Phoenix, AZ – The weekends 27th Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix AZ was a great opportunity for the K&N Filters/Girls For A Change/Sullivan Racing Team to get out and get some more runs under their belt. Any time you can make four passes down the track and are able to learn from your experiences, most would call it a great weekend. “We didn’t qualify, but I am not discouraged. We learned a ton, and got some great data going into Vegas. We had some great people helping us this weekend, especially my dad and Mark Savage. I really believe everything will come together soon.” Said Sullivan.

This weekend seat time was extremely valuable for Katie having never run a National Event at Firebird before. The teams second through fourth passes were all very consistent 7.308 (Round Two), 7.233 (Round Three), and 7.324 (Round Four). Katie’s best MPH run was Round Two when she topped out at 186.15 MPH. While the team didn’t make the cut of 16, a trip to the desert is logged in, and the data will be useful when Firebird rolls around again in 2012. Stay tuned!

With the season winding down, it’s all about building strong momentum heading into 2012. Katie and the crew will take the next few weeks to run the data from Vegas 2010, do some testing and be ready for The 11th Annual Big O Tires NHRA Nationals at The Strip in Vegas October 27-30, 2011. “Now we just take what we learned in Phoenix, and put it to work in Vegas, so bring on Vegas baby!” Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying starts in the heat of the sun on Friday, October 28th, 2011 at 12:15PM. Temperatures are expected to be in the low eighties.

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About K&N Filters Corporation:

K&N Filters were originally developed for the excessive demands of Off-Road Racing. K&N’s High-Flow Air Filters are built to provide increased throttle response, horsepower and the protection you need to perform in the most extreme conditions. K&N also offers Performance Oil Filters that are built to withstand racing conditions. Manufactured with a Premium Synthetic filtration media, these oil filters are compatible and allow for the High-Flow rates associated with today’s synthetic oils. If you’re serious about Performance, choose a K&N High-Flow Air Filter, Performance Oil Filter, or Complete Intake Kits for your car, truck or motorcycle. Let your engine breath with K&N Performance Filters. Visit our website @ www.knfilters.com

About Girls For A Change:

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. Explore our web site to learn more about how you can join our movement and how girls are transforming our world and reinventing girl culture through GFC! www.girlsforachange.org

Photography: Craig Holsey

Phoenix, AZ – For Pro Stock Motorcycle driver Katie Sullivan and the Sullivan Racing/K&N Filters/Girls For A Change team, the season has been a series of ups and downs on the track, but off the track including recent testing at Medford, OR that they are making some serious headway towards taking that next step towards being competitive on a regular basis. “We have been at home making improvements and recently got to test at the divisional in Medford, OR,” Said Katie, “for once, it feels like we are finally getting ahead of the game.”

The team’s last competition was the Fram/Autolite Nationals at Sonoma, CA, which is their home track, and they laid down two solid passes in rounds one and four of qualifying, (Round 1) 7.192@ 184 MPH, and (Round 4) 7.141 @ 187.81 but the numbers were not quick enough to break into the field. The extra testing however, and solid data they have compiled, the team hopes to quicken up their ET’s to match the solid MPH numbers.

This weekend, the team heads to the desert, to compete in the 27th Annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix AZ, where the weather conditions call for temperatures reaching 100 degrees all weekend. “I’m so stoked to be in Phoenix for the first time ever in my racing career. I think we have a great shot this weekend.” Said Sullivan. “I feel pretty cool calm and collective going into this race.” The field will definitely be competitive, as 24 teams have entered competition in Pro Stock Motorcycle this weekend. There’s one thing for sure, the K&N Filters/Girls For A Change team will give it their all, and leave nothing back. “I can’t wait for Friday to get this bike rocking down the track again, and hope to be racing on Sunday”.

You can follow all of the action online at nhra.com or at dragracecentral.com. For more information about Kalifornia Katie Sullivan, visit her website at www.kaliforniakatie.com. To follow here on facebook, type in keyword Kalifornia Katie.

