Paul Pokorski tallies top-10 in Dodge County Harry Neitzel Tribute Race
(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) Sept. 8, 2020 – In his fourth consecutive appearance behind the wheel of the Pokorski Motorsports 360 Sprint Car, 28-year veteran Paul Pokorski West Bend notched the team’s third top-10 A-main showing of the 2020 campaign at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Beaver Dam, Wis. on Friday, Sept. 4 and put together a hard-charging effort from deep in the field in A-main action at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth on Saturday, Sept. 5 during a Midwest Sprint Car Association doubleheader weekend.
On Friday, Sept. 4, Pokorski was among 23 MSA drivers on hand to tackle the sprawling Dodge County Fairgrounds “horsepower half mile” for the fourth annual Harry Neitzel Tribute Race.
After lining up fourth in the in the second eight-lap heat race, Pokorski pulled off a power move on the opening lap to advance past Jack Vanderboom and Justin Erickson into second place.
The 2014 MSA Masters Series champion held down second place throughout the remainder of the race behind race winner Brandon McMullen.
In the 20-lap A main, Pokorski lined up third on the grid and was shuffled back to sixth in the running order on the opening lap. On lap 5, Jack Vanderboom worked past Pokorski and on lap 13 Scotty Neitzel moved Pokorski back to eighth place.
On lap 15, Scott Conger maneuvered past Pokorski. However, Pokorski stormed back to regain the spot in the closing laps en route to an eighth-place finish in a race won by Brandon McMullen.
“The car felt pretty good in the heat race, but I wasn’t hitting turn one and two very well,” Pokorski said. “We changed very little before the feature and for some reason it was a bit of a handful. Maybe we needed to change more to keep up with the racetrack. We’ve been struggling to get consistent with this backup car. We finished eighth, but it felt like we were 18th.”
One night later at The Plymouth Dirt Track, Pokorski joined a field of 29 MSA-PDTR 360 Sprint Car drivers in the third to last race of the season at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds facility.
Pokorski drew the seventh starting spot in the fourth 10-lap PDTR 360 Sprint Car heat race and was unable to move up on a fast and tacky track surface as he placed seventh in the race.
After starting ninth in the 15-lap B main, Pokorski had his work cut out for him in order to finish in the top six to gain a berth in the A main. On lap 2, Pokorski fell to 10th before passing Preston Ruh to regain ninth place on lap 5.
The caution flag was displayed on lap 7 when Tyler Davis spun in turn two. Pokorski restarted eighth and worked past Chris Larson on lap 9 to gain the seventh spot.
On the final lap, the sixth-place car of Josh Teunissen got temporarily hung up behind a lapped car entering turn one, which allowed Pokorski to swing high to maneuver around Teunissen into the sixth and final transfer spot at the finish line.
After starting 20th in the 25-lap A main, Pokorski got caught in an incident involving Blake Wondra on lap 3, which prompted Pokorski to visit the work area after making slight contact with Wondra.
After restarting 19th, Pokorski advanced to 16th on lap 7 just before a red flag was displayed for the flipping car of Adam Miller in turn four. After restarting 16th, Pokorski powered past Doug Wondra, Tony Wondra and Ben Schmidt along the preferred inside groove to move up to 13th.
On lap 15, Pokorski dove under the high-riding Kurt Davis to claim 12th, which is where he finished in a race won by Brandon McMullen.
“Saturday night at Plymouth the car felt great in hot laps and it felt okay in the heat race, but I had hit an infield tire and tore off the left front shock on the first lap,” Pokorski said. “The track was well-prepared and really fast. Therefore, it was hard to pass on. Without a left front shock that made it even harder so we were pretty much just hanging on.
“We struggled a little bit in the B and got lucky to make it into the feature,” Pokorski said. “We changed a bunch of stuff before the feature and made it better, but we still have a ways to go. We left the track with car in one piece, so we can work on making it better and sometimes that’s all you can ask for.”
The Pokorski Motorsports team announced this week that after sharing the driver’s seat with his 21-year-old son Alex this season, Paul Pokorski will be behind the wheel for the remaining three races of the 2020 season.
“When we switched to the 2011 J&J chassis after our primary 2016 Maxim was involved in an accident, we found that the backup car didn’t really fit Alex well because he is a little taller than me,” Pokorski said. “We don’t want to put Alex in the car if he is not comfortable. Safety is the most important thing. As a result, I will be driving the car for the final three nights of the season.”
The Pokorski Motorsports team is set to be in action this Saturday, Sept. 12 at The Plymouth Dirt Track at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth, Wis., along with the PDTR Grand Nationals and B Mods, along with the visiting Bader Midget Series.
Spectator gates open at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps at 5:30 p.m. and racing at 6 p.m.
Sponsors for the 2020 Pokorski Motorsports team are Hopf Farms, Petersen Septic Systems, Quest Engineering Inc., Goeden’s Auto Body, Goodwin Racing Engines, Lakeshore Family Funeral Homes, Kettle Moraine Landscaping, Novak’s Service Center, Pedal Down Promotions, Tisler Salvage Inc., Allied Bearing Corporation and The Cawley Company.
Pokorski Motorsports Sponsor Showcase – Novak’s Service Center
Pokorski Motorsports would like to acknowledge the support of long-time sponsor Novak’s Service Center of Manitowoc, which is celebrating its 48th year in business in 2020.
Novak’s Service Center is a locally-owned, second-generation, family-owned, five-bay auto repair center, which has been serving customers in the Lakeshore area since 1972.
Novak’s Service Center offers comprehensive auto repair services, including 4 x 4 services, brakes, car and truck care, domestic cars and trucks, electrical services, electronic services, engine and transmission, engine maintenance, expired warranty care, general service, heating and cooling services, import cars and trucks, quick lube services, tires, towing, transmission and undercar services.
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.
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.
2020 Pokorski Motorsports Remaining Schedule.
Saturday, Sept. 12 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
Friday, Sept. 25 – Dodge County Fairgrounds, Beaver Dam, Wis
Saturday, Sept. 26 – Plymouth Dirt Track, Plymouth, Wis.
2020 Pokorski Motorsports By The Numbers
Total Events – 15
MSA events – 14
IRA events – 0
A Main Victories – 1
B Main Victories – 1
Top Five A Main Finishes – 1
Top 10 A Main Finishes – 3
Heat Race Victories – 0