Apel said something else he tries to do to stay sharp is participate in iRacing, which has seen a growth in popularity because of the events held by NASCAR and IndyCar the last several weeks.
Pokorski, who is also a police officer, said he tries to keep up a regular exercise routine. He has also taken up some mountain biking to help maintain his reflexes. He, too, is trying the iRacing route as a way to get his heart rate up.
“Nobody likes to wait,” Pokorski said. “You plan all winter and then you have to wait.”
At Plymouth, the track has announced via its website it doesn’t plan to open the season until May 30 for the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprint Car Series Rayce Rudeen Foundation race. The race will pay $26,000 to the winner and the total purse is close to $67,000, the second-largest purse in Wisconsin sprint car history, according to the track’s website.
Slinger hopes to open May 17.
Apel is one of the several drivers who have tested at Slinger in recent weeks to get ready for the season, despite not knowing if and when the season will take place. Others included Jordan DeVoy, James Swan and Grant Griesbach. Jacob Nottestad, the defending limited late model champion, has also tested.
“I feel like the car is OK,” Swan said.
Swan has 51 victories at Slinger – seventh-most all-time. He has tried to remain upbeat during this unprecedented time. He has tested his truck for the Midwest Truck Series and his super late model, which he said he hopes to run a couple times at Slinger this year. He also has aspirations to race a modified and a sportsman this season.
The proverbial itch to race against someone else hasn’t quite hit drivers like Apel and Swan yet. But, that time is drawing close.
Swan said he’s OK because he is still tinkering with adjustments and ideas on his late model and truck. But he added if he’s not racing by Fourth of July or at the very least the Father’s Day special at The Milwaukee Mile with the ARCA Midwest Tour, the impatience will ramp up.
“Being stuck at home has started to take its toll,” Apel said. “We’ll get through it.”
If the season were to start tomorrow, Apel said he would be ready, adding the car is as good or better than it was in 2019. He said he’s also grateful for his sponsorship support that is still able to back his racing effort.
During the test sessions at Slinger, the drivers are looking at several things: working out some rust from the offseason or fine tuning their adjustments. It’s also therapeutic. Swan joked it was an opportunity to get his wife, who is heavily involved in his race program, out of the house.
“The cars are done so we decided we’d go to the race track and help and support (Slinger Super Speedway promoter) Todd Thelen get through this hard time,” Swan said. “We had an oil leak last year (in the late model), figured we’d try to figure out what the problem was and make sure that was fixed.”
With his truck, Swan said he and the team rebuilt it, including a new motor, so it was time to break it in.
Apel believes once the pandemic is over and racing is permitted to resume, this could be a window of opportunity for the short-track community.
“I hope when this all subsides that we pack the place,” he said, adding people are going to want to get out and do something. Going to a race track might be something new to explore for those looking for new ways to utilize their time and money and support a local business.
“Maybe this will be a turning point.”