LANCASTER, N.Y. — On the anniversary of the passing of his uncle, hall of famer “Travelin’ Man” Tommy Druar, second-generation driver Andy Jankowiak won the Sportsman 50 for the Monroe Extinguisher Sportsman under the lights on Saturday night at Lancaster Motorplex.
Rich Littlefield and Tim Garlock were on the front row with third-place starter Chase Williams taking the lead ahead of Tony Carbone.
George Skora III and Trevor Catalano would work their way into the top five early on, as they raced in third and fourth respectively on lap six. Skora would continue to work towards the front of the field as he would challenge Carbone for second on lap 10, completing the pass on lap 11.
Jankowiak, who started 19th on the grid, entered the top ten on lap 15 after passing Tom MacLeod. The leaders would encounter lap traffic on lap 16, allowing Skora and Catalano to catch race leader Williams.
Jankowiak would continue to work his way through the field on lap 18, passing John Barber to move into eighth place. The lead trio would pull away from the field and would battle for the lead at the halfway mark, with Williams leading Skora and Catalano.
Jankowiak moved up to seventh on lap 26, closing in on sixth place Shawn Nye. Just two laps later, Catalano would take the lead away from Williams, with Skora taking over second place.
While fighting lap traffic, Williams spun in turn three to bring out the first caution of the event on lap 29. The caution would immediately come back out as race leader Catalano spun in turn four after slight contact with Skora, setting off a chain reaction crash, taking out several cars, including Catalano and Jake Vernon.
Skora was sent to the rear of the field for his involvement. On the restart, Alan Bookmiller would be in the lead ahead of Carbone and Jankowiak. Jankowiak would take over second and would take over the lead on lap 34.
Nye would work his way back to fourth, with Trevor Catalano moving up back into fifth place on lap 39. In the closing laps, Jankowiak would hold on to score the win ahead of Bookmiller, Carbone, Trevor Catalano, and Shawn Nye. George Skora would work back to finish in sixth place ahead of Rich Littlefield, Tom MacLeod, Dave Kozlowski, and Chase Williams.
Reigning track champion Mark Hoch won his first Street Stock feature of the season. Chris Deyoe Jr. won the 4 Cylinders feature event while Ronnie Flaim won the Mighty TQ Midget feature.
Feature Finish
ANDY JANKOWIAK, Alan Bookmiller, Tony Carbone, Trevor Catalano, Shawn Nye, George Skora III, Rich Littlefield, Tom MacLeod, Dave Kozlowski, Chase Williams, Jeff Szafraniec, Tim Garlock, Andrew Cook, Chris Pennell, Paul Townsend, Cameron Ruggiero, Tyler Catalano, John Barber, Jake Vernon, Did Not Start: Jonathan Reid