About K&N Filters Corporation:

K&N Filters were originally developed for the excessive demands of Off-Road Racing. K&N’s High-Flow Air Filters are built to provide increased throttle response, horsepower and the protection you need to perform in the most extreme conditions. K&N also offers Performance Oil Filters that are built to withstand racing conditions. Manufactured with a Premium Synthetic filtration media, these oil filters are compatible and allow for the High-Flow rates associated with today’s synthetic oils. If you’re serious about Performance, choose a K&N High-Flow Air Filter, Performance Oil Filter, or Complete Intake Kits for your car, truck or motorcycle. Let your engine breath with K&N Performance Filters. Visit our website @ www.knfilters.com

About Girls For A Change:

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. Explore our web site to learn more about how you can join our movement and how girls are transforming our world and reinventing girl culture through GFC! www.girlsforachange.org

It is really challenging to sit out from races, but it makes a lot more sense to show up to a race ready to rock. I have been that rider who is running up to the line still buttoning up the bike and throwing on my gear, but it makes it a lot more of a challenge that way. There is a lot to be said for being calm and confident in your program. That is the feeling I have right now. We have really had time to prepare.

To be honest the biggest place I have had time to prepare is with the mental aspect of racing. Sometimes I let my mind get the best of me. It is hard to not have 10 million thoughts in your head after being off a bike for so long. When we went to Medford I was able to get back to my calm self. Just clear my head and get the bike from the start to the finish line.

We have the rig all loaded, and my dad and I plan to be on the road by tomorrow afternoon. It feels great to be loaded and ready. I am really anxious to get on the road and get going. Today it has been a challenge to get the things done I need to get done, because I am so excited I can hardly sit still. However, I have a lot of homework and some graphics work to line out before I leave. I have to buckle down and get things done!

Throughout my racing career I have had an unbelievable amount of support and there are some people who I would like to congratulate on their recent wins. The first are Doug and Chris Bracey. I have known Doug and Chris since I was a little girl racing Jr. Dragster and they have always been so support of my racing. Doug and Chris both won Wally’s at the National Open in Redding, CA a couple weekends back. Congrats to an amazing husband and wife race team! The next is the Kris and Kevin Hool. I recently got to know the Kris and Kevin. They are brothers who run a Top Alcohol Funny Car together. They have been so great supporting us, and sponsoring us with their amazing Gripper Clean Products. They recently won at the National Event in Brainerd, MN. Huge congrats to them on such a big accomplishment!

It is amazing for me to watch these people win races. I really look up to the Hool brothers and Doug and Chris Bracey. I can’t wait to follow in their footsteps. So look out Phoenix, here we come!

- Katie

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My dad and I had made the decision to pull out of some races we were going to attempt this season, in order to go testing. I was able to make 8 passes on our pro stock bike 2 weeks ago in Medford, OR. Now I know compared to some teams, this is not a big deal. For us it was huge. That is the most runs I have ever been able to make on a pro stock bike in one weekend. It was great for me to be able to just ride my bike under absolutely no pressure. I had a complete blast, and it really got us pumped up for Phoenix.

It is really tough for me as a rider to be off a bike for a month or more at a time, and then hop back on one at a national event. I believe it has caused my riding to suffer a little bit. That is why testing was so big for me, and then for us to be able to hit so many consecutive races at the end of the year. I feel like this is really our chance to shine. As much as I hated to miss out on some races, I really believe we made the right decision.

Along with dreaming about racing all day and all night, I manage to find some time to work and go to school. Both are really going amazing. Tough Girl Designs is really in a pre mature stage of where I want the business to go, but it has still been great for me. I am in the process of trying to sell some things to come up with some money so I can get into screen printing. I am working really hard at pushing this business, and I have to admit it really is because of racing. As most of you know we are really on a shoe string budget for racing. Even with all of the sponsor searching I do, it has been really tough to come up with the money to go racing. The more I thought about it, I decided that instead of sitting back and just trying to find a sponsor, that I would work on my own way to help pay for the racing. Also, I have such a huge spot in my heart for the non-profit organization I work with called Girls For A Change, so I would love someday to be able to generate money for them as well. I know I am a big dreamer, but everything starts with a dream right?

