It was a first place finish for Matt Kenseth and a second place finish for Denny Hamlin in the Bojangles Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway this past weekend.

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth have their cars equipped with the JASPER traditional three-rail 4-Speed Transmission. Michael Waltrip Racing drivers Martin Truex, Jr., Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer use JASPER’s single-rail version of the 4-Speed.

A recap of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers running JASPER Race Products is as follows:

1st         Matt Kenseth (JASPER 4-Speed Transmission)
2nd        Denny Hamlin (JASPER 4-Speed Transmission)
6th         Kyle Busch (JASPER 4-Speed Transmission)
11th       Clint Bowyer (JASPER 4-Speed Transmission)
12th       Martin Truex, Jr. (JASPER 4-Speed Transmission)
22nd      Joey Logano (JASPER Differential)
25th       Mark Martin (JASPER 4-Speed Transmission)
32nd      Brad Keselowski (JASPER Differential)

Four drivers running JASPER Race Products are in the Chase standings. Matt Kenseth is third; Clint Bowyer is fifth; Brad Keselowski is seventh; and Kyle Busch is eighth.

In the Nationwide Series, Joey Logano finished fourth and Sam Hornish, Jr. finished eighth. Both drivers run JASPER Differentials.

Friddle: Which Jaguar roadster was developed under project code “X152″?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: Which luxury automaker uses the slogan “Truth in
Engineering”?

Last Week’s Friddle Answer: Audi

Last Week’s Friddle Contest Winner: Seneca M.

Friddle: Which luxury automaker uses the slogan “Truth in Engineering”?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: Which number identifies nominal tire width in the following tire code:
P215/65R15 95H M+S?

Last Week’s Friddle Answer: 215

Last Week’s Friddle Contest Winner: Amber S.

Jasper Engines & Transmissions continues to expand its product line to fulfill industry needs. To that end, we are very excited to announce the release of Torque Converters for sale over the counter!

JASPER’s remanufactured OTC torque converters are currently available for the following 1989-2007 applications:

• Chrysler 47RE/48RE          Dodge Ram 2500 – 3500
• Ford E4OD/4R100/5R110   Ford F-150 – F-550 & Ford E-150 – E-350

“There’s a market out there for these converters, especially for the heavy-duty diesel engine applications,” said Craig Leuck, JASPER Transmission Division Manager. “We can help that local shop whose customer has a customized transmission for their truck, and it needs a heavy-duty converter to handle the job, particularly for towing purposes.”

A JASPER remanufactured converter features a heavy-duty billet steel front cover. “As the converter gets hot over time, a standard stamped steel front cover will balloon,” said Leuck. “This causes the front lock-up surface to swell up and lose contact with the piston and burn up the lock-up lining. Billet steel front covers will not expand.”

Each converter is also balanced to within three grams to eliminate any unwanted vibrations in either the engine or transmission.

Each JASPER over the counter converter is covered by a 3-Year/ 100,000 Mile Nationwide Parts Only Warranty. Call 1-800-827-7455 for complete conditions.

For the past five years, Jasper Engines & Transmission’s Relay for Life team, JET NASCURE, has sponsored the “Pie in the Eye” event to help raise money for the Dubois County Relay for Life.

JASPER Associates donated $.25 per vote to see their favorite three of twelve candidates get a “Pie in the Eye.” This year’s winner was Brady Walton from Indiana Tool & Die with 333 votes, second place went to Chip Morris from Inside Sales with 154 votes and Ryan Stiles from the Transmission Division rounded out the top three with 33 votes. It should be noted that Brady’s co-workers, along with the patronage of many JASPER Associates, helped boost his votes through break time breakfast sales of delicious snacks. This year’s Pie in the Eye event fetched $655.27, which JASPER will match bringing the event total to $1,310.54. JET NASCURE has already raised $10,322 in donations so far this year.

Friddle: Which number identifies nominal tire width in the following tire code:
P215/65R15 95H M+S?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: In what year did JASPER open its first California branch?

Last Week’s Friddle Answer: 2003

Last Week’s Friddle Contest Winner: Martin

JASPER recently acquired a Haas VF-6 CNC for its Diesel Division. This machine has the ability to resurface an engine block as well as bore the cylinders. “What makes the CNC machine better is that it can resurface a block twice as fast, compared to standard machining practices, without compromising surface finish,” says Ryan Dooley, JASPER Diesel Division Manager. “The machine can bore out the cylinders five times faster than standard machining.”

“It would take about 40 minutes to manually set up a block to be bored and resurfaced,” he added. “With the CNC machine, that process is cut in half.”

Dooley says the Haas VF-6 currently machines the bigger medium-duty engines remanufactured within the division. “It machines all of our Cummins engines, all of our Caterpillar and Duramax engines, and we have future plans to have it machine the counterbore inline International engines,” he said. “This CNC machine currently accounts for about 35% of our production.”

With the new CNC machining process, Dooley says the customer will see added value and benefits from a JASPER product. “We’re able to machine the same block, without compromising quality, in half the amount of time,” added Dooley. “So it’s helped us become more efficient in providing a product to the customer in a shorter amount of time.”

Friddle: In what year did JASPER open its first California branch?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: What automaker offers the Wolfsburg Edition?

Last Week’s Friddle Answer: Volkswagen

Last Week’s Friddle Contest Winner: Rufino H.

In our continuing effort to provide customers with the perfect product, Jasper Engines & Transmissions has improved the testing process on all of our Complete diesel format engines.

Depending on the application, a JASPER Complete diesel engine includes all major castings, valve train, oil pump, oil pan and pickup tube.  “Each Complete engine is spin tested to verify oil pressure and water is run through the unit to check for fluid leaks,” says Eric Brittain, JASPER Diesel Division Group Leader.

As the Complete engine is spin tested, a compression probe is inserted into the glow plug hole of each individual cylinder (Figure 1).  “The compression reading of that cylinder is recorded through computerized data acquisition,” said Brittain.  “The program will alert the operator of any potential issues with low compression, or too great of a variation between cylinders.”

“On a diesel engine, the biggest issues are immediate start-up failures such as an oil leak, a misfire or a rough-running condition,” added Brittain.  “By performing this test JASPER can pinpoint, and correct, potential issues.  When this process is finished, we know JASPER has provided the best product for the customer at the best price.”

For more information on the remanufactured diesel engines of Jasper Engines & Transmissions, please call 1-800-827-7455.

Friddle: What automaker offers the Wolfsburg Edition?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: What is the “type number” for a four-door Porsche Panamera?

Last Week’s Friddle Answer: 970

Last Week’s Friddle Contest Winner: Mel R. Gilroy, CA