8/5/07

JAN LEATY TOPS FIELD IN TOMMY DRUAR & TONY JANKOWIAK MEMORIAL MODIFIED RACE

 
Lancaster, New York: What a night of racing at Lancaster Raceway Park! It was a night for the memory books as the drivers competed in honor of two legendary Modified drivers – Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak. In fitting fashion, those that were friends, family and fellow competitors took the checkered flag in a number of races. Andy Jankowiak, Tony’s son, raced from the ninth starting spot to take the checkered flag in the Street Stock feature while Eddie Murray, a close friend of Tommy Druar, finished first in the SST Sportsman race. Capping off the night Jan Leaty, a friend and fellow competitor of both Druar and Jankowiak, took home the win in the 50 lap Modified memorial race.

Starting the night’s action off were the Thiel Motorsports Fast & Furious 4 Cylinders. Starting from the outside pole, Kevin Morreale immediately jumped into the lead. The ever growing pack of 4 cylinders were on his tail however and after three laps Morreale relinquished the lead to Dan Roesch. Roesch’s lead would be short lived as Tim Haniszewski Jr. took the position just one lap later. Behind the leaders, the action was wild as the cars were beating and banging running side by side and even three wide. Near the end of the race the top three of Haniszewski, Charles Buchanan, who was making his racing debut, and Jerry Carpenter were nose to tail each waiting for a mistake by the other. However, taking the checkered flag first was Tim Haniszewski Jr., who recorded his second win of the season.

Next up were the fan favorite McGard Street Stocks. A strong 28 car field took the green flag and pole sitter Jim Bryant took the lead. A series of early race yellow flags allowed Tim Garlock and Andy Jankowiak to move up through the field to the tail of the leader. With Bryant and Garlock running nose to tail on the bottom line, Jankowiak shot to the outside line and passed Garlock for the second running spot. In short order he also dismissed the leader Bryant and took sole possession of the lead. Garlock followed Jankowiak to the high side and passed Bryant for second. Further back battles were brewing as Scott Mutka aimed to take away the third position from Bryant and Jeff Madill worked Russell Knutsen over for fifth. Both Bryant and Knutsen were able to hold onto their respective spots for the finish. Up front, Jankowiak and Garlock built a healthy lead on the rest of the field with Garlock attempting to run down the leader. At the end however, Jankowiak cruised home to his third win of the season on the night honoring his late father, Tony Jankowiak.

Wayne Bernhard rebounded after a rough couple of weeks with his fifth win of the 2007 season in the Ray Laks Resale Super Stocks division. Starting from the outside pole, Bernhard took possession of the lead on lap one and never looked back. Frank Batista Jr. ran in the second spot for the entire race after starting from the sixth spot on the grid. Batista threw everything he had at Bernhard, running side by side and nose to tail, but Bernhard had the better car on Saturday night. A heated race also took place for third and fourth positions as George Roesch and Rick Widmer battled hard for the spot. A late race yellow on lap 18 gave the field their best chance of the night to catch and pass Bernhard but it was not meant to be as the “Lavendar Car” of Bernhard crossed the finish line first.

The Lorigo Insurance SST Sportsman race was a feature that the whole field of course wanted to win, but one driver wanted it more than anything else. In a pre-race interview, Eddie Murray, who drives the #37 SST in memory of his friend and mentor Tommy Druar, stated that a win on Tommy Druar Night would mean more to him than anything he had done in his racing career. Up until Saturday he was never able to accomplish that goal, but by the end of the race, things had changed. Murray was slated to start from the pole position and at the drop of the green flag, took the lead. Russ Gian, who had started to Murray’s outside, kept track of the leader, pressuring him for the top spot. As Murray and Gian race, Kirk Rutherford, who was in a backup car and had started in the eleventh position, was suddenly in the third position. By lap seven, Rutherford cleared Gian for second and set his sights on Murray. Gian however didn’t give up easily and dogged Rutherford, allowing Murray to build somewhat of a lead. A mid race caution evaporated any lead Murray had built and just one lap later after the restart Rutherford passed Gian on the low side and stuck his nose low on leader Murray and grabbed the lead. Following Rutherford through the pack was Erick Rudolph, who had started eighth. Rudolph looked poised to take the lead from Rutherford but his night took an unfortunate turn as he crashed into the back stretch wall, ending his night. Rutherford was penalized two spots for his role in the incident, which put Murray back in the lead and Frank Booker Jr. in second. A green white checkered finish was called for after the late race caution and although Rutherford passed Booker for second, the night belonged to Eddie Murray as he took his first win of the season on the night he always wanted to win on. In a tribute to his friend Tommy Druar, Murray placed the checkered flag in the foam near the spot where Tommy lost his life as he took his victory lap. In his interview, Murray dedicated the win to Druar and celebrated with the Druar family who were on hand for the night’s events.

