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Michael Lewis Earns His Second Victory in the 2011 Formula 3 Italia Championship

Michael Lewis' win at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello was his second in the 2011 Formula 3 Italia Championship.
Michael Lewis' win at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello was his second in the 2011 Formula 3 Italia Championship.
To win a race, a Rookie of the Year honor, perhaps even a championship, entails more than just extraordinary driving prowess, it requires unwavering focus in the face of boundless distractions. Championships aren't won simply on the track, one race at a time, they are earned by those best equipped to deal with the demands presented by the space between races.
Lewis overcame a frenzied start, then patiently and consistently moved forward and on lap 15 he took the lead, holding on for the victory.
Lewis overcame a frenzied start, then patiently and consistently moved forward and on lap 15 he took the lead, holding on for the victory.


How does Laguna Beach, California's Michael Lewis deal with his roller-coaster rookie year in the Formula 3 Italia Championship? "By trying as hard as possible to stick with my plan for each racing event," Lewis explained to K&N Race News. "This plan includes my physical training program, car and driver preparation, and so on. As long as I stay as close to my plan as possible, the results will, well, result."

The results in Round 13 of the Italia Champion couldn't have resulted any better for Lewis, as he won his second race of the series at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in Mugello, Italy. He qualified third fastest and started the race on the inside of the second row. Lewis survived the "wild start," and held onto third, then steadily progressed forward as the laps rolled by. On lap 15 Lewis made his move on the inside of the leader, Edoardo Liberati. The K&N sponsored driver then managed his lead wisely, holding off Liberati and taking the checkered flag.
Engineer Fabio Zilio made a front bar adjust to correct for over-steer, helping to preserve the tires, and allowing Lewis to drive to victory.
Engineer Fabio Zilio made a front bar adjust to correct for over-steer, helping to preserve the tires, and allowing Lewis to drive to victory.


"Basically, my start off the line was not the best," said Lewis. "My revs dropped quite hard when I put it in second gear, and because I had wheel spin, this was problematic. Then, entering turn-one I was literally four-wide with my teammate and two other drivers. I braked as late as possible from the inside, as to clear the other three cars, and then once I was in third after turn-one, everything was okay."
The win for the American keeps Lewis in the lead for the ROY title and only 19 points behind the overall championship leader.
The win for the American keeps Lewis in the lead for the ROY title and only 19 points behind the overall championship leader.


Lewis credited the car's setup as part of the reason he was able to preserve his tires for the race victory. "I spoke with my engineer Fabio Zilio and we made one little change to the car before the start of the race," explained Lewis. "The tires were amazing during the whole race and I didn't have any problems. Thank you to the entire PREMA Powerteam, to Fabio Zilio, Angelo Rosin, and Giacomo Ricci for this victory. I also want to thank Eibach Springs and K&N Air Filters for helping me."

"It was a small change that any driver/team would make to adjust the balance of the car," continued Lewis. "The setup is massively different from car to car, but if you want a bit more over-steer or under-steer, this can be achieved by making a front-bar change for example. In my case, since I felt a bit too much over-steer (when releasing the brakes and squeezing throttle) on my warm-up lap before heading to the grid, my engineer suggested stiffening the front bar. This change gave the car slightly more under-steer at the apex of the corner. Thus, my over-steer was reduced to a manageable amount."

With the win Lewis now sits five points ahead of teammate, Raffaele Marciello, for the Formula 3 Italia Rookie of the Year chase, and we wondered how that affected the team dynamics. "We are both competing against each other, so there is a bit of a rivalry there," remarked Lewis. "However, we still are working together to improve our cars, so the overall atmosphere is quite friendly and professional."

In race two at Mugello, Lewis got an amazing start. "Since I started sixth, I was immediately involved in traffic from the first two rows of cars," said Lewis. "I then had to lift to avoid contact, and I got shuffled back to seventh position after the first corner. Again, I felt I had an amazingly fast car with great tire degradation; so I started to push when it was the proper time. I passed for sixth, then my teammate went off track momentarily, so then I was in fifth. I closed massively on the second, third, and fourth place drivers. I was fighting quite hard in the remaining few laps, but I was unable to get by the drivers ahead, as everyone was closing pretty hard. In the end it wasn't a bad race."

After a solid two race performance at Mugello, Lewis made up considerable ground on Formula 3 Italia Championship Series leader Sergio Campana. Lewis is now ranked second in the 2011 Formula 3 Italia Series Championship, only 19 points behind, and continues to lead the Rookie Championship. The final two races of the 2011 Formula 3 Italia Championship will take place on October 15 and 16, at Monza.

