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A Tale of Two Races: Crash, Victory, and Fire For The PWC Shea Racing Honda Team

Her race would end when chunks of rain tire collected on her brakes and caught fire

Shea Holbrook in a light moment before the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park race

It’s an inevitable part of developing a schedule for a race series. As much as the organizers would like to give drivers, crews, and officials a break between races, there are times that for one reason or another, it just can’t happen.

Take the Pirelli World Challenge and the K&N-sponsored Shea Racing Honda team. Immediately after their race ended on Sunday they had to load-up and drive from Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Ontario, Canada, to Lime Rock Park in rural Connecticut, ready to load in on Thursday morning. That’s not much of a break for anyone. But Shea Racing was undeterred and unperturbed.

In Canada, the good news was that Shea Racing's Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car program earned the first victory of the season with Tom O’Gorman driving the new Honda Civic Si, starting from the pole to win Sunday's Touring Car A race.

O'Gorman earned the pole position not through qualifying but by setting the fastest lap in Saturday’s race. In addition, he brought his Honda Civic Si home to a fourth-place finish.

O’Gorman was actually lucky to be in Saturday’s race at all. Several laps into the race, several cars collided and collected O’Gorman as he had the bad luck to be in the same area of the racetrack. The race was red-flagged. The problem that faced Shea Racing is that the Civic Si had not yet reached showrooms so repair parts were extremely limited.

Just as it looked all was lost, a Honda of Canada employee drove by in a new Civic Si. Happy to assist (of course, as A. he’s from Honda, and B. he’s a Canadian) the team start disassembling his street car with the promise they’d put it all back together when they were done. “We basically needed everything forward of the radiator from the passenger car. Body work, arm supports, and various front end parts to put the race car back together again,” O’Gorman said.

He backed up his Canadian performance by running with the leaders at Lime Rock

Tom O'Gorman gave the new Honda Civic Si its first victory in Pirelli World Challenge

Rain threatened and several teams started on wet weather tires. O’Gorman cagily started on slicks, which gave him an advantage as the sun came out.

Where the weekend had been pretty lucky for O’Gorman, it was hardly the case for new recruit to Shea racing, Sarah Montgomery. On Saturday she barrel-rolled her Civic and while uninjured in the crash, but was unable to answer the bell for Sunday's race. If you’re keeping track, that’s two cars rolled in two weekends.

Team owner and driver Shea Holbrook ran her Honda Accord from 19th on the starting grid to ninth in Saturday's TC race, but then she had her own drama. "What I thought was a tire going down was actually a caliper on fire," Holbrook explained. "Rubber coming off of the rain tires collected in the caliper and caught on fire. No problem except that I couldn't turn the car!"

The entire Shea Racing team was looking forward to a drama-free weekend at Lime Rock, a race that’s run on a tight schedule as racing is not allowed on Sunday at the facility. Everything had to be squeezed into two days.

Tom O’Gorman moved into fourth in the standings with his 2017 Honda Civic Si as he took third after starting fifth. Tom nearly scored a podium finish in Friday’s race as well, but a valve stem was broken in contact with another car in Turn Three, forcing him into the pits with a by-then flat tire.

Team boss and driver, Shea Holbrook, demonstrated her and the Honda Accord’s competitiveness in both Touring Car events. Shea made up three positions from her starting position in Friday’s opening race and gaining five spots over her grid position in Saturday’s event. The tight 1.47-mile race course made passing opportunities hard to come by, but Shea made the most of the opportunities that presented themselves in both races.

At Lime Rock two full races are crammed into two days on track

Shea's Touring Class Honda Accord gets a full alignment to maximize performance

“The Honda Accord showed a lot of promise, as we were quicker than our immediate competition exiting the lefthander, creating passing opportunities for me onto No Name Straight,” Holbrook shared. “Running a clean race while taking every opportunity to advance was a key for us this weekend.”

“We made some minor handling changes for race 2, which made my Honda Accord virtually flawless,” reported Holbrook. “I was able to put the pressure on a little harder, and I know we could have run higher, but we feel good about our consistency on what was our best weekend of the season so far.”

After two races jammed together the team will have a lengthy midseason break to prepare for its next event, as the Touring Cars do not compete again for a couple months at Utah Motorsports Campus.

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K&N Pro East Series Racers visit St. Jude Children's Hospital

K&N, St. Jude, East Series

Drivers from the K&N Pro East Series gather at St. Jude Children's Hospital

NASCAR has a special program with the K&N Pro Series East drivers that benefit those who are in need and are sick.

Before the race at Memphis International Raceway, the K&N Pro Series East drivers who participated had a chance to visit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program.

Rev Racing owner Max Siegel promotes the Drive for Diversity program helping ethnic minorities and women drivers and pit crew members start their careers in NASCAR.

Before the race on Saturday, the drivers and Rev Racing personnel visited the hospital campus to boost the spirits of the children and families who are sick and battling health problems, and to learn more about how they can make an impact and to educate themselves on what St. Jude does.

