Mike Borkowski

Michael John Borkowski (born May 6, 1973) is an American race car driver. Borkowski has raced in a variety of cars and series, is experienced in both road and oval racing, but is best known for his victory over Tommy Kendall in the 1997 Trans-Am Series race at Pikes Peak International Raceway, ending Kendall's historic run of eleven consecutive race wins. Borkowski also went on to win the final race of the 1997 Trans-Am Series at the Reno Grand Prix.

Early career

Borkowski grew up in the small town of Middlebury, Connecticut and began racing Quarter Midgets at the Silver City Quarter Midget Club in Meriden, Connecticut — the same club as race car drivers Jeff Simmons, Erin Crocker, Joey Logano, and renowned Indycar engineer Chris Simmons. Borkowski competed in Quarter Midgets from 1981 to 1988, winning four New England States Championships in the process.

At the age of sixteen, Borkowski made the transition to full size cars competing in the 1989 Spenard David School and 1990 Bertil Roos School Racing Series, winning three out of seven races, two pole positions, and finishing on the podium five times. In 1990, he also competed in the SCCA's New England States Road Racing and North Atlantic Road Racing Championships, dominating both Championships with seven wins, two track records, seven pole positions, and eight fastest race laps.

Still a senior in high school at the Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, Borkowski turned pro in 1991, competing in SCCA's Pro Sports 2000 Series, winning Rookie of the Year. Borkowski continued his winning ways in the 1992 and 1993 Pro Sports 2000 Championships, capturing five wins, eleven podiums, nine track records, four pole positions along with the 1993 Series Championship.

In 1992, Borkowski had a unique opportunity to co-pilot the Oldsmobile Aerotech in a grueling test of endurance and speed at the Firestone Test Track in Fort Stockton, Texas, setting multiple FIA World Speed Records in the process.

1994 saw the transition for Borkowski to open-wheel race cars. He was awarded the Team USA Scholarship to compete at the legendary Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. In 1994, he also competed in and won the SCCA Pro Formula 2000 Championship, winning four of six races entered in a seven race series, four pole positions, finishing on the podium in all six starts, and setting six track records.

Indy Lights, Indycar, and Sportscars

In 1995, Borkowski ran a limited schedule in Indy Lights with Team Medlin, competing and finishing in the top ten in all six races run with a best finish of fourth at Belle Isle Park in Detroit.

In 1996, Borkowski was tapped to run his first 24 Hours of Daytona as factory driver for the #1 Oldsmobile Aurora GTS-1 alongside drivers Irv Hoerr, Brian Cunningham, and Darin Brassfield. The team was leading in class when the car caught fire at the 9 hour mark, preventing the car and team from finishing the race. In 1996, Borkowski was also selected for the inaugural Team Green Academy, however, was unable to participate due to being signed by Team Rahal Letterman.

1997 was a breakout year for Borkowski's professional career, competing for Team Rahal Letterman in partnership with Tom Gloy Racing in the Trans-Am Series, collecting the two aforementioned wins, third in the overall championship, and Rookie of the Year honors.

In 1998, Borkowski returned to Indy Lights under the Team Rahal Letterman banner but with limited success, collecting only one top five finish at Vancouver in fourteen starts. In 1998, Borkowski also ran his second 24 Hours of Daytona, campaigning a Tom Gloy fielded GT1 Ford Mustang Cobra alongside drivers Tony Kanaan and Robbie Buhl, finishing third in class.

In 1999, Borkowski qualified and raced in one Indy Racing League event at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, however the race was stopped prior to completion after crash debris entered the grandstands killing three spectators. Borkowski also made his one and only attempt at qualifying for the Indy 500 driving for PDM Racing but never got his chance when rain cut short qualifying on Bubble Day.

Later in his career, Borkowski returned full-time to driving sports GT and prototype race cars in the Rolex Sports Car Series. In 2003, he was hired by legendary Brumos Racing to campaign a Porsche powered Daytona Prototype alongside David Donohue in the inaugural season for the Rolex Series and Daytona Prototype class. Together Borkowski and Donohue won three races, stood on the podium ten times, and finished second overall in the series championship. Between 2003 and 2010, Borkowski competed in both the Rolex Series' Daytona Prototype and GT classes for various teams including Speedsource, Michael Shank Racing, Playboy Racing, and Stevenson Motorsports. During this period he drove a variety of cars with a variety of co-drivers including Daytona Prototype's (with Paul Tracy, Kenny Wilden, and Brian Friselle), a Nissan 350Z and BMW M6 (with Tommy Constantine), and a Chevrolet Camaro GT.R (with Matt Bell).

In 2004, Borkowski also piloted a Lola Nissan LMP2 prototype in the 12 Hours of Sebring with co-drivers Ian James and John Macaluso, winning their class.

NASCAR

Borkowski had a limited NASCAR career, competing in one Winston West Series, one Busch North Series, one Craftsman Truck Series, and nine Busch Series events between 1999 and 2003. His best finish was a tenth at Talladega Superspeedway in 2000 driving for the now defunct Bill Davis Racing. After causing four crashes in one race, Borkowski was fired. First crashing Lyndon Amick who faked him out on throwing his helmet, then crashing Jason Jarrett who then threw his knee pads at Borkowski's car under caution. Then with nine laps to go, he crashed Ted Christopher and Tony Raines in one crash and Jay Sauter and Michael Ritch on the last lap at the Busch 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, on the same weekend that Adam Petty was killed in a crash. Bill Davis Racing released him after this event due to pressure from his sponsor. On November 3, 2000, AT&T filed a federal breach-of-contract lawsuit against Borkowski, Bill Davis Racing, and ESBG Marketing in a Denver federal court, claiming that his inicidents had harmed the brand and that the company demanded that the team paid back $600,000 in which AT&T had invested in sponsorship for the team. The lawsuit also asserted that Borkowski was criticized by officials, television commentators, and other drivers following the incident. In 2001, AT&T settled the lawsuit out of court with Borkowski.

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status 1994 Mid-Ohio Van Diemen RF94 Ford Formula Continental 3 3 Running

IndyCar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) Year TeamNo.ChassisEngine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rank Points Ref 1999 PDM Racing 18 G-Force GF01C Oldsmobile Aurora V8 WDW PHX CLTC1 INDY TXS PPIR ATL DOV PPIR LVS TXS NC -

1 Borkowski qualified 24th for the 1999 VisionAire 500K at Charlotte, however, the race was cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities. The race was subsequently stricken from record.

Indy 500 results Year Team Chassis Engine Start Finish 1999 PDM Racing G-Force Oldsmobile DNQ1 N/A

1 On Bubble Day, Borkowski was in line to qualify Tony Stewart's backup car but never got the chance due to rain washing out the final minutes of qualifying.

NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Pts Ref 1999 Midgley Motorsports 09 Pontiac DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX BRI MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL NA -

Busch Series NASCAR Busch Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Pts Ref 1999 Bill Davis Racing 02 Pontiac DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 118th 67 2000 20 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR43 BRI TEX NSV TAL CAL RCH NHA CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 60th 567

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 1999 Mike Borkowski 09 Chevy HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR MEM PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA IRP GTY HPT RCH LVS LVL TEX CAL 97th 97

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pts Ref 1999 Bill Davis Racing 03 Pontiac DAY ATL SLM AND CLT MCH POC TOL SBS BLN POC KIL FRS FLM ISF WIN DSF SLM CLT TAL ATL 143rd 35