When a man named Captain Chaos stands there speechless, you know the poop is real. And that’s precisely what happened to the master of Chaos, Kenny Koretsky, as he stood on the starting line at Maple Grove Raceway surveying the packed grandstands and the unending line of race fans still coming in.
“I couldn’t even give my speech,” Koretsky admitted. “It’s just emotion; it got the best of me.”
Koretsky might have been the only person who didn’t see this coming. Those who know the man who runs seemingly a gazillion businesses simultaneously and does so efficiently knew when Koretsky and his family purchased Maple Grove Raceway in April 2022 that a grand time was on the horizon in September.
Let the record reflect the inaugural Chaotic Nationals was more than a grand time.
Friday’s crowd was healthy, Saturday was a sellout, and Sunday almost did. But that’s okay; the Sunday FOX broadcast smashed decades of NHRA television ratings and nearly outdrew the NASCAR broadcast in Bristol.
“I’ve been going to these races for 35 years, and I knew there’d be a lot of people there, but my gosh,” Koretsky said, voice still piquing with emotion. “I had no idea Saturday would’ve been the way it was. Then the television. It’s just unbelievable.”
From the day Koretsky, his family, his wife Karen, sons Kenny Jr. and Kyle, and daughter Taylor took over the historic facility; they began to overhaul this historic track into one the sport could be proud of. They improved everything, from the racing surface to the creature comforts for the legions of drag racing fans.
Make no mistake about it; the Koretskys are hands-on in every aspect. Karen and their daughter Taylor (who quit her job to come work for the track) handled a large part of the concessions, and when it appeared workforce for the track might be a challenge, Kenny Jr. “borrowed” some folks from the family businesses to pitch in. Captain Chaos? He did his best impersonation of a pinball by jumping from one area to another.
“You pitch in where you’re needed,” Koretsky said. “Whatever, you have to be willing to do anything. I had 15,000 steps a day. I actually lost weight over the weekend.”
Even Mother Nature pitched in with three perfect days of weather, a rarety over the years.
Understanding Koretsky, he’s already working on 2023.
“I’ve gotten some good feedback,” Koretsky said. “We’re going to make some changes to the parking, and we’re trying to change the traffic pattern. We still have a lot of blacktop work to do. We’ve got all new LED lighting for next year. Just a lot of surprises.”
But really, with Koretsky’s nature, no one really will be surprised.
