"We could have stayed home with grandmas or our relatives, but racing was just part of our lives," Ed says. "You felt empty not going."
Bob Kosiski served as an inspiration to his sons. "You wanted to be as good as he was," Joe says. "You wanted to win championships because he did. When we saw him race, he won. When you're going to go racing, you're not going just to be there. You're going to win."
As the three brothers grew older, they started helping their dad with the stock car at home and in the pits. Driving a race car themselves was the next logical step.
Nowadays, Bob is the one helping his sons with their cars. And at the track, Grace cheers for all three; she doesn't play favorites. "I just hope they're all safe, and they drive a good race," she says.
Family plays a huge role in the lives of Joe, Steve, and Ed Kosiski. Joe met his wife, Mona, at the former Sunset Speedway in Omaha. She was the trophy girl, and Joe won the trophy dash. They have four children: Lisa, Bobbie Jo, Andrew, and Alexandria. Steve's wife is named Shelly, and their children are Aimee, Robby, and Brian. Ed is married to Trisha, and their children are Kortney, Michaela, Tia, and Kale.
Business Partners
The Kosiski brothers are partners in Kosiski Auto Parts, a salvage yard their parents started next to the family's Omaha home in 1976 and moved in 1980 to a larger location. There are now three related businesses, including Kosiski Racing Products.
Joe, as the oldest son, oversees all of the businesses, Ed handles auto sales, and Steve is in charge of rental properties, the salvage yard, and maintenance. Grace still works in the office, but Bob is retired. Well, sort of. "He's here every day," Joe says. "There's no way he'll ever stop coming in."
Surprisingly, at work there isn't that much chatter about racing, although some customers inevitably want to talk racing when they stop in.
When the brothers do talk racing, Ed stresses, "We never talk about setups or anything like that. Our setups are basically our secrets. We're three different people, and we set our cars up three different ways."
None of the three has much time for hobbies. Any free time is devoted to their families. Joe coaches basketball for his son's team.
"I try to spend some time with the kids here and there," Steve says. "I go to some Winston Cup races in the off-season. If I hit a golf course once a year, great. I may go to a lake or do some boating once or twice."
Steve also displays his car and talks with youngsters at suburban Omaha libraries, schools, and Boy Scout meetings. In his free moments, Ed builds Soapbox Derby cars that his children race. He proudly points out that daughter Kortney won the Midwest regional Soapbox Derby competition and went to Akron, Ohio, and raced for the championship in 2000.
Keeping It SimpleDon't watch for Joe, Steve, or Ed to move on to bigger racing ventures, although they've all considered it.
Joe did some ARCA racing in the late '80s and early '90s. "I really wanted to move on at that time," he says. "But not at this age. I'm kind of where I want to be now. We've got businesses back here ... and we barely get time to do the racing we'd like to do."
Steve says he had thoughts of advancing when he was 23 or 24 years old. "But time has gotten away," he says. He had no asphalt experience, he says, and would have needed to get some to advance. But that would have been difficult, he reasons, with all the dirt racing he was doing. "What are you going to give up?" he says.
The Kosiskis compete at NASCAR tracks like Nebraska Raceway Park and Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa. They also race in most Mr. Goodcents Super Series, World Dirt Racing League (WDRL) events, and some other specials. And, though fellow drivers might cringe at the added competition, the Kosiski brothers are welcomed and respected everywhere they go.