If Eddie Guarnaccia were an optimist, he’d be very confident Richie Stevens would have no problem qualifying Kenny Koretsky’s Nitro Fish/Indicom Electric Dodge for Sunday’s Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park near Richmond.
He is, however, Koretsky’s longtime friend and the team’s crew chief and, therefore, more of a realist when it comes to qualifying and race-day performances. So, when Guarnaccia says, “I think we can do well,” one tends to believe him.
There is, however, a caveat.
“We ran with the other cars testing Wednesday (at Maryland International Raceway) and we got the car to perform the best it has since we’ve had it . . . which is two races and a test session,” said Guarnaccia. “But I don’t think we’ll see the same kind numbers (elapsed times) at Richmond because the conditions won’t be as good as we had at MIR.”
That shouldn’t taint the fact that Guarnaccia made serious tune-up gains. “We learned a lot working on fuel and the tune-up,” he said, “and the car’s performance is definitely getting better. We’ve had the engine in the car for several runs and I’m pleased with the way it ran. And David (Nickens, team engine builder) has another engine coming in Friday that he’s been working on. We definitely have the car running better down low and we’ll see how it works when qualifying begins Friday.”
Unhappy with inconsistent performances, Koretsky made the switch to Dodge two races ago but that left Stevens and Guarnaccia little time to test until this week.
“Obviously I’m pleased with our test results and hope we can go some rounds on Sunday,” said Koretsky, who will be in Richmond. It’s the first time in six races that Koretsky will have only one Nitro Fish-sponsored pro car in competition. Reigning Pro Stock Motorcycle champion Matt Smith is idle as is Top Fuel driver Clay Millican.
Koretsky’s youngest son Kyle will be at the controls of his Nitro Fish Super Comp dragster. Kyle went three rounds Sunday at Atco, N.J. in NHRA’s Lucas Oil Sportsman Series race.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to the track,” Koretsky said. “It will be fun hanging out and watching Richie and Kyle race.”
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