PN 2950 - LS2/LS3 Master Kit 

We're getting ready for the doors to open on Thusday at the PRI Trade Show in Orlando, Florida. You can bet that racers will be trolling the aisles filling out their Christmas wish list with high performance goodies. We'll have our new Atomic LS on display as well as other cool new products!

The show is Thursday through Saturday, we hope to see you there!  

Ignition System
Xtreme Street Division:
1st: School of Automotive Machinists (Jud Massingill): MSD Ignition
2nd: Jon Kaase Racing (Jon Kaase): MSD Ignition
3rd: BES Racing Engines (Tony Bischoff):

Street Division
1st: Bradley Built Engines (Brad Nagel):
2nd: Danny Miller’s Hot Heads Gene Adams / Smithberg Racing (Bob Holmes):
3rd: Power Shop (Joe Carroll):

8.5mm Super Conductor Spark Plug Wires
Xtreme Street Division:
1st: School of Automotive Machinists (Jud Massingill): MSD
2nd: Jon Kaase Racing (Jon Kaase): MSD
3rd: BES Racing Engines (Tony Bischoff): 

Street Division
1st: Bradley Built Engines (Brad Nagel): 
2nd: Danny Miller’s Hot Heads Gene Adams / Smithberg Racing (Bob Holmes):
3rd: Power Shop (Joe Carroll):
Congratulations to all the winners!

 

MSD Performance is pleased to announce that the MSD PowerGrid Ignition System has been approved for use in the NHRA Pro Stock class beginning January 1, 2013. 

The PowerGrid is the next generation of programmable ignitions with increased spark energy and improved programming capabilities.  The PowerGrid system comprises of two components; the Controller, PN 7730, and the power source, PN 7720.  

The PowerGrid system will provide racers with a number of updated features and programming opportunities including: 

• Simple USB connection for laptops  
• Control timing based on engine rpm, gear value, and/or time  
• Advanced cylinder timing based on gear or time  
• CANbus connection for Racepak Data Loggers allows all the ignition data to be displayed on Racepak software  
• Five retard stages for extreme nitrous setups 

Racers can download the MSD View programming software at No Charge by visiting this link.

Also, check out www.4wdmechanix.com where they have a detailed story on an inline-6 Jeep Atomic EFI install. 

Roger Conley, Race Director for MSD Performance, offered “David is a staple of the racing community and a wealth of knowledge regarding racing ignition, data systems, and integration. We are very excited to offer our customers an even higher level of on and off track support through our combined expertise.”

Electrimotion will be conducting ignition education seminars throughout the racing season, as well as offering on track support for MSD Performance’s racing products at select events. Electrimotion will also continue to serve as an Authorized MSD Performance dealer to support racers’ needs. 
Visit www.msdperformance.com and www.electrimotion.com for more information about available products and services.

 Yes, you read right! Get a free MSD Air Cleaner Kit with the purchase of an Atomic EFI kit purchased between July 1, 2012 and October 31, 2012. This offer is good for both PN 2900 or 2910. Make sure to click on the image below and read the small print.

 
March 7, 2012

Re: Atomic EFI Availability

Dear Atomic EFI Customer:

I would like to thank all of our current and future customers for the overwhelming interest and positive response to our new MSD Atomic EFI system. From the start, our goal was to deliver an electronic fuel injection system that reduced wiring, was the easiest to install, increased horsepower, looked great under the hood and gave you the performance benefits of electronic fuel injection. When we finished the development and all the testing, we knew we had accomplished our goal. We also were optimistic that enthusiasts like you would recognize the benefits and buy the Atomic.

Well, the last two months have shown we were right about both the quality of the product and that the market would want it. However, we underestimated how many customers would want to buy the Atomic EFI as soon as it was introduced. The acceptance by the market for the Atomic EFI has been unbelievable and exceeded our wildest expectations. Even though we have continued to increase our shipping of Atomic EFI systems every week since mid-January, orders continue to significantly outpace our original planned capacity, which has resulted in customers having to wait to get their Atomic EFI system.

The MSD team has been working overtime to increase production and we’ve taken the following actions to catch up on the Atomic orders:

• Expediting delivery of all system materials

• Tripling production capacity by adding people, second shifts and overtime

• Setting up a second dyno team (every system is tested on an engine dyno)

Our goal is to be current with orders by mid-April unless we have material delays or new orders continue to exceed our adjusted forecast. I apologize to you for having to wait for your Atomic EFI system but I know the first time you start your engine with the Atomic, you will realize it was worth the wait. In addition, MSD is also extending the free MSD 6A promotion through the end of May to ensure everyone that orders an Atomic EFI system by May 31, 2012 won’t miss out on this great offer.

Thank you again for your interest in the Atomic EFI and your support of MSD.

Best Regards,                                    

Russell Stephens
President  

MSD’s Director of Sales Ed Monte was quickly approaching YEN’s 40 year old cut off age when he was asked to take part in the Member of the Month interview. Follow the link below to read about Ed and his interview with YEN. 

  http://www.sema.org/news/2011/12/01/ed-monte-yen-member-insights-december-2011 

Congratulations to Ed on “Graduating” YEN and turning 40! 

So, when that much effort and care go into a new product, it is only natural to be a little anxious for those first customers’ reactions. Well, the good news keeps coming in!  

The latest comments are from Paul Faessler and his team at  Paul’s Automotive Engineering, out of Cincinnati, OH, who are some of the first end users to install and use an Atomic EFI. The PAE team bolted the Atomic onto a customer’s ’69 Mustang as soon as the package shipped to them. In their online review Paul’s team says, “The return-less system was a breeze to install.” Paul also tells us that the 351W Mustang fired up on the first turn of the key and that they are extremely pleased with the drivability of the Atomic EFI system.  

At the end of the review PAE said that they expect the Atomic EFI to be very popular – and they are absolutely correct! In fact, the market’s response to the Atomic EFI has been so overwhelmingly positive that orders are far exceeding our sales forecast creating a short-term backorder situation. MSD is currently doing everything possible to increase production and fill backorders ASAP but every Atomic unit is dyno tested and goes through a rigorous QC process. MSD is only able to ship a limited quantity each week. However, we are committed to getting the backorders resolved shortly and  promise the Atomic EFI will be worth the wait!

In the meantime, we look forward to hearing more rave reviews about how easy the Atomic EFI is to install and how it is delivering a much better driving experience.  If you have written a review, or you find one online, please email a link to socialmedia@msdperformance.com. 

Thanks to Karl Fredrickson/Speedway Illustrated for the article.

We will resume normal operation on Tuesday December 27th.

Happy Holidays from everyone at MSD! Keep in mind that MSD will be closed December 26th and January 2nd to give our employees time to enjoy the holidays with their families. We will be open Tuesday, Dec 27^th -30^th. We will resume normal operation on Tuesday, January 3rd. Thank you for your patience and we'll see you at the races in 2012! 












 

If you lucky enough to go, make sure and stop by the MSD Tech Support trailer in the midway and say hi to the MSD crew!

At MSD we always strive to make the best products and offer the best customer service. Only you, our consumers, can tell us how we are really doing at the job though. Please take 2 minutes of your time and fill out a quick online survey to let us know what you think by CLICKING HERE.

Thanks to Carina Dahl for the photos! 
 


 
 
 
 
 


 

 
  

Larry Dixon finally scored his first of the season by outrunning Antron Brown in the final round. In Funny Car, Robert Hight won his fourth race of the season by overcoming Jack Beckman in the final. Pro Stock had Mike Edwards deny Erica Enders a milestone victory as she tried to become the first woman to win in the history of Pro Stock category. Melanie Troxel raced to her first victory of the season in the Pro Mod category. Congratulations to all the winners!

Fans who got to IMS early had the opportunity to sign up to ride in a two seater IndyCar. Unfortunately, the rides sold out before we could convince the boss to pay for our ride. Nonetheless we are sure it was just awesome for those that got to participate. Just getting to see and hear the cars go around the track was pretty cool for the rest of us. At the end of the day, the entire Power Tour had the chance to take their hot rods on a lap of the 2.5 mile oval and go across The Bricks. This stop is sure to be one to remember, but now we are off to Michigan!

 In true hot rodder spirit the community has banded together. There are plenty of cars that have had to pull off to the side of the road for one reason or another, but no one has been left behind. Today one of the cars had issues with a competitor’s ignition parts and a group was able to put together enough spare parts, including items from MSD’s support trailer, to keep him on the road and on the way to the next event.

 We look forward to more great days like this, helping out customers and having a great time with the hot rod community. Roll on Power Tour!

To fill the time, we took an old MSD vehicle to the drag strip at South Georgia Motorsports Park for a little fun. Check out the pictures attached see all the fun we had!

