she doubled-up by winning the event title, as well

Jason Line vs. Jeg Coughlin

• Jason has been close to winning the K&N Horsepower Challenge, but has never hoisted the trophy
• Jeg Coughlin clearly knows how to rally his fans, as he has won the K&N Horsepower Challenge Fan Vote 3 times and won the event in 2009

Drew Skillman vs. Tanner Gray

Greg Anderson celebrates his record 6th K&N HPC win in 2017

• Drew and Tanner were 4th and 5th in the K&N Horsepower Challenge standings
• Tanner Gray won the DENSO NHRA Nationals last season

Tune in to see which driver comes out on top! K&N Horsepower Challenge rounds are scheduled for noon, 2:40 and 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 7.

Greg Anderson defeated Bo Butner in the final round of the K&N Horsepower Challenge in Las Vegas on Saturday managing to hoist the trophy for the 3rd year in a row and 7th time in his career. Anderson recorded a 6.731-second elapsed time and a top speed of 205.47 mph against his teammate Butner who had a foul start costing him the race. That mistake not only cost Butner the race, but also the $50,000 check that found itself in the hands of Greg Anderson once again.

Greg Anderson celebrates his 7th win of the K&N Horsepower Challenge

Before facing off against Bo Butner, Greg Anderson edged out both Erica Enders and Jeg Coughlin to reach the final round. He also found time during his eventful day to join the rest of the drivers as they signed autographs for fans at the K&N truck and trailer. The fans were definitely out in full force on Saturday with NHRA announcing they had sold out the event.

K&N drivers meet fans and sign autographs at the K&N display trailer

“It’s the most exciting race of the year for me.” said Butner before the event.

K&N Horsepower Challenge logo

Butner had a 115-point lead over Anderson heading into the K&N Horsepower Challenge, a six-race series that started in Las Vegas in October. The top-seven drivers in the K&N Horsepower Challenge earned spots in the final event at the NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas. Fans voted Vincent Nobile into the eighth spot after the Gatornationals in Florida on March 17.

The 8 drivers for the K&N Horsepower Challenge are introduced to the fans at LVMS

Greg Anderson performs his pre-race burnout in the final run of the K&N HPC

The K&N semi is a centerpiece of the Mint 400 contingency

Mint 400 organizers made sure race fans had a wide variety of activities to enjoy, both at the Las Vegas pre-race contingency and also the actual race through the desert west of Sin City. In the end, K&N-sponsored racer Bryce Menzies topped the Mint 400 podium. Here is a look at the epic event.

Mint 400 Contingency

Las Vegas’ historic Freemont Street was once again the epicenter of the Mint 400 contingency event. The downtown area was a frenzy of activity. Vendors displayed their newest performance products, race teams competed in pit crew challenges, and fans rubbed elbows with racers and got up close and personal with exotic race machines.

Freemont Street rumbles with activity during the Mint contingency

There was not a more conspicuous presence at the Freemont Street contingency than K&N. The massive and instantly-recognizable K&N logo graced the company semi-truck directly adjacent to the Mint 400 contingency stage. Race fans lined up to see new performance products like the K&N 63-1141 AirCharger air intake system for the Can-Am X3. K&N representatives handed out logo hats, socks, shirts, and other exciting swag.

K&N sponsored racers gathered to meet fans, take photos, and sign autographs

RJ Anderson, Katie Vernola, and Mitch Guthrie Jr. All in all, the Mint 400 contingency was a huge success as Freemont Street was literally (albeit temporarily) renamed ‘Mint 400 Blvd.’

Mint 400 Race Day

The full day of racing starts before sunrise in the Nevada desert

Waves of UTVs, trick trucks, jeeps, and even VW Beetles made their way to the starting line in front of masses of enthusiastic race fans. The starting time for the first waves of racers was set for 6 AM, with the second session scheduled at midday.

Media and race team helicopters chopped in the sky above the Nevada desert as the race set out onto one of the most brutal courses in off-road racing.

Bryce Menzies

K&N-sponsored Bryce Menzies fought to his second Mint 400 victory

The ultra-close race shows just how important detail is in desert racing. One missed turn or a slow pit stop would have cost Menzies the victory. Menzies' second Mint 400 win held special significance for the racer.

“My grandfather passed away last week,” Menzies said. “He was always such a role model for me and I want to make him proud. This win is for him.”

Other K&N Notables

Katie Vernola ready to race her K&N-equipped UTV in another Mint 400

Katie Vernola tackled the rough Nevada desert course in her signature pink SxS. Experienced Baja racer Greg Adler again assaulted the Mint 400, as did the Murray Race Team and Camburg Engineering.

K&N congratulates all of our Mint 400 competitors.

High performance UTVs stage for the Mint under the Buffalo Bill's Casino roller coaster

The Las Vegas night air filled with the sounds of impact wrenches for the pit crew challenge

K&N intakes, filters, and pre filters are trusted with protection and performance on Mint 400 racers

Another beautiful desert racer equipped with K&N performance and protection

The desert trucks staging in the pre-dawn desert

Freemont Street becomes Mint 400 Blvd. for a few days in March

The Mint contingency is a circus complete with sideshow oddities like this futuristic racer

Evening entertainment draws crowds near the K&N truck

A display wall gives a timeline of the Mint 400's storied history

K&N-sponsored Murray Race Team strapped in and ready to race in Primm

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season kicked-off at Kern County Raceway Park in California on March 15th. A former K&N Pro Series West champion returned five years removed from his last title. The team that won the past three K&N Pro Series West championships opened its next chapter with new drivers and a new focus. Kevin Harvick, a hometown legend in Bakersfield and the 2015 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series Champion, gave the K&N Pro Series drivers a taste of what it’s like to race against a top-level NASCAR Champion.

