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"That was so much fun," smiled Carl Renezeder as he pulled his Lucas Oil Skyjacker Pro-4 into victory lane for the second time in as many races this past weekend at the CORR opener in Pomona, California. Great racing was on display all weekend, but the Pro-2 and Pro-4 races on Sunday had the crowd cheering on their feet, while Renezeder worked his way past some tough competition.

Saturday's events seemed to go by in a blur as the three Pro divisions practiced, qualified and raced within a five hour window. Renezeder grabbed the pole in the Pro-4 division and the outside front row slot in Pro-2. He admittedly missed a bit on the set up in his Lucas Oil Pro-2 for the race, but still managed a third place finish. In Pro-4, the truck was flawless. He led from flag to flag and looked comfortable the entire way. During the live television coverage on SPEED Channel, both Bill Weber and Ken Stout talked about how significant a win it was after an off-season full of several changes to Renezeder's program – a new engine program and the retirement of his 11-year-old Chevy (the winningest truck in CORR history) being the two most drastic changes.

"We always knew this truck would be competitive," explained Renezeder. "We're glad we had most of last season to work all the bugs out, and we're excited to have a Pro Power motor under the hood this year. With the addition of Skyjacker to our program, and the reliability of our BFGoodrich tires, my confidence in this Lucas Oil Pro-4 is at an all-time high." And that confidence shined through on Sunday.

Renezeder's qualifying efforts were respectable on day two with a fifth and third place start in Pro-2 and Pro-4, respectively. But, it was the racing that caught everyone's attention. At the drop of the green, Renezeder spent the few laps before the mandatory caution feeling out the changes they had made on the Pro-2. As he idled around before the restart he simply commented, "I think we've got something for these guys." The green flag few again and he went to work. He held off a hard-charging Jerry Welchel and then made fantastic passes on both Todd LeDuc and Ricky Johnson. Unfortunately, he ran out of laps to battle with race winner Rob MacCachren and had to settle for second.

"I'm thrilled with two podiums in the opening two rounds," commented Renezeder. "Obviously, we want to win them all, but we know we have a great baseline for the season. We should be in the hunt every time."

The Pro-4 race was another display of smart racing and a flawless truck. Great battles throughout the race were just a precursor to the final lap. Rick Huseman had a three second lead on Renezeder as the white flag flew and he heard his spotter say, "this is your last lap...go get him." Renezeder caught Huseman over the table top jump, made a great move in the big bowl turn, drove perfectly through the rhythm section and then made a fantastic pass in the final turn to take the win.

"That's why I love racing," commented Renezeder after the race was over. It seemed to be the sentiment among most racers that day that did battle without ruining equipment. Driving the trucks onto the trailer and adding four more trophies to the case is a great way to start a championship campaign. Renezeder's got his fingers crossed that the next 13 rounds of racing have similar results.

AEM product offerings have spread to more than the automotive market. Recently, we were able to outfit a Trophy Kart belonging to Max Moncure of The Long Beach Racers with a DRYFLOW synthetic air filter and wideband UEGO gauge.

The mechanic for the Long Beach Racers' Trophy Kart had this to say about the Trophy Kart "The Long Beach Racers' Trophy Kart is an awesome little machine - With 16" front and 18" rear wheel travel, coil over shocks, a RobinSubaru 260cc engine, upgraded with an AEM DRYFLOW air filter it cranks out about 13 HP. The AEM UEGO gauge makes tuning the spec carburetor a snap."

Max races his Trophy Kart in the MMR (Mini Motorsports Racing) sanctioned events, which are the Best In The Desert and SXS, and Glen Helen series races. There are both short course and desert races included. Max is 10 years old, and in 4th grade at Grace Christian School in Long Beach when he's not wrenching on his Trophy Kart at the Long Beach Racers shop.

At the last NASA SoCal event at California Speedway, the JD team, in their 2007 Scion tC racecar, took the final step on the podium on Saturday in. Sunday's race would have new challenges, and the team would manage a fourth place finish in Performance Touring C (PTC). Still, it was a respectable performance given strong competition from Mazda-backed RX-8s along with a super-motor SRT-4. On both days, the team would take first in Time Trial C (TTC). The finishes in PTC bumped the team to 355 season points, a scant 15 points behind the leader.