Go here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/160598730858?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fmotors.shop.ebay.com%3A80%2Fi.html%3F_nkw%3D160598730858%26_sacat%3D%26_dmpt%3DMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories%26_odkw%3DMSD-V%26_osacat%3D0%26bkBtn%3D%26_trksid%3Dp4506.m270.l1313%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc=1#ht_3208wt_1165 

Are “Low Resistance” Spark Plug Leads all the same? 

Scott Bryce – PROFORMANCE MOTORSPORT 

After many months of annoying black spark plugs, Proformance Motorsport recently changed our Spark Plug Leads to the Awesome MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Leads.  

The Result – AN INCREDIBLE IMPROVEMENT!!  

When our new small block Chev engine was screaming between 5000 and 8000 RPM on the engine Dyno our new race engine showed absolutely no signs of poor spark or poor performance. The motor sounded awesome, our crew was excited and we all thought “Job Done”, lets get it bolted into the race truck! 

Our problems started after the engine was bolted in our truck and the engine was run at idle a few times to manoeuvre our race truck inside our race shop or when the beast was loaded on or off our race car transporter. 

When driven at slow speeds, or when running at idle for a few minutes, the motor would start to backfire and run badly (Very Badly). Our Digital Dash quickly pointed out the problem - the front four engine cylinders were burning at lower temps than the rear cylinders.  

Further investigation showed that the front two front spark plugs (Cylinders 1 and 3) were completely fouled with thick black carbon, resulting in absolutely “No Spark”. The next two spark plugs (2 and 3) were removed and found to be black with carbon, (not quite as bad as 1 and 2) and the rear most plugs (5-8) were a nice Tan colour as we saw on the Dyno. 

A quick change of the front four spark plugs (Cylinders 1-4) saw the engine come to back life and BOOM, our race truck engine was again the fire-breathing beast we all saw on the engine Dyno. We took the Truck out Testing and the engine screamed at high revs, ran for hours of testing and everyone was again happy.  

After loading the truck up on the trailer and moving it around the workshop (dozens of times) to make way for other vehicles, our crew began to notice the bad idle and backfiring had returned! 

Without even looking at the data logger or exhaust temps, we quickly removed the first four plugs and sure enough they were again covered in black soot and carbon, resulting in NO SPARK. We checked the ECU parameters, Air Fuel Ratio, Computer Settings, we changed coils, checked our ignition wiring, checked our fuel pressures, checked compression – we checked everything and found nothing. Every time we put in a new set of plugs, the engine was FINE when driven hard, but when driven at low speeds, moving the truck back and forth to car shows and events, and around our property, the front four spark plugs would simply foul up after 10-20 minutes of low speed driving. 

A good friend of mine Kevin happened to be visiting our race shop whilst I was again busy changing my spark plugs (for the 6^th time in a few short months) and asked me if the problem could be a spark plug lead. Whilst I appreciate that Kevin is a very smart business person, a race engine builder he is NOT, so I initially shrugged off his “Silly” idea suggesting to Kevin that all four front cylinders are playing up and the chances of me having Four Dead leads in a single batch were pretty low because the plug leads were brand new only 3 months ago. 

Then it hit me! When we had the engine on the Dyno, because of the longer lead lengths needed to fit the engine and computer harness onto the Dyno, our team had used some “old” leads from one of our big block Hummer Engines. The brand new leads I was running on the Small Block were indeed new, but a Brand and Type I had never used before. 

I suggested to Kevin that I thought the longer leads running to the front cylinders could have a much greater resistance than the shorter leads (Half the length) that feed the rear cylinders and that the longer leads are resulting in poor spark at low revs, but could be working ok at higher revs. 

I quickly removed the longest of my now “questionable” (3 Month Old, Brand XXX) spark plug leads and replaced the spark plug lead with an old MSD lead that I had lying around on a shelf. Even with the fouled spark plug, the dead cylinder that was fitted with the MSD Lead fitted came back to life and the exhaust temp of that cylinder came back to normal. I immediately thought, “Now we were getting somewhere”. I was super excited and Kevin was feeling a bit smug knowing it was he that had suggested the lead or leads in the first place. (Don’t you hate it when one of your mates pops around and solves your 3-month problem in a few seconds)? 

Not satisfied with the test results, I had to know why one lead worked and the other did not. I measured the leads and the resistance was low as suggested by both manufacturers.  

Anybody that knows me will understand my absolute passion to get to the bottom of something and I just “had to know” what was wrong with this questionable lead (And the other three leads that were are causing the my spark plugs to foul up with carbon. 

I then grabbed 3 month old, super duper “low resistance, Brand XXX “racing plug lead” (I have not mentioned the Brand - it makes my blood boil) and cut it in half to look inside. I then stripped the shiny and brightly coloured (Yes they did indeed LOOK like they belong on a race car) silicon outer layer to reveal the “conductor core” of the plug lead (the bit that sends the electrical spark to the plug) 

Much to my surprise (After spending quite a few of my Race $$ on this high quality set of “Race Leads”), the plug lead I was holding in my hand had an “inner core” that I can only describe as a tiny 2.5mm black flexible rubber “o-ring” stretched out straight. Being an electronics engineer, I understand that a low resistance lead will result in greater spark at the plug, but I thought how the hell is electricity ever supposed to travel down this black rubber stuff? (We are all told at school that rubber is after all an insulator right?) I know that Spark Plug Lead manufacturers advertise graphite core, carbon core, low resistance leads etc, but come on, whilst the material that this core did indeed have a low resistance (As stated by the manufacturer), the inner core was clearly manufactured from was flexible like rubber substance and was OBVIOUSLY the cause of my poor spark, my engine problems and my frustration. 

Now to compare, I then grabbed the old MSD 8.5 Super Conductor Lead, cut it in half and again stripped the Outer Layer off to reveal a much larger conductor core that had a tiny wire strand would tightly around the core. I also noticed that the MSD silicon insulator was manufactured from a few different layers/colours of silicon AND some sort of white fibreglass looking heatproof material between each of the silicon layers. Needless to say, I was very impressed with the MSD Lead, when compared to the “rubbish” lead that I was holding in my other hand. 

Here I was sitting at my bench with a super duper brand XXX Plug lead with nothing inside it but what appeared to be a black rubber band and an old MSD lead with multiple layers of insulation, heat proof fibreglass, large conductor core and some sort of tiny copper wire wound tightly around the core. I investigated further and pulled at the tiny wire strands. As it unravelled it revealed a stiff inner core that felt very different to the rubber feeling core that I found in my “questionable” plug lead. 

After a restless night’s sleep (ask my wife) tossing and turning thinking I have solved one of the world’s greatest mysteries, at the crack of dawn I jumped in the car and headed straight to the nearest speed shop to grab a set of MSD Spark Plug Leads to confirm my findings and get the engine to idle without fouling plugs once and for all. I had a few arguments with one race shop owner who kept asking me “Why do you specifically want an MSD leads when my Brand XXX Super Duper Race Lead are even better?” He wanted to show me chart after chart to explain to me that the resistance per foot of his Brand XXX leads were lower than the Resistance Per Foot if the MSD leads I had asked for. 

I then had a strange sense of Déjà vu – I remember having a similar conversation when I purchased the “questionable” set of leads a few months earlier from another race shop. I then concluded that whilst the leads I had purchased previously were indeed low resistance (I even tested them with a multimeter), the inner core that provided the “low resistance” on paper, looked like rubber, felt like rubber and performed like crap at sending a 40,000 Volt spark to my plugs. I was simply not in the mood for testing another brand of “Super Race Leads”!! 

I stood my ground went somewhere else and purchased a set of MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Leads and fitted them to the engine. Even with the fouled plugs, the engine ran fine.  

I changed the plugs one more time and when we took the truck for another test session. We immediately noticed a dramatic increase in throttle response, much more low-end power & torque and the engine absolutely screamed at high revs. It simply sounded different - just like it did on the engine Dyno. I would have NEVER believed that a set of plug leads could have caused so much frustration and so many headaches to my team. I have since purchased a 20 Meter length of the MSD 8.5mm wire and the MSD plug lead “crimps” and I keep them all on my race trailer just in case!! 

In summary, don’t get fooled by Brand XXX race lead with “Super Low” ohms per foot or silly comparison charts showing how great one lead is compared to the other. Purchase a brand of ignition components that you know and trust (Not some new brand that comes from china in a shiny box with a comparison chart). Use what has worked for you in the past and if you are new to this sort of thing or if you are ever in doubt, use what millions of racers use worldwide - grab a set of MSD leads and relax knowing that any future engine “misfires or headaches” will NOT be caused by the spark plug leads! 

I hope this has been useful to someone in “race car land” and prevents the hours of frustration we went through to find the cause of our problem.  

Scott Bryce 

PROFORMANCE MOTORSPORT 

Western Australia 

A happy Easter weekend to all MSD customers!

