Car and driver keep winning together

BY MIKE MASTOVICH
The Tribune-Democrat

JENNERSTOWN June 29, 2008 05:07 pm

— Adam Kostelnik and his No. 5 street stock car have been practically inseparable for more than a decade.
Why mess with a winning combination?
Kostelnik has won more street stocks division features than any other driver at Jennerstown Speedway.
The East McKeesport racer also has had success in the weekly modified division at Motordrome, where he runs on Fridays, a night prior to racing at Jennerstown.
“It’s like an old pair of shoes,” Kostelnik said of his Chevrolet Impala. “They’re comfortable and you never want to throw them away. The car is the same. It fits you really good. I guess I’ve just wrecked it enough to have it bent the right way. Whatever it is, the car works good and is special to me.”
Kostelnik won the opening night street stocks feature on June 7 at Jennerstown and holds a two-point edge over Jenners driver Bryan Awtey. Saturday night’s racing was wiped out by a downpour shortly after the first heat began.
Success has followed Kostelnik at both Jennerstown and Motordrome.
He won the Jennerstown Speedway street stocks championships in 2001, 2006 and 2007. His 34 feature wins are the most in the division according to Jennerstown Speedway records dating to 1987.
“It’s just hard work and dedication,” said Kostelnik, 30, who won six features last year to claim the division with 734 points. “I spend seven days a week down at the garage just working on the car and getting better. It’s never being good enough. Even when you win you still have to go out there and try to make the car better.”
His first racing season was in 1997 at Motordrome. Kostelnik said he began competing at Jennerstown the next year.
He still recites the date of his first feature victory: “June 13, 1998,” he says, with a smile.
Kostelnik credited his crew, including his brother Andrew, 21, Chuck Slate, Tony Manganello and Josh Whetmore. The crew and the car function as one.
“It’s just an Impala frame, the same car I’ve been running,” Kostelnik said. “I ran it from 1999 to 2003. Then I sold the car and drove a truck for a year. Jeff Folkmeyer actually owns the car now and I’ve been driving it. It’s still the same car.”
Kostelnik is busy running at two tracks in two divisions. But with multiple vehicles in his stable, Kostelnik and his crew have avoided a few all-night repair sessions.
“It’s very time consuming,” Kostelnik said. “We’re at the point now where I’m just running in modifieds on Fridays (at Motordrome). My brother and Tony (Manganello) run different cars on Friday nights. We’ve actually got two cars for Motordrome and Jennerstown.
“Before, you raced Friday and had only one car. If you wrecked on Friday night, you worked all night to get the car back in shape for Saturday. I remember one night we wrecked at Motordrome and we never stopped working until 2:30 in the afternoon when it was time to come here racing.”
Kostelnik also has branched out into the business world, producing his own chassis.
“We do all of our own cars now and one of the biggest things I’m doing now is AK Chassis,” Kostelnik said. “It’s me and my brother. We repair peoples’ cars. We’re trying to make money and help more people out racing. I’ve probably helped 10 people out here and at Motordrome that are actually running my cars.”
Kostelnik hopes those vehicles are a good fit for their respective drivers, just like a comfortable shoe.