Peterson Media
As we continue to improve our shock company we feel it is essential to work close with our customers and dealers to constantly improve our overall products. As long time racers we understand the importance of innovating and improving to stay ahead of the competition.
As the 2012 season got under way, we took an aggressive approach to improving our slick track shock package. Getting the right balance for slick track conditions is no easy task. At the same time we had decided to move our shock company to California so we could be closer to the type of racing that we sell to, The Open Wheel Market. Once we got to California we started going to the races every weekend with different teams at different competition levels, and worked on new shock packages to try. We worked on everything from Winged cars to Non-winged Cars 360, 410, Midgets and Micro Sprints. When the Outlaws got to California, we put a completely new shock package on Cody Darrah’s car and it was better, but still needed to be refined. At the same time we were sending shocks around the country to customers and dealers that were really good with feed back. As the weeks went by, we found ourselves getting better in more than just the slick conditions, we were gaining in all areas. As we started to put all the pieces together we headed to Watsonville with FK dealer, Brent Kaeding, to try out the latest valvings. Brent was immediately impressed with the heavy track setup and felt improvements in all areas. As luck would have it the track went dead slick and Brent would start 22nd, giving us the opportunity to run the new slick shock package in traffic. Brent’s car was stuck all over the race track and passed most of the competition running right through the slickest part of the track! Brent charged all the way up to 2nd, and at that point it was obvious to us that we were on the right path.
As the season started to wind down we were able to get our new valvings into the right hands. Paul McMahan, Brian Leppo and Cody Darrah were the class of the field at the National Open at Williams Grove Speedway. Two weeks later, Cody again had really good car speed at I-55, and we were definitely gaining on it! The next weekend we went to Tulare’s Trophy Cup and cleaned house. Bud Kaeding won both non wing features in the same night. Kyle Hirst won the feature the final night and Jason Meyers won the overall points. That led us to the World of Outlaw World Finals in Charlotte where Daley Blaney simply dominated the slick track with the new shock package! Paul McMahan also had an impressive finals charging from 22nd to 2nd. Wanting to keep the momentum going we sent Ian Madsen a loyal FK customer a few of the new shock valvings. Ian has been one of the best cars in Australia winning on slick and heavy tracks with some of the best competition in the country. To close out 2012 and open 2013 we headed to the Tulsa Shoot Out, the biggest Micro Sprint race of the year. We went to the Shoot Out to support our customers and what we saw was impressive! Out of the 900+ cars only 10 of them were on FK shocks. Out of those 10 cars 3 of them brought home wins and two of them went undefeated on the weekend! Michael Faccinto, Chris Andrews and Heath Duinkerken dominated the top classes at the Shoot Out and ended the 2012 season with a BANG!
I sincerely want to say thank you to all the teams that contributed to our progress in 2012
Are we done?… Not even close, We are literally just getting started!!!!