In April 1981 MSD hired a local high school kid to help around the shop. Over the past three decades that kid has stuck with it and advanced to be the Technical Director for the whole company. This week Joe Pando celebrates his 30 year work anniversary. Pando has done everything from sweeping floors to advising the president of the company.

Over the past 41 years MSD Ignition has had a lot of employees. Some come and go, but the best seem to really stick around. The average employee at MSD, including those in the offices as well as in manufacturing, has been with the company nearly 13 years. We are proud to be an employer that people want to work for and that can retain employees so well! The perfect example is Joe Pando; thank you for all the years of great service Joe.

The Power Grid Ignition System was again in the Winner’s Circle this weekend at the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Power Grid supplied the fire for Khalid Balooshi in his ’68 Camaro to consistent 5.9 second passes throughout the weekend. Brandon Switzer has tuned the Power Grid and other systems in Balooshi’s car to take trophies at events the last three weekends.

MSD’s new Power Grid Ignition System got into official racing early this year with a few test teams where it made a splash. In the last week the system hit the main stream by officially shipping to teams in drag racing pits around the country. The new controller has less time in the racers hands than some sets of tires and yet it has already made multiple trips to pick up Minuteman trophies from the ADRL. Lamar Swindoll drove a car owned by Todd Moyer to take the win in Extreme 10.5 and Khalid Al-Balooshi drove Brandon Switzer’s tune to victory in Pro Nitrous.  Both teams used the Power Grid to control their ignition systems. Be sure to watch for more teams winning with the Power Grid Ignition System at the NHRA race in Las Vegas next weekend.

MSD Ignition’s newest racing ignition controller, the Power Grid Ignition System is officially hitting race tracks. After much anticipation the first racers received their new Power Grids this week and the system can already be found in cars at major races. This week MSD technicians are assisting racers at the ADRL race in Houston. Next week techs will be helping at the Las Vegas NHRA race.

For more information on the Power Grid System Controller Click Here.

If you are ever at a race and see the MSD Racer Support crew stop by and say hi! We are there to help with any ignition troubleshooting you might need.

So, if you have ever thought about taking the next step in ignition control but were worried about hooking a laptop up to your car, let this article show you just how easy it really is! Next, download the software for FREE HERE and play around a bit.

 http://www.bangshift.com/blog/Engine-Tech-How-a-programmable-ignition-can-make-anyone-look-like-a-pro.html

Gordon got his hands on a coveted Black and White after a 66 race winless drought that spanned nearly two seasons. The win also brought Hendrick Motorsports back into the Winner’s Circle, though other team drivers have been in the spotlight much more recently than the number 24. All of Hendrick’s drivers get their Fire to Drive from MSD’s 6 HVC ignition systems.

Biondo runs an MSD Programmable 7-Series ignition control box as well as an MSD Advanced Power System starter and other accessories in his race winning vehicles.

Urist is on site at MSD to install the Hellion kit as the first of many modifications that are to be made to MSD’s new Pony car. The complete turbo kit, featuring a 64mm Tubonetics turbo, is a true bolt on system that is designed to be installed by a consumer. The simplicity of this kit’s installation does not hint at the power it unleashes though; with only six pounds of boost in the system the otherwise stock Mustang is expected to belt out 500+ rwhp!

Check back to this blog to find further updates on the Mustang as more modifications are done and see dyno test results for each!

MSD voluntarily shut down on Wednesday, February 2 for the safety of our employees as the snow hit the city that morning and the night before. After the snow, record breaking cold temperatures set in and the desert city realized just how unprepared it was as water pipes froze, rolling blackouts began, and natural gas line pressure ran low. With all of this happening MSD decided to remain closed on Thursday, February 3 and only work a partial day on Friday, February 4. The decision was made for MSD to shut down for the safety of our workers first and foremost. The closure also gave time to make repairs to burst pipes in our employees’ homes as well as in our manufacturing facilities. Even a week after the storm hit, El Paso is under a boil-water advisory and is just starting to get back to normal.

Parker 425-Best in the Desert Racing Association
February 4 – 5, 2011
Parker, Arizona

The weekend’s festivities actually started Thursday afternoon with time trials for the unlimited cars and trucks ending in Downtown Parker.  Check out our friends at Parker Motor Company, they know their trucks – from the original Class 8 to the Beaver’s Trophy/Trick Truck!

Popular off-road names like Rob MacCachren, Steve Sourapas, Robby Gordon, TJ Flores and Pat Dean were out in full force just a short two weeks after the desert opener – SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge…

Friday was a full day for the teams with Tech Inspection, along with plenty of spectators checking out a packed parking lot for Contingency at the Blue Water Casino just off the gorgeous Colorado River!

Saturday – Race Day…looking at 3 hour laps (for the faster guys) all we could say was at least it was a sweet day!  Realizing what the rest of the country was going through, race conditions were dry – 75 degrees – and a light breeze…we had perfect race conditions!

You’ll notice there was a lot of dust.  By the time racers got into their 2^nd and 3^rd laps of their race the last 1/3 of the 150 mile loop had gotten really chewed up.  An already rough course got progressively rougher and those with limited suspension saw slower lap times…  Desert Racing is one of 3D with miles and miles of whoops, wash-outs, rocks to boulders and attrition of all sorts!  If your interested in more info, see www.BitD.com for details and final results!

Special thanks to Jim Conner – it was a fun weekend!
See ya at the races!
Ed/MSD

The 4-Connection CAN Hub and the Slew Rate and Time Based Rev Limiter Module will also be available at the end of March. Other modules will follow in the months to come in an effort to always make the MSD system more complete and your racecar easier to control.

Also, shop our apparel store with MSD Powersports and MSD Pro Mag goodies!

  For those on a tight budget, dont forget about our Street Fire brand! Street Fire is a brand from MSD that delivers quality at a budget price. All of the Street Fire components are spec'd by MSD engineers and designed to provide performance for the price. The quality of each part is backed up with a one year warranty!

Johnson drove to his championships using ignition parts proudly made by MSD Ignition. In fact, every team in the chase used HVC Ignition controls from MSD to fire their engines. Most teams in the top levels of NASCAR use MSD Ignition systems with Pro-Billet Distributors, HVC Ignition Control boxes and HVC 6 Coils. MSD makes NASCAR technology that can go into your street car!

MSD raised the bar with new products unveiled at the show including the Digital 6A and 6AL, the Power Grid 7 Ignition System, and the EZ-1 Points Replacement Kit. Product information for each of these can be found on their respective pages through the company website.

Congratulations to John Montecalvo on wrapping up the ADRL 2010 Extreme Pro Stock Championship. He uses our Digital-7 Programmable Ignition, Flying Magnet Crank Trigger and our HVC II coil! Congratulations to all the ADRL champions!

This year SEMA will be from Nov. 2^nd to the 5^th at the Las Vegas Convention Center just off The Strip. The show is not open to the public, but is still expected to bring in more than 100,000 vendors and attendees. If you can make it, be sure to find MSD at SEMA by visiting booth 23129, we look forward to meeting you there!

You may think it is a little early to be talking about the holidays, but for us, it’s the time. The annual SEMA show in Las Vegas is days away now and we are ready for it to happen! After SEMA we have the International Motorsports Industry Show in Indianapolis and the Professional Racing Industry show in Orlando. At each of these we’ll be highlighting the exciting new products that we are releasing in the next year. Be sure to add them to your wishlist!

Stay tuned to our website and social media pages across the Internet to get sneak peeks at the products the week before the SEMA show. Our online fans will be the first to know! 

One of MSD Ignitions' Field Support Rigs was at the event to help test racers' ignition equipment and help to work on the cars in the pits. Look for the support rigs' schedules on MSDignition.com and be sure to meet the reps at our events!

1. Jimmy Gustin, Marshalltown, Iowa

2. Johnny Saathoff, Beatrice, Neb. 

3. Todd Shute, Des Moines, Iowa

Stock: 

1. Jeremy Christians, Horicon, Wis.

2. Dustin Smith, Lake City, Iowa

3. Donavon Smith, Lake City, Iowa 

Larry Dixon extended his lead in Top Fuel over a losing Doug Kalitta. The win is the 59th of Dixon's career and his third straight. In Funny Car, Cruz Pedregon played spoiler and won over Jack Beckman. Pro Stock had Greg Anderson run low e.t. of the weekend to defeat Indy winner Greg Stanfield. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, LE Tonglet continues to dominate in his rookie season with a win over Andrew Hines. Congratulations to all the winners.

After a cool, misty and blustery start to the weekend this 41^st edition of the Crandon short course races didn’t disappoint!  These were the last 2 rounds for the TORC season and championship points were tight!  Here are a few pics from the races… 

Crandon is known for their land-rush starts, Pro-4 is getting the 5 to go…

All even so far, but give it a few laps! 

Mikey Vanden Heuvel takes the class championship in Limited 2WD – congrats!  

Every year, I love this place - Can you count how many fans there are?

