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The ZERO SOUTH team converted a pair of Hummer H1s to hybrid vehicles for South Pole expeditions

Based off the M998 HMMWV, or Humvee, by AM General, the Hummer H1 is a civilian off-road vehicle powered by one of four diesel engines or a 5.7L gas engine. The H1 weighs anywhere from 7,847 to 8,117 lbs and gets 8-12 MPG on a good day. So why would an organization that is planning to travel to the South Pole using no fossil fuels, pick an H1 Hummer as their expedition vehicle?

This CAD drawing shows they layout of the chassis without the body

Drive Around the World is an organization that was founded over 15 years ago to help promote cross-border understanding and goodwill through innovative educational programs, as well as raise funds and awareness for charitable causes. One of their upcoming expeditions is called ZERO SOUTH. This will be a journey across Antarctica using zero fossil fuels. Instead, they will use batteries and biofuel on their expedition from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole.

To start with a clean slate, the team tore both vehicles down to nuts and bolts and rebuilt them

Even more ironic is the fact that the expedition includes scientists who will perform climate science out of the back of the Hummer. Beyond the irony, these vehicles provide a wide footprint with modular construction that makes it almost the perfect vehicle for conversion to electric drive. It is also very capable off-road, and with the modifications the team made to the base vehicle, it is just about indestructible.

During one of their test runs in Alaska, the ZERO SOUTH team but the both PTVs through their paces

As you can see in this CAD illustration, one PTV will tow the trailer, the other will tow supplies

The cab resembles that of a space shuttle instead of a 20 year old military vehicle

Most of the scientific work will go on in the back of the PTVs. The ambulance hardtops lots of room.

To give the team an area to work inside the Hummer, a pair of ambulance hardtops from military HMMWVs were installed on the two PTVs. This provided enough room for the teams to stand up and walk around. The necessary equipment and tools needed for the expedition would be housed in the back of the Hummers, on the roof racks, in the accompanying Airstream trailer, or on a ski rig that would be towed behind one of the PTVs. One of the features that is most noticeable of the PTVs is the tracks on the four corners. These are manufactured by Mattracks and make traversing the ice shelves of Antarctica a lot easier by spreading out the 11,320 lbs of each PTV over a greater surface area. Behind the tires or tracks, whichever setup they are running with, is a set of Baer brakes that provide enough clamping force to bring the whole rig to a quick halt if need be.

Here the ZERO SOUTH team celebrates a successful test excursion of the PTVs in Alaska

With the paint schemes and the tracks, these vehicles are instantly recognizable and Nick and his crew know this. They use the vehicles to help promote environmental responsibility at events around the globe. Most recently, they attended a rally for science in Los Angeles. Their next expedition, which will be another test excursion, will be in November of 2017, so keep an eye out for more articles on Drive Around the World and their iconic H1 Polar Traverse Vehicles.

Sloan Cox and Sarah Coatsworth in their EVO X early in the rally before the drama began

K&N has received fan letters from up and down the islands that comprise New Zealand for years. Kiwis (named after the native bird, not the fruit) who’ve installed the legendary filters on everything from Ducatis to Holden V8s, to an emergency response vehicle for a Fire District, have written to the company to share their experiences of improved response and increased performance.

The rally car mentioned is a Taslo Engineering Mitsubishi EVO X drive by Sloan Cox and co-driven by Sarah Coatsworth (a mother of two) in the 2017 New Zealand Rally Championship. Sarah ordered the filters the team would need for the season on the K&N website, and received free shipping to New Zealand as the order was over $50 US.

The first event day was Saturday, April 8, which started well for Sloan and Sarah as the pair settled in quickly; consistently putting down top three stage times. They were running so well that by Stage 3 they had caught the presumably faster car that started in front of them. Most of the Stage 3 was then spent in a plume of dust, unable to pass the slower car.

Sloan trying out FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Champ Gaurav Gill's seat before the rally start

Sunday brought new opportunities with top three stage times again being set and the pair winning Stage 11, at 47 km (29 miles), the longest stage of the rally. However, on Stage 12, things went sideways. An off-course excursion through a fence slowed the pair significantly. The team was able to cut through a field and slip out through a gate. Had they been trapped, they would have been time-barred but instead they completed the final stages to record a rally finish. In fact, the team finished just four minutes in arears after nearly three hours of stage time.

