He was a no-show for the first two NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series races this season, but popular Pro Stock driver/team owner/entrepreneur Kenny Koretsky will be at the ACDelco Gatornationals, March 13-15, at Gainesville, Fla.

While he won’t be racing, Koretsky will be following the performances of his expanding Nitro Fish Wear race team.

He added Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Angie McBride and Pro Stock driver Dave Northrop for selected races.  McBride joins Matt Smith, her fiancé, on the team.  She will be aboard the Buell that Smith rode to four wins and third place in 2008.  He now rides a Suzuki for Don Schumacher Racing.

McBride finished 13th in points last season while running 10 of the 17 events.

“I’m real excited,” she said.  “With Matthew joining Schumacher’s team, I didn’t know if I was going to get to run at all.  But with Kenny helping us out, it’s going be a very good deal.

“I am definitely going to be at Gainesville (Fla.), Atlanta, Indianapolis and Charlotte . . . and maybe one more.  The bike I will be riding has seven No. 1 qualifiers and four race wins – all from last year.  It will be the best bike I have ever been on and it is one of the best motorcycles in the class.  Matthew was competing for the championship.”  Smith missed the coveted title by 20 points.

It is certain that Northrop will be at the controls of Koretsky’s multihued Nitro Fish/ISC Racers Tape/ISC Salesmaster Corp. Pro Stock entry.  What isn’t so sure is what kind of car he’ll be driving.

“We are going to be testing a Pontiac and a Dodge in Valdosta, Ga., next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to see which car Eddie (Guarnaccia, Koretsky’s veteran crew chief) likes the best,” said Northrop, of Perkasie, Pa.  “We are looking forward to working with Kenny again.”

Northrop plans to run 10 races with Koretsky.

“The Northrops are good friends and we enjoy working with them,” Koretsky noted.

As for his own 2009 driving aspirations, Koretsky isn’t ruling out a return to the cockpit.  He hasn’t driven since the car slammed into a cement retaining wall at Topeka, Kan., in May.  “I feel fine now,” he said.  “I spent the off-season trying to maintain my businesses in this tough economy.  I still want to drive.  I would like to get back in the car sometime this season.”