A parent’s nightmare!  Why don’t the kids want to watch the races?  …Cause they want their own race trucks!!!  The new custom built TRAXXAS r/c track is sweet.

Ford Racing’s Cliff Irey and crew were on hand again this year showing off the 2011 SVT Raptor SuperCrew…yup 4 doors for your 4 best buddies!  And yes, that’s Robby Gordon’s Souvenir trailer behind the new Silver option 4-door Raptor.

A big congratulations for long-time MSD sponsored Scott and Jackie Douglas…he sliced and diced in his Pro-4 to out run everyone in the AMSOIL Cup Race!

Ricky Johnson’s #48 sits poised in the pits…yup, he won the Pro-2 points championship!

Long time MSD racer Dan Vanden Heuvel had an outstanding Sunday winning the Pro-2 class race.  He led from start to finish!

If ya love off-road racing, you already know…if you haven’t been, check-out Crandon International Raceway one of these days!!! 

Ed/MSD

  For the Bronge racing team it was their first return to a Series final since the first race of the season at St. Louis in May. Bronge qualified third with a 6.032 and got to the final round by besting veteran Doc Halladay in the semifinals. The 2010 season concludes for the DRO AA/FC Challenge presented by Lucas Oil on Sept. 17-19 at Kansas City International Raceway, where the national champion will be crowned.

 Contingency sponsors for the DragRacingOnline.com AA/FC Challenge presented by Lucas Oil are: Auto Meter, Cavalieri Racing, DMPE, Flatout Gaskets, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., JEGS, Mickey Thompson Tires, MSD, Rage Pumps, Taylor Motorsports Products, Trailer Toad, Total Flow Products, Total Seal Piston Rings, and Victory Performance Products.

Points after four of five races:

1. Paul Romine “Man O’ War” ’79 Mustang Indianapolis IN 437 (4 races)

2. Shawn Bowen “Violator” ’77 Firebird Grand Blanc MI 368 (4 races)

3. Anthony Bronge “Punisher” ’69 Camaro Marengo IL 331 (3 races)

4. Mark Worden “Twin Town Shaker” ’79 Arrow Chicago Il 231 (4 races)

5. Doc Halladay “Telstar” ’79 Arrow Egan MI 211 (3 races)

6. Mike Lewis “Stardust” ’73 Cuda Indianapolis IN 208 (2 races)

7. Kris Krabill “Pedaler” ’78 Ply Orange CA 208 (2 races)

8. Joe Haas “White Trash” Ply Duster Burnsville MN 159 (2 races)

Photos attached: Candies & Hughes and Punisher (Don Eckert photos)

And the Count Down begins! MSD Ignition is back at the track with the NHRA for the biggest race of the year. The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Indianapolis run today through Labor Day (Monday) and we’ll be there for all of the action. You can find the full MSD race rig on the mid-way or spot one of our techs helping out in pit spaces all over the grounds. If you are anywhere close to Indy make the trip up to see MSD and see why the U.S. Nationals are considered the best NHRA event of the year by drivers, teams, and fans alike!

Larry Dixon remained perfect in Top Fuel with a dramatic win over Cory McClenathan in one of the quickest side-by-side races in NHRA history. In Funny Car Bob Bode scored his first career win against a tire spinning Jack Beckman. In Pro Stock Jeg Coughlin Jr. won his 5th Brainerd wally over a red-lighting Shane Gray. In Pro Stock Motorcycle Andrew Hines took the win light against first-time finalist Jim Underdahl. Congratulations to all the winners and everyone that made it above the cut to compete in The Countdown!

Follow the link below for the full story.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15705417?IADID=Search-www.elpasotimes.com-www.elpasotimes.com

The Top Fuel final featured Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher. Larry Dixon came out with the wally in the end. In Funny car, Ron Capps faced teammate Jack Beckman with Ron Capps winning his first event of the year! In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin got through Jason Line in the final with a holeshot win! In Pro Stock Motorcycle Michael Phillips takes the wally over Andrew Hines! Congratulations to all winners!

The Top Fuel final featured Cory McClenathan and teammate Antron Brown with Cory taking his 34th top fuel win. In Funny Car, Tim Wilkerson reached his 3rd straight final for the first time in his career and collected his second victory when he defeated Ron Capps. In Pro Stock, Greg Anderson is hot off his Norwalk streak where he continued to demolish the competition including Johnny Gray in the final. Congratulations to all the winners!

 Happy 4th of July! MSD Ignition will be closed Monday, July 5th. We will resume back to work on Tuesday, July 6th. Have a great holiday weekend from everyone at MSD!

The School of Automotive Machinists donated $57,000.00 toward scholarships to the high school automotive teams that finished first, second and third at the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Division 4 Competition. Team MSD from Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Center placed first by disassembling and reassembling a high performance engine with a time of 60:15. Each member of the first place team received a $5,000.00 scholarship from SAM and will compete in the National Championship at the SEMA Show in November, 2010. Team Royal Purple from Hereford High School in Texas placed second and each member received a $3,000.00 scholarship while Team Comp Cams from Pampa High School in Texas placed third and each member received $2,000.00. 

“SAM is happy to support high school automotive students who are excited about the automotive industry” said Judson Massingill, Founder and Director of Education at SAM. “This competition is about engine building and that’s what we teach our students to do – build engines that make a lot of horsepower and stay together to win races. We hope these students will continue their automotive training and go on to work in the high performance and racing industry” said Judson. Many thanks to Painless Performance Products for hosting such an exciting event, Tim Freeman, Founder of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow, for organizing this automotive competition, Tarrant Community College – South Campus for allowing the competition to use their facility and the judges for volunteering their time and expertise.

The School of Automotive Machinists was founded in 1985 by Linda and Judson Massingill. SAM is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, ACCSC, which recognizes the school for maintaining a standard of excellence at or above the prescribed national standards for quality education and is approved by the Department of Education. The School’s curriculum focuses on the design, theory, machining, building and testing of high performance engines. The students are taught by experienced instructors and are trained on industry standard machines. Today graduates from the School of Automotive Machinists go on to work for race industry leaders like Penske Racing, Warren Johnson Enterprises Inc., Hendrick Motorsports, John Force Racing, Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Dart Machinery just to name a few. For more information about SAM and how to start a career in the high performance motorsports industry contact us at 713-683-3817 or visit www.samracing.com 

Photography by Scot McCann of Painless Performance
 

Also, for long haulers, if you couldn’t get to the MSD stand in Mobile due to traffic or heat, we have a few Day 7 and frames available. Please contact Alex at asoto@msdignition.com for your missing pieces.

Thanks for your support and we’ll see you on the road in 2011! 

Newton, IA

Springfield, IL

Duquoin, IL

Bowling Green, KY

Chattanooga, TN

Birmingham, AL

Mobile, AL

   

Click below to go to our Photo Gallery:

 After a rainy start the kick-off at the Iowa Speedway was packed…



 The Speedway even opened the circle track and drag strip for those who wanted to run their Tour cars!



Don’t know where Iowa Speedway is? Its in Newton…don’t know Newton? It’s just outside of Des Moines – the state capitol!

 

 Yes! We have our infamous MSD Long Haul Magnets again this year! Be sure to see us at the booth each day – EARLY!


It’s always good to see friends from year’s past…Bruce and Sandy from Florida are out again – be sure to ask them about their autographed hood!!!




 

 On Tour you get to see all sorts of cool stuff throughout the route, and all sorts of vehicles!

 Welcome, and don’t worry about the gas prices…



 Oh yeah, plenty of antics on the Main Stage!



Did someone say magnets? Here at the DuQuion stop, we have front row…drive through magnet service!

  Multiple rain delays plagued the Route 66 Nationals but Larry Dixon and Mike Edwards continued their winning ways. Larry Dixon put a stop to arch rival Tony Schumacher in the final, 3.773 to 3.823. In Funny Car, Matt Hagan ended Robert Hight's three-race win streak. Mike Edwards continued his relentless assault on the Pro Stock class as Jason Line was the last man standing in the final with a close race but not enough to for Edwards 6.594. 20-year old LE Tonglet downed Steve Johnson in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final. Congratulations to all the winners.

The reigning NHRA world champs all collected wins at the 22nd annual NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka. Tony Schumacher won on a holeshot against teammate Cory McClenathan. In Funny Car, Robert Hight defeated Jeff Arend for his 16th career win. In Pro Stock Mike Edwards got the holeshot win against Allen Johnson. Congratulations to all the winners.

 Larry Dixon takes his 52nd career win over a red lighting Brandon Bernstein in the NHRA Top Fuel final. Robert Hight earned his second straight Funny Car Wally by defeating teamate Ashley Force Hood in the final. Jeg Coughlin takes the holeshot win over Alan Johnson in Pro Stock. Andrew Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle defeats the reigning world champ Hector Arana in the final! Congratulations to all the winners!