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K&N's David Rampy Moves to Number One in NHRA Div 3 Super Stock With Win at Columbus

David Rampy wins NHRA Div 3 Super Stock at National Trail Raceway
David Rampy wins NHRA Div 3 Super Stock at National Trail Raceway
With night and day weather conditions from when the race was first started back in July, David Rampy returned to National Trail Raceway, just outside of Columbus, Ohio to not only finish what he started in Super Stock, before the NHRA Div 3 event was postponed due to rain, but put an exclamation point on it with a win after seven rounds that ran very late into the evening.

Rampy had already put a first round win in the books, with his 1989 Camaro that he runs in GT/HA, back in July. "We had won first round and to be honest about it, I really didn't want to go back," he admitted of his decision to return and complete the event two months later.
David Rampy at National Trail Raceway,outside of Columbus, Ohio
David Rampy at National Trail Raceway,outside of Columbus, Ohio
"But I'm running division three this year, so I needed to go back to get my points for the in-division races that I need. I wanted to go to Dallas and run the National, but I went back to Columbus more for the points meet than the SportsNational event, I guess you could say."

The postponed divisional event was run the day before the regularly scheduled NHRA Jegs SportsNationals with the plan to allow all contestants a hit at the track before heading into the remaining elimination rounds. "They [officials] kept having to stop to work on the track on Thursday," he said. "We were supposed to be completely finished with the race by five o'clock and I don't think we started running any elimination rounds until after five. Out of about thirty-two or so cars that were left in the class, only about five or so got down the track for their time run. Everyone else was just blowing the tires off. So then, they decided to give us all another run, since a lot of folks were complaining. It ended up being kinda a big mess."

Once they were able to get eliminations underway, Rampy made it past second round and his match up with Jerry Silveus, while there was still good daylight to work with. For third round on, it would be a whole different story.

"We were very fortunate to win the race," he said. "I just do not drive good at nighttime; it's just plain and simple. Every now and then I do, but the majority of the time I just don't. I just don't hit the tree as well at night and I know it's because I use a blinder. I live by it and I guess at night time, I die by it."

Rampy had a very uncommon .103 reaction time during his third round pairing with Robert Issi, but managed to outdrive him at the stripe with a 10.280 on his 10.27 dial to take advantage of Issi's way under the dial, 9.398 on his 9.43 dial.

"He actually should have beat me, but it was a messed up run from the start," Rampy explained. "They [tower] had his dial-in wrong and he staged to the dial-in. I'm sitting there trying to think what to do and thank goodness they didn't count me out and I'm knowing his dial-in is wrong. It's to my advantage, he's supposed to be dialed a 9.43 and they have him on 9.13. I'm wondering do I stage, do I not stage, what do I do? About that time, one of his buddies comes flying up there and gets him to back up. Well, he doesn't realize it's a dial-in problem, he thinks he broke or something. He backs completely off the track. It was such a mess, guy thought they were throwing him out because he was leaking or something."

"Well they backed me outta the lights for a minute and then I went on back in and pre-staged," he continued. "That guy was still sitting there, but he finally went on in. I missed the tree and he hit the tree and caught me by about half track and went blowing by me. He did breakout, so I got lucky there."

"I didn't get flustered or anything, but here's what I'm thinking happened," he explained. "I'm thinking after all that, this guy is all messed up. So I'm telling myself don't go red and as it turned out the whole starting line thing didn't bother him too much at all."

In round four, the nighttime was still giving Rampy troubles on the tree, but luckily for him it also seemed to affect his opponent A.H. Adkins. Rampy was behind at the start by .023, but was able to safely take a nice chunk of the stripe when Adkins apparently could not run the dial. Winning this very important round, Rampy earned a bye into the semi-finals.

"I had to run Craig Marshall," Rampy said of the semi-final in Super Stock. "He actually missed the tree a little bit and then he spun, I actually talked to him afterwards, and he got kinda loose so he didn't run his dial-in. That made it a little easier and I did have a better light than him, but the spinning he did helped me. I was actually breaking out that round and was able to get on the brakes. I did go dead-on [10.262 on 10.26 dial]."

That moved Rampy on to a very familiar place for him, the final round. By this time, it was very late in the evening and for a race that was planned to end before five, it was now almost eleven PM. Rampy, who points out how much he doesn't like running at night, now found himself not needing to worry so much about his reaction times, thanks to a heads-up final round pairing.

