Pro Stock driver Ken Koretsky never stops wheeling and dealing

'Here, check this out," motions Ken Koretsky as he flips open his briefcase. "I picked these up the other night."

Once inside the overstuffed, monogrammed black leather case, he roots through the contents before eventually producing a stack of yellow Internal Revenue Service W2-G forms, the sum total of which represents more than $128,000 in earnings. The newfound wealth could easily have come from one of Koretsky's six Pennsylvania-based businesses, but it didn't. This time the source was a midweek outing at New Jersey's Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort, where good fortune smiled upon him in the form of multiple winning pulls on a $100 slot machine. "I was up to almost 200 grand at one point, but I gave back a bunch before my friends finally dragged me out of there," he jokes. "It's a good thing because I probably would have been 50 gs in the hole by the time the night was over."

Six hours later, Koretsky is hard at work, sitting atop a Caterpillar D8 bulldozer, moving a small mountain of concrete and dirt at the reclamation site he owns in eastern Pennsylvania, and later he'll make a quick stop at his motorcycle dealership, Bucks County Kawasaki. His packed schedule also includes a meeting with best friend, partner, and crew chief Eddie Guarnaccia to check on the progress of a housing development they're planning. He'll spend most of the day with a phone attached to his ear, chatting with bankers, lawyers, and other business associates. Long after sunset, Koretsky will make his way home, spend some quality time with his wife Karen, sons Kenny Jr. and Kyle, and daughter Taylor, then retreat to his home office to return phone calls, pay bills, and check on the status of the new Nitro Fish Pro Stock T-shirts that he will debut at the next event. If there is such a thing as a typical day in the life of Ken Koretsky, this is it.

"That's me, 'Captain Chaos,'" says Koretsky. "With me, you never know what's going to happen next; every day is a new adventure. I've always been a hustler, and I learned a long time ago that if you want to be successful and remain successful, you've got to keep driving, all day, every day. Fortunately, I have good people working for me and have excellent management partners who allow me to do the things I like to do, like race."

Koretsky's work hard/play hard philosophy sheds some light on his image: part happy-go-lucky/life of the party and part serious businessman who runs multiple corporations that generate millions of dollars in annual revenue. It also helps explain how he manages to strike a balance between his businesses, diversions such as an occasional gambling trip, and other competitive endeavors, such as his Nitro Fish Wear Pro Stock team.

Good fortune has smiled on Koretsky in most aspects of his life, from business to family, but similar success on the racetrack has been hard to come by. He is one of just a handful of Pro Stock racers who have more than 100 DNQs on their résumé, and he's still looking for his first national event win.

"It's killing me," he admits. "I've done some good things and have had some success in other areas, but I just can't seem to win a Wally. I'm sure some people don't see this side of me, but I am dedicated to this sport. I'm a very competitive person, and I want to do well. It has taken a lot of hard work by our entire team to get to where we are now. I'm pretty optimistic; I believe our best days are yet to come."

Koretsky and his Nitro Fish Wear team are holding their own in an increasingly tough Pro Stock class. Last year, he enjoyed a breakthrough campaign, finishing in the POWERade top 10 for the first time in his career and reaching his first final round, at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, where he nearly upset reigning NHRA POWERade world champ Greg Anderson. Koretsky will celebrate another personal milestone shortly as a first-time participant in the prestigious King Demon Crown event, an exclusive eight-car race for drivers who excel in qualifying that will be contested at the CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Nationals in Chicago.

Koretsky is many things, including unpredictable. In the late 1980s, he was in the midst of paying his dues as an up-and-coming Pro Stock driver and was making steady progress with his in-house engine program, even reaching back-to-back semifinals in Montreal, Que., and Englishtown in 1989, but evidently Pro Stock wasn't thrilling enough because Koretsky woke up one day wanting a Top Fuel dragster. A short time later, he bought a complete Mike Kaase car from Al Hanna and upgraded his NHRA competition license, which legends Joe Amato and Kenny Bernstein signed.

"I really liked the speed and noise of Top Fuel," said Koretsky. "Also, the sponsors that I was working with at the time liked the idea of a Top Fuel car, so I decided to just go out and do it. It might not have been the smartest thing I've ever done - it was expensive, and the car never ran like I thought it should - but I had fun. Besides, I might not have as many wins as Warren Johnson, Bob Glidden, or Greg Anderson, but I guarantee that I've been quicker down a dragstrip than anyone else in Pro Stock."

Koretsky also made history by qualifying for Top Fuel and Pro Stock at the same event, the 1990 Motorcraft Arizona Nationals in Phoenix. He won the first round of both eliminators, beating Lori Johns in Top Fuel and Bruce Allen in Pro Stock, but his run at potential drag racing immortality was derailed in round two when a fire in the Top Fueler burned off the chutes, sending Koretsky on a high-speed trip into Firebird Int'l Raceway's sand trap. A cracked vertebra prevented him from making his second-round Pro Stock race against Larry Morgan.

By 1995, the demands of running multiple businesses and raising a family forced Koretsky out of drag racing. He briefly invested in a NASCAR truck team, but it wasn't as rewarding as his drag racing experience, so in 2000 he returned for a second shot at Pro Stock.

"I could only take so much of sitting around at the beach house all summer," said Koretsky. "I really missed being out [at the track], so I called Eddie and told him we needed to begin racing again. Drag racing is a nice diversion from the daily grind. It's funny, I used to think of it as a way to relieve stress, but when you're on the bump spot heading into the last qualifying session, that only adds stress. Still, I enjoy it a lot."

Running a limited schedule without much success, Koretsky got serious in 2004. He switched from a Cavalier to a Dodge Stratus, signed an engine-leasing agreement with Larry Morgan, and forged a marketing partnership with the Nitro Fish apparel line. Good things began to happen that season, and Koretsky qualified for 21 of 23 races, reached the Indianapolis final, and finished ninth in the national points standings, earning a trip to the stage at the postseason NHRA POWERade Awards Ceremony in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

"Going to the banquet made it all worthwhile; that was definitely a highlight for me," said Koretsky. "Reaching the final at Indy was also a great experience. I still believe that if I had lane choice, I would have beaten Greg [Anderson], but I don't dwell on it. It was a great weekend."

Now 48, Koretsky is making plans for the next phase of his career, and he's clearly focused on becoming a team owner. He purchased the Nitro Fish Wear company in 2005 and is working to introduce the popular line of apparel into retail outlets.

"I'm no Don Schumacher, but I believe I can be a successful team owner," said Koretsky. "Putting together deals is what I do best, and that's what a successful team owner should do. The Nitro Fish deal is a prime example. I mean, how many racers have ever gone out and bought their sponsor? I see a lot of potential for Nitro Fish, and when the opportunity was there to buy the company, I went for it. I've never run an apparel company before, but I'm learning more every day. A business is a business, and in my mind it really doesn't matter what you're selling. As long as there is a market for it, you'll be successful, and, believe me, there is a market for Nitro Fish products. I meet Nitro Fish fans everywhere I go, and they're a pretty loyal bunch."

Koretsky's biggest and most shocking move might be yet to come. He's currently in negotiations to purchase a very competitive Top Fuel operation, a deal he hopes to have finalized by mid-June.

"First of all, I believe the Nitro Fish brand should be on a nitro car," he said. "There is a team out there, and I can't say which one right now, that has tremendous potential. It's a very successful team, and I want to be a part of that. I just want to win, and it doesn't matter to me whether it comes as a driver or team owner.