Koenig's back behind the wheel

Unable to defend his 2011 Super Pro Truck driver championship last year due to a scheduling conflict, Dave Koenig is back behind the wheel at Riverhead Raceway’s ¼-mile oval and competing with a heavy heart.

Koenig’s close friend and fellow driver, Andy Owen, who introduced him to the race scene more than 20 years ago, suffered an aneurism in his heart in May and remains hospitalized. “Andy’s the one who got me into racing in 1992,” Koenig said. “We’re both from Oceanside and only a year apart. I’m 45 and he’s 46. It’s a very difficult and emotional time. Everyone is praying for the best.”

With approval from Owen’s family, Koenig changed his longtime truck number from 97 to Owen’s Enduro car number 29. The new paint job features camouflage from bumper-to-bumper and Owen’s nickname, “Daddy Cool,” on the doors. “I wanted to honor Andy and I’ve also always wanted to do something with camouflage,” said Koenig, an Army veteran who served in Desert Storm. “Now we’ll try to get into the winner’s circle.”

Koenig, a 1987 Oceanside High School graduate who now resides in Baldwin, began racing Enduro cars but his passion for trucks led him to switch divisions after five years. “I had a blast racing Enduros, but I wanted to move up and Andy was one of my biggest supporters,” he said. “It took me about five years to become comfortable and confident in what I was doing with the truck. It’s more finesse driving, so I had to learn to be patient.”

Consistency has been Koenig’s biggest coup. He has seven career victories and more than 40 second- or third-place finishes. In the 20-lap Super Pro Truck feature that kicked off the Riverhead card on July 13, he held second from start-to-finish behind Mark Stewart. “Most of the time it’s frustrating to run second or third,” Koenig said. “You think about if there was anything you could’ve done to move up. But tonight it wasn’t so bad because Mark was in one of my trucks.”

As owner of Truck & Autoworks in Island Park, Koenig works on trucks for a living. He’s also a mechanic for the City of Long Beach. On a typical weekday, he arrives at his shop at 5:30 a.m. and spends a few hours there before heading to Long Beach for an eight-hour shift. Then it’s back to the shop late in the afternoon until closing time late in the evening.

A typical race day lasts 12 or 13 hours and includes several pit stops along the way to pick up members of the crew, including crew chief Joe Kass.

“It takes a lot of people for things run smoothly, and we make a whole day out of it,” said Koenig, whose entourage includes his wife, Karen, radio man Billy Fass and his wife Laurie, Dale Owen (Andy’s son), Tom Hennett and Rob Duffas. “We break out the BBQ after the race and enjoy some food and drinks together.”

Fass’ Nelson’s Auto Salvage, based in Springfield Gardens, is one of Koenig’s key sponsors along with his Truck & Autoworks business. Koenig said competing isn’t a minor expense — a new set of tires goes for $600 and gas costs for a single race exceeds $50 — and it can become a rather costly hobby if any major repairs are necessary.

“Some years are better than others when it comes to repairs,” he said. “We’ve already had a few incidents this year, and one caused me to miss a week. But I’m probably going to race until I can’t do it anymore.”

Despite missing one of the first seven Super Pro Truck features, Koenig entered August well within striking distance of another driving title. He sat middle-of-the-pack — seventh place — with 196 points and trailed leader Frank Dumicich Jr. by only 20.