After the finish Cox commented, "the car was feeling amazing all weekend long and I felt really confident, especially in the longest stage of the event. We are really rapt with the overall rally finish in a first round that was not easy."

All in all the team were able to maintain fifth overall and earn some good points for the first round of the championship.

The team then turned their attention to Round Two of the New Zealand Rally Championship, International Rally of Whangarei. What differentiates the second rally from the first is that the second rally is a round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, really just a notch below the WRC. So competition wasn’t just coming from fellow Kiwis, but from professionals from Norway, Finland, and Sweden. Also competing was 2016 APRC Champion, India’s Gaurav Gill. While the international drivers didn’t earn NZ championship points, a strong showing by the local Kiwis is considered a sizeable accomplishment against so many full-time professional teams.

On Friday night, there were a Spectator Stage held on a one kilometer course on Pohe Island. Sloan was fastest on both passes of the short course, putting him essentially at the lead of the New Zealand Rally Championship field for Saturday. Having seesawed with the other top drivers, Sloan stayed right in the top three. In Stage 9 the team dropped to fourth. On Stage 10, disaster.

All that's visible is the left side of the EVO as its stuck in the ditch

“After (rally organizer’s) tried pulling us out, it wasn't quite enough to get us out of that horrible spot. Luckily some locals bought down a tractor that was able to yank the car out. It's going to be a late night for the crew to assess and work on the car for potentially rejoining tomorrow,” Sloan posted on Facebook that evening.

Sarah added that it, "took approximately three hours to extricate the car from the ditch. The recovery 4WD initially couldn’t get it out as it was too far down and level with the road, so we had to find a tractor. Luckily there were some friendly locals that were able to find one for us and the car came out in ten minutes."

Unfortunately, it was the end of their Leg 1 of the rally, and the loss of any bonus points they could have earned had they finished well in both legs.

According to Sarah, “we were able to start on Sunday, the car was not too bad the initial cause being a turbo was fixed and car was just like new, bar a temporary back window, etc.” Unfortunately the crew had to start further back in the field now due to the time it took to extricate the car from the jaws of defeat.

Sloan and Sarah put down a time in the first Stage of Sunday's Leg 2 that placed them fourth, yet 13th overall due to low starting position. They were sixth on the next stage, but that was enough to move them into ninth. On the third stage of the day they took third, but it wasn’t enough to move them up on an overall basis. Waipu Caves 2, the 14th stage of the rally went to Sloan and Sarah, then second on Stages 15 and 16.

A local farmer was enlisted to pull the car from the ditch and had it out in 10 minutes flat

In 1949, the first rally in the United States was organized and the name chosen has become the credo for rally competitors: Press On Regardless. That most exemplifies the competitive spirits of Sloan and Sarah. Check back later for updates on Sloan and Sarah as the progress through the New Zealand Rally Championship.

Jarett Andretti Competes in the USAC Amsoil Sprint Car National Championship

Andretti Autosport Short Track is an off-shoot of Andretti Autosport, which is operated by Jeff Andretti, Mario’s nephew, Michael’s cousin, and an accomplished driver in his own right. His son Jarett is leading the team on the dirt for the 2017 season. After being named the 2014 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of The Year, then winning a track championship at Lawrenceburg in 2016 as well as recording several wins and multiple Top-Five and Top-10 finishes, in 2017 the team is competing across the country seeking victory in more than 70 Sprint Car races.

After two early races in Florida where K&N-supported Jarett finished ninth and 11th, USAC kicked off the season in earnest with a double-header at the Bloomington Speedway in Bloomington, Indiana. According to Jarett, “Bloomington is always a tough place to go because the red clay is so much different than all the other surfaces we run on. Because of that difference in surface, there are a lot of local cars at Bloomington that are really good there; combined with the USAC regulars; it makes for a tough field of cars.”

