Popular veteran racer V. Gaines, driver of the Kendall Oil Dodge Dart, has been named the K&N Horsepower Challenge Fan Vote winner and will fill the No. 8 starting spot in the lucrative Pro Stock bonus event.
 
The 31st annual K&N Horsepower Challenge will be conducted during the running of the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals on Saturday, April 11 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The event will be televised by ESPN2.
 
This is the third consecutive year Gaines has raced in the event and the fifth time he will race in the K&N Horsepower Challenge. Gaines, who has yet to win the K&N race will face No. 1 qualifier Shane Gray in the opening round of eliminations.
 
“We are just tickled to death that so many fans thought we ought to race in that race,” Gaines said. “I would have liked to gotten in the other way but we had a few issues that cost us a little bit but to be able to race in it that is fantastic. Anybody can win this one. We try to treat our fans right and communicate with them. They ask a lot of us and we ask a lot of them and they came through.”
 
Gaines racing at the K&N Horsepower Challenge will also benefit an organization near to his heart, the Wounded Warrior Project, a veteran’s service organization that assists wounded veterans.       
 
“I’m also excited to be voted into the race because as we told our Facebook fans, all of our winnings from the event will go towards the Wounded Warrior Project,” Gaines added. “It would be something if we could win the event and be able to add to that terrific organization.”  
 
The K&N Horsepower Challenge is a race within a race, highlighting the top drivers in NHRA Pro Stock competition, for which the winner receives $50,000. The runner-up will earn $10,000, the two semifinalists will each receive $3,000, and the four first-round finishers will each take home $2,500. As part of the program, a $3,000 bonus is awarded to the No. 1 qualifier at each NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event.
 
Gaines joins the field that includes, Shane Gray, Jason Line, Erica-Enders Stevens, Allen Johnson, Vincent Nobile, Chris McGaha, and Jonathan Gray. 
 
In addition, eight lucky fans were selected in an online drawing on the K&N website as part of the K&N Horsepower Challenge Sweepstakes. Those eight winners will receive a trip for two to the race for a VIP experience where each fan will be paired with a driver in the K&N Horsepower Challenge. The fan paired with the winning driver will leave the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in a 2015 K&N Horsepower Challenge special-edition Toyota Tacoma, a unique midsize pickup created by Toyota Racing Development and K&N Filters for this event.
 
Tickets for the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, April 10-12 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, are available by logging on to www.lvms.com or by calling (800) 644-4444.