Skora Returns to Triumph at Holland
Wins First Feature and Championship at Home Track
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A veteran driver completed an unusual championship combination in 2013. He won consecutive NASCAR Division I championships at two tracks in different divisions over two seasons.
George Skora III, 28, of Eden, N.Y., won the 2013 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Pro Modified division championship at his home track, Holland (N.Y.) Motorsports Complex. The title followed his 2012 NASCAR Late Model division championship at Lake Erie Speedway in North East, Pa. The division was discontinued at Lake Erie at the end of 2012.
“We wanted to keep racing in NASCAR. We’ve had a Pro Modified since 2010 and only raced it a couple of times,” Skora said. “We decided to take it back to our home track at Holland in 2013 and try to win the championship. We wanted to go back to Charlotte for the NASCAR awards banquet in December.”
Skora got his first career NASCAR Pro Modified win at Holland, a .375-mile banked paved oval, in June. He went on to win the track title on the strength of a pair of wins and top-fives in all 10 starts.
“We re-did the whole car last winter and put a crate engine in it,” Skora said. “Holland isn’t a motor track, it’s a handling track, and it worked out for us. The competition is pretty equal. I was confident we had a good car and that we could win races with it.
“I never won a feature at Holland until this year, so that first win was special. It was Father’s Day weekend and my dad (George Jr.) was there so we had a pretty good time celebrating. I’d been disappointed about not getting a win at Holland so the first one was kind of a relief. I won again a couple of weeks later.”
Skora said he isn’t the type of race car driver who frets over points.
“When we leave the shop to go to the track, we leave because we think we can go win the race,” Skora said. “We don’t go racing to win points.”
Skora grew up going to races with his dad, who won the 1985 Charger division championship at Holland.
Skora raced go-karts until age 15 and then started racing Super Stocks at Holland in 2000. He moved to Late Models in 2001. He placed third in the track point race in 2003, and second in 2004. After the last season of weekly Late Model racing at Holland in 2006, Skora shifted his racing to Lake Erie and stayed through the 2012 season.
Skora’s Pro Modified is owned by his dad and based on a Troyer chassis. Kyle Kruger is crew chief while other team members include Tommy Winter and the driver’s wife, Lisa. The Skoras are expecting a child in April.
The car is sponsored by Southern Erie Construction. Skora is a fourth generation worker at the family business Weinar Brothers Inc., a company specializing in foundation construction for residential buildings.
For 2014 Skora bought a new Troyer chassis that he plans to race in an occasional Modified touring series event. He’ll maintain his weekly pace at Holland.
“We are happy to have George racing here and glad he’ll be back in 2014 to defend his championship,” said Holland promoter Tim Bennett.
Sources: Paul Schaefer/NASCAR PR