Year One Goes Drag RacingAftermarket companies sponsoring street legal-style drag racing is nothing new. Flowmaster sponsored the first HOT ROD's Fastest Street Car Shootout in 1992 and continues as title sponsor of the American Drag Racing League Pro Mod series (www.outlawpromods.com). Edelbrock is tight with the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA, www.fasteststreetcar .com), which was owned by Comp Cams for a time. Denso is the title sponsor for the National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA, www .nmraracing.com). But musclecar parts supplier Year One has moved to the other side of the fence from sponsorship to part owner of a series, buying an interest in the Outlaw Racing Street Car Association (ORSCA, www.outlawracing.com). Year One's sponsorship of ORSCA's 10.5 tire class led to the permanent partnership. Company President Kevin King explains, "The body styles that race in ORSCA are the same cars that comprise the core of our business, so it's not much of a stretch for a bunch of musclecar enthusiasts to enjoy the ORSCA races." ORSCA is a primarily a regional series running on eighth-mile tracks in the southeast. -Rob Kinnan
How They Make It: Denso Spark PlugsWhether lawn-mower or Top Fuel dragster, every spark-ignited engine requires a spark plug to get down the road. In a four-stroke engine turning 6,000 rpm, each plug fires 3,000 times per minute-that's 50 times a second. And with today's modern emissions standards, plugs are expected to last upward of 100,000 miles. That's a pretty tall order, but in recent years plug design and technology has rapidly advanced to keep pace with engine-management-system improvements as well as the increasing output levels of modern ignition systems. Ever since Denso started making spark plugs back in 1957, the company has been among the leaders in advancing spark-plug technology. In 1972, Denso patented the U-groove side-electrode design, which creates a larger and hotter flash front to minimize excessive fouling and erratic starts caused by poor fuel mixtures. Denso continued to innovate and was one of the pioneers in the use of platinum in spark-plug manufacturing. But eventually even that was surpassed when Denso developed a superior iridium/rhodium alloy that's six times harder and eight times stronger than platinum and can handle temperatures in excess of 4,000 degrees F. Iridium's higher strength permitted thinning out the center electrode to just 0.4 mm in some applications, further increasing flame-kernel efficiency. Even the back end of the plug is trick: Made from highly purified alumina powder, Denso insulators develop exceptional dielectric strength and thermal conductivity at high temps, as well as greater physical strength. Today Denso's iridium-based plugs are the leading choice for many OEM and racing applications.-Marlan Davis