Team MSD – Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr. Wins Division 4 “Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge” Championship

Fort Worth, TX. Painless Performance, a leader in automotive wiring and electrical products for over twenty years held their first “Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge” Division 4 Championship Saturday May 8, 2010 at the Tarrant County College in Fort Worth TX. Team MSD – Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr. from Choctaw OK. took first place with a time of 60 minutes and 15 seconds.

A total of 8 High School Auto Tech teams participated. The teams are made up of invited auto technology classes from local high schools. Each team consists of five students and the instructor/coach. The individual schools set standards and guidelines for involvement. Grades, attendance and skill are all part of the making of a team. Through this event these students get an opportunity to showcase their talents and knowledge gained during classroom sessions and workshops. It provides opportunities for students to develop and build teamwork, demonstrate their skills, enthusiasm, and ingenuity, build their confidence and commitment to excellence.  READ MORE>> 

In an unexpected move, Kim Klevenhagen, the Director of Development from the School of Automotive Machinists, one of the most respected names in motorsports education, offered scholarships to the top 3 teams at this event. Giving the 1st Place team - $5000.00 to each team member (5 students), the 2nd Place team - $3000.00 to each team member (6 students) and the 3rd Place team - $2000.00 to each team member (7 students). A total of $57,000 offered in scholarship money.

Team MSD - Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr. from Choctaw OK. will be representing division 4 at the National Championship dubbed “Showdown at SEMA” (Specialty Equipment Market Association) at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November. There, they will be competing against Division 2 winner - Team ARP – East Ridge High School from Chattanooga, TN., Division 3 winner – Team PRW – Fremd High School from Palatine, IL., Division 7 winner - Team Edelbrock - North Orange County ROP, Anaheim, CA. and the winner from Division 8 (Lane Automotive Car Show May, 29, 2010) championship plus a wildcard team, the best second place team nationwide. The current wildcard is from division 7 Team Autometer – Loara High School from Anaheim CA.

The event itself resembles the tear down between rounds at a drag race. The engines are identically prepared small block Chevys complete with all the goodies. Students must properly disassemble the engine using only hand tools, utilizing proper detorque and disassembly procedure. The air cleaner, carb, distributor, plug wires, spark plugs, manifold, headers, heads, lifters, rocker arms, push rods, timing chain and cover. Then the oil filter, oil pan, oil pump, plus all eight pistons are then removed. The cam and crank remain in the block. The team then returns behind their bench and wait for the judges to call them back, teams then begin working to reassemble once again with correct assembly procedure and torque specs, all while being viewed by judges and spectators. Time added penalties for dropped components, improper disassembly, assembly, sportsmanship, etc. will be added to ensure correct assembly. All procedure penalties are in the rule book provided to the schools at the start of the school year. The engines when reassembled would fire up and run if gas, water, and oil were added. The team with the fastest time including penalty minutes wins.

The staff of The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow is 100% volunteer and cannot be thanked enough for the thousands of hours they donate to this great event every year.

DIVISION 4 HOT RODDERS OF TOMORROW ENGINE CHALLENGE RESULTS: 1st Place – Team MSD - Eastern Oklahoma County Tech Ctr. - Choctaw, OK - 60:15 2nd Place – Team Royal Purple – Hereford High School - Hereford, TX - 76:48 3rd Place – Team Comp Cams – Pampa High School - Pampa, TX - 113:07 4th Place – Team Auto Meter – Magnolia West High School - Magnolia, TX - 123:05 5th Place – Team Be Cool – Ennis High School - Ennis, TX - 123:14 6th Place – Team Edelbrock – Birdville Tech Center #1 - North Richland Hills, TX - 125:24 7th Place – Team Moroso – Birdville Tech Center #2 - North Richland Hills, TX - 145:36 8th Place – Team Hedman Hedders – Canyon High School - Canyon, TX - 146:25 Started at the inaugural Race & Performance Expo in 2008 under the supervision of Tim Freeman, The Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge has quickly grown into a nationwide engine challenge with more Schools and Sponsors supporting this exciting event. For further information visit: www.hotroddersoftomorrow.com. 

 MSD's Employee Appreciation Day and Car Show was one of the the best ones yet. We had over 80 cars entered in the car show, from lamborghini's to alcohol blown dragsters and everything in between. Thanks to all who participated and helped out with the festivities. We should have some pictures highlighting the days event very soon.

Click here for directions to MSD Ignition .

 The Top Fuel final featured a pair of second-generation drivers in Tony Schumacher and Doug Kalitta. Tony pulled off the win with a 3.84 to a losing 4.04 for Doug Kalitta who reached his fourth final round this season. In Funny car, Robert Hight got win light over Jack Beckman. In Pro Stock, Warren Johnson had some very good luck as most of his opponents made mistakes and took him all the way to the final for the win against Jeg Coughlin which broke a rocker arm just off the line. In Pro Stock Motorcycle Michael Phillips took the win against LE Tonglet. Congratulations to all the winners!

MasterCraft Safety to Host Drawing Party on April 24th. A full Day of Vendor Displays, Activities, and Fund-Raising!

 This year’s drawing for the world-famous SCORE Tecate Baja 500 will be held on April 24th at the new corporate headquarters of MasterCraft Safety at 9335 Stevens Road in Santee, Calif. The festivities will begin at 10am with vendor displays from area off-road businesses and the "live" SCORE Baja 500 starting position drawing will begin at 1pm.

 There will be a huge raffle and all proceeds will benefit the Castro-Limon. Foundation which provides cancer treatment for poor and orphaned children in Baja who would not normally receive treatment. Check out this worthy cause at: www.fundacioncastrolimon.org  Raffle tickets are $5.00.

 Raffle prizes already include:

• BFGoodrich Tires - Four BFG Tires

• MasterCraft Safety - Racesuit & Seats

 • Fox Racing Shox - $400 Gift Certificate

 • Total Chaos Fabrication - Upper Control Arm Suspension Kit

 • Fiberwerx "Fiberbucks" $300 Gift Certificate towards Fiberglass

 • Off-Road Warehouse - $200 Gift Certificate

 • U.S. Wheel - Wheel Repair - $150 Gift Certificate

 • Streamline Forms & Graphics - $200 worth of Custom Printed Stickers

• PAC Heating & Air Conditioning Two Annual A/C Services (SD County only)

• JD Films - Dezert People DVD Collection

• Airgas - Radnor Welding Jacket

• Gargoyles Eyewear - Sunglasses

• MSD Ignition - Ignition Box & Plug Wires

• Lift Safety - A Grab Bag Full $250 of Safety Swag from

• Race-Dezert.com - DVD Collection from RDC

• Bilstein - Apparel Grab Bag
 
• Jimco Racing - Exclusive All Weather Embroidered Jacket

If you are unable to attend the drawing party, raffle tickets can be purchased on-line at www.race-dezert.com . RDC will be your proxy raffle ticket buyer so you need not be present to win. Also, you can make credit card donations the same way or by phone to the RDC Booth on the day of the event. Watch RDC for details!

Since the planning for this event began, another great need has emerged due to the Easter Sunday 7.2 earthquake near Mexicali. Thousands of people lost their homes and are in desperate need of essential household items. The Mexican Government has waived import tariffs on donated goods for quake relief. What’s more, MasterCraft Safety has generously offered to match all taco stand cash donations and will be contributing proceeds to the Earthquake Fund - so every dime you contribute will not only help the cancer kids, it will be a double gift of helping earthquake victims in Mexicali.

A partial list of urgently needed relief items can be found by visiting SCORE International's website at www.score-international.com . Relief items can be brought to MasterCraft Safety the day of the drawing and there will be individuals on-hand to accept the donations and arrange for their delivery to Mexicali.

 If you have items to donate to the raffle or cash you would like to contribute, act now! All donations are tax deductible. Checks can be sent directly to "The Baja Cancer Foundation" at the address below. The Baja Cancer Foundation is a 501C3 and will funnel all the money directly to Fundacion Castro-Limon. Contributions to this cause and the Mexicali Earthquake cause will also be accepted at the event.

Baja 500 Fund Raiser
 
C/O - MasterCraft Safety

 9335 Stevens Road

 Santee, CA 92071

 Tell your race enthusiast friends to stop by MasterCraft Safety on April 24th for lunch and bring a donation large or small, buy a few raffle tickets and stay for the drawing. Forward this to your close and distant friends, enemies, and casual acquaintances that may be interested!

To Make Raffle Product Donations Please Contact:
 
Stuart from Locos Mocos “Baja Jones” baja_jones@cox.net

Kelli Willmore kelli@mastercraftsafety.com

For additional event information contact Kelli Willmore at MasterCraft Safety:

kelli@mastercraftsafety.com

619.449.9455

  Larry Dixon collected his 51st win in Top Fuel again this weekend, defeating Cory McClenathan in a final round battle for the points lead! In Funny car action, John Force for his third win this year takes the wally over Tony Pedregon. In Pro Stock Mike Edwards continues to dominate the category with his 24th Pro Stock Victory. He defeated Greg Stanfield in the final. Congratulations to all the winners!