Unfortunately I have some sad news to share, we recently lost our big track dog “Boo.” He had been one of our family members for quite a few years. If the family was headed to the race track, Boo wanted to be headed there too. He will be greatly missed. I guess we better win some races in his honor!

When I was in High School, I had a lot of great friends. However, I rarely went out and if I spent the night anywhere, I was gone by 5:30 in the morning and to this day that hasn’t changed. I have such a huge drive for racing, I spend a lot of my spare time in the garage. I love it, but I face a lot of criticism for it. There are people who tell me I am missing out in life, that I work too hard, that I am too uptight, and lots of things of that nature. Not only from people who I don’t really know, but also from people who I consider good friends.

When I began my path to ride a pro stock motorcycle, I have never felt so overwhelmed with negative criticism before. Once again from people who I really didn’t know, but also from people who I consider good friends. Then I was also facing comments at the race track from complete strangers. A lot of the time it would be guys who were joking around with their buddies, but they would make inappropriate jokes towards me or criticize my size, stature, or whatever they thought of that day. I would hold my tongue and try and be the bigger person and just turn and walk away. However, it was a really big challenge to get the criticism out of my head.

There have been times, when I have had to go in the motor home, or to the bathroom to get myself together. There has also been times when I have just had to call or find my mom and sister to vent too. It’s funny because I am so blessed to have so much great support in my life. I can’t believe all the people who have stood behind me, but there for a while in my life I was thinking more of the criticism then I was about all the support I had. I think it is so easy for people to take support, but criticism is a really challenging thing to take. This is especially true if it’s not constructive criticism.

The internet has also become a place for people to share their thoughts and opinions. Which I think is fantastic, but it also gives some people a sense of bravery. They feel compelled to say things they probably wouldn’t say in person. It is so easy to do that when sitting behind a computer. I have read some things about myself online that hurt me as well.

Now I want to be clear that the reason I am writing this blog is not for sympathy, it’s not to say poor me, because I feel quite the opposite. I have been able to learn how strong I truly am and have been blessed to learn some life lessons at a young age. The reason I wanted to share this is because I have learned that criticism can only keep you down if you let it. It’s so easy to get caught up in what people think of you as a person, but at the end of the day it really only matters what you think of yourself. If I had listened to the people who told me I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t be here. If I had listened to the people who told me I shouldn’t have my nose pierced or my hair dyed 17 different colors, well then I wouldn’t be being myself. If I didn’t work so hard, I probably wouldn’t be on a pro stock bike.

If you can accept yourself and love yourself, you will go far in the world. Nobody on this planet should ever make you feel like you’re not amazing, and they never will if you don’t let them. You can’t please everybody, but you can please yourself. I also, share this because sometimes it is easy to be the one to criticize others, and I know I am guilty of it. Now that I know what it feels like to be on the opposite side, I try to make everything I say positive, because I want to see others reach their dreams as well. I hope you will all do the same and don’t forget to dream big!

- Katie

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It is a pretty amazing place to go visit. Mark works for Al Billes Racing. Al is a great guy and his family is amazing. I love getting to hang out at their shop. I have never been in a shop with so many toys before, I am really grateful to Al for letting me hang out there when I am in town. I joke with Mark that when I pictured heaven, I pictured it like their shop.

As I headed home I was still sick, but my mind was racing about the things I needed to do when I got back in town. My dad and I were really trying to make it to Indy. The national event in Indy wasn’t on our schedule, but the closer it got, the more and more my dad and I want to be there. I had been trying to find some financial backing to help us get to the race, but I didn’t had any luck. In the end, that ended up being an okay thing for us. We decided it would be best to stay home and save our money to test. We also got to add Phoenix, AZ to our schedule which we are both really excited about.

Life at home has been busy too. I recently talked to my councilor at school and found out that in February I will have earned my Associates Degree in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I am still trying to decide if I will go on to earn a degree in business, or take some graphic design classes. I still have a little while to decide, but it has been on my mind a lot recently. Out of nowhere I also had this fantastic idea to go to school for welding. I am not sure where I get all these ideas, but they are never ending. Between school, work, and racing I do not spend much time at my own house. Luckily I have an awesome roommate and friend, Melissa Grens, who helps me look after my cats while I am gone so much. She is pretty amazing.

