The 2024 edition of the brand-spanking-new Holley EFI Factory X category is plumping up ahead of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk. Versatile racer Kyle Koretsky will be behind the wheel of a Rob Smith Racing-owned supercharged Chevrolet Camaro for the first time as the class returns to action at Summit Motorsports Park, June 27-29.<\/p>\n
West Coast-based team owner Rob Smith has been part of the Comp Eliminator scene for many years and part of the Factory X class from its inception. The COPO Camaro that he owns and Koretsky will drive was one of the first four cars to debut the class at the 2023 U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Crew chief, tuner, and team manager Ken Justice was the one that reached out to Koretsky when the team decided to move forward with bringing their Factory X car back out this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all very excited to have Kyle on board,\u201d said Justice. \u201cWe put the wheels in motion just a couple of weeks ago, then I came out to Maple Grove with the car to have the engine freshened and dynoed. Kyle came over and did a trial fit, and we had to make a couple of changes for him to be comfortable in the car, but now we\u2019re ready. We\u2019re looking forward to getting back out there and for the rest of the year. It\u2019s been quite a learning experience already, and it will take more time and adjustments, but we plan to be a contender.\u201d
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Koretsky has enjoyed a steadily building career in drag racing. The second-generation driver fell in love with Pro Stock at an early age as he watched his dad, Kenny \u201cCaptain Chaos\u201d Koretsky, compete in the class of naturally aspirated factory hot rods. The younger Koretsky cut his teeth bracket racing and in Comp, and he stepped into Pro Stock in 2020 behind the wheel of a KB Racing (now KB Titan Racing) Chevrolet Camaro. The Pennsylvania native claimed his first win in the category at the fall race in Charlotte in 2022, and he has five additional final rounds on his scorecard \u2013 six, including a Comp Eliminator final in 2009. He was four times a low qualifier in the ultra-competitive category and posted a career-best fourth place finish in Pro Stock in 2021.
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\u201cBeing asked to drive this Factory X car was a total surprise,\u201d said Koretsky, who will race with the well-recognized Nitro Fish branding on the door. \u201cI always thought it would be super cool to drive a Factory X car, but I didn\u2019t think it would actually happen. I\u2019m honored that they thought about me, and I\u2019m just going to do the best I can. I\u2019m excited to see how the program develops. Rob and Ken both want to win as much as I do, and they\u2019ve made a big commitment to keep growing as a team. We want to go out there and be competitive.\u201d
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Koretsky temporarily stepped away from full-time Pro Stock racing at the conclusion of 2023 to focus on his growing family and business. The Koretsky family owns and operates Maple Grove Raceway, and that is where Koretsky made his first runs in the Factory X car to prepare for his Norwalk debut.
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\u201cI would be lying if I said I wasn\u2019t a little bit nervous,\u201d said Koretsky, who plans to return to Pro Stock in the future and race both categories. \u201cBut I think nerves get you in trouble, so I\u2019m taking baby steps, learning the car, and getting ready. It\u2019s definitely harder to drive than the Pro Stock car \u2013 it\u2019s a handful \u2013 but it\u2019s a cool adventure, and I\u2019m confident we\u2019ll do well. The class is new, it\u2019s growing, and the fans like it. I\u2019m grateful to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was originally published on June 26, 2024. <\/p>\n
The post Multi-Class Racer Kyle Koretsky to Add Factory X to the Mix in Norwalk<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 2024 edition of the brand-spanking-new Holley EFI Factory X category is plumping up ahead of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk. Versatile racer Kyle Koretsky will be behind the wheel of a Rob Smith Racing-owned supercharged Chevrolet Camaro for the first time as the class returns to action at Summit Motorsports Park, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94336\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}