 The inaugural 4Wide Nationals at ZMax Dragway was rain-delayed and wrapped up Monday morning. In Top Fuel, they ran four-wide all the way down with Cory Mac taking the win over Doug Kalitta with Antron Brown finishing third and Doug Herbert in fourth. In Funny Car it was John Force followed right behind him is daughter Ashley Force Hood with Ron Capps coming in third position and Matt Hagan wrapping up the four-wide lanes. In Pro Stock, Greg Stanfield wins on a holeshot over Bob Yonke with Rodger Brogdon in third and finally Rickie Jones rounding out the foursome. In Pro Stock Motorcycle Matt Smith holeshots Hector Arana for the win with Junior Pippin in third and David Hope in the last slot. Congratulations to all the winners!

 MSD Ignition made it out to the first ADRL race of the year in our new regional Tech Support Trailer. Its packed with testing equipment, product and support equipment to diagnose, test and check out a racer’s ignition. During qualifying the weather was optimal and several record setting passes were made, but unfortunately the event was rained out on Saturday, the day of eliminations. Follow along as we took a few pictures of the event:

 Tony Schumacher added a fourth NHRA Gatornational trophy to his collection taking out teamate Antron Brown in the top fuel final. Tim Wilkerson was strong and steady during eliminations defeating Bob Tasca III in the funny car. Pro Stock had Jason Line taking on Mike Edwards with Jason taking the wally with a holeshot win! Pro Stock Motorcycle had Eddie Krawiec outrunning Shawn Gann in the final for his sixth career victory. Congratulations to all the winners!

 On the road! MSD is back on the road and heading to the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, California! This marks the 50th Anniversary of the NHRA race and it is always a great event! Stop by the MSD Racer Support Semi to check out the latest from MSD!

To have a look at our RSI schedule for 2010, have a click!

Congratulations to Pat Musi and his entire crew. The team charged down the Bradenton, Florida speedway to the tune of 5.997! Musi runs an MSD Programmable 7-Plus Ignition Control and HVC II Coil!

Click here to register your product. We thank you for your time and again, for choosing MSD Ignition.

 The most popular ignition control in the world. Thousands of engines are fired by the capacitive discharge, multiple sparks from the instantly recognized red MSD box.

Happy Holidays from your friends at MSD Ignition!

  Please note that our shipping and receiving departments will be closed from Thursday, December 24th thru Friday, January 1st. No orders or RMA's will be shipped and no RMA's will be received at this time. However, our administrative offices will be open with the exception of Friday, December 25th and Friday, January 1st.

For those on a tight budget, dont forget about our Street Fire brand! Street Fire is a brand from MSD that delivers quality at a budget price. All of the Street Fire components are spec'd by MSD engineers and designed to provide performance for the price. The quality of each part is backed up with a one year warranty!

With over one thousand part numbers on our website, you can know purchase any product on our website! Keep and eye out for the green buy it now tags, these will take you right to our online store!

Also, shop our apparel store with MSD Powersports and MSD Pro Mag goodies!

 Tony Schumacher is the first Top Fuel driver in NHRA history to win six consecutive world championships! Robert Hight in Funny Car, Mike Edwards in Pro Stock and Hector Arana in Pro Stock Motorcycle were all first time champions in their respective categories! Top Fuel driver Spencer Massey won the Road to the Future Award which recognizes the top NHRA rookie performer of the year. Congratulations to all the world champions of the NHRA!

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15623&blogid=429  Now that some of the dust has settled from the week long show at SEMA, we have a few pics to share. The new Camaro was the car most seen at SEMA as there were literally tons of them out there in any configuration you could imagine. Remember we have our Multiple Spark Coils for you new Camaro owners out there! More after the jump...

]]> 2009-11-10T14:54:00Z   Now that some of the dust has settled from the week long show at SEMA, we have a few pictures to share. The new Camaro was the car most seen at SEMA as there were literally tons of them out there in any configuration you could imagine. Remember we have our Multiple Spark Coils for you new Camaro owners out there! Check back soon as we have our new products to post up as well as continuing to pre-celebrate our 40th Anniversary which is coming up here in a few short months.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15581&blogid=429  Here it is the first day back in the office after a week at Sema and we’re on the chassis dyno! Scott Sparrow and Arron Hahn from ProMedia Publishing flew to Dallas to pick up their ’66 Buick Special and were cruising back to California and stopped by for a little dyno tune. More after the jump...

 

]]> 2009-11-09T14:54:00Z  Here it is the first day back in the office after a week at Sema and we’re on the chassis dyno! Scott Sparrow and Arron Hahn from ProMedia Publishing flew to Dallas to pick up their ’66 Buick Special and were cruising back to California and stopped by for a little dyno tune. We ran the crate LS2 on our dyno two years ago with our 6-LS2 Ignition Controller to drive the coils on the carbureted engine. After a couple quick timing adjustments, we picked up 30 hp (peak of 361) and about 20 ft-lbs of torque (351)! Needless to say, Scott was a happy guy as they rolled back on to I-10. You can follow their progress at www.nmcadigital.com.

 

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15571&blogid=429  Four high school groups participated in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge - the Showdown at SEMA. We're happy to say that the MSD team made it to the finals and took home second place with each participant taking home $7500 in scholarship money! Pictures and more after the jump.

 

 

]]> 2009-11-09T14:54:00Z  Four high school groups participated in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge - the Showdown at SEMA. We're happy to say that the MSD team made it to the finals and took home second place with each participant taking home $7500 in scholarship money!

 The teams tear down and then rebuild an entire engine and are scored on not only time, but also on technical accuracy as judges tear them down again and check torques and assembly. Congratulations to all the members of Team MSD!

 

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15566&blogid=429  Due to an overwhelming successful rebate campaign, we are backlogged in getting many Cash for Cruising rebate checks sent out. Rest assured that the MSD team is working diligently to get the matter resolved and we appreciate your patience.

Thanks for choosing MSD Ignition.

]]> 2009-10-28T14:54:00Z

 Due to an overwhelming successful rebate campaign, we are backlogged in getting many Cash for Cruising rebate checks sent out. Rest assured that the MSD team is working diligently to get the matter resolved and we appreciate your patience.

Thanks for choosing MSD Ignition

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15515&blogid=429 2009 Powder Puff Desert Race
Barstow, California
October 10, 2009

  Ok, if you’re a desert rat you’ll get what I’m talking about…if not, check it out – here’s a crash course Desert racing is a completely different sport from your pavement races and dirt track events. Most think Baja now for longer races, mostly due to BLM and land issues. More pictures after the jump...

]]> 2009-10-26T14:54:00Z 2009 Powder Puff Desert Race
Barstow, California
October 10, 2009

Ok, if you’re a desert rat you’ll get what I’m talking about…if not, check it out – here’s a crash course! Desert racing is a completely different sport from your pavement races and dirt track events. Most think Baja now for longer races, mostly due to BLM and land issues.

There are still some US desert races that run a longer race loop such as SCORE’s Primm 300 and BitD’s mega-sweet Parker & Vegas to Reno events in Nevada and Arizona. But, travel and entry fees are much on everyone’s minds going racing.

As today’s economy has dictated where racers go race – long time “smaller” promoters like MORE, MDR, SNORE have continued to see good car counts and are absolutely great venues for good old fashioned, grassroots racing. Following the “best bang for your buck” idea, these are the events you need to try!

This year’s MORE Powder Puff race is an excellent example. With a sea of pink crew shirts and race car paint schemes excited ladies only drivers and co-riders showed up in anything and everything they could borrow, beg or…well, you know just to make the race.

Very much a family affair, off-roaders have always had a big heart and love their sport. Benefiting the Cedar Sinai Women’s Cancer Research Center - moms, sisters and daughters wore the fire suits, helmets and gloves today. The guys did the crewing duties for the weekend!

Tons of excitement during Staging

Profile of a 1600 Race Buggy

Remember Baja Bugs? They’re alive and well!


Vintage racer, but it’s all in having fun


Great Light Covers!


Trust me…we have suspension


For those unfamiliar with desert racing, here’s how the pre-runner craze first started!


You don’t see these Pit Boards in NASCAR!


More VW Baja’s


This is not Vintage


Old school racers out there – Pit Sign or Skid Plate??? (oh yeah, great decal placement!)


Who says UTV’s are for hunting?


No fair! Windows up means A/C on!!!


On the other spectrum, Class 11 is as LIMITED as you get…stock everything! But, they finished and are all smiles – congrats!


How did those get on the bumper???


Who’s catching who?


Time to cruise the desert! Bring 4 of your best friends…


Finishing is half the battle, isn’t it?