I wish I had some more to report about racing. We are still working really hard. My dad and I are always in the garage whenever we are not working trying to improve our bike and make everything perfect. I have also been spending a lot of time sitting on my bike making passes in my head. Sometimes I even make the sound effects…. But don’t tell anyone.

Take care!

- Katie

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Only about 4 years ago, I swung my leg over a drag bike for the first time. Only about 2 years ago, my dad and I started working on pro stock bikes. I have made less than 20 passes on a pro stock bike this season. My bracket motor blew up the first time out this season, so I have not been able to practice with a bracket motor. Basically the point is not to make an excuse when we struggle, but to look at what we are really working with and how far we have really come.

This is my 3rd season riding a pro stock motorcycle. When I really sit back and think of what my dad and I have accomplished, I can only really smile. I ran my first professional race when I was a senior in high school. I qualified for my first professional race when I was 18, I had only graduated from high school one week before. My dad and I began to run our own team when I was 19. Now today at 20, we are still running our own team. Just to have our own competitive pro stock motorcycle, be able to make the events we have, and have qualified for the ones we have has been an amazing feat. Not to mention the shoe string budget we have done this on. Now that is something to be proud of.

My dad has been a racer all his life. I am not sure if he believes he is blessed to have a daughter like me or cursed because of how much work I am for him. Regardless, he was the one who told me I could do it and has stood by my side the entire time. To be honest, I know my dad loves to ride and I am sure he is ready to be back on a bike full time.

However, he has put that aside to help me accomplish my goals. Not only do I have to thank him for that, but I have to say how truly proud and astounded I am by him. My dad is the crew chief on my bike, while we are competing with some of the best in the business. People who have done this for years and decades, who spend all of their time around these bikes. Then there is my dad, a drilling contractor. We work out of my parents little garage in our small town home in Corning, California. He is one amazing person.

The reason I want to push out the word struggle is because when I really think about it, we are learning. Every mistake, every day of bad luck, every good time, you learn. You learn what to do right, what not to do, who is around to help you, it doesn’t matter what you are learning as long as you are learning. And oh boy have we learned. Unfortunately we don’t always get to learn things the easy way either.

So back to how I feel about Sonoma. I feel like we are one step closer to being in that winner’s circle. I feel like we are one step closer to that top 10. I feel like we are one step closer to a championship. We will be a contender, there is no doubt in my mind. Of course through the learning we face criticism, but one of my favorite sayings about criticism goes like this: If you don’t want to be criticized, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.

-Katie

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Corning, CA – While the 2011 race season hasn’t been filled with positive results on paper for the Sullivan Racing/K&N Filters Pro Stock Motorcycle Team, it has however been very productive. They know that each time they are able to show up and get their four runs means valuable seat time, and being able to grab additional data from different tracks will only help for years to come. Add to that, having qualified for Gainesville and setting personal ET and MPH records the team is definitely making strides in the right direction.

Coming off a successful launch to the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Season, where the team ran its first of three ever 6-second passes, the learning curve seemed to advance in their favor. Unfortunately, they have been chasing that high since, hoping to find the same consistency. “It still gives me chills to think about Gainesville and not only running our first 6 second pass, but throwing 3 of them down.” Said Katie. “We showed that we do have what it takes to be out there. We are still learning and we have so much farther to go.” A couple of weeks later, that Gainesville high came back to reality in Baytown. All week long the team was fighting an electrical demon that eluded them and they eventually ran out of time trying to find it. “I definitely learned patience in Baytown. Struggling with an electrical issue is like finding a needle in a hay stack, and we just couldn’t get it figured out in time,” Said Sullivan. “Unfortunately it happens.”

