8/3/2021
Paul Pokorski
Alex Pokorski tallies first top-five at Plymouth, adds top-10 at Angell Park in MSA double dip
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) August 3, 2021 – Second-year Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car driver Alex Pokorski has been busy turning heads throughout the 2021 season and he continued to do just that during a Plymouth Dirt Track Racing 360 Sprint Car event at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds as he not only collected his second heat race victory of the 2021 season, but also led his first A-main laps and notched a career-best fifth-place A-main finish on Saturday, July 31 before notching an eighth-place showing in his first-ever A-main start at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis. on Sunday, Aug. 1.
Pokorski opened the MSA doubleheader weekend by being among 28 PDTR 360 Sprint Car drivers to sign in for a PDTR 360 Sprint Car event at The Plymouth Dirt Track on July 31, which was held in conjunction with the Bumper to Bumper Interstate Racing Association 410 Sprint Car Series and Badger Midget Auto Racing Association for the lone time during the 2021 season.
An advantageous heat race pill draw put Pokorski on the pole of the third 10-lap 360 Sprint Car heat race. Pokorski outpowered outside front row starter Adam Miller to lead the first lap before the lone caution of the race appeared on lap 7 for a spin involving rookie Dylan Winkel.
Pokorski again pulled away from the field on the restart on the way to his second-career PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race victory.
After the passing points inversion draw, Pokorski earned the pole position for the 25-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car main event flanked by multi-time Midwest Sprint Car Association and PDTR 360 Sprint Car champ Kurt Davis on the front row.
Pokorski got the jump on the drop of the green flag to lead the race along the low groove. The second-year West Bend driver stuck to the inside lane of the smooth and slick track surface and controlled a solid lead until lap 14 when he caught the back of the 22-car field.
With slower cars racing side by side ahead of Pokorski, Ben Schmidt jumped out to the outside groove to sneak around Pokorski for the lead in turn two on lap 18. On lap 20, Davis relegated Pokorski to third as the laps wound down.
Over the final two laps, Bill Taylor and Justin Erickson also moved past as Pokorski wound up with a career-best fifth-place A-main showing and team’s third top-10 A-main finish of the 2021 campaign in a race won by Ben Schmidt.
"Saturday night at Plymouth was great," Pokorski said. "We had a fast car the whole night and it felt really good to lead an A main for a while. If I would’ve tried to get the lap cars sooner, I might've ended up finishing higher. It was tough to call in the moment, but I learned for next time. I'm still happy that we ended up in the top five."
On Sunday, Aug. 1, the Pokorski Motorsports team faced a challenge even before getting to the track as a flat tire on the team's hauler caused them to miss mandatory engine warm ups and track packing, resulting in Alex being relegated to start at the rear of his heat race.
With 23 MSA 360 Sprint Cars on hand, Alex and the team did arrive at the track in time to participate in the MSA qualifying session, during which he timed in sixth fastest overall with a lap of 14.558 seconds around the historic third-mile clay oval.
After starting seventh in the third MSA eight-lap heat race, Pokorski worked past Blake Wondra and Katelyn Krebsbach to finish fifth.
Pokorski started ninth in his first-career 20-lap MSA A main at the venerable Angell Park Speedway and held his line throughout the event on the rubber-down, one-groove track. Pokorski moved into eighth when Dylan Winkel retired to the infield on lap 16 with a flat tire.
The second-year driver went on to notch his third career top-10 MSA A-main showing with an eighth-place finish in a race won by Tim Haddy.
"I felt we had a good car at Angell Park, but it was taking rubber very early, so it was tough to pass," Pokorski said. "I was just focused on saving my tires and getting a finish in the top 10."
After completing a highly successful MSA doubleheader weekend, which included two top-10 A-main finishes and a heat race victory, Pokorski is looking to continuing to improve, while striving to register solid finishes in his upcoming opportunities to wheel the No. 4 Pokorski Motorsports car.
"After getting a top five and leading for a while, my next goal would be winning one," Pokorski said. Another goal for me now is to be consistent, so we can get as many top-five and top-10 finishes as we can."
The Pokorski Motorsports team is set to return to action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds for Plymouth Dirt Track Racing’s Autograph Night featuring free checkered flags and backpacks for the first 200 kids courtesy of Hopf Farms on Saturday, Aug. 7.
Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
Sponsors and supporters for the 2021 Pokorski Motorsports team are Petersen Septic Systems, Quest Engineering Inc., Goeden Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Hopf Farms, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak's Service Center, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation, RC Custom Design and Pedal Down Promotions
Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Quest Engineering
Pokorski Motorsports is pleased to welcome back Quest Engineering of Richfield, Wis. as a sponsor for the 2021 racing season.
Quest Engineering focuses solely on full overlay cabinetry and complimenting custom products, including kitchen, bath, closets, garage, entertainment and commercial casework projects.
Quest’s skilled team of customer advocates, product specialists, engineers, production managers and operations team rely on a continuous improvement philosophy to pave the road to success.
Founded as a contract wood products fabricator in West Bend by brothers Chris and Todd Lefeber in 2001, Quest operated on mostly manual machines until adding CNC equipment and parametric engineering software to its repertoire in 2006.
In late 2008, Quest Engineering made the move from a direct sales to a dealer sales model with an increased focused on its capacity as a manufacturer. Quest moved from its original facility in West Bend to a newly renovated production facility in Richfield in fall 2012.
In May 2015, working with equipment, software, and special service vendors, Quest expanded with the addition of a second manufacturing plant. Housing a flexible casework production cell, a custom fabrication cell and a small warehouse, a new facility in Jackson was opened, featuring a design center and showroom.
“We spent time working on new sponsorship for this year and we are very excited to have Quest Engineering on board with us for 2021,” Pokorski Motorsports team owner and co-driver Paul Pokorski said. “Quest is a local manufacturer of quality cabinets and we encourage our fans to check out their line of products.”
Pokorski Motorsports invites fans to contact Quest Engineering Inc. by phone at 262-334-4949 or by visiting www.questcabinets.com.
For more information on Pokorski Motorsports, check out Pokorski Motorsports on Facebook or visit www.pedaldownpromo.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.pedaldownpromo.com or call 920-323-7970.
2021 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers
Total Events – 20
MSA events – 20
A Main Victories – 0
B Main Victories – 1
Top Five A Main Finishes – 1
Top 10 A Main Finishes – 4
Heat Race Victories – 2
2021 Pokorski Motorsports Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Aug. 7 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, Aug. 14 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, Aug. 21 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Friday, Aug. 27 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Saturday, Aug. 28 – Beaver Dam Raceway, Beaver Dam, Wis.
Article Credit: Jeff Pederson - Pedal Down Promotions
Submitted By: Jeff Pederson