Engine problems limited Jarett’s qualifying efforts to 18th place, but he remained optimistic. “We changed a couple things on the motor for the heat race and seemed to have fixed the problem. A second place run in the heat would have transferred us into the feature and line us up in the 15th starting position,” Jarett recalled. It was not to be. He passed a few cars, however a few ill-timed yellows limited his forward progress with his race ending in 15th place. The team felt they had at least solved the motor issues and moved on to the next event at Tri-State Speedway. But first a quick stop.

Andretti Autosports selected a K&N air box filter, designed for sprint cars, for their 410 V8

“We were ready for night number two of the weekend,” the young Andretti commented. “I always really liked going to Tri-State Speedway, but haven’t run the spring race the past couple years so I was excited to get the opportunity to run there so early in the year,” he added.

“We unloaded fast and were able to set quick time in qualifying, which was my first quick time with USAC. Setting a fast time with USAC was definitely a bucket list item for me so I am glad I was able to check that off my list,” he stated with considerable pride. “Due to the invert, we would start sixth in the first heat but only the top four would transfer into the feature. We received some good breaks and made the right moves in the heat and moved from sixth to third at the finish. This would line us up starting sixth for the feature,” Jarett recalled.

Then came the race itself. “We were up to fifth at one point in the feature and then fell back to ninth after some contact with another car, but by the time the checkered fell we had clawed our way back to sixth,” he recalled. “It was a solid run and a good points weekend; we moved into the top-five in USAC points heading into another double header weekend coming up at Plymouth and Montpelier.”

The USAC Sprint Car National Championship features some of the toughest competition in the country

The next race in the USAC Amsoil Sprint car National Championship will be at the world-famous Eldora Speedway in Rossberg, Ohio.

Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Andretti Autosport Short Track is focused on short track racing competing on both pavement and dirt including a national presence under the USAC National Sprint Car Series and USAC Silver Crown banners among other sanctioning bodies. Owned by NASCAR, IndyCar, Sports Car, and NHRA race winner John Andretti, Andretti Autosport Short Track is located in the same facility as race and championship winning organization, Andretti Autosport. The team mirrors the philosophy of winning on the track with an equal focus on professional representation.

Kyle Wyman in a turn at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas

The challenges started early in the COTA effort for team KWR. In the 45-minute qualifying practice session on Thursday, Wyman experienced mechanical issues with the KWR Superbike. Wyman only made one flying lap in what would have been the longest session of the event, and the team was forced to use a completely stock motor for the balance of the weekend.

Wyman told K&N before race one that the issue with the race motor was a bit of a mystery.

Wyman's superbike is protected by K&N filtration and his head by his K&N painted Shoei

Without a fast time from Thursday, it was crucial for Wyman to put in a top-12 lap time on Friday to secure a spot to run for pole. Wyman lapped the COTA circuit in 2:11.126, which was good enough for 8th fastest in the session and qualified him for Superpole.

In Superpole, Wyman made good use of the Dunlop one-lap qualifying tire, or "Q" Tire, and ran the COTA circuit in 2:09.788. The time was nearly a second faster than his previous best time at the official test in March. Despite the stock engine, the time was good enough for a second row start on the grid at 6th place overall.

Wyman (#33) is looking to fight to the front of the pack in MotoAmerica

When race one started, it appeared the adversity was behind the KWR team. Wyman got a fantastic start as he became the fourth rider in a pack of six that was breaking away from the field. Unfortunately, on lap 2, Wyman made a mistake and crashed out of the race, taking Josh Hayes with him.

"[On] that part of the race track, you can kind of shortcut the curb and gain some time," Wyman said. "This time I took the risk and just barely lost the front, got caught up with the bike and it dragged me to the wall. It was a long crash, I almost saved it. I feel lucky to have come away relatively unscathed."

There is a stock engine under the KWR superbike bodywork

"You never want to finish lower than you qualify, but today I was happy to come away with ninth overall," Wyman said. "It was important for our team to leave COTA with some points on the board. Last year we left here with zero points, two DNFs. This time we have something to show for our efforts. After pulling a stock motor out of the truck and enduring a crash in the first race, I'm happy to have battled where we did. We got some great exposure for our local sponsor Motovation USA, and finished the weekend on a relatively high note."

