Kenny Koretsky on Pro Stock Hot Streak; Seeking First Career Victory at Seatte
Who’s the hottest Pro Stock driver on the NHRA tour?
If you said Kenny Koretsky, you’d be right.
What’s he done? Well, everything except win the first POWERade Series race of his career that began in 1987.
Koretsky made his first final-round appearance in three years – and won his first rounds of racing in that same time frame – when he drove his way into the title round at Bristol, Tenn. (July 8), against Jeg Coughlin. He came within two-thousandths of a second of an incredible upset win. He did it on grit and heretofore unseen, uncanny starting-line reaction times and he almost repeated it last Sunday at Denver, reaching the semifinals before bowing out.
In a few short weeks he’s climbed to 13th in the standings and regained his confidence as a driver heading into the season’s 14th race, the Schuck’s Auto Supply Nationals at Pacific Raceways in nearby Kent, Friday through Sunday.
“I feel like I have my confidence back as a driver, ” said Koretsky, who will be making his first appearance in Seattle since 2004. “Our whole team is jelling, and that’s what it takes to be successful. We have the whole package – a good motor program with Steve Schmidt, a good team owner in Greg Hill, a good Indicom Electric/Nitro Fish Chevy Cobalt, good crew chiefs in Eddie Guarnaccia and Tomi Laine, a good clutch man in Matt Heck; a good back end of the car man in Jason Hughes and good engine men in Dan and Bill Ambergy.
“This streak has been a lot of fun and we want it to continue at Seattle. I’ ve been doing my job and everything is cool. It has been a lot of fun. We are looking forward to racing at Seattle and Sonoma (July 29). We won a round at each race in 2004. ”
Koretsky and Hill joined forces this year and it took time for the team to come together. Now that is has, it’s possible for Koretsky to finish in the top 10, something he’s done only once, in 2004. His recent success lifted him from 16th to 13th place with 454 points. He’s still 124 behind eighth-place and a long shot to make the playoffs.
However, it’s likely he could present problems for those drivers in contention for the top eight berths in NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship. The first segment ends in four races and the leading eight continue their title chase for through the final six events.
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