Koretsky all about business

Corporate tycoons have various ways to unwind after a hard day of moving money.

Some play golf. Some go to the opera. Some have a stiff drink.

Kenny Koretsky either visualizes making a 200 mph pass down a dragstrip in his Pro Stock Pontiac GXP or moves mountains in a gargantuan bulldozer at his gravel pit near Philadelphia.

"Sometimes after lunch I'll go hop in one and push around some dirt and rocks for about an hour," said Koretsky, known as "Captain Chaos."

"I get in, turn off my cell phone and relax."

The 50-year-old veteran drag racer has a personality about as big as his bulldozer, which is about the size of a small house.

He owns and runs nine successful corporations -- including his gravel pit quarry, a landfill, a concrete crushing operation, real estate developments and Nitro Fish racing gear.

"Lots of stuff," he said.

He's a land developer in Florida and plans to expand into Southern Nevada.

But he hasn't been able to engineer what he has yearned for most since 1987 -- an NHRA professional race title.

"You know, if I ever win one I might retire," he said, half joking. "But it's great stress relief."

He took a good step toward that Friday when Eddie Guarnaccia, Koretsky's crew chief for 20 years, helped him claim the provisional Pro Stock pole in the NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's dragstrip.

If Koretsky's elapsed time of 6.724 seconds (204.05 mph) holds up, it will be his first pole in 215 NHRA events.

Two more qualifying sessions remain today for Sunday's championship eliminations. Tony Schumacher is best in Top Fuel with an elapsed time of 4.51 seconds (328.38 mph), and Tim Wilkerson is No. 1 in Funny Car with a run of 4.850 seconds (318.24 mph).

If Koretsky stays on top, he will be riding as high as one of the towering construction cranes he occasionally escapes to when he needs a lift.

Koretsky and his family live in a suburban Philadelphia home he bought from Charles Barkley when the former All-Star was traded from the 76ers to the Phoenix Suns in 1992.

"I stole it. You know the Captain," he said.

It's a safe bet former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen didn't get a steal when he recently bought one of Koretsky's former homes in Florida.

Koretsky is a long way from his middle-class roots. What has remained constant is his 35-year passion for drag racing and motor sports.

This year he added a NASCAR Dirt Late Model team to his stable of racing operations that also includes a monster truck and motorcycles, which makes sense because he owns several motorcycle dealerships.

He received his first "Wally" trophy, named after NHRA founder Wally Parks, as an owner two weeks ago when Matt Smith won the Pro Stock Motorcycle title at Houston Raceway Park.

"That was exciting, and it happened on my birthday," Koretsky said. "But I want to win one on my own in Pro Stock."

Koretsky has made it to two NHRA final rounds in his career, including one last year. Through four events this season, he failed to qualify once and lost in the first round the other three times.

Maybe Koretsky will be a big winner this weekend.

If it doesn't happen for him on the dragstrip, he might find success in a high-roller slot tournament at the MGM Grand. He's a regular at $100 and $500 slots.

As any calculating businessman knows, the best way to win is to diversify.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.