The team is using the season to continue to develop the car for both PTC and Grand-Am's ST class, a serious challenge considering that their competition has years of development time on their cars.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed," said driver and team manager, Dan Gardner. "We go out to every event with the intention to win, but sometimes you just don't get the job done. Still, you try to remember it's one race event over the course of the whole season, and one race isn't going to make or break an entire points competition."

Gardner still was nursing an injured thumb, and one again donned the tape that made it possible to compete. His right hand would "freewheel" on the steering wheel while the left hand exerted most of the leverage.

Saturday's race began with a phenomenal start for Gardner, as he had a good bead on the green, upshifting just before it dropped to ensure he wouldn't be stuck wound out in the lower gear. With the gas mashed Gardner took decisive action and dove down onto the apron of the oval, shooting ahead of several cars. He maintained the position going into the infield.

The rest of the race was a dogfight between Gardner and one of the RX-8s. The RX-8 would nip Gardner in the end, crossing the finish line less than a second before the Scion. It was a clean race that would leave Gardner in third place.

Before Sunday's race, during qualifying, Gardner noticed that the car sounded like it had lost a cylinder. Coming in, Gardner's pit crew confirmed that's what it seemed like, but further investigation was needed.

A fluttering engine is never a good thing, but on further inspection, the team noticed that what had actually happened was that they had blown a good size hole in one of the runners of the header. Unsure exactly what had happened, the team decided to remove the downpipe, richen the tune a bit, and protect the motor with 112 leaded fuel. Shawn Church of Church Automotive Testing speedily sent the team a new map to use with the open exhaust. The tactic worked, although Gardner's ears would bear the wrath of the open exhaust.

Sunday's race would have Gardner moving up the starting grid a bit. The start wasn't quite as dramatic; still the Scion's torque again proved formidable, as the car showed itself to be a consistent beast on the start.

Despite fending off two of the RX-8s, the team would only manage a fourth place finish... still enough to earn Gardner and the JD team 80 more crucial season standing points.

"You just never know what's going to happen," said co-crew-chief Brad Allen. "Sometimes you're on pace, and sometimes you just have to keep working on things, while at the same time accruing some points. We'll be looking to kick some major butt at Buttonwillow soon. We're confident that the car's got it in it."

The JD Scion tC team uses

• Scion-supplied OE parts
• TRD-supplied supercharger and intercooler, front big brake kit, and limited-slip diff.
• Nitto 235/40R17 NT-01 tires
• Enkei RPF1 17x8 wheels
• Dezod-supplied AEM standalone engine management, plug and play harness, injectors, fuel pump, end links, and stainless clutch line
• Church Automotive Testing dyno tuning
• Moton Suspension coilover shocks
• Vogtland springs
• Progress Technology rear swaybar
• Motul brake fluid, engine oil, transmission fluid, and super coolant
• Racepak IQ3 logger dash
• AEM sensors
• Kaminari carbon fiber roof
• Royalty Auto Body body work
• America's Tire Co. tire mounting and balancing
• Recaro Pole Position Seats
• Centerforce clutch and low inertia steel flywheel
• AIT carbon fiber hood
• Wild Pony Motorsports-supplied camber/caster plates
• Goodridge stainless brake lines and oil cooler fittings and lines
• Carbotech XP10 and XP8 brake pads
• G-Force 5-point harnesses, racing suit, gloves, and helmet
• DC Sports Header
• Energy Suspension bushings and motor mounts
• HoseTechniques silicone hoses
• M-Workz alignment and corner balancing
• turn3 clothing
• NST shifter bushings

Papadakis Racing debuted its two drift cars at the FormulaD Long Beach opener with fresh graphics schemes announcing their relationship with new title sponsor Rockstar Energy Drink. Papadakis Racing was also proud to announce that long time technical sponsors AEM, Toyo Tires, Motegi Racing Wheels, SPC, ACT and Tokico Gas Shocks have pledged their support for the 2008 season.

