Survey Says: NHRA Fans Love K&N-Sponsored NHRA Drivers

Each year, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) conducts a survey of its fan to determine who their favorite drivers are in each of seven different categories: Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Motorcycle, Pro Mod, Top Alcohol, and Sportsman, along with Favorite Track and Favorite Class.

Erica Enders won the K&N Horsepower Challenge in 2015. But that wasn’t all she won that year. Erica and her Elite Motorsports Camaro took the Pro Stock win in 2015 as well.

When it comes to favorite class, it’s tough to compete with the nitro-burning, flame-belching Top Fuel and Funny Car racers, but Pro Stock came in third. Pro Stock cars, it should be said, are some of the most technologically sophisticated vehicles in drag racing. Built around a tube chassis and skinned with production-appearing bodywork, Pro Stock cars can’t weigh less than 2,350 pounds. Pro Stock engines now use electronic fuel injection powered by a standardized gasoline and are restricted to a maximum displacement of 500 cubic inches. These massive V8s can produce in excess of 1,300 horsepower, which can propel a Pro Stocker to run in the 6.4s at more than 215 mph.

Pro Stock is also one of the only classes that utilize K&N air intake products. While the K&N PS-3001 oil filter is a favorite among teams in many classes, as are K&N fuel filters, Top Fuel, Funny Car and other classes don’t utilize any type of air filter or cold air intake. Every Pro Stock racer, however, is fitted with a K&N 100-8522 carbon fiber intake.

In an effort to make Pro Stock more relevant, the NHRA has ditched the carbs that have been the only induction system legal since 1974, and replaced it with electronic fuel injection for 2016. K&N was key in the development of the new system, using all its technical know-how to develop a slippery intake that draws air from the lower grille opening (no more giant air scoops) and feeds it to the Holley throttle body atop the engine.

So who are the three Pro Stock favorites among the fans? Counting down:

This winner of the 2015 K&N Horsepower Challenge also made the list of the most popular Pro Stock drivers according to the fans. Greg Anderson is no stranger to winning the K&N Horsepower Challenge either, that was his fifth all-time win of the bonus event.

3. Greg Anderson – the 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010 Pro Stock champion finished second in the points standings last year, finishing the season with four wins and five number one qualifying positions. In 2015, he also established both a career-best elapsed time and a career-best speed. In 2014, Anderson missed the first five races due to heart surgery, but came back for three runner-up finishes.

2. Allen Johnson – Pro Stock Champion in 2012, Johnson racked up two wins and three runner-up finishes in 2015, including the final win of the carbureted era of Pro Stock at the Pomona season finale. He also set a personal-best elapsed time and track Pro Stock record of 6.877 seconds and speed of 200.74 mph in Denver. In 2014, he captured four victories and secured two runner-up finishes.

1. Erica Enders – the first woman to win an NHRA Pro Stock race in 2012. Enders won the Pro Stock Championship in 2014 and 2015 with six and nine victories in each season, respectively. Her 2015 results were the most wins for any female driver in a single season in NHRA history. In addition, her wins in 2015 placed Enders second on the all-time wins list of professional female NHRA competitors.

Along with sponsoring several NHRA events and drivers, K&N is the spec’d manufacturer for the intake system for all Pro Stock cars.

K&N also supports Pro Stock drivers and fans each year with a special shoot-out called the K&N Horsepower Challenge. For drivers the event pays out big bucks to the winner, and a sweepstakes for fans to the attend the event where one winner takes home a grand prize (in 2016 it was a Toyota Tacoma loaded with TRD gear). The K&N Horsepower Challenge has ended for 2016, so join K&N on Facebook for information on next year’s sweepstakes in early 2017.

K&N also scored big in the Sportsman ranks, taking first and second among fans with two legends of NHRA drag racing. Not surprisingly, Dan Fletcher, one of the most successful drag racers ever, took the top spot. Keep an eye on Dan as we move into the Fall as he seeks his 100th NHRA win. Second in Sportsman is David Rampy, another long-time veteran of the Sportsman ranks, running in Competition Eliminator, who has over 90 wins to his credit. David had the honor of being named one of the Top 50 NHRA racers at their 50th anniversary celebration.

Finally, the aptly named “The Strip” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was selected by fans as one of their favs, a track supported by K&N and home to the K&N Horsepower Challenge for the past few years.

As the official filter and air intake of NHRA, everyone at K&N congratulates all the drivers and tracks voted as favorites by the fans.