Since Baytown, which was the team’s last race, Katie has been real focused on getting her graphics company, Tough Girl Designs, off the ground. Being self-funded, with assistance from K&N Filters with race operations, any opportunity to work extra hard and put some money aside means more races they can attend. The team last tested at the West Coast Challenge Motorcycle Race in early June in Sacramento. “Testing went great,” Said Katie. “We just wanted to make sure the bike was right after putting our Pro Stock motor back in. Unfortunately, we were unable to get out and do more Bracket racing, which I love, after I blew up my bracket motor in our first race of the year. So this was the first time we could get back out there, and the bike felt good.”

This weekend the team travels to Morrison, CO for the 32nd Annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway. Last year, Katie qualified 15th and was in the show for the first time during the 2010 Western Swing. The altitude and race conditions are difficult due to the elevation, but the team does have data to pull from last year and can hopefully dial in the new Pro Stock Motor and compete this weekend. “I am so excited for Denver.” Said Katie. “After my time off from the NHRA for a little while, I can’t wait to get back and show everyone what this K&N Suzuki can do. I have struggled a little bit at Denver in the past, so I am ready to get back and show that track what we are made of.”

Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying begins Friday, July 22nd at 3:45PST (Q1), and continues through Saturday at 3:15pm PST (Q4). You can follow all the action at nhra.com or at Drag Race Central.

For more information about Katie Sullivan and the Sullivan Racing Team visit http://kaliforniakatie.com. You can also follow Katie on Facebook.

About K&N Filters Corporation:

K&N Filters were originally developed for the excessive demands of Off-Road Racing. K&N’s High-Flow Air Filters are built to provide increased throttle response, horsepower and the protection you need to perform in the most extreme conditions. K&N also offers Performance Oil Filters that are built to withstand racing conditions. Manufactured with a Premium Synthetic filtration media, these oil filters are compatible and allow for the High-Flow rates associated with today’s synthetic oils. If you’re serious about Performance, choose a K&N High-Flow Air Filter, Performance Oil Filter, or Complete Intake Kits for your car, truck or motorcycle. Let your engine breath with K&N Performance Filters. Visit our website @ www.knfilters.com

About Girls For A Change:

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national organization that empowers thousands of teen girls to create and lead social change. GFC provides girls with professional female role models, leadership training and the inspiration to work together in teams to solve persistent societal problems in their communities. Explore our web site to learn more about how you can join our movement and how girls are transforming our world and reinventing girl culture through GFC! www.girlsforachange.org

Somebody asked me what I took from my experiences at my last NHRA race in Baytown. I would have to say that it was patience. Unfortunately things don’t always go how you want them too. I have learned that is more true in racing than any other aspect of my life. When things don’t go right, it doesn’t help to get upset or to lose your focus. When things go wrong I have had to learn to channel that energy and put it to use. It’s something I try to do in my everyday life and actually a skill one of my basketball coaches taught me. She would always say some days you struggle on defense, so you focus on offense. Some days you struggle passing, so you focus on shooting.

Basically, it doesn’t matter what you do to be productive, just be productive. So after we struggled in Baytown, I wasn’t about to mope around for 3 days. I started focusing on how we were going to improve and how to make our program better.

Of course life threw more obstacles in my way when we blew up our bracket motor after Baytown at a bracket race. My dad and I just loaded up our stuff, put smiles on our face and moved on in life. That night I have to say our garage got a very good cleaning. That was how I focused my energy after that experience. Life is just all about how you take things and I want to go as far as I possibly can in racing.

So tomorrow as I head for Denver, I want to be able to focus on racing. Right now I am working really hard to make sure I am ahead at work and in school, so I can put everything out of my head and just ride my bike the way I love too. I could not be more excited to be back in Denver. This will be my 3rd time there, and I have to admit the first 2 didn’t go as I hoped they would. My first experience in Denver, I was still riding Blake Gann’s Suzuki. I was struggling to make the bike go straight, and I failed to qualify. Blake was great with me though, and said Katie you will get them next time. Unfortunately, the next time we blew up a brand new motor that we had. We put in another motor and managed to qualify, but we just didn’t have the power to be really competitive. So heading to Denver this time, I am riding with a vengeance. It’s time for us to show everything we have learned and put everything we have into racing this coming weekend.