Racing at the newly constructed Lucas Oil Raceway in Wheatland, Missouri

“It bounced back and forth between all kinds of sanctioning bodies that never seemed to accomplish much,” noted Mike Chastain of Lucas Oil. “Lucas Oil came in to stabilize it.”

According to Chastain, Lucas Oil was a sponsor of the previous drag boat racing sanctioning organization called International Hot Boat Association (IHBA). The oil company recognized that the organization and possibly the sport of drag boat racing was under threat of ending and its executives considered stepping in to save it.

“It came to the point where if we were going to get involved with racing we needed to take over and manage the series ourselves,” explained Chastain.

Lucas Oil decided to make the commitment.

“There were a lot of little club racing associations across the United States in all motorsports. What we did was came in and set up one sanctioning body with a stable set of rules nationwide,” Chastain added.

Chastain noted that the rules for a new sanctioning body were already in place. He gathered a committee consisting of racers that considered the rules and then passed a recommendation.

At that point Ken Dollar of Lucas Oil was selected as Director of the series and he met with Chastain and the racers to encourage them to move forward in making a stable set of rules that benefited safety and racing. After some time, stakeholders in the series established the rules and the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series was formed.

Next, Lucas Oil promoted the group.

“Everything we do in racing is television driven,” Chastain explained. “We’ve always been a huge company as far as promotions through print media as well as other methods, but primarily we are television driven. Lucas Oil Products was made from advertising on television. So we used that format. We worked with four or five networks including CBS Sports, CBS, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, SPEED, and our own network called MAVTV Motorsports Network.”

Then venues where races could be held had to be chosen.

“Some of the venues were already in place,” continued Chastain. “We met with promoters and we worked out agreements to get them to hold races for the organization. Other venues we created on our own. For us, our first priority was to keep the sport safe. That was our bottom line. It’s a dangerous motorsport and it’s hard to find facilities out there that are long, narrow, and shallow enough. So we researched all the different places that had facilities for racing and a good fan base. We considered locations like Phoenix, Arizona; San Angelo, Texas; which is a suburb of San Antonio, and more that had facilities available. Most of them were lakes that were long enough to take on drag racing boats. It takes about 4,000 feet of space to race and shut down because obviously the boats don’t have any brakes. You have to stop them using parachutes. We also didn’t want racers in water deeper than 20 feet because if something happens and the capsules of the boats get ejected, we needed to be certain that our rescue divers would be able to find them.”

Ultimately, venues were found in a number of states including Missouri, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Kentucky.

Most of the venues are used year after year, but the organization also tries to add new venues. Some are newly constructed including the Lucas Oil Raceway in Wheatland, Missouri.

“It is a $7 million facility that is the only one in the world specifically designed for drag boat racing,” added Chastain.

Drag boats can travel 1,000 feet in as little as 3.4 seconds at 250 mph

The Pro Class includes Top Fuel Hydros, Top Alcohol Hydros, Top Alcohol Flatbottom, and Pro Mod. Two types of hulls are used –- watercraft and outrigger style. The size of the engine for the Top Fuel category is limited to 500 cubic inches and the boats can use only nitro-methane and alcohol fuel. These boats travel at speeds of 250 mph and travel 1000 feet in about 3.396 seconds. The boats are designed to ride above the surface of the water because they feature a tunnel between the front sponsons. A W-drive propels the crafts down the track with twin props that rotate counter to each other at 20,000 rpms.

The Top Alcohol Hydros travel at speeds of more than 200 mph and commonly achieve 1,000 feet in 4.322 seconds. These boats may use alcohol or nitro-methane fuel and blown, or supercharged, engines and un-blown fuel engines that do not exceed 565 cubic inches.

The Top Alcohol Flatbottom boats travel a 1,000-foot course and have been known to achieve speeds that are more than 160 mph and achieve times of 5.2 seconds. The hulls are flat bottom with a minimum length of 16 feet. There are no horizontal breaks. The fuel and engine dynamics used in this class is the same as the Top Alcohol Hydros. However, screw blowers are not allowed.

The Pro Mod Class uses boats with a hydro style hull and V-drive. The engine has the same specs as the Top Alcohol Hydro and Top Alcohol Fuel, but there is no limit on cubic inches. Nitrous oxide is not permitted in the professional classes except in Pro Modified.

