Spring Lake's Jacob Poel fuels bank account with Modified racing success

Spring Lake's Jacob Poel fuels bank account with Modified racing success
By Steve Kaminski | The Grand Rapids Press MLive.com

SPRING LAKE -- Jacob Poel has won more feature races than just about any Modified driver in the country this season, but his stomach was churning during his trip to Hartford Motor Speedway this fall.

The Spring Lake driver was scheduled to race in the Dirt Cup Modified Tour’s season finale, and the 2011 championship was on the line. But the Dealer’s Choice also paid $5,000 to win, and for Poel, who was laid off from his job in May, that would pay a lot of bills.

The problem, though, was that 66 cars were entered, including NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader, and that had Poel’s stomach in knots.

"I have raced with Ken Schrader probably 10 times in my career, and 90 percent of the time, I’m chasing him as hard as I can, and he’s out on a Sunday cruise," said Poel, 24.

But not even Schrader could cool off Poel.

"Beating Ken Schrader by half-a-lap, and just the feeling of Ken Schrader coming down in Victory Lane and telling me that his crew was telling him that he was fast, but not as fast (as Poel), to hear from someone who has 42 years of racing experience, makes me feel like I have accomplished something," Poel said.

Actually, Poel has accomplished plenty in what has been a break-through season for the second generation driver.

Poel finished fourth this year in the UMP Modified national points standings after winning 21 feature races and 28 heat races. He locked up the Dirt Cup title that night in Hartford, and he won the track championship at I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa and the Michigan State Modified Championship as well. In all, Poel won feature races at six different tracks.

Poel’s father, Steve Poel, was an area racer, too. Poel started racing about nine years ago, and his father is a big help in the pits, along with crew members Matt Moore and Kenny Morris.

What is arguably most impressive about Poel, though, is not just what he did, but how he has done it. Poel decided in May, after he was laid off his job of two years as an auto mechanic, that he would turn racing into his full-time job while he continued to look for work.


JACOB POEL
Age: 24

Hometown: Spring Lake

Car: No. 82 Modified

2011 Highlights: Poel has won 21 feature races spread out at six tracks. He won the Dirt Cup Modified Tour and I-96 Speedway championships.
True, it has given him extra time to work on his Modified. However, with no steady income, he had to keep winning to make it to the next race.

"I have sat in this garage for hours and hours, trying to find small ways to take one-tenth of a second off my lap times," Poel said. "Last year, we won nine features. I went into this year saying I want to do better than last year. I want to win 10 features. Ten features came and went.

"I never thought in a million years that I could accomplish so much in one season. It just goes to show you, when your head gets low, if you work hard, it is possible to succeed at anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."

Poel plans to return to racing next year, with or without a job. He also is exploring the possibility of opening his own race car fabrication business.

Either way, racing will remain.

"He puts a lot of time and effort into it and makes sure every little detail, every little nut and bolt is where it needs to be," said his girlfriend, Kari Beutler, who he met at I-96 Speedway. "No matter how much time and effort it takes, he makes sure it is done and done in the right way rather than just throwing it together and just going."