NHRA Division 5 Super Stock Driver Mike Mans Credits Family for Success
- 30 Jun 2011
Running out of NHRA Division 5, Mike Mans has followed in his father's, also a national and divisional race winner, footsteps and has had his share of success. "I've been fortunate enough to win a national event (Chicago, 2006), and collect 6 LODRS divisional event wins in 9 finals over the course of my career." His first divisional win came against his father in the final round at his home track of Brainerd, MN in 2001. He also qualified #1, and set the national record that same weekend! In addition to these achievements Mans has finished in the National Top 10 in points with #9 place in 2006 and #6 place in 2007. The Mans Family also runs an in-house engine program and has set 5 national records and won class eliminations over 25 times. Mike credits his family as one of the reasons for his success "My Dad's support and experience has been by far the biggest influence on my success and racing with your dad is definitely the most fun a son can ever have. My mom has always been 100% excited about racing and tries to attend every race she can throughout the year. She is far more instrumental in our success than she realizes with the help she brings to the table. Her experience and confidence on finding the best groove on the starting line has helped us make good runs when nobody else can get off the starting line - and having that really keep my confidence high as a driver. She gets extremely nervous when eliminations roll around, but I think that somehow makes me calmer by joking around with her when the time comes to get to work."
After a roller coaster start to the year, Mike qualified for the Jeg's All-Stars race representing Division 5 in the Super Stock category. "I was definitely excited to be a part of such a big event! It's a huge honor to qualify for the All-Stars race with the rest of the Division 5 team." Now halfway through the 2011 season, Mike is finding his groove. "My dad has been hard at work in the shop preparing everything and I am confident that we will roll into Joliet, IL for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 Nationals with both guns loaded and ready to put up a fight against the other 7 drivers! Our motto has always been that preparation is 75% of this sport, and when you are in an 8 car field consisting of world champions and perennial Top 10 finishers - you had better be prepared!" One of the things the Mans Family does to prepare is making sure they have K&N Filters installed on their car. Every part in the Mans Racing Pontiac Firebird is equally demanding of quality and performance, that's why they depend on the K&N filters to keep their motors at peak power and consistency. "Every racer will tell you that we couldn't do what we do without the support of great people and companies behind us. In addition to the great people at K&N, we are fortunate to have Red Line Oil, Mickey Thompson Tires, and Jeg's Mail Order in our corner." 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. |