This is not a pre-runner.


 *** Special thanks to everyone at Jefferies Racing. I had a great time, thanks for the hospitality! ***


Even with some down time on their 3rd lap, Mindy and Jenna finished 9th out of 20 in class. The truck looked good!


So Jenna, what happened?

Did I mention fun for the whole family? After the girls took the finish flag, cool mom Mindy tends to her next generation racer…

Wanna read more? Check out http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=2336

See you at the races!
Ed/MSD

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15514&blogid=429

LIVE FEED-2009 California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Racwway October 16-18. Our friends over at BangShift.com have the LIVE FEED of the California Hot Rod Reunion happening right now! Don't miss the Cackle Fest on Saturday night!

]]> 2009-10-16T14:54:00Z LIVE FEED-2009 California Hot Rod Reunion at Famoso Raceway Oct 16-18

Our friends over at BangShift.com have the LIVE FEED of the California Hot Rod Reunion happening right now! Don't miss the Cackle Fest on Saturday night!

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15512&blogid=429  It was a record setting final day for the racers of the NHRA. In Top Fuel Brandon Bernstein finally takes the win after being winless for more than two years and eight straight final rounds in the final against tire...more after the jump.

]]> 2009-10-12T14:54:00Z  It was a record-setting final day for the racers of the NHRA. In Top Fuel Brandon Bernstein finally takes the win against tire-smoking Antron Brown. In Funny Car Del Worsham also had his day defeating Tim Wilkerson in the process. In Pro Stock Mike Edwards took out crowd favorite Greg Anderson in the final. Congratulations to all the winnners.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15510&blogid=429   The 2009 Engine Masters Challenge is in the books! The results were down to the wire with Jon Kaase taking the win by less than two points. The Kaase Ford relied on a complete MSD Ignition system including a Programmable 7 Plus Ignition Control. Check the final scores after the jump.

]]> 2009-10-12T14:54:00Z

  The 2009 Engine Masters Challenge is in the books! The results were down to the wire with Jon Kaase taking the win by less than two points. The Kaase Ford relied on a complete MSD Ignition system including a Programmable 7 Plus Ignition Control .

1st - Team #5 Jon Kaase Racing (Almost Kaase)/Ford - 2,632.8

2nd - Team #10 B.E.S Racing Engines/Chevy - 2,631.4

3rd- Team #2 Hot Heads Research/Gene Adams Performance/Chrysler - 2,598.2

4th - Team #17 Performance Crankshaft, Inc/Chevy - 2,598.0

5th - Team #4 School of Automotive Machinists (Entry #2)/Ford - 2,585.4

6th - Team #1 Jon Kaase Racing/Ford - 2,583.2

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15499&blogid=429   A few surprises on the dynos today. The front runner as of Tuesday afternoon is a 403 small block Chevy, with a 404 Ford not far behind. There's also a pair of LS engines, one EFI and one with a carb, in quarantine joining a Pontiac and another big Ford. (There was also a 426 Hemi with a crossram setup going on the dyno to wrap up the day...) Stick around for more cool dyno action on Wednesday!

]]> 2009-10-06T14:54:00Z   A few surprises on the dynos today. The front runner as of Tuesday afternoon is a 403 small block Chevy, with a 404 Ford not far behind. There's also a pair of LS engines, one EFI and one with a carb, in quarantine joining a Pontiac and another big Ford. (There was also a 426 Hemi with a crossram setup going on the dyno to wrap up the day...) Stick around for more cool dyno action on Wednesday!

Unofficial results so far this morning. Still have a few more engines to dyno.

 

TM Enterprises	2465
Corey Short Chrysler	2252
Semco Performance Pontiac	2415
Automotive Machine and Performance Ford	2459
Raceheads Chrysler	1864
Mckeown Motorsports Engineering, Inc Ford	2329
SKMFX Engines Dodge	2282
Racing Engine Design Team #1 Chevy LS	2422
Dove Performance Ford	2160
MPG 404CI Ford	2504
TPIS & Scott Parkhurst Chevy	2411
Survival Motorsports Ford	DNQ
R.M. Competition Ford	2358
TM Enterprises FordPerformance Crankshaft Chevy	2592
Hinkle Performance Engines Mopar	2184
Weingartner Racing Chevy	2401
Power Shop Racing Engines Ford	2539
Tim Zepp Engines/Darin Morgan Ford	2540
BTR Performance/Earl Emery Multifinancial/Dale Cubic CFM Carb. Olds	2507
BH Performance 395 CI Mopar	2429
BES Racing Engines Chevy	2632
McKeown Motorsports #2 Ford	2532
Engine Dyno Service Pontiac	DNQ
Revolutionary Performance & Machine Chevy	2354
Ted Eaton Specialty and Balancing Ford	1949
Jon Kaase Racing (Almost Kaase)Ford	2646
SAM Ford	2583
Advanced Products Engineering Chevy	2502
Hot Heads Research / Gene Adams Perf Chrysler	2598
Jon Kaase Racing Ford

 

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15495&blogid=429    The 2009 Engine Masters Challenge is off and roaring this week The EMC is taking place at the University of Northwestern Ohio and we have day one wrapped up. This year’s rules accept nearly any V8 domestic powerplant and

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  The 2009 Engine Masters Challenge is off and roaring this week! The EMC is taking place at the University of Northwestern Ohio and we have day one wrapped up. This year’s rules accept nearly any V8 domestic powerplant and even EFI or carbs!
Today, and... majority of engines we saw in the shop are fueled by carbs, but there were a few EFI systems coming up. But what a variety of engines! Today we saw a couple Fords including a Mod Motor and a 429, a 426 Hemi and even a Pontiac. There were also a couple LS engines waiting in the wings for tomorrow.

Follow along with the EMC updates- click here as well as Facebook updates here.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15493&blogid=429   NHRA Drag racing was concluded yesterday in Memphis due to the rain delayed race. In Top Fuel Morgan Lucas scored his third win of the year by upsetting Tony Schumacher in the final round. In Funny car action Jeff

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  NHRA Drag racing was concluded yesterday in Memphis due to the rain delayed race. In Top Fuel Morgan Lucas scored his third win of the year by upsetting Tony Schumacher in the final round. In Funny car action Jeff Arend scored his first victory since 1996 against a tire smoking Tony Pedregon. In Pro Stock Jason Line took the easy win as Ron Krisher red-lit in the final. In Pro Stock Motorcycle Michael Phillips takes home the wally running past Eddie Krawiec in the final. Congratulations to all the winners.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15491&blogid=429  MSD is saddened to learn about the untimely death or sport compact pioneer Shaun Carlson. Carlson had been diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome, a genetic disease characterized by an abnormality in the heart’s electrical system. Shaun was the talented owner of

]]> 2009-10-05T14:54:00Z  MSD is saddened to learn about the untimely death of sport compact pioneer Shaun Carlson. Carlson had been diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome, a genetic disease characterized by an abnormality in the heart’s electrical system. Shaun was the talented owner of NuFormz Racing in Ontario, Calif., and a former Team Mopar NHRA Pro Stock driver for Don Schumacher Racing. Carlson was named one of the Top Ten Innovators of all time in the sport compact world and was the first Front Wheel Drive builder to run in the 9’s and in the 8’s as well as building the first sport compact drag car with a tube chassis. There are no details on a memorial service at this time.

MSD sends our condolences to his family.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15489&blogid=429   Steve and Karen Nichols of Las Vegas, Nevada follow the SoCal SoNev Caravan Section's Lead Car along historic U.S. 66 east of Seligman, Nevada. Image Sandy Rubel. he largest Corvette events in the World are the National

]]> 2009-09-29T14:54:00Z    Steve and Karen Nichols of Las Vegas, Nevada follow the SoCal/SoNev Caravan Section's Lead Car along historic U.S. 66 east of Seligman, Arizona.

  The largest Corvette events in the World are the National Corvette Caravans, staged every five or six years by the National Corvette Museum (NCM) in Bowling Green Kentucky. From over two dozen starting points around the U.S., Corvette Caravan Sections begin their trips, all of which end in Bowling Green, which, since 1981 has been the home of the GM Assembly Plant which builds the Corvette. The shortest Caravan Section covers less than 100 miles. The longest Caravan Sections, from the Pacific Northwest and Southern California/Southern Nevada run nearly 2500 miles and take five days. Flowmaster has sponsored the last two Southern California/Southern Nevada Caravans. 
  "MSD has been instrumental to providing a memorable experience for all our Caravaners," Hib Halverson, the the NCM's Section Captain for SoCal/SoNev in '03 and '09 said. "For the last two National Caravans, they supplied SuperConductor Plug Wires and other ignition parts for the SoCal/SoNev Caravan Lead Cars and purchased ads in our 'Route Book', the publication we give all 450 Caravaners and which contains maps and instructions for the trip. No doubt, MSD sees the value in supporting the grassroots enthusiasts of America's Sports Car." 
  The five-day trip, which began at Auto Club Speedway at Fontana, California overnighted in Flagstaff, Arizona; Tucumcari, New Mexico; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Little Rock Arkansas. Each night included a party and with each day as more Caravaners joined up in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, the parties were bigger and bigger culminating with well over a thousand happy Corvetters at a blow-out, barbecue hosted by Bale Chevrolet in Little Rock. 
 

