Janis Sends the WidowMaker to The Window Maker before Bristol
Courtesy of Mike Janis Racing
Elma, NY– Mike Janis’ Eaton Aeroquip backed Ford Mustang dubbed “WidowMaker” made her debut at last week’s 41st annual NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. Janis’ 2011 Ford Mustang showed promise posting a 5.941 elapsed time on her first pass. The run was good enough to post place Janis seventh in the qualifying order.
“She shook a bit after just past 60 foot and I pedaled her. She responded and was on a good run till just before the finish line when all of the sudden, BANG! So, I lifted just past the 1000 foot mark; I thought she popped the burst panel,” said Team Owner/Driver, Mike Janis.
It wasn’t the burst panel that made the noise it was the passenger window. When the car shook it loosened the upper door latch that attached the window frame to the chassis. The window was caught by the 240 mile per hour air and folded back into the door with a load bang, damaging the window and passenger door.
The Eaton Aeroquip team made repairs sufficient enough to continue at the event but at its conclusion the door was sent to chassis builder Dan Page’s New Hampshire shop for repairs. Page repaired the window and carbon fiber damage and then aired the door to Scott Jahren of SJ Paint in Tonawanda, NY for further repairs. The door made it to Janis’ Jan-Cen shop early Thursday morning and was lettered just before the team headed out for the Bristol event.
“Scott wasn’t able to finish the paint on the door but the structural repairs are complete and the lettering is on the car. She’ll have a little character for Bristol then we’ll have her like new for Norwalk,” said Crew Chief, Mike Janis Jr.
“She definitely showed promise,” said Janis of his new Mustang. “I mean we didn’t have a flawless run but it was pretty quick especially for its first full run. Dan (Dan Page of Dan Page Race Cars) builds a fantastic car. Everything was 100%. Nothing had to be adjusted it was like we never switched cars.”
This weekend’s NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals are held at the historic Bristol Dragway known as “”Thunder Valley. Originally built in 1965, Bristol Dragway sat between two mountains so the the acoustics were such that the strip earned the name “Thunder Valley” because of the thundering noise cars made when they traveled down the strip.
Pro Modifieds will receive two qualifiers on Friday; one at 4:30 PM and another at 7:30 PM. Qualifying will resume Saturday with the final attempt to crack the 16 car field set for 2:15 PM.
The first round of eliminations is scheduled for 5:00 PM Saturday with the Victors moving on to continue final eliminations on Sunday.
ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise 30-minutes of racing highlights from the last weeks Get Screened America Pro Mod Series portion of the NHRA SuperNationals this Saturday, June 19 at 1:30 PM (EDT).
For More info on Mike Janis Racing go to: http://www.mikejanisracing.com/
Mike Janis is proudly sponsored by:
Aeroquip Performance Products www.eaton.com/aeroquipperformance
Eaton www.eaton.com
Jan-Cen Automotive www.jancen.com
Ford Racing www.fordracing.com
LAT Racing Oil www.lubeatech.com
NGK Spark Plugs www.ngk.com
Goodyear Racing www.racegoodyear.com
Dan Page Race Cars www.danpageracecars.com
GZ Motorsports http://www.gzmotorsports.com
RAM Clutches www.ramclutches.com
FireCore50 Plug Wires www.firecore50.com
Weber’s Mustard www.webersmustard.com
Spin Werkes Wheels www.spinwerkes.com
B&J Transmissions www.bandjtransmission.com
Competition Designs http://www.competitiondesigns.com
Precision Graphics
Line to Line Coatings
Precision Graphics