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One of the hotter drivers at I-96 Speedway in the UMP Modified Division is Jacob “Poeley” Poel, the 22 year old from Spring Lake, Michigan. He has been on a tear the last two weeks winning four races. We sat down with Jacob to learn a little more about him, his team and his racing life.

Memorial Day Weekend is always a busy race weekend and for Jacob it was no different, but perhaps better.  He won a heat and feature at Mt Pleasant Speedway Friday night and repeated that same feat with heat and feature wins Saturday night at I-96 Speedway. Jacob is also 8th in the point standings at I-96 Speedway despite getting a late start on the season while putting the finishing touches to his brand new home built Pro-Act chassis. Jacob said "I started eight years ago in go karts at Ravenna Raceway, with the help of my dad Steve." Steve Poel is also a racer with over 20 years of experience.

It was a couple of years of hectic Saturdays with Jacob racing in the mornings at Ravenna then to Merritt Raceway at night where his father Steve raced Late Models until the Poel family decided to build Jacob street stock so both father and son could race at the same track.

After spending a pair of racing seasons getting acquainted with a full size stock car Jacob moved up to UMP modifieds, which he has been piloting every since.

Over the span of Jacob’s career he has over 10 feature wins to his credit His goal for 2009 is to win as many races as time allows. When asked what fans can expect for the rest of 2009 he says he hopes to continue to add on to his string of wins just two weeks into the racing season. When asked about long term goals Jacob replied, “I like to travel a little so it limits my chances of winning a track championship, but I mainly race UMP tracks so I’d really like to make a run at a UMP championship.”

Jacob names his dad as his biggest contributor getting to the point he has in his career. With over 20 years of racing experience himself, Steve Poel has taught his son to drive clean, race hard, and take what the car, track and competition gives you. Jacob’s favorite race track is Paducah Speedway in Paducah, Kentucky because it’s a ‘beautiful facility with lots of clean racing and a great racing surface that allows for lots of passing’.  Jacob has carried on the family tradition of the No. 82 which was on the side of his dad’s car. With all the success Jacob Poel has had when asked if he had a least memorable moment in his career he began to tell me about his first visit to the world famous Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Jacob went with a new car that had only a hand full of races on it. He won his heat race, but then in the A feature was involved in an early race pileup which all but destroyed the car. “It was never right after that”, Jacob said.

Jacob works at SR Motorsports in Grant, MI working on and building late models Monday through Friday. He really enjoys his job because it translates to his car as well. In closing Jacob wanted to thank Integra Racing Shocks, who provides him with a plethora of relevant information on setting up the car for the various tracks he visits.

In addition Pro-Act Chassis and Graphics, Poel Blueberry Farms, Poel’s Welding and Fabrication and Dura Tech Racing Engines are all on Jacob’s thank you list.

Jacob’s crew includes Dan, Pete, Jake, and his dad Steve Poel.

Jacob Poel is one of many friendly faces you can find on a regular basis at I-96 Speedway. He is definitely one to keep an eye on any time ‘Poeley’ is on the track.