K&N, St. Jude, East Series, Drive for Diversity

Drive for Diversity drivers at St. Jude Children's Hospital

“We love partnering with organizations to help bring awareness to their specific cause. Our team and drivers are in a unique position to be seen and heard by a great number of people,” said Jefferson Hodges, Rev Racing Director of Competition.

K&N also distributed tickets to over 50 St. Jude and family members. The race on Saturday was the Memphis 125 at Memphis International Raceway, won by K&N Pro Series East driver Harrison Burton. K&N also gave one family the chance to be in the infield and spend time with the drivers and specific NASCAR personnel.

“It’s a privilege to engage St. Jude in this way and to provide this opportunity to families and staff through our organization,” said Hodges.

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Chad Wienen Retains AMA ATV MX Pro National Championship Lead with Podium Finish

Chad Wienen racing at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee

Chad Wienen roosted his way back onto the podium at Muddy Creek Raceway

K&N-sponsored racer Chad Wienen went into the 6th round of the AMA ATV MX Pro National Championship with the series points lead. His third place overall finish at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee kept that lead alive.

In moto 1, Wienen got a good jump off the gate but as the lead pack came around the first turn, he was pushed to the outside. He dropped back into fourth place where he was planted for the remainder of the first lap.

Wienen maneuvered his way into third before the end of the second lap. From there, he continued to pressure the rider in second until he was able to make a pass with 5 laps to go. Wienen went on to take second place in moto 1.

More excitement and drama were in store in the second moto. As the gate dropped for the second race, Wienen once again got a good start off the gate. However, halfway up the Muddy Creek holeshot he was hit from the side and almost came off of the machine. When Wienen was able to recover and regroup, he was well back in the field.

Chad Wienen racing at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, Tennessee

Wienen is in hot pursuit of the AMA ATV MX Pro National Championship

Wienen started to work his way toward the pack in the second to last position. Knowing he had to make quick moves, Wienen fought his way up to ninth before the end of the first lap. Putting in the fastest laps of the moto, Wienen began making methodical advances on the field.

Just before the halfway point in the moto, Wienen worked his way into fourth where he remained for three laps. He was able to make a pass into third where he found himself four seconds behind the rider in second.

Wienen started clicking off the distance on his Yamaha YFZ450, and with one lap to go he was less than a second behind the second position racer. Unfortunately, he was unable to make a pass before the checker came out. He finished with a well-earned third in the second moto.

"I was fortunate to get on the box this weekend after a near get off in the moto 2 start,” Wienen said. “I felt good on my Yamaha this weekend.”

Wienen is excited to get his ATV onto very familiar ground for the next round of the AMA ATV MX Pro National Championship. The series reconvenes at Sunset Ridge MX in Walnut, Illinois.

Chad Wienen  jumping his K&N-equipped Yamaha YFZ450

Chad Wienen is flying high on his K&N-equipped Yamaha YFZ450

“We are looking forward to the next round in Illinois where I grew up racing and get to have the home town crowd in attendance to cheer me on,” said Wienen. “Thank you to my sponsors and support group on all they do.”

To get more performance out of your late model Yamaha YFZ450, take a look at the K&N YA-4504 performance air filter.

ATV MX Pro National Championship Leaders:

1st - Chad Wienen – 208 points

2nd - Joel Hetrick - 201 points

3rd - Jeffrey Rastrelli – 164 points

4th - Thomas Brown – 162 points

5th - Nicholas Gennusa – 153 points

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NHRA Top Fuel Driver Brittany Force Wins her First Event of the Season

Erica Enders beat Jason line, Bo Butner, and Tanner Gray on the way to her 22nd Pro Stock victory

Erica Enders beat Jason line, Bo Butner, and Tanner Gray on the way to her 22nd Pro Stock victory

NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Top Fuel driver Brittany Force said she knew her team was close to winning its first race of the season. Her team made the right adjustments at the fifth annual New England Nationals at New England Dragway.

Matt Hagan won the Funny Car title at New England. Erica Enders won the Pro Stock title. Enders and Brittany Force put two women on the winner's stage at New England.

Enders won her first race of the season and won for the first time in nearly two years. The last Pro Stock title she won was the fall Las Vegas event in 2015.

“Today is a culmination of everything that happened over the past year and a half, since 2016 was tough for us,” said Enders after the races in New England. “It’s so awesome to have a team that has my back, and it is absolutely the reason why I am able to drive the way I drive.”

Tanner Gray would line up opposite Erica Enders in the final race at the New England Nationals

Tanner Gray would line up opposite Erica Enders in the final race at the New England Nationals

Enders, a two-time Pro Stock champion, defeated Tanner Gray in the final race. She beat reigning Pro Stock champion Jason Line and Bo Butner, the leader in the Pro Stock standings, on her way to her 22nd career victory in Pro Stock.

Enders moved up to sixth place in the Pro Stock standings. She is the seventh different winner in Pro Stock this season.

Erica Enders won the Pro Stock race at the 5th Annual New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire

Erica Enders won the Pro Stock race at the 5th Annual New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire

Force won the Top Fuel title, her first of the season, defeating Antron Brown in the final round. “We figured things out in Topeka, and I felt like we had our team back, so we knew our first win would be right around the corner,” Force said. “The key to it all is our team sticking together and not giving up, and it definitely paid dividends today.”

