It has been over five years since the last time Michael Mohelski has raced but he made the most of his return on Saturday night, upsetting the field to score his second career Super Cup Stock Car Series (SCSCS) victory.
When Mohelski, 30, from Frederick, Maryland, arrived at Jennerstown Speedway on Saturday, he was not even sure he would be racing. He was called upon by car owner and driver Mike Kurkowski who has had health issues recently. Unsure he would be able to race, Kurkowski had Mohelski on standby.
“We raced with him back in 2009,” Mohelski said. “We got a relationship with him. I drove one of his cars in the USAR series in 2010 or 2011. He was having some health issues and I guess he just thought of me, gave my old man a ring and said he’d be at Jennerstown running and, with his health issues, he wasn’t sure where he was going to be.
“It was one of those things where I didn’t know I was going to race when I went,” Mohelski continued. “Mike was having heart issues and wasn’t sure if he was going to be cleared. He supports the series really well and always wants his car in the field. He was going to see how he felt after one race and it was one of those things where I wasn’t sure if I’d be stepping in or hanging out or on standby or what.”
After finishing ninth in the first of two races in the Super Cup doubleheader, Kurkowski handed to reins to Mohelski. The Maryland racer survived some mid-race and late-race incidents and worked his way up through the field from the ninth starting position.
“It played out pretty well,” Mohelski explained. “It was a 50 lap race, we had a rain delay 33 laps in the race. We stepped out of the car for a half hour. Once it started back up, things got wild. A couple crashes and restarts put us right in the mix of things. It played in to my hands. I think I was in second or third with 46 laps on the board and we were able to sneak by. I think it was two to go, wasn’t much time, that was pretty much it.”
In the closing laps, realization began to set in for Mohelski that he could score the victory, which would be his first win the series since winning a race at Ona Speedway in West Virginia in 2009. He began to battle Harvey Harrison and made the move coming to two laps to go.
“It was pretty wild,” Mohelski remarked. “It was one of those things where I was just psyched to be back at the tack and behind the wheel. Just the opportunity to be there. To get out there and I think with five laps to go, I realized we had a shot to win this thing. We were biding our time. Once we had those cautions, it tightened things up and put us in the chance to win that thing.”
After the victory, Mohelski reflected on the moment in an interview with Short Track Scene, stating that he was not even sure he would even get the opportunity to race again.
“I mean, it was pretty sweet deal man,” Mohelski stated. “Two weeks ago I never dreamed I’d be behind the wheel of a car at that point in time. For Mike to even think of me to give us a call to give me the opportunity to come back out there was pretty awesome in itself. I mean, a win was just over the top. I’m still baffled about it. Me and my team, we’re all pretty tickled to get that win out of it.”
For Mohelski, racing is in his blood. He is the grandson of Hoss Kagle, who was the longtime promoter of Beltsville Speedway, an asphalt track that once existed in Beltsville, Maryland. Hoss Kagle was a brother to former NASCAR driver Reds Kagle who was known most for losing a leg in an infamous and violent crash in the 1961 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The love for the sport moved down through generations. Mohelski grew up with a passion for the sport inherited from his mother, Teresa Kagle, and father, Mike Mohelski.
“My mom was around racing her whole youth growing up so it’s always been a family thing,” Mohelski remarked. “I started racing at six years old. Quarter Midgets was the coolest experience because that’s where I did the most traveling and had the most success.”
Mohelski raced in Quarter Midgets when he was six before moving up to the Super Cup Stock Car Series in 2009. In 2010, Mohelski made the move from the relatively young Super Cup tour to the USAR Pro Cup Series where he scored six top-10 finishes in eight career starts. After 2011, Mohelski quit racing due to his financial situation.
Now that he’s returned to racing and returned to victory lane, Mohelski is hoping for a resurgence in his career and a second opportunity.
“I’m sure we’ll keep in touch with Mike and I think he may have a few races he might pick and choose,” Mohelski said. “He has a 17-year-old grandson he’s trying to get up and started so he’ll be concentrated on him but I think the series goes back to Jennerstown in a month so, if we keep in touch and he wants to give it another go, I’m just working a 6-3 job every day. If the opportunity comes about, it would be pretty cool to get back in the deal.”
Mohelski is not just keeping his options limited to the Super Cup Stock Car Series. However, living in Maryland, Mohelski is in a tough spot when it comes to trying to race on a weekly basis. The state has no asphalt ovals and only two dirt ovals in operation.
His experience in the old Pro Cup Series, which was relaunched into the CARS Tour in 2015, has allowed him to log hundreds of laps in short tracks in the Carolinas and Virginia, such as South Boston Speedway, Motor Mile Speedway and Ace Speedway. With his experience at those tracks, racing more often in a Late Model Stock Car at tracks such as Dominion Raceway is an option the 30-year-old might pursue in the coming weeks and months.
“The itch is there,” Mohelski explained. “In Maryland you’re in a tough spot. There’s some dirt racing up north and asphalt racing down south. I’d love to get back down there. I’ve run most of those tracks. We’ve put in our time at some of those tracks so it would be nice to put a package together in the future. I will have to discuss it with the dad, come up with some sponsorship and see if we can put something together in the near future.”
While he returns to the proverbial sidelines, Mohelski will be able to relish in his Jennerstown victory for many years to come regardless of what the future holds. It was not just a great comeback story for him, but a great comeback story in racing in general.
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