Story By: STEVEN PETTY / LANCASTER MOTORPLEX – LANCASTER, NY – The roar of Modifieds will once again take center stage this coming Saturday night at Lancaster Motorplex for the Tommy Druar/Tony Jankowiak Memorial 110 for the Race of Champions Modified Series. The Budget RV Outlet of Buffalo Street Stocks, Rusty Diamond Cores 4 Cylinders, and the Mighty TQ Midgets will all be in action.
Also, on tap will be the King Wolf Productions Big Wheels! Kids aged 3-12 can sign up at the picnic tables in the main concourse when gates open and race during intermission and can participate in the Kids Korner Craft hosted by the 50/50 ticket sellers. Pit gates will open at 2pm, grandstands open at 4pm, and racing will begin at 6:30pm.
“The Travelin’ Man” Tommy Druar and “The Rocket” Tony Jankowiak were two of the all-time greats and fan favorites at Lancaster. In 1987, Tommy edged Tony to earn his first of two Modified track championships. Tommy would defend his title in 1988, by winning a race in each month of the season. Druar would lose his life in an on-track accident at Lancaster in June of 1989, as his car hit the wall driver side first. Tommy scored 18 modified wins between May of 1981 and May of 1989 – which is 11th all time. Druar has a total of 26 wins at Lancaster, which is 24th all-time in speedway history. Druar was inducted into the Friends of Auto Racing (FOAR SCORE) Hall of Fame in 1990.
Tony Jankowiak was truly a “rocket” when it came to driving a racecar. His 13 wins at Lancaster between August of 1984 and June of 1988, which is 18th all time. Ten months after losing his brother-in-law, Jankowiak lost his life in a racing accident during the 1990 Spring Sizzler at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut. Driving the Bill Potts-David Riggs owned number 99, Jankowiak was trying to get around a lapped car, and contact sent Tony J into the turn one wall head on. Tony J was inducted into the FOAR SCORE Hall of Fame in 2001.
The next generation of the Druar and Jankowiak families have also found success racing at Lancaster and beyond, with Matt Druar racing in the Super Stock division and serving as a crew member for Patrick Emerling. Matt has a total of 17 wins at Lancaster, with 10 in the Street Stocks and seven in 4 Cylinder competition. His win total has him in a tie with his uncle Tony Jankowiak. Andy Jankowiak has won in practically every division that has raced at the famed 5/8th’s oval. A multi-time track champion, Andy J has 44 career wins, which is seventh all time in track history, including five wins in a tour-type modified. Andy J is also making a name for himself in the ARCA Menards Series.
Pit gates will open at 2pm, with grandstands opening at 4pm, and racing getting underway at 6:30pm on Saturday night.
We are less than a month away from the most anticipated race on the entire Lancaster Motorplex schedule, the second running of the Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Fans can purchase their tickets now for this event, by visiting the website, www.seetheevents.com. The Nu-Way Auto Parts 150 is presented by Speed Enterprises Entertainment, Franco’s Pizza, West Herr Auto Group, New York Army National Guard, XPress Signs, JJ Supply of North Carolina, Thermal Foams, and Whelen Engineering.