Kozak Motorsports Marketing
Mike Knowles’ Blown Money Team Hoping for a Better Outing at NHRA O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals
Courtesy of Kozak Motorsports Marketing
Photo By Roger Richards
Grand Junction, CO – Mike Knowles and his Blown Money team have found some consistency early this season but need a little good luck to move to the next level. Heading into the O’Reilly Auto Parts Spring Nationals Knowles sits
sixth in NHRA Pro Modified points and if not for some bad luck at the previous race in Charlotte the team could be a few rungs higher on the points ladder.
“After our first round win at ZMax we performed our regular maintenance but we didn’t start the engine until our routine warm up prior to our second round match up with Brad Brand. When we tried to fire the car the starter swung over free, like it wasn’t turning anything.
We thought it wasn’t engaging or the starter was bad but found out that the flex plate bolts sheared off. With no time to go through the rest of our pre race routine we quickly pulled the transmission and replaced the bolts with just enough time to get to the starting line. Mike was a little off on his reaction time and we didn’t have the right tune up in her; we just knew we needed to get up there for the points and hope for the best,” said Car Chief Bill Rice.
Blown Money Team Looking for Progression at NHRA Four Wide Nationals
Grand Junction, CO – Mike Knowles and his Blown Money team are looking to build on the early season success they had at the season opening Gator Nationals.
At the season opener Crew Chief, Brad Personett, and Car Chief, Bill Rice, gave their driver a consistent machine during eliminations, posting back to back 5.91 and 5.92 runs as well as qualifying in the top half of the field. While the team looked at the race as a success they know that they cannot take a break.
“We were very pleased after the Gators but we know that we need to build on what we learned there. This is a new team this year, lead by Brad Personett and Bill Rice. We basically started from scratch this off-season and are learning together; every run. I’m very proud of my team and I really think we will continue towards our goal of a NHRA national event win,” said team owner/driver Mike Knowles.
Blown Money Team Looking Forward to first ADRL Dragpalooza Experience
Courtesy of Kozak Motorsports
Photo By Roger Richards
Grand Junction, CO – Mike Knowles and his Blown Money will make their first trip to the ADRL’s famed Dragpalooza this weekend. While Knowles competed in the ADRL’s first legal Pro Mod race last season, where Knowles took top qualifying
honors, this weekend will mark his first Dragpalooza.
“We had a great time last year in Virginia,” said Knowles. “The ADRL experience was great but I’ve heard a lot about Dragpalooza and the Houston area ADRL fans and I’m really looking forward to the experience,” added Knowles.
Mike Knowles’ Blown Money team features the two man crew of Brad Personett and Bill Rice, one of the smallest crews in professional drag racing. The duo share maintenance chores on the vehicle with Brad calling the final shots on the tune up. Personett is proving to be a well rounded racer both behind the wrench and behind the wheel. When Personett returns to the seat of his turbocharged Camaro later this season he will continue to make the calls on Knowles’ Supercharged ride as well as his own car.
Bauer Racing to Unveil New Look at Buffalo Motorama
Elma, NY – Elma, NY based Bauer racing will debut a new look on both team cars at the Buffalo Motorama this weekend.
The father and son team of Bob Bauer and Robert Bauer are looking forward to the 2012 season and the public’s reaction
to their new look. “We made some big changes to both mine and Robert’s cars over the off-season,” said the elder Bauer. “Our cars now have matching paint schemes that were designed by Justin Spencer of Competition Designs http://www.competitiondesigns.com and applied by Scott Jahren of SJ Paint http://www.scottjahrenpaint.com and Dan DeLaney of Dan the Sign Man http://www.dansignman.com.
My 09’ Top Sportsman GTO now features a new 738 Nitrous fed Mountain Motor, freshened by Jan-Cen Racing Engines, which should help us this year especially in the PMRA Quick 32 series. None of this would be possible without the help of my main sponsor, Galaxy Auto Place and my Crew Chief and head fabricator, Mike Mitchell,” added Bauer.
Along with the new look Bauer Racing will debut new team T-Shirts at the event. The shirts were designed and printed by Stith Printing of Santa Fe Springs, CA http://www.stithprinting.com/. The shirts will be available for purchase at this weekend’s 2nd Annual Buffalo Motorama.
Quarter Final Finish at Gators for Mike Knowles
Courtesy of Kozak Motorsports Marketing
Gainesville, FL – Heading into the season opening Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals, presented by NapaFilters.com, Pro Modified’s Mike Knowles was eager to show what he had worked on this past off-season. After a few months of R&D along with several on track test sessions Knowles knew he had something for his fellow competitors.
“I mean yea, we knew we weren’t going to set any records but we knew we were right there with the rest. The progress we’ve made over the off-season has given our team a new confidence and we couldn’t wait to show it. Brad (Personett) and Billy (Rice) work great together. I know it’s only two guys but they can do more than most teams with a dozen guys,” said Knowles.
Knowles walked the walk when he qualified his “Blown Money” ’68 Camaro in the top half of the field with a 5.964 at just over 240 miles per hour. That run paired him in first round eliminations with the ’69 Daytona of Baldwinville, Massachusetts’, Pete Farber. Knowles posted a psychic reaction time of 0.007 and took the win with a 5.91 elapsed time at just under 242 miles per hour.
