3/10/2017
Paul Pokorski
Pokorski Motorsports preps to fire up silver anniversary season
On the heels of a solid 2016 season, the Paul Pokorski Motorsports 360 sprint car racing team is looking to make some noise as it celebrates its 25th season of competition in 2017.
Armed with a brand new 2016 Maxim last year, the team endured plenty of trial and error in learning the subtle nuances of an unfamiliar car.
In 21 Midwest Sprint Car Association (MSA) 360 sprint car events last year, Pokorski posted five top-five finishes in A-main competition, along with 12 top-10 A-main finishes and seven heat race victories. The team also competed in four Interstate Racing Association (IRA) 410 Sprint Car Series events, highlighted by a 19th-place A-main finish at the Manitowoc Expo Speedway, the team’s home track, on July 1.
The team’s best A-main finish of the 2016 season was a second-place showing at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam on July 8th.
In addition, the Pokorski team fell just short in its quest to capture the Eastern Wisconsin Stock Car Sprint Car championship in the final season of racing at the now defunct Manitowoc Expo Speedway, eventually finishing four-points behind Brandon McMullen in the chase for the title.
“Our 2016 season was decent,” Pokorski said. “We didn’t get a feature win, but we had a few strong seconds and thirds, and won some heat races. Most importantly, we got better on the dry slick tracks. Since dry slick seems to be the way race tracks are trending, that is really important.”
Just as it has done for the past 24 years, the team has spent the offseason preparing meticulously for what Pokorski hopes will be a successful 25th season of action.
“This year’s approach is pretty much like each of the last 24,” Pokorski said. “We have been getting everything as fresh as we can afford to, while making sure we have the spares ready to go to make any hiccups during the season easier to cope with when the schedule is tight.
“I am hoping that this year starts out consistent,” he said. “Last year, it took until about mid-season to really start clicking. That is when we found a good baseline to work from. We’ll start there this year and hope to improve on it as we go.”
After coming up dry in the chase for an A-main victory last season, Pokorski has set a return to victory lane as his main goal for 2017.
“My goal as a driver is to win some races and not wreck stuff,” Pokorski said. “Above all, I have to confess that I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get at least one A-main win this year.”
As far as the team’s 2017 schedule is concerned, Pokorski has tentatively penciled a total of 33 races at six different tracks, including 20 races at the Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds – the home track of the Midwest Sprint Car Association.
Pokorski Motorsports is also tentatively scheduled to run a handful of Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series races, including three events at the 141 Speedway in Francis Creek and one at the Luxemburg Speedway.
“We will run 100 percent of the races with MSA, if all goes as planned,” said Pokorski, who captured the 2014 MSA Masters Series championship. “The team is also planning to run a select few IRA shows.”
Reflecting on his lengthy career in racing both EWSC Winged Super Modifieds and MSA sprint cars, Pokorski has accumulated many cherished memories.
“Where has the time gone? I don’t feel that much older,” Pokorski said. “I can remember starting out in 1993 very clearly. I certainly remember the first few career feature wins in 1996. We destroyed my first race car on opening night after preparing it all winter long. We thrashed to replace it with a new chassis we put together from scratch in two weeks. Then we proceeded to have a break out year and win the last two features of the year. The championship years of 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2014 in general terms were all memorable for their own reasons.”
Along with the team’s many highlights, which includes 44 A-main victories (35 EWSC Winged Super Modfieds and 9 MSA Sprint Car), Pokorski recalls one significant low point.
“I recall destroying my second car on the front stretch in a collision with Pete Ostrowski at Plymouth, in I think it was 2001,” Pokorski said. “That still hurts when I think about it. I’m glad Pete and I both walked away from that wreck.”
Overall, Pokorski enters his 25th season thankful for the assistance he has received through the years.
“Finally, I’m just grateful to have had all the friends and family that have supported me, and continue to do so,” Pokorski said. “I couldn’t do this without them.”
Pokorski Motorsports is set to open the 2017 season with a three-race weekend April 28-30. The team will begin by running with the IRA at Luxemburg Speedway on Friday, April 28, followed by the MSA opener at the Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, April 29 and another MSA event at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam on Sunday, April 30.
For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.
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2017 Pokorski Motorsports Tentative Schedule
Friday April 28 Luxemburg Speedway, Luxemburg (IRA)
Saturday April 29 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday April 30 Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam
Saturday May 6 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday May 13 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday May 20 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday May 27 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday May 28 141 Speedway in Francis Creek (IRA)
Saturday June 3 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday June 10 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday June 11 Angel Park Speedway in Sun Prairie
Saturday June 17 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Friday June 23 Spring Valley Speedway in Unity
Saturday June 24 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday July 1 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday July 2 141 Speedway in Francis Creek (IRA)
Friday July 7 Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam
Saturday July 8 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday July 15 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday July 22 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday July 29 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday July 30 Angel Park Speedway in Sun Prairie
Saturday Aug. 5 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday Aug. 12 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday Aug. 13 Angel Park Speedway in Sun Prairie
Saturday Aug 19 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Friday, Aug. 25 Spring Valley Speedway in Unity
Saturday Aug. 26 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday Aug. 27 Angel Park Speedway in Sun Prairie
Saturday Sept. 2 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Sunday, Sept. 3 141 Speedway, Francis Creek (IRA)
Saturday Sept. 9 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday Sept. 16 **Rain date only for PDTR Sept. 9th date
Saturday Sept. 30 Plymouth Dirt Track Racing at Sheboygan Co. Fairgrounds
Saturday Nov. 11 MSA awards banquet
Article Credit: Jeff Pederson - Pedal Down Promotions
Submitted By: Jeff Pederson
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