It was an exciting start to the K&N Pro Series West season.

Derek Thorn won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 2013.

The Sunrise Ford team, owner by Bob Bruncati, is reaching into his past to try to produce a K&N Pro Series championship. Derek Thorn, who won the K&N Pro Series title in 2013, will be in one of the Sunrise Ford cars. Ryan Partridge, the runner-up in the K&N Pro Series standings in 2016, will be in the other car. Bruncati is bringing in a veteran presence to lead his team.

“I think he wants to get his program to the point where he feels like he can go out each and every week and compete for wins, do what it takes behind the scenes,” Thorn said in a NASCAR Hometracks interview. “I feel like Partridge is an extremely talented race car driver. We should be able to work through some things and get the program at Sunrise Ford to be where we want to be, to where we can go out each and every week and be confident that we can run up front.”

Thorn has five career wins in 37 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts.

Partridge is making his return to the K&N Pro Series West after taking a year off in 2017. He was third in the K&N Pro Series standings in 2015 and has won four races in his K&N Pro Series West career. He is reunited with his crew chief, Jeff Schrader. They combined in 2016 to finish in second place in the K&N Pro Series West standings.

“It feels like we are just a bunch of good ole boys working on race cars and having fun on the weekends,” Partridge said. “I think that’s really what it takes to stay relaxed, stay focused. There is zero animosity between anybody on the team. We’re all just going for a common goal. That what it feels like.”

Partridge is looking forward to working with his old crew.

“We’re talking apples to apples,” Partridge said. “As far as the chemistry of the team works that’s really important. You gotta be on the same level, same page with your crew chief.”

Bill McAnally Racing has won the past three K&N Pro Series West championships. Todd Gilliland won the titles in 2016 and 2017. Chris Eggleston won the championship in 2015 driving for McAnally. Both drivers are not with the team this year. Hailie Deegan and Cole Rouse are in. Derek Kraus, who won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year last year, is back in the team’s No. 16 car, the same one that Gilliland drove to consecutive championships.

Kraus won the season finale at Kern County Raceway Park to close out his rookie season. He was third in the K&N Pro Series West standings. His only win in 14 starts came at Kern County. He also posted nine top-five finishes in 14 starts.

Deegan, the 16-year-old daughter of X Games star Brian Deegan, is beginning her rookie campaign. But she is no stranger to racing. She has been winning off-road truck championships since she started racing when she was 8.

Rouse, an 18-year-old driver from Arkansas, had four top-five finishes in 14 K&N Pro Series West starts in 2016. Last year, he split time between racing in the ARCA Series and super late models. He was 11th in the ARCA Series race in Kentucky and 13th in the race in Kansas driving for Bill Venturini.

Derek Kraus was the rookie of the year in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 2017.

He said he feels good about the direction his team is heading.

“It’s similar. We didn’t really have a permanent setup,” Vanderwal said referring to the 2017 season. “This year the main difference is we have two cars. We have a shop setup.”

He added that racing with McAnally’s team was a valuable learning experience.

“I feel like I learned a lot last year,” Vanderwal said. “I feel like I learned a lot as a driver at New Smyrna a couple of weeks ago running with a Bill McAnally car. I think we will be fast.”

Will Rodgers, who drove one of the four entries for Jefferson Pitts Racing in the opener at Kern County, finished in fifth place in the K&N Pro Series West standings last season. He had nine top-five finishes in 14 races, won one pole and led for 26 laps in the races he entered last year.

Todd Souza was sixth in the K&N Pro Series West standings. He had two top-five finishes, a third-place at The Orange Show Speedway in California and a fourth-place at Meridian Speedway in Idaho.

Matt Levin was 11th in the K&N Pro Series West standings in 2017. He had four top-10 finishes in 14 races.

Ron Norman was 12th in the K&N Pro Series West standings in 2017. He had two top-10 finishes in 14 races.

Harvick has won the past two K&N Pro Series West races he entered, the most recent coming at Sonoma Raceway in California last year. He has a celebrated career in the K&N Pro Series. He was the runner-up to Joey Logano in the inaugural K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway in 2007.

Throughout the K&N Pro Series West opener at Kern County Raceway Park, it looked as though Harvick would continue his K&N Pro Series winning streak, however, on the last restart, Derek Kraus was able to pass Harvick on Turn 4 with a good ol’ Short Track nudge. Harvick fell back to ninth place and only had time to battle back to 4th before the checkered flag dropped. With Thorn, Rouse and Partridge finishing in the top 5, it will be exciting to see the battle between Bob Bruncati’s Sunrise Ford Team and Bill McAnally NAPA Team unfold through the 2018 K&N Pro Series West season.

The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will be a twin 100-lap feature at Arizona’ Tucson Speedway on May 5th.