The Bobcat of Buffalo Late Models were scheduled next on the card and Ron Nurmi lead from green to checkered to capture his second win of the season. Scott Skora, who started on the pole, appeared to have some mechanical issues as he fell back through the field as Bobby Weber and Todd Hoddick passed him for second and third. On lap 11 Hoddick powered around the outside of Weber to take second and immediately set his sights on leader Nurmi, who had built a considerable lead on the field. Hoddick was joined by Weber and Alix and they set out to catch the leader. With seven laps left in the 25 lap feature, Hoddick had made it to Nurmi’s bumper. Hoddick looked for any way around Nurmi, but Nurmi held his lead. On the last turn of the last lap, Hoddick finally got under Nurmi but it was too little too late for Hoddick as Nurmi crossed the finish line first.

The “Mighty Modifieds” were the final race of the evening as 17 Mods were on hand, each trying to capture the prestigious Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak Memorial Trophy as well as a qualifying spot for the Race of Champions event in September. The best of the best were on hand and they put on a show that fans, drivers, and anybody else that saw it will be talking about for quite some time. Buck Catalano started on the pole and at the drop of the green jumped into the lead. Chuck Hossfeld, who had started third, kept up with Buck, and had Erick Rudolph, Sege Fidanza, Tom McGrath, and Billy Putney behind him. By lap 15 and further back in the pack, Jan Leaty, who had started 14th began to come to life, picking off cars for position. Up front it was young gun versus veteran as Rudolph and Fidanza battled side by side for the third position with Fidanza taking the spot. The second yellow of the night appeared on lap 19 and a double file restart was called for. Hossfeld took advantage of the situation and took command of the lead at the drop of the green. B. Catalano stayed with Hossfeld, charging hard to keep control of the lead, but soon Catalano had Fidanza challenging him for second. The top three were seemingly stuck together, with Hossfeld and Catalano down low and Fidanza working the high side.

At the halfway point in the race, Hossfeld led and was followed by Fidanza, who had finally taken the position from Catalano, McGrath, Putney, and Leaty. Leaty was on the move through the field and soon took fifth from Putney. Up front an epic battle was continued as longtime rivals Hossfeld and Fidanza raced side by side for the lead. Fidanza just couldn’t make the pass for the lead on Hossfeld and continued to work him over on the high side. Further back Leaty was continuing his march through the field as he dispatched McGrath for the fourth spot. Wilbur Hebing was following Leaty through the field after starting 13th and with three quarters of the race complete, had race up to the sixth spot. Hossfeld and Fidanza had one of the best shows on the track going on as they raced hard around the track. Just before the ten laps to go signal was displayed, Leaty got by Catalano for the third spot and in short order grabbed the second spot from Fidanza, who had dropped back from Hossfeld to seemingly regroup. With five to go the battle was on as Leaty threw everything he had left at Hossfeld. Hossfeld held his own but on the white flag lap Leaty made the move to the outside of the leader and passed Hossfeld for the lead and the win. Leaty, who competed against Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak, was proud to win on a night dedicated to his friends.

Next week at Lancaster Raceway Park, the stock cars will enjoy a week off as the drag event Sunday Niagara is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On August 18th the stock cars return as NAPA and AAA present Spirit Night and the Dave Black Memorial 76 Lap Late Model Race. It will also be a Race of Champions qualifying event for all divisions. For more information visit www.lancasterracing.com or call 716-759-6818.

Thiel Motorsports Fast & Furious 4 Cylinders Feature Finish:
1. (3) Tim Haniszewski, Jr. #10
2. (13) Charles Buchanan #09x
3. (9) Jerry Carpenter #04
4. (4) Don Roesch #77
5. (14) Tim Haniszewski #02
6. (10) Dan Wieland #40
7. (2) Kevin Morreale #14
8. (11) Pat Fisher #56
9. (12) T.J. Fisher #55
10. (5) Ken Hejna #9
11. (8) Luke Wozniak #74
12. (7) Dan Roesch #69
13. (1) Mike Jurek #57
14. (6) Brandon Hirsch #17

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-3 Morreale, Lap 4 Don Roesch, Laps 5-20 Haniszewski

