Mechanic, team owner, rider/driver

Polak played a key role in Porsche’s rise as a motorsports power in the U.S. He prepared race-winners for the likes of Jack McAfee, Ken Miles, Roger Penske, Jerry Titus, Danny Ongais, Jean Behra and Jo Bonnier. His team won the 1966 SCCA D Production national championship with Jerry Titus, finished 1-2 in the 1976 Trans-Am series with George Follmer and Hurley Haywood, and tied for 2^nd in points in the 1972 Can-Am with Denny Hulme’s factory McLaren. Polak owned a machine shop and raced motorcycles in his native Czechoslovakia, winning a 250cc title. He emigrated to the US in 1951, where he aligned himself with legendary importer Max Hoffman and earned a reputation as a top mechanic and engine-builder. He opened the country’s first standalone Porsche dealership in Manhattan Beach, CA in 1959, from which he continued to field racecars for decades. “Vasek was like a machine that was going 100% all the time,” said Haywood. “He had a tremendous level of enthusiasm, which he instilled in those around him.”