The Sportsman Class includes Pro Eliminator, Top Eliminator, Modified Eliminator, Stock Eliminator, and Quick Eliminator. The Pro Eliminator boats can use engines of any cubic inch displacement. That includes naturally aspirated, supercharged or fuel injected including electronic fuel injection systems. Fuels used include gasoline, alcohol, pure methanol, ethanol, nitro-methane, E-85, or nitrous oxide. The boats must stay within an 8.00-8.99 seconds index to compete.

The Top Eliminator competitors want to achieve 9.00 – 9.99 seconds index. The engine dynamics and fuel specs are the same as they are in Pro Eliminator. Engines for the sportsman classes can use superchargers or turbochargers. However, proper blower restraints must be used as required based on fuel used.

Boats in the Modified Eliminator Class strive for 10.00-10.99 seconds index. Any hull design with a V bottom is acceptable, but blown engines are not permitted.

The engine specs and dynamics as well as the fuel and hulls for boats in the Stock Eliminator class are the same as it is for Pro Eliminator, Top Eliminator and Modified Eliminator. These boats reach speeds of more than 95 mph.

The Quick Eliminator runs at speeds of 6-seconds per 1,000 feet. It is the fastest non-capsule boat class.

Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing is a fun event for competitors and spectators alike

Personal Watercraft 2 is the entry-level class for teenage racers with approved water safety class and parental consent. These boats travel a quarter-mile at 50 to 60 mph.

There are four divisions with its own group of classes.

Pro Class

• Top Fuel Hydro

• Top Alcohol Hydro

• Top Alcohol Flat

• Pro Modified

• Pro Outlaw

Division 1

• Pro Eliminator

• Quick Eliminator

• Top Eliminator

• Modified Eliminator

• Stock Eliminator

• River Racer

• Personal Watercraft 1

Division 2

• Quick Eliminator

• Top Eliminator

• Modified Eliminator

• Stock Eliminator

• River Racer

• Personal Watercraft 2

Division 3

• Pro Eliminator

• Quick Eliminator

• Top Eliminator

• Modified Eliminator

• Stock Eliminator

• River Racer

• Personal Watercraft 3

Minimum age for racers is 16 years old.

According to Chastain, new racers must get a license in order to participate in events. To get the license their boat must pass a safety inspection and the racer must perform a launch, and make a half pass and then a full pass while a committee watches. Committee members focus on a racer’s performance and decide if the racer deserves the license.

There are 10 national racing events per year. The season runs from March through the first weekend of November. The schedule is determined during meetings held in the fall each year with racers and Series executives. The schedule is published by January 1 each year.

K&N has been a sponsor of Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing and other Lucas Oil series since the beginning

Lucas Oil and the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series business partners fund a point system for every class. Pay off is given to the first place down to the 10th place finisher.

“Points are based on performance,” said Chastain. “A racer gets so many points when they enter an event, so many points when they qualify as well as points if they are the number one qualifier.”

K&N Engineering has been a business partner of the Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series for 12 years and has had a relationship with Lucas Oil for 15 years, said Chastain.

“They have been a heavy player with us in cross marketing and they have helped us reach race fans and racers,” he said. “K&N helps with print media, social media, and television, as well as with contingency programs with racers to promote the series.”

The schedule for 2017 is as follows:

March 31-April 2 Chandler, Arizona Valley of the Sun Spring Nationals

April 14-15 Parker, Arizona Colorado River Challenge

June 9-11 Wheatland, Missouri John Hass Memorial

June 23-25 San Angelo, Texas Showdown in San Angelo

July 21-23 Augusta, Georgia Augusta Southern Nationals

August 11-13 Marble Falls, Texas Marble Falls Lakefest 2017

September 1-3 Wheatland, Missouri 7th Annual Diamond of Drag Boats Nationals

Sept 30-Oct. 1 San Angelo, Texas Lucas Oil Fall Shootout

October 13-15 Parker, Arizona Lucas Oil Thunder on the River

November 3-5 Phoenix, Arizona Lucas Oil World Finals