"I am excited to have Rockstar Energy Drink as a part of our team and am proud that we are continuing the relationships we have developed with our technical sponsors again this season," stated Stephan Papadakis. "We rely on our technical sponsors for the products and support that helps us to achieve championships, and look forward to showing Rockstar what we can do and having them as a part of our family for a long time." Tanner Foust added, "Rockstar has puts its stamp on drifting by being the only non-OEM sponsor to field a two car team, and they have shown their commitment to action Motorsports by fielding two vehicles in both rally racing and drift. When you combine them with our technical partners, we feel like we have an unbeatable team that will be competitive for years to come."

IN RACING NEWS...

The Rockstar/AEM drift team continued their winning form from last season with Tanner taking the podium in third place overall for the event after several hard fought battles. Stephan had his best qualifying round ever at Long Beach and posted the fastest entry speed of the event, settling in 5th overall in the unseeded field heading into the 32 car elimination round.

FOXY'S RESULTS

The buzz around the paddock was all about the heightened level of competition, with vehicle prep and driver skill noticeably better than last season to all who were present. Tanner was conservative in qualifying and elected to focus on tandem rounds settling in as the 4th qualifier in the seeded field. In the first round of tandem eliminations Tanner drew Ryuji Miki, which was unlucky given Ryuji's D1 championship status, his skills in tandem competition and potential bad blood from their tandem round in Irwindale last year that cost Ryuji's mechanic his crew jersey, and Tanner knew it wasn't going to be easy. Using the grip of the R1R Toyo tires, Tanner pulled two-car lengths ahead when leading for the advantage, and attacked hard when following to advance to the Great 8.

The Great 8 was another unlucky draw for Tanner, pulling 2007 3rd overall finisher Daijiro Yoshihara and his GTO. Tanner was able to again pull away when leading and follow closely for the advantage, wishing all the while he had the Z when Rhys was in the GTO...

In the Final 4 Tanner drew Samuel Hubinette and the Viper, for what could arguably be one of the most difficult ladders in drifting. Tanner recalled two years ago when Sam beat him after an OMT (One More Time) and didn't want to be in that situation again, but history repeated after the cars mirrored each other after two passes. Tanner underestimated the speed of the Viper off the line two years ago and wasn't making the same mistake, so he stuck to the Viper and even put a nose on him when he went wide, but Sam closed the gap on the clipping point forcing Tanner to extend his drift with a four-wheel lockup. Unable to recover the line, Sam had the advantage.

The consolation round pitted Tanner against Kyle Mohan and his Mazda RX-7. Kyle was missing third gear, but Tanner wasn't about to underestimate him or the car, knowing it was capable of winding up to 9,000 RPM in 2nd gear. Tanner outran him when leading and matched his 2nd gear pace when following to take third place overall in the event. Noted Tanner, "Wow, props to Kyle for keeping that car drifting in 2nd. That was impressive."

Tanner continued, "Drifting is thriving! We had a capacity crowd and they had to turn people away, and I expect we'll see that at all the tracks this year. I love Long Beach because you have grandstands on both sides, so you can REALLY hear the crowd when they get loud. It's very cool!"

BIG PAPA'S RESULTS

Steph qualified fifth overall in the 18-car unseeded field during Friday's qualifying with an impressive 86 point run. The run looked very fluid and given Steph's previous experiences at this track it was a major step forward toward the tandem elimination rounds. "I felt good but I knew I had to make some changes to get to tandems," commented Steph. On Saturday, Steph continued to click off consistent passes during the 32-car elimination round and posted the fastest entry speed of the weekend at 64.9 MPH, but did not get the nod to advance to tandems.

Noted Steph, "Long Beach has always been intimidating for me because there is zero margin for error...there's walls everywhere and tight, decreasing radius turns. This is my third year here, and I felt more comfortable on this track than I ever have thanks to off-season practice. I have high expectations for myself this season and plan to build on the momentum from this event."

By MIKE MALLETT, DUNDEE, NY (April 12, 2008) – Justin Barger had the Sprint Car racing equivalent of a perfect game on Saturday night. Barger won his heat, captured the dash and then proceeded to claim his 11th career win in the 25th Anniversary Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint 25-lap A-Main season opener at the Black Rock Speedway.

