Persistence pays off, and Tony Petrovski is proof of that.

The racer from Almont, Michigan, began street racing and bracket racing in a 1988 Mustang in the late 1990s with his brother-in-law and crew chief, Riste Pancevski. Eager to evolve, they sold the 1988 Mustang and prepared for heads-up racing.

They purchased a 1992 Mustang in 2002, and set out on their new path with a naturally aspirated small-block Ford by Paul Hoskins. They gathered more and more data, and determination, with each pass while competing in All Motor at Darana Dragway, formerly Milan Dragway, in Michigan, before deciding in 2009 to turn their focus to family and work for a while.

Petrovski and Pancevski returned to racing in 2014 with a 665 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet built by APD and backed by a Rossler Turbo 400 transmission and Neal Chance converter, and they relied on that combination through 2017.

To propel their program to the next level and to prepare for the 2018 season, they hired Dan Cordier of DC, Inc. to build a 598 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet, and they paired it with their Rossler Turbo 400 transmission and a new Cameron’s converter.

“The new 598 cubic-inch big-block Chevrolet provided us with great power, durability, and an opportunity at the All Motor championship at Darana Dragway, and Tony earned the 2018 All Motor championship in his P&P Motorsports Mustang by one point over Van Geibel when the 2018 season officially concluded,” said Pancevski. “He qualified in the top three all season long, and he had one semifinal, three runners-up, and one win. Our quickest ET that year was a 7.74 at 179.08 mph.”

Petrovski ran that combination successfully for several more years, and debuted a new naturally aspirated LS-based 400 cubic-inch engine by Tom Vigue and Paul Hoskins of 3V Performance in early 2025. At that time, Petrovski and Pancevski also moved to a Liberty five-speed transmission, and hired Bruce Blair of Exstreme Beadlock Conversions and Chassis Fabrication to update the car’s back-half and chassis.

The team also sought guidance on fuel delivery to their engine from Dale Cubic of CFM Performance Carburetors.

“Dale Cubic agreed to build us a set of carburetors for our new LS-based 400 cubic-inch engine, and we made the switch to our CFM carburetors for the All Motor race featuring Small Tire Pro Stock in July at Darana Dragway,” said Pancevski. “Dale’s carburetors yielded great results.”

At that race, Petrovski qualified in the third spot out of nine cars with a 7.88 and 173 mph, and exited in the second round of eliminations against Joe Clemente.

At the All Motor race featuring Small Tire Pro Stock in August at Darana Dragway in Michigan, he qualified in the ninth spot out of 10 cars with an 8.12 and 171 mph, and exited in the first round of eliminations with 2025 Small Tire Pro Stock champion Dwight Ausmus in the other lane.

“We were trying to understand the clutch and trying to have our entire package, including the chassis, engine, and clutch, work as one,” said Pancevski. “We did lean on Tim Vigue and Paul Hoskins of 3V Performance, along with our teammates at Clemente Motorsports, including Joe Clemente and Bruce Blair, for guidance since our combinations are very similar, and as Tony said, he listened when class was in session.”

With focus and fortitude, Petrovski made a statement with a 7.68 and 174 mph to lead qualifying among six cars at the All Motor race in September at Darana Dragway in Michigan, and later won the final round of eliminations when strong competitor David Theisen had an issue in his Firebird and was not able to make the pass.

“Our previous personal best elapsed time was a 7.74, and we lowered it to 7.68, followed by 7.67 and 7.65,” said Pancevski.

Hoping to hit a homerun at the final All Motor race of the year in October at Darana Dragway in Michigan, Petrovski put a 7.69 and 175 mph on the board to set the pace in qualifying, this time among seven cars, for the second race in a row, and later went to the winner’s circle with .008 on the tree and 7.77 and 173 mph on the top end. Dan Ostgen earned the runner-up finish with a 7.91 and 172 mph.

With that, Petrovski, who sometimes spins his engine as high as 10,000 rpm, ceremoniously captured the 2025 All Motor championship at Darana Dragway in Michigan.

“The 2025 All Motor championship is extra-special to us due to the struggles regarding our new combination, and after the poor outing at the August race, the championship didn’t even seem possible,” said Pancevski. “After the September race, when the points were updated, we were shocked to see we were within a round of Dave Theisen and Dwight Ausmus. We knew it would still be a battle because both competitors have run really well all season, and we would have to be on top of our game and make no mistakes. As I told Tony and the P&P Motorsports crew back at the shop, we have to win the race, no matter what, because that is our best chance at the championship. Tony not only wanted to win the race but the championship as well, and we could tell that due to his .008 reaction time in the final round of eliminations. It was his best reaction time all season long.”

Petrovski and Pancevski have solid support from people and companies they hold close to their hearts.

“We would not be in the position we are today without the help of our family, P&P Motorsports crew and our teammates over at Clemente Motorsports,” said Pancevski. “We would also like to thank Tom Vigue and Paul Hoskins of 3V Performance, who provide us with durability and awesome power; Dale Cubic of CFM Performance Carburetors for building incredible carburetors and Bruce Blair of Exstreme Fab for building us a consistent and fast chassis.”

Pancevski also went on gratefully acknowledge sponsors Detroit Battery Company, Dart Machinery, Diamond Pistons, Trend Performance Products, MGP Connecting Rods, Total Seal Piston Rings, Victory 1 Performance Inc, Performance Springs Inc, NGK Spark Plugs, Mike’s Racing Heads, High Performance Lubricants, Dun Right QC Coatings, AFCO Racing, Woolf Aircraft Products, Mickey Thompson Tires and Wheels, Motofab Inc, P.TEN Marketing, RedTide Canopies, Southwest Vinyl and J & B Automotive.

Fans of Petrovski and P&P Motorsports are already eager to see the team back in action in All Motor and Small Tire Pro Stock in 2026, and odds are, they will be even more outstanding.

(Photos by Mary Lendzion)