8/16/2017
Paul Pokorski
Pokorski Motorsports racks up fifth straight top-10 showing
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 16, 2017 – Paul Pokorski and his Pokorski Motorsports team kept their top-10 finish streak rolling right along last weekend in 360 Sprint Car racing action at The Plymouth Dirt Track and Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, Pokorski was one of 21 teams signed in to do battle on Past Champions Night at The Plymouth Dirt Track on the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds.
The evening got off to a rocky start for Pokorski in the third PDTR Sprint Car heat race. After starting seventh, Pokorski made contact with the frontstretch wall near the midway point of the race and pulled off the track soon after to record a seventh-place showing in the race.
A DNF in his heat race relegated Pokorski to the 20th starting spot in the 25-lap Sprint Car A main. Pokorski was able to make steady progress through the field from the last starting spot thanks in part to five caution periods.
The 25-year racing veteran displayed some nifty driving to avoid an accident in turn two on lap 8 involving Bill Taylor of Lance Fassbender. After restarting 11th, Pokorski managed to pick off three more cars over the final 17 laps to notch a solid eighth-place showing.
“We tried something a little different with shocks in the heat race on Saturday night,” Pokorski said. “We found out a little adjustment can make a big change and car was kind of a disaster. The driver also didn’t have his head quite screwed on right and that ended up with me taking down the wall coming out of turn four. I hit it hard enough to bend a wheel and the Jacob’s ladder, so at that point I just pulled off before we wrecked anything else.
“We made some small tweaks to go back closer to our baseline for the feature and that made things much better,” Pokorski said. “In the middle portion of the race, I overtightened the car by pulling the wing back too far and that slowed our progress, but overall I was happy to move up 12 spots.”
At intermission, Pokorski was one of a large contingent of former Plymouth champions be honored in front of the grandstand. Pokorski was recognized for winning two Winged Super Modified championships at Plymouth in 2002 and 2003.
The fact that Pokorski made it to Plymouth at all on Saturday night was a feat in itself, as the team’s trailer had a wheel bearing malfunction on the way to the track. Thanks to the help of several racers, crew members, family and friends, Pokorski was able to get back on the road and to the track in time to race.
“I definitely have to thank Brandon Knepprath and his crew, as well as the guys and Mueller Sales and Service for their help in getting the wheel bearing replaced on our trailer on Saturday night, or we probably wouldn’t have been able to make it to the track to race either night,” Pokorski said.
On Sunday night, the team ventured to Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie for the final of three Midwest Sprint Car Association appearances at the historic track this season.
With 21 cars signed in, Pokorski started third in the second MSA heat trace. Pokorski held down the third spot until the final lap when Danny Schlafer slipped past in turn two to drop Pokorski to fourth at the finish line.
After just missing the 12-car invert, Pokorski lined up 13th in the 25-lap MSA A main. The 2014 MSA Masters Series champ ran a steady race hovering around the top 10 throughout.
On lap 11, Pokorski found himself in the 11th position and four laps later he moved around Scott Conger to advance to ninth. With two laps to go, Bill Balog, who was filling in for Al Schlafer, got past Pokorski to drop the West Bend driver to 10th as the checkered flag fell. The 10th-place showing marked Pokorski fifth straight top-10 A-main finish.
“On Sunday night at Angell Park, we were okay in the heat race,” Pokorski said. “We just struggled to pass cars on the narrow track, which cost us a vital spot at the end of the race. That took us from solidly in the invert to 13th, one spot out of the invert.
“The car was actually very good in the feature and we learned some things with the help of Scotty Neitzel from R&H Enterprises,” he said.
Pokorski will return to The Plymouth Dirt Track this Saturday, Aug. 19 for Race Against Cancer Night, which will include a special appearance from Pink Heals of Sheboygan County’s pink fire truck. Racing begins at 6 p.m.
The Pokorski Motorsports sponsors for the 2017 season include: Acme Armature Works Inc., Goeden's Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Jens, Reinbold & Pfeffer Family Funeral Services & Crematory, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak's Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Christel Sign, Tisler Salvage Inc. and The Cawley Company.
For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com.
Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Novak’s Service Center
Pokorski Motorsports will like to acknowledge the support of long-time sponsor Novak’s Service Center of Manitowoc, which is celebrating its 45th year in business in 2017.
Novak’s Service Center is a locally-owned, two-bay auto repair center, which has been serving customers in the Lakeshore area since 1972.
Located at 1320 Washington St. in Manitowoc, Novak’s Service Center is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
To schedule an appointment, call 920-684-5737 or visit www.novaks1320.com.
Pedal Down Promotions is a full-service public relations and media services company devoted to helping its clients effectively communicate with targeted audiences through press releases, newsletters, profile and feature articles, website and social media content development, printed media, editing and layout, graphic design and book publishing services.
For more information on Pedal Down Promotions, email pedaldownpromotions@gmail.com, visit www.pedaldownpromotions.com or call 920-323-7970.
2017 Pokorski Motorsports Remaining Schedule
Saturday, August 19 – Plymouth Dirt Track (MSA)
Saturday, August 26 – Plymouth Dirt Track (MSA)
Saturday, September 2 – Plymouth Dirt Track (MSA)
Sunday, September 3 – 141 Speedway (IRA)
Saturday, September 9 – Plymouth Dirt Track (MSA)
Saturday, September 30 – Plymouth Dirt Track (MSA)
2017 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers
Total Events - 19
MSA events – 18
IRA events - 1
A-Main Victories - 1
Top Five A-Main Finishes - 5
Top 10 A-Main Finishes - 10
Heat Race Victories - 1
Article Credit: Jeff Pederson - Pedal Down Promotions
Submitted By: Jeff Pederson