Corvettes, wall-to-wall and every model year and color at the National Corvette Caravan. At this Reform Stop at Rhodes Chevrolet in Van Buren, Arkansas, the SoCal/SoNev, Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle and Central Texas Sections joined with the Arkansas/West Tennessee Section. By this time, the group was about 450 Corvettes.

   Capt. Halverson's "SoCal/SoNev Caravan Organizing Team" planned the trip's first 3 1/2 days to follow parts of old Route 66 with stops at Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In at Seligman, Arizona; the famed Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas; the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma and the Route 66 Interpretive Center in Chandler, Oklahoma. From there, Route 66 went northeast towards Chicago and the Caravan continued east, on I-40, towards Bowling Green. 
     The arrival of all Caravan Sections in Bowling Green were spread over two days to reduce the congestion on I-65 which runs north and south through Bowling Green and is a major transportation artery between Chicago and the Gulf Coast. On September 2, The Southern California/Southern Nevada Section arrived in Bowling Green about 6:30 in the evening with an eight mile long group of Vettes. It took almost an hour for the Caravan to thread its way through the Museum grounds. 
  The Southern California/Southern Nevada Section of the 2009 National Corvette Caravan went 2500 miles on it's five-day trip and MSD helped the SCSN OT make the trip a memorable experience for all its Caravaners. Images provided by Sandy Rubel.

The SoCal/SoNev Caravan met the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle Caravan at Adrian Texas in front of the famed Midpoint Cafe. Shown here are the two Caravan Sections' lead cars along with part of the 525 Caravaners from the two groups. Adrian was the halfway point between Chicago and Los Angeles on old Route 66. The two Sections held a link-up ceremony across the street from the Midpoint Cafe where reproductions of the original Auto Club of Southern California, Route 66 midpoint signage posted in the 1920s are located.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15485&blogid=429 Top Fuel had Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon going at it in the final with Tony once again coming out on top of his former team. Funny Car action had Robert Hight winning his second race in a row against

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Top Fuel had Tony Schumacher and Larry Dixon going at it in the final with Tony once again coming out on top of his former team. Funny Car action had Robert Hight winning his second race in a row against Jack Beckman in the final. Pro Stock racing has Greg Anderson coming out on top of Johnny Gray. In Pro Stock Motorcycle Hector Arana once again pulls it off again for the fifth time this year against Eddie Krawiec. Congratulations to all the winners!

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15483&blogid=429  In the first ever back to back win for Hot Rod Drag week, Larry Larson pulls it off, winning the Unlimited class and the new Hot Rod Magazine Fastest Street Car in America in his 1966 Chevrolet Nova. Larry not only set

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 In the first-ever back-to-back win for Hot Rod Drag week, Larry Larson pulls it off, winning the Unlimited class and the new Hot Rod Magazine Fastest Street Car in America in his 1966 Chevrolet Nova. Larry not only set the quickest and fastest pass for Drag Week ever but also drove it almost 1,200 miles in five days. Congratulations to all the winners!

UNLIMITED: Larry Larson
PRO STREET PA: Michael Roy
PRO STREET NA: Curt Johnson
MODIFIED PA: Doc Fox
MODIFIED NA: Jay Brown
BIG BLOCK PA: Mike Thompson
BIG BLOCK NA: Gary Satterlee
SMALL BLOCK PA: Jon Huber
SMALL BLOCK NA: Mike Crow
DIESEL: Mike Wood

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15482&blogid=429   Cory McClenathan took the points lead in Top Fuel over Shawn Langdon when his engine let go and allowed McClenathan to move around him with a 3.857 run. In Funny Car, Robert Hight also made huge points move, from

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  Cory McClenathan took the points lead in Top Fuel over Shawn Langdon when his engine let go and allowed McClenathan to move around him with a 3.857 run. In Funny Car, Robert Hight also made huge points move, from 10th to third when he got the victory over rookie driver Matt Hagan. In Pro Stock, Mike Edwards dominated the Pro Stock contigent by qualifiying No. 1, setting low e.t. and top speed, running low e.t. of every round of eliminations, and winning the event over Greg Stanfield. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hector Arana once again finds himself in the winners circle with a win over Karen Stoffer. Congratulations to all the winnners and good luck with the countdown!

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15479&blogid=429  Ever see 7 second drag cars tow a trailer on the highway? If you’re in the Midwest this week, you just might. Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week is taking place as we speak. Three days of racing are in the

]]> 2009-09-16T14:54:00Z  Ever see 7-second drag cars tow a trailer on the highway? If you’re in the Midwest this week, you just might. Hot Rod Magazine’s Drag Week is taking place as we speak. Three days of racing are in the books, and the word we heard is that last year’s Unlimited Champ, Larry Larson, just uncorked a 7.25 pass at 199 mph! As of this morning he was actually trailing Eric Yost in a twin turbo ’57 Chevy. Check out more at hotrod.com.

For more updates, check out www.bangshift.com as they cruise along and www.1320video.com for great updates throughout the day.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15477&blogid=429  If your using one of our programmable ignitions or use our Pro Data+ Software, be ready for an up and coming 6 part series that explains the basic ins and outs of the Pro Data+ Software. Watch episodes 1 and

]]> 2009-09-15T14:54:00Z  If your using one of our programmable ignitions or use our Pro-Data+ Software, be ready for an up and coming 6 part series that explains the basic ins and outs of the Pro-Data+ Software. Watch episodes 1 and 2 as we go over the basic functions of the software and move our way up to setting up rev limiters.

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15476&blogid=429   Download and print this handy chart showing the most common domestic vehicle firing orders. As always confirm with your cam manufacturer to make sure you have the correct firing order for your application since it can vary especially if

]]> 2009-09-11T14:54:00Z

  Download and print this handy chart containing the most common domestic vehicle firing orders. As always confirm with your cam manufacturer to make sure you have the correct firing order for your application since it can vary especially if you have swapped the cam to an aftermarket cam. Must have the Adobe Acrobat reader to view file. Click here to download the firing order chart.

 

 

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15474&blogid=429   Follow along as our very own Ed Monte follows up on his trip from Crandon, WI where he attended the annual 2009 World Championship Off Road Races. Click here for the photo gallery.

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  Follow along as our very own Ed Monte follows up on his trip from Crandon, WI where he attended the annual 2009 World Championship Off-Road Races. Click here for the photo gallery.

 

 

 

 

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15431&blogid=429   Tony Schumacher wins the U.S. Nationals for a class record tying eighth time from a traction plagued Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final. Funny Car also had a big score with Ashley Force Hood becoming just the third

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  Tony Schumacher wins the U.S. Nationals for a class-record-tying eighth time from a traction-plagued Larry Dixon in the Top Fuel final. Funny Car also had a big score with Ashley Force Hood becoming just the third female Pro winner at Indy. She took down teammate Robert Hight in the process. In Pro Stock Jeg Coughlin came out on top over Greg Stanfield in the final. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Hector Arana took down Michael Phillips who both had never been to the final round in the tour's biggest event. Congratulations to all the winners!

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15429&blogid=429 “Top drivers like Ricky Johnson and Jeremy McGrath of Motocross fame, Rob MacCachren and the infamous Robby Gordon prepare for the 40th running of the Crandon Short Course Races in Northern Wisconsin ” MSD is there – stop by the

]]> 2009-09-04T14:54:00Z Top drivers like Ricky Johnson and Jeremy McGrath of Motocross fame, Rob MacCachren and the infamous Robby Gordon prepare for the 40th running of the Crandon Short-Course Races in Northern Wisconsin! MSD is there – stop by the Jim Conner Trailer!

]]> http://www.msdignition.com/default.aspx?id=15427&blogid=429   When trouble shooting your MSD Ignition and you have a no spark situation make sure your distributor or crank trigger pickup is triggering the ignition. This handy chart will tell you if you pickup has gone bad. All you

]]> 2009-09-04T14:54:00Z

  When trouble-shooting your MSD Ignition and you have a no spark situation make sure your distributor or crank trigger pickup is triggering the ignition. This handy chart will tell you if you pickup has gone bad. All you need is a meter to check the resistance between the pickup. If you using one of our own MSD distributors, it will have a magnetic pickup. If your using a crank trigger it will have a non-magnetic pickup. Use the following chart to find the correct resistance for your pickup thereby letting you know that your ignition is okay and the pickup is bad. Click here for the resistance values.

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