A disappointed Kenny Koretsky said Wednesday he will not be racing this weekend at one of his favorite NHRA venues, Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.
The personable fan favorite from Richboro, Pa. – about an hour’s drive from Raceway Park – will be at the track for NHRA’s Lucas Oil SuperNationals (Friday through Sunday) without his Nitro Fish/Indicom Electric Pontiac GXP Pro Stock entry. The car is undergoing repairs following Koretsky’s accident at Topeka, Kan., May 31.
“I’m feeling okay,” said Koretsky, who received numerous bumps and bruises when the car made hard contact with the track’s concrete barriers during a qualifying attempt. The impact damaged the car’s front end and it was sent to builder Jerry Bickel’s shop to have the front end replaced.
“We probably could have raced at Englishtown, but the bottom line is we wanted to test before this race to make sure the car was right, and we didn’t have the time,” Koretsky continued. “That’s one of my hometown tracks. We are expecting a lot of friends and fans. I’ll have more time to visit with them because we aren’t racing.”
Crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia lauded the effort of Bickel’s crew. “They worked hard to get our car back into one piece in such a short time,” he said, “ and they did a terrific job. The car will be ready to race next week (at Norwalk, Ohio, June 27-29). We are looking at places to test before the race.
“There is a group of (Pro Stock) drivers planning to test Tuesday and Wednesday. They aren’t sure where they’re going yet. It could be Martin, Mich., or Joliet (Ill.). We want to get Kenny back in the car and comfortable . . . and then we’ll go from there.
“Sonny (Leonard, team engine builder) is okay with the motors,” added Guarnaccia. “They are looking better and better.”
Koretsky will be focusing his attention this weekend on reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith, rider of the Nitro Fish Buell entry. Smith comes to Englishtown in second place in POWERade Series points. He earned his first win at Raceway Park in 2006. Last year he won four times in nine final rounds to clinch his first title.
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