McGard Street Stock Feature Finish:
1. (9) Andy Jankowiak #73
2. (5) Tim Garlock #88
3. (1) Jim Bryant #49
4. (8) Scott Mutka #23
5. (12) Russell Knutsen #93
6. (13) Jeff Madill #6
7. (10) Wayne Lavis #1
8. (3) Rick Ortwein #58
9. (4) Bobby Hanel, Jr. #33
10. (22) Cory Gallagher #24
11. (17) Mike Maggiore #28
12. (24) Kevin Mendel #77
13. (15) Gary Bartella #99
14. (2) Matt Jurek #57
15. (6) Tom Agen #3
16. (18) Gary Denea #33D
17. (11) John Hewson, Jr. #58H
18. (25) Bob Blaszak, Jr. #53
19. (28) Ed Nowak #96
20. (23) Jeff Guidotti #20
21. (27) Steve Cochran #70
22. (26) Paul Tessier #12
23. (19) Debbie Jurek #65
24. (20) Tim Neis #74
25. (14) Rob Bulger #32
26. (16) Kaz Tarasek #18
27. (7) John Julicher, Jr. #9
28. (21) Joe Light #44

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-4 Bryant; Laps 5-7 Garlock, Lap 8 Bryant, Laps 9-20 Jankowiak
Heat Winners: Bryant, Garlock, Agen

Ray Laks Resale Super Stock Feature Finish:
1. (2) Wayne Bernhard #23
2. (6) Frank Batista, Jr. #37
3. (4) George Roesch #61
4. (8) Rick Widmer #78
5. (1) Jay Canonico #13
6. (3) James Kron, III #31
7. (5) Dave Johnson #52
8. (9) Jason Gwin #30
9. (10) Terry Cochrane #16 (subbing for Jay Mudra)
10. (7) John Kraemer #77

Lap Leader: Laps 1-20 Bernhard

Lorigo Insurance SST Sportsman Feature Finish:
1. (1) Eddie Murray #37
2. (7) Kirk Rutherford #11
3. (3) Frank Booker, Jr. #22
4. (4) Sherri Hogan #74
5. (10) Luke Wozniak #57
6. (5) Billy Burd #20
7. (12) Kevin Lewis #41
8. (13) Jerry Harding, Jr. #57R
9. (14) Scott Reece #16
10. (11) Mike Stevenson #1
11. (8) Erick Rudolph #12
12. (2) Russ Gian #9
13. (6) Nick Cappelli #86
14. (9) Tom MacLeod #32
DNS: Dave Tedesco #44, Moose Rutherford #77 (Kirk ran it after problems with his own #11)

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-11 Murray, Laps 11-19 Rutherford, Lap 20 Murray
Heat Winners: Murray, Cappelli

Bobcat of Buffalo Late Model Feature Finish:
1. (2) Ron Nurmi #2
2. (5) Todd Hoddick #49
3. (3) Bobby Weber #11
4. (6) Matt Alix #24
5. (7) Joe Carbone #31
6. (4) Jeff Brown, Jr. #3
7. (9) Mark Pennell #18
8. (11) Tommy Reese #54
9. (10) Bob Nye #41
10. (8) Dan Habuda #15
11. (12) Frank Green #52G
12. (14) Jeff Merritt #61
13. (1) Scott Skora #56
14. (13) Cory Lischer #3L

Lap Leader: Laps 1-25 Nurmi
Heat Winners: Hoddick, Alix

Modified Feature Finish:
1. (14) Jan Leaty #6
2. (3) Chuck Hossfeld #22
3. (8) Sege Fidanza #77
4. (1) Buck Catalano #4
5. (6) Tom McGrath #12
6. (13) Bill Hebing #66
7. (7) Billy Putney #88
8. (4) Erick Rudolph #45
9. (9) Rick Kluth #44
10. (2) Phil Slater #24
11. (12) Brett Scherrer #8
12. (11) Mark Tychoniewicz #01
13. (10) Danny Knoll, Jr. #17
14. (15) Sean O’Neill #7
15. (17) Tom Wiest #35
16. (5) Patsy Catalano #45C
17. (16) Kevin Lewis #44x

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-19 B. Catalano, Laps 21-47 Hossfeld, Laps 48-50 Leaty
Heat Winners: Fidanza, Hossfeld

Source: Lori Overdorf/Lancaster PR
Additions: Mark Southcott/NYRaceZone.com
Posted: August 6, 2007