Jim Wilson, WDRL founder and director, calls the Kosiskis "good diplomats" of dirt track racing who have done a lot to improve the image of the sport. "They help other race teams whenever they need it and are always the first ones to step to the plate if they think something will help racing. They are also very good with the fans."
Steve Kosiski may not realize it, but he has always been a role model for driver Kyle Berck because of his abilities and driving style. Berck remembers some advice Steve gave him when he failed to make the "A" feature at a track by one finishing position in a qualifying race.
"He told me that, if I would have raced a little harder and driven a little different line, I could have gotten qualified," recalls Berck. "It meant a lot to me for him to take the time to come over and coach me."
Applying The Brakes
The Kosiski brothers are all contemplating their futures; they know they won't be fighting car wars forever.
Joe says he doesn't plan to race until he's 55 or 60 years old. He notes that his son Andrew will be old enough to race in a few years. "If he has the desire and will to work on a race car and wants to race, I'd just as soon help him and have fun that way."
Joe, with the help of some partners and family members, also has promoted races and may do more of that when he quits driving.
Steve says he has been thinking more about the right time to hang up his helmet. He and other family members are more spread out because of their business involvements, he says. "And it's tough on the crew, too, to get time away because they all have families and jobs."
Steve's retirement may come when Wayne Mason, his crew chief, decides to quit. "My dad drove for him, and Wayne and I have been together since basically 1981," Steve says. "He has a home in Arizona now, and he's been coming back and forth. When he decides to be done, I'm really going to stop and question and evaluate. And I foresee that very soon."
Like his brother Joe, Steve Kosiski says he won't just walk away from racing when he quits driving. "I'm a race fan, too," he says. "I go to Winston Cup races. We'll always be around it, no matter what."
He notes that his youngest son, Brian, had a question for his mother a couple weeks ago: "Who's going to make my firesuit for me?" he asked Shelly.
Even the youngest Kosiski brother, Ed, is thinking of cutting back his schedule. "But I've got a lot of things going for me right now with sponsors and good help. And I've finally got a nice place to work on the car. Until I get done riding this wave, we won't know."
When the brothers do hang it up, they'll be missed-even by the drivers they've raced against and whipped.
"Not only are they great racers, but they're all great guys," says Nebraska Raceway Park's Craig Kelley. "You really can't say enough good things about that family, from a friend's standpoint or a racetrack operator's standpoint."