FORD AND K&N TEAM UP TO SUPERCHARGE THE 2011 K&N HORSEPOWER CHALLENGE

Riverside, CA--February 25, 2011: The start of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing season on February 24th will mark the resumption of the hotly contested battle among Pro Stock competitors for one of seven guaranteed spots in the 27th annual K&N Horsepower Challenge which will be held on June 25th at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.

In revealing some of the details of this year's edition, K&N officials today confirmed that for the second straight year the eighth and final starting spot will be filled by a popular vote. "2011 marks our fourth year as the sponsor of the K&N Horsepower Challenge, and I'm proud to say the event continues to get bigger and better," said Steve Williams, Vice President for K&N. "For example, last year we introduced the fan vote, which was a huge success thanks to a great response by the fans as well as the many Pro Stock drivers who actively campaigned to be chosen for that coveted eighth starting spot. This year, we're going to take everything we learned over the last three years and put it into making the 2011 K&N Horsepower Challenge the best ever. Even though the NHRA season doesn't start until next month, we're already off to a great start, with the Ford Motor Company providing one of their totally redesigned 2011 Ford Explorer XLTs that will be awarded as the grand prize to one lucky fan at Summit Motorsports Park."

The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a unique race-within-a-race pitting the seven NHRA Pro Stock racers who have accumulated the most qualifying points over the last year and one driver selected by the fans in a three-round, high-dollar shootout, with the winner pocketing $75,000. This celebration of the factory hot rods also includes the fans, who enter the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes online at KN Filters, with eight finalists receiving a trip to the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

On the day of the event, each finalist will be randomly paired with one of the eight qualified drivers, with the finalist whose driver wins the K&N Horsepower Challenge taking home a brand new 2011 Ford Explorer XLT courtesy of Ford. As a three-time and defending champion of this specialty race, Pro Stock standout Greg Anderson is well-versed on what this race means to the fans, as well as the entire Pro Stock category. "K&N is such a tremendous company, and one we are so proud to be associated with," said Anderson. "We are so grateful for everything they do for Pro Stock throughout the year, from the bonuses for the low qualifiers and tremendous products they make for our race cars to the K&N Horsepower Challenge, which is our most enjoyable race of the entire season. "Every year at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Norwalk, the eight best cars in our category get to line up and race for a ton of money without having to worry about points. It's a tremendous event that brings out the best in all of us. On top of that, we get to share the excitement with the fans with this year's winner driving home a new Ford Explorer. It's just a win-win deal for everyone concerned. We were fortunate enough to win the Horsepower Challenge last year with our Summit Racing Pontiac, which was the highlight of our season to that point, and catapulted us to the championship."

"It was also great to share the winner's circle with Stephanie, the fan who won the Harley and was just as excited as we were. All in all, it was a tremendous day, so we're naturally looking forward to getting back there to defend our title and help another fan drive home in a new SUV." No purchase necessary. Sweepstakes ends May 27th at 3:00 PM PT. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Sweepstakes is subject to full official rules found at < KN Filters.

Void in NY and FL and wherever else prohibited.

K&N Engineering, Inc., with headquarters in Riverside, California, has been the world's leader in performance filter technology since 1969, serving the needs of the automotive, motorcycle, marine, industrial, military and commercial markets. K&N is heavily involved in nearly every form of motorsports, from off-road and powersports, to drag racing, stock cars and road racing.