"This is a good way to start the season," stated the 24-year-old Barger. "We won last year's opener and hopefully we can keep picking them off as the season goes on."

Barger, of Montrose, N.Y., started the event on the outside of the front row and took the lead at the drop of Danny Mulligan's green flag.

Barger pulled away from Brian McDonald, who had started on the pole, until the first caution of the event came out on lap three when Scott Bonnell, Tommy Wickham and George Suprick tangled in turn four.

On the restart, Barger again opened up an advantage over McDonald. Just before he reached the slower traffic at the tail of the field the caution came out once again on the sixth circuit when Anthony Cain and Michael Parent tangled in turn one.

Barger, who was extremely good on restarts in his AEM Dryflow Air Filters/Ohsweken Speedway sponsored ride, easily retained the lead when racing action resumed.

"Those cautions seemed to fall at just the right time for me," stated Barger. "The cautions opened up the track and I was happy because the car was really good on restarts. The only problem that I had was that it took a couple of laps to get my rhythm back."

Barger held on for two more cautions with the final caution being displayed on lap 16 when McDonald got sideways and almost into the wall off of turn four. This bunched up the field and placed the second place car of Bryan Howland right on the tail of Barger's Rider powered Maxim.

When the green flag came back out, Barger pulled away momentarily but was unable to shake Howland as he made several attempts to take the top position away.

On the final circuit, Barger led with Howland able to pull alongside in turn two. As the pair raced into turns three and four for the final time, Barger went high with Howland sliding to his inside. Barger, forced to avoid the slower car of Normand Beaudreault, came down the speedway and held on to win by half a car length over Howland.

"I saw him (Howland) get to my inside when we raced into three," stated Barger. "The slower cars were side-by-side and I couldn't get through so I had to come down and block him (Howland) a little bit."

Howland, of Auburn, N.Y., had to settle for a runner-up finish after starting from the inside of the second row.

"I had to check up so I didn't get into him (Barger)," said Howland. "I didn't want to drive into him. His car was on rails all night and he earned the win."

Lance Yonge, from nearby Penn Yan, N.Y., had a hard fought third place finish after battling for much of the event with South Onondaga, N.Y. driver, Doug Emery. Yonge started fourth and grabbed third for the final time on lap 16.

"Doug (Emery) and I have been at this a longtime," commented Yonge. "We gave each other enough room but it was hard racing."

Chuck Hebing, of Ontario, N.Y., came from the 11th starting position to finish in fourth while Emery had a shock bracket break in the closing laps causing him to finish fifth.

ESS/Black Rock Notes: A field of 28 sprints were on hand for ESS' earliest opener since 2003...With the threat of rain all day, the Black Rock staff did a great job getting the show completed in just three hours...The early opener did see some teams not ready: Both Andy Noto and James Hanson were spectators while Gordy Button, Brandon Warner and Bobby Magner just couldn't get their mounts ready in time...Both Jeff Cook and rookie Robbie Shuttleworth didn't attend due to sprint break vacation...Making his first ever ESS full point show appearance was Josh Weller...Next up for the Lucas Oil tour will be a May 25th visit to the Utica-Rome Speedway for a $2,000 to win event. This race will also be the first part of the GSSI I-90 Challenge where there will be a $1,000 point fund being offered.

Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Feature A-Main (25 laps): Justin Barger, Bryan Howland, Lance Yonge, Chuck Hebing, Doug Emery, Steve Poirier, Blake Breen, Josh Weller, Alain Bergeron, Jeff VanDusen, Dan Kaszubinski, Geoff Quackenbush, Jared Zimbardi, Normand Beaudreault, Brian McDonald, Bobby Breen, Gary Troutman, Scott Bonnell, Bubby Kerrick, Tim Kelly, Anthony Cain, Michael Parent, George Suprick, Tommy Wickham

Did Not Qualify – Cory Sparks, Mike Stelter, Chris Muhleisen, Lee Ladouceur

Heat Winners- Zimbardi, Parent, Barger.

B-Main Winner- Beaudreault

Dash Winner (4 Laps): Justin Barger