Force, the daughter of 18-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force, reached the second round at the races at Heartland Park Topeka in Kansas. She lost to Steve Torrence, but said she felt her team made great strides at Topeka.

Erica Enders and Brittany Force both took home a Wally at the 5th Annual New England Nationals

Erica Enders and Brittany Force both took home a Wally at the 5th Annual New England Nationals

Brittany Force defeated Steve Chrisman, Troy Coughlin, and Shawn Langdon before meeting Brown in the final at New England. She won the fourth Top Fuel event of her career and is fifth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings.

Leah Pritchett leads the Top Fuel standings and has a 34-point lead over Brown after nine races.

It was a sold out crowd on Sunday at the New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire

It was a sold out crowd on Sunday at the New England Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire

Hagan defeated Courtney Force, the sister of Brittany Force, in the Funny Car final. Three women raced in the final of the top-three drag racing divisions at New England. Hagan won the 25th Funny Car event of his career and his third event of the season. “I knew we had a great race car today and the conditions were great, so we knew we were better than our qualifying times,” Hagan said after the races. “Everything went the way it should have today, and things seemed to fall in place for us.”

Hagan chipped away at the lead Ron Capps has in the Funny Car standings. Hagan is in second place, 79 points behind Capps after nine races.

The 2017 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season continues at the NHRA Summernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey.

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Olsbergs MSE Team Gives Honda First Global Rallycross Victory in Louisville

2016 was the first season with Honda for Oldsberg MSE, who had been running Fords

Young US driver Mitchell deJong let its hang out in Louisville - he'd really impress in Connecticut

The K&N-supported Olsbergs MSE Honda team continues to make waves in Red Bull Global Rallycross competition with a win and a podium over the past two event weekends.

Rallycross, if you’re not familiar with the sport, is much like it sounds. Drivers compete in 600 horsepower purpose-built AWD race cars that retain the shell of the original Honda Civic, Subaru WRX, Ford Fiesta, or Volkswagen Beetle. Tracks are between 0.5 mile and 1.0 mile in length and feature a mixture of dirt and pavement, as well as a 70-foot jump.

The Olsbergs MSE Honda Civics draw intake air through a custom-molded carbon fiber air box into which the team thoughtfully molded the K&N logo. Inside is a nine-inch K&N RE-0870 filter wrapped with a K&N PreCharger.

After a seventh place finish at the season-opener in Memphis, Tennessee, Sebastian Eriksson and his Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Honda Civic turned the tables on the field in Louisville, Kentucky, and scored Honda’s first-ever Global Rallycross victory in one of the closest finishes in series history.

Honda scored their first Global Rallycross victory with Eriksson's win in Louisville

Olsbergs OSME Honda driver Sebastian Eriksson fought to the finish to take the win in Louisville

This wasn’t an easy victory by any means, the Swedish driver having to work his way up through the field with every opportunity.

Eriksson led his teammates, American Mitchell deJong and Oliver Eriksson, who is no relation but is also a Swede, with a fourth-place qualifying result. Sebastian raised the stakes with a second-place finish in the second semifinal, which put him on the inside of the second row of the final.

Just prior to the drop of the green on the 10-car finale, a rain shower soaked the 0.7 mile course, shifting the advantage to Sebastian and the Honda-powered team and their custom AWD system. Sebastian rocketed away at start, grabbing third place going into the first turn. The front runners made contact in the first dirt corner, and Sebatian grabbed the opportunity to take the lead. Two drivers slipped past him, but then Sebastian caught them and moved back into first place, though he’d maintain a slim lead over second-place Steve Arpin for the final five laps.

Oldsberg MSE has been partners with K&N Filters for a number of years and relies on its products

Olsbergs OSME Honda driver Sebastian Eriksson celebrating his win at the GRC event in Louisville, KY

On the final lap Arpin made a move on Sebastian and pushed him wide. However the 600 horsepower OSME Honda Civic Coupe, with 630 lb-ft of torque dug in at the exit of the corner and shot Sebastian past Arpin on the sprint to the finish line. The 0.071 second photo-finish secured Honda its first win in Red Bull GRC competition and the second win of Eriksson’s career. It also moved Honda into a tie for the Manufacturer’s Championship.

Honda Red Bull OSME teammates Mitchell deJong and Oliver Eriksson finished fifth and seventh, respectively.

After two events in the Mid-South, the Red Bull Global Rallycross circus made its way to the Northeast and Thompson, Connecticut, for a double-header event, where it would be young Mitchell deJong’s turn to shine.

Mitchell scored his first career Red Bull Global Rallycross podium at the Saturday race of a two-day Thompson double header. The 19-year-old Temecula, California, native became Honda’s first American rallycross driver to achieve a podium finish in the GRC, in his rookie season no less.

Over the course of Saturday’s competition Mitchell improved on his eighth-place qualifying result, finding speed in the jarring uphill dirt section. Rookie teammate Oliver Eriksson would claim a first-round heat victory.

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