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Janis Takes Runner- Up Honors at NHRA SuperNationals

Courtesy of: Mike Janis Racing Inc.
Photos By: Allen Dobbs

Englishtown, NJ – Mike Janis is about as old’ school a racer as they come. Janis has raced nearly his entire life, following in the footsteps of his father, James Janis Sr. Since his childhood just outside of Buffalo, NY Janis has done nothing but dream of the moment he can lift a Wally in victory. This weekend the Lancaster, NY engine builder came oh, so close. (The Wally is the trophy awarded to winners of an NHRA national event. While the trophy is named after NHRA founder Wally Parks, the Wally trophy does not feature Parks himself, but is rather modeled after Top Gas racer Jack Jones.)

Janis started his run to the NHRA Get Screened America Pro Modified finals on Friday with an impressive qualifying lap of 5.837 at 246.57 miles per hour, a personal best for Janis. From there the team felt they had a good hold on the fast Englishtown surface.

“Englishtown is always fast. It’s a great track with great atmospheric conditions,” said Co-Crew Chief, Kevin Peters. “We know that we have some left in the bank but we have to race the track and not the guy next to us to be successful. Just take what we’re given so to speak and I think we have a good shot,” added Peters.

In round one Janis’ Eaton Aeroquip Mustang faced off with Scott Ray and his Ohio Crankshaft sponsored Corvette. Ray was out first but a hard charging Janis took the win with a 5.861 to Ray’s 5.991. Round two saw Janis paired with Brad Personett and his twin turbo powered Camaro. Personett held lane choice by virtue of his quicker elapsed time in round one. On paper the match up seemed well…unfair. Personett held over a tenth of a second advantage but as they say races are raced on the track and not on paper. Janis left Personett sleeping at the tree posting a .030 reaction time to Personett’s .138 rt. Janis then continued to pull away as Personett was plagued by traction issues. Janis laid down another 5.86 run; quickest of the round, giving him lane choice in the semi-final match up against Mike Castellana.

Janis and Castellana faced off earlier this year in the semis in Houston with Castellana taking the win. Janis took a slight starting line advantage and the hole shot victory with a 5.867 to Castellana’s quicker 5.864. The win over Castellana paired Janis with Californian, Danny Rowe. In the East VS. West matchup Janis held lane choice by the slightest of margins as Rowe posted a 5.890 in his semi-final win over Dennis Radford.

“I took a walked the track before the finals and I thought she looked real good almost the best she had all weekend. We wanted to continue to run what the track gave us but I guess she wasn’t in the giving mood this time,” said Co-Crew Chief Mike Janis Jr.

Janis grabbed a sizeable starting line advantage but got very loose just after the 60 foot mark. Janis quickly recovered but was not able to get passed Rowe for the win. Rowe posted a 5.87 ET to Janis’5.98.

“It’ll come I can feel it. My guys work so hard just to get us to the races that I really wanted this for them. My crew is made up of friends and family. We do this because we love this sport and the challenge of it. I know we’ll get ours soon and when we do I know all of Buffalo will be there with us. It’s an underdog thing,” said team owner/driver Mike Janis.

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

Safety Kleen www.safetykleen.com

VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com

Competition Designs http://www.competitiondesigns.com

LAT Racing Oil www.lubeatech.com

NGK Spark Plugs www.ngk.com

Probell Racing www.probellracing.com

Goodyear Racing www.racegoodyear.com

BDR Torque Converters www.bdrtorqueconverters.com

Motorsports Unlimited www.motorsportsraceparts.com

Baileigh Industrial www.bii1.com

FireCore50 Plug Wires www.firecore50.com

MAHLE Clevite Inc. www.mahleclevite.com

R & R Racing Products www.rrconnetingrods.com

Weber’s Mustard www.webersmustard.com

B&J Transmissions www.bandjtransmission.com

Dan Page Race Cars www.danpageracecars.com

KP Fabrication and Design

Precision Graphics

Line to Line Coatings

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