"We knew we had him covered," explained Rampy. "He [Johnny Duncan] had been running 10.60's and we had been running 10.20's, so we knew the only way we could lose that round was to make some kind of major error there or the car break or something. I had been complaining about not hitting the tree very good and Barry told me, 'Well don't try to find it now' [laughs] 'Just go back up there and have that same ol' light and I think we will be in good shape.' So I had my bad light and he had a decent light and I was just able to outrun him."

The win added to Rampy's extensive list of victories and boosted him to the number one position in the NHRA Division 3 Super Stock standings. Rampy is also currently number three in the National NHRA Super Stock Standings, with a couple races left to claim on the divisional level where he could add to that total.

Rampy continues to be adamant in his praise for the products he uses, not only on his Super Stock car, but his Comp Eliminator car. "When you run as many races as we do each year and hope to go as many rounds as you can, you have got to have the best protection you can have on your engines," he noted. "I totally feel comfortable using K&N products, both their oil and air filters. I have been using them for years and they always do the job I need for them to. I really thank the folks at K&N for all they do for drag racing and the sportsman racers."

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2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion Max Gresham

Darrell Wallace Jr. won the Dover 150 leading the last six laps of the race
Darrell Wallace Jr. won the Dover 150 leading the last six laps of the race
Max Gresham won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship by finishing third in the season finale at Dover International Speedway, hanging on to the finish with a wobbly tire.

Darrell Wallace Jr. won the Dover 150 leading the last six laps of the race after Brett Moffitt crashed on lap 146 and set up a green-white-checkered flag finish.
Max Gresham won the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship
Max Gresham won the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship


Moffitt, who came into the race at Dover only 21 points behind Gresham for the lead in the K&N Pro Series East standings, was leading when he cut a tire and crashed into the turn four wall. Gresham was running in third place and had a six-point lead over Moffitt at the time of the accident.

With Moffitt out of the race, Gresham completed the final laps conservatively. He moved into second place on the final restart, but let Dale Quarterly pass him in the closing laps. Gresham told his crew over the radio that he felt a tire vibation. But he finished the race and completed every lap of every race on the K&N Pro Series East schedule.

"I've never been happier to finish third in my life," Gresham said. "Those last 10, 15 laps, I definitely had a bad vibration. I wasn't sure what it was. That green-white-checkered before it, I was just shaking the car. I knew something wasn't right. It was a good thing I didn't have to race for position at that time. I could just ride the last three laps out and not have to worry about it."

Moffitt, who was in search of his third straight K&N Pro Series East win at Dover, ended up in 21st place and in third place in the final K&N Pro Series East standings, 86 points behind Gresham.
Max Gresham won two races and four poles en route to his first K&N Pro Series East championship
Max Gresham won two races and four poles en route to his first K&N Pro Series East championship


Wallace was able to leap frog Moffitt into second place in the K&N Pro Series East standings. He won for the third time this season and for the fifth time in his K&N Pro Series East career. Wallace won races at Richmond International Raceway in April and the inaugural East Series race at Columbus Motor Speedway in July.

Wallace, who also won the pole for the race at Dover, dedicated the win to his uncle, who died over the weekend.

"It was an emotional win," said Wallace, "losing my uncle this past Saturday, so it was tough. I put his name over my name on the door and he was riding shotgun with us and put us in Victory Lane. I love him, miss him already."

Gresham, a developmental driver from Joe Gibbs Racing, won two races and four poles en route to his first K&N Pro Series East championship. He won races at Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia in June and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July.

"This has been the best season I've ever had," Gresham said. "It will be a good one for the record books for a long time for myself. We started off the season not as strong as we wanted but we had a run of 10 top fives. And you can't ask for anything better than that. ... I can't be any happier than to be part of such a great organization and it's just been a great year for us."

He became the first driver from Joe Gibbs Racing to win the K&N Pro Series East championship since Joey Logano won it in 2007.

"It means everything in the world right now," said Gresham. "To be a NASCAR champion is pretty much the only thing I wanted to do when I started racing and now I am. Hopefully there's more to come in the future. This one's as sweet as can be right now."

Gresham will continue his NASCAR season with Turn One Racing in the Camping World Truck Series. He will try to qualify for three races, and will make his debut at Las Vegas Motorspeedway on Oct. 15.

"I'd venture to say you'll be seeing him in the Nationwide Series and more than likely Cup here in the future," said Steve DeSouza, Joe Gibbs Racing vice president of Nationwide Series and driver development. "He's done a great job. He's a quick student."

Alex Bowman finished 23rd in the race a Dover and won the K&N Pro Series East Sunoco Rookie of the Year.