I have been so fortunate this year and there are a lot of other riders and people in the pro stock motorcycle class that have given us a big hand. There are a lot of people I really would like to thank. My biggest thank you’s really go to Eddie Krawiec and Gary Stoffer, but there are so many more. After we didn’t qualify at Baytown there were all sorts of people coming over to offer help. I would also like to give a huge thank you to K&N, this wouldn’t be possible without all their amazing products and their support. To everyone who has ever given us a hand or even an offer, I would just really like to say thank you. We have come a long way, and I do really appreciate all the help. I can’t wait to get this Kalifornia K&N Suzuki to the track!

Another project we have sitting in our garage right now is my mom’s dragster. She has yet to make it to a race this year. My dad and I have been really busy, and it’s hard to get to everything. We just made a great buy on a little bit better dragster for her and we are going to sell the one she has now. I can see that she really would love to be at the track racing, but she is so great to me and she makes sure we stay on top of our bike stuff. I have been racing since I was about 9, and my mom has been there through it all. I actually remember her first pass down the drag strip was on mother’s day, I was probably 15 at the time. We talked her into racing her Subaru Legacy. At first you could tell she was a little unsure, but after her fist pass I could tell she was having a good time. Now to see my mom climbing in a dragster doing 135 mph is a pretty amazing thing. I must say I am pretty proud of her.

Now that we have had to take a little time off from racing, I have had the chance to kind of reflect on racing I have done over the years. One thing I think about often is the time we spent racing a stock car at the dirt track. My brother, Chance, drove the car. Now you want to talk about some crazy times, those nights at the track were some I will never forget. I remember when we first started running the car, I was too young to be back in the pits. Of course being the stubborn race loving little girl that I was, I wasn’t about to be left out of the fun. I needed to be back where the action was and where I could help. So I may have fibbed that I was a year older then I was at the time, in order to get back there.

It seemed there was never a dull moment at the dirt track. There were always fights and people yelling. It was a whole new concept for us going out and watching your car get smashed to pieces. In drag racing we take our stuff home and tinker, in dirt track racing we took our car home and cut it all up and had to weld it all back together. Even with the high tension environment, I never saw my brother take part in it. One of my favorite memories is a time Chance’s car had go smashed up pretty good, and he was knelt down next to it looking at the damage. Another racer’s girlfriend came over just yelling and screaming at Chance saying all this stuff about how he wrecked her boyfriend’s car. Chance looks up at this girl while she is just screaming and putting her finger in his face, then he looks back at what he is doing and just continues on. He never said a word, he just didn’t miss a beat. It’s funny, but that kind of taught me something. Chance’s even temper towards other people, helped me see the racer I wanted to be. We had some great times with that dirt car, and I miss the time we got to spend with my brother doing it. I wouldn’t trade those experiences we had for the world, but I’m going to stick with drag racing.

Another funny memory I have involves my sister Kristin. We were pretty young and both of us were driving jr. dragsters. Now when I was younger somehow I had developed a skittle addiction. Of course Kristin being the jokester she was decided to steal the skittles I had and hide them. Well she decided to hide them in her Jr. dragster and then she forgot they were there. Next time we go up to make a run, we are all watching Kristin, and pretty soon you can see little pieces flying off of her car. Everybody was in a little bit of a panic thinking that Kristin’s car was spitting out parts. As the safety guys head down the track and start cleaning up, they see that Kristin had split skittles down the track. Now I laugh, but at the time I wasn’t all that happy about the wasted skittles.

I think I can honestly sit back and say that my family has played such a huge role in the love and passion I have for racing. I literally grew up at the race track and that is where all my memories are from. When I raced Jr. dragsters I used to watch some parents yell at their kids when they made mistakes, and you could tell that the kids didn’t want to be there. I think some of the parents forgot that they were really there for their kids. I can guarantee had my parents treated me that way, I never would have loved racing the way I do. As a family we took racing very seriously, but we also had an amazing time doing it. So I owe my family such a huge thank you for all I have accomplished! This picture was taken when I was racing a divisional race with my turbo bike in Oregon. Chance is in the middle and his friend Ryan is on the right. We had a complete blast that weekend!