The Dover 150 will be broadcast on Speed tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

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Elliott Despain Gets Open Wheel Modified Win at Ponderosa Speedway Fall Classic

Despain said winning the race in front of his entire crew, his parents and girlfriend, made it that much sweeter.
Despain said winning the race in front of his entire crew, his parents and girlfriend, made it that much sweeter.
Here's an inside scoop on impressing your significant other, take them to Ponderosa Speedway, Kentucky's "Baddest Bullring" to experience their first ever dirt race, then while they're having a grand time watching the action - win the race. That beats dinner and a movie anytime. And it's exactly what K&N sponsored Elliott Despain did.

Ponderosa Speedway and the United Super Dirt Car Series (USDCS) combined efforts for the Fall Classic at Ponderosa Speedway, with a record number of cars showing up for the 2011 event.
Elliott Despain won Open Wheel Modified Class at the Ponderosa Speedway Fall Classic and he set the fast time as well.
Elliott Despain won Open Wheel Modified Class at the Ponderosa Speedway Fall Classic and he set the fast time as well.
The Friday Night Rumble was jam packed with 33 Super Late Models, 25 Open Wheel Modifieds, nine Street Stocks, and three four-wheel drive, four-cylinder cars. Despain, driving in his No. 75 car took the checkered in the Open Wheel Modified Class, setting the fast time in the process.

"There were a lot of cars there due to most other racetracks already having ended their seasons, and we had pretty decent weather for the end of September as well. So with both those things combined it produced a great night of racing," Despain told K&N Race News. "It was very special to get the win. My entire crew was there, and I had my parents there as well supporting me. It was also a special night because this was the first dirt race my girlfriend, Delana, had ever been a part of, and getting to watch me win really topped it off."
Caption
The Despain Motorsports crew used the Ponderosa race as a practice run to test their new engine before heading to the Fall Nationals at Eldora.


Despain started the evening off on a positive note by qualifying fourth overall out of the 25 car field. "After qualifying, I then won the heat and started on the pole of the feature," continued Despain. "We led every lap of the race and brought home a great win! It was such a great race for us because we had just gotten our motor back after losing it earlier in the year. We used Ponderosa as a practice run testing out the new car prior to going to Eldora."

The Despain Motorsports crew and their No. 75 Lucas Oil Products sponsored race car featuring K&N products ended the 2011 season fifth overall in the super competitive American Modified Series. "We had three wins, several top-fives and top-ten finishes," added Despain. "We are going to the Fall Nationals at Eldora in Rossburg, Ohio this weekend, and we have another weekend scheduled the 20th and 21st of October."

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Wade Moody Set New National Association of Diesel Motorsports (NADM) World Record

K&N sponsored Wade Moody has set a new National Association of Diesel Motorsports (NADM) world record in his Duramax diesel powered drag truck. The record pass was a 7.94 @ 171 backed up with a 7.87 @ 171 set at Maryland International Raceway. This is a huge accomplishment for Wade who has raced this vehicle for little more than a year with a limited crew and budget. The machine used to accomplish this is a 2002 Chevy S-10 using a Gephardt Pro Cars chassis and a Duramax diesel engine that spins up to 5500 rpm, far above the limits of a stock diesel.
Wade Moody in his Duramax diesel powered drag truck
Wade Moody in his Duramax diesel powered drag truck


Wade, owner of NGM Diesel, and his main crewmember Cory Miles have put in an extraordinary effort this past racing season traveling around the Midwest competing in the NADM Pro Stock Diesel class and working out the bugs in the vehicle. Big stepping stones this past season have been switching from a manual transmission to a Bruno Lenco and then a mid-season change to a TH400. The car has responded very well to the current transmission and converter combination and Wade is very pleased with the results.

Wade has been chasing the previous record of 8.06 set by Banks Performance in 2008 and has successfully surpassed it in less than one full season. He and his team have had a great year, setting the new record on their 50th pass without one mechanical failure and Wade believes there is more to get out of the truck with some further suspension tuning.

By utilizing efficient tuning and a small amount of nitrous, Wade has embraced "clean" diesel performance by making his quarter mile passes with little, if any visible smoke, a standard byproduct of many fast diesel trucks. With increasingly tightened standards on emissions, it's great to see racers such as Wade adopt the clean performance mantra while pushing the envelope in diesel performance. K&N is proud to sponsor Wade and his team and can't wait to see what they can do next year.

K&N is the Official Air Intake of the NADM series which holds events around the country showcasing diesel performance in drag racing, sled pulling and at some events a dyno competition. Be sure to check out their website for more information at www.runnadm.com or www.dieselmotorsports.us.

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