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Rockingham, NC –For the third race in a row and the fourth time this season Mike Janis has made his way to the winner's circle. The win marks Janis' 19 th carrier IHRA victory but that's not the whole story.
Earlier this season Two Time IHRA Pro Modified Series Champion, Mike Janis, decided to skip the IHRA race in Edmonton and forgo the 41 bonus points associated with a driver attending every IHRA event. This is nothing new to Janis he's done it in the past and it has bitten him. A good example would be the 2003 season. Janis skipped Edmonton and would have won his second title by just attending the race or 2004 when Janis skipped Edmonton and still clinched a title. Well, history has a funny way of repeating its self. Janis lost the 2007 title by a mere 22 points. Once again just attending the Edmonton race would have made him the champ.
"There's two ways to look at it. One, this is really our fourth title in 6 years of running the circuit full time or two, we're pretty stupid," I prefer the first option laughed Janis. "What are you going to do? I feel we raced fair all season. We just hit our stride a little late."
No one can say that Janis' team backed away from a fight. They came to Rockingham knowing they were looking at an Everest sized battle and they never gave up. Entering the event Scott Cannon Jr. lead Janis by 34 points but Cannon received a 41-point bonus for making all of the IHRA events pushing his lead to 75 points. For Janis to win he would need to go after the IHRA elapsed time record of 5.938 and earn the 20 bonus points associated with setting a record. On his final qualifying attempt Janis' crew chief and son Mike jr. put the Jan-Cen powered Cobalt on the ragged edge. The blue Cobalt left like a rocket posting incremental times of: 60ft-0.998 sec., 330ft-2.61 , 660ft-3.900, 1,000ft-4.99 (In comparison the incremental times on the record holding run were : 60ft-0.996 sec., 330ft-2.611, 660ft-3.902, 1,000ft-5.008 ) but without warning Janis' Cobalt slowed after 1,000 foot posting a 6.00 elapsed time at just 210 miles per hour. The team later found that the return spring on the fuel shut off valve broke. "A thirty cent part," exclaimed Mike Jr. "We would've had the record and the Last Man Standing bonus if not for a thirty cent part!"
Feeling the pressure from Janis Cannon rolled into round one paired with "teammate" Tony Pontieri. Pontieri who recently left the Al Billes camp has been tuned lately by Scott Cannon Junior's Father. Pontieri secured Cannon's title when he left before the tree was activated taking the foul and handing the championship to Cannon. Cannon later lost in round two.
"There's no shot for us at a title but we came here to win this race and that's what we're going to do. No more BS, no more politics, just racing," said crew - member Steve Hermann. And that's just what they did. Janis took wins over Matt Hagan, Shannon Jenkins, and Pat Stoken on his way to the finals against Kenny Lang. Lang made his way to the finals by defeating Mark Nielsen, Jim Halsey, and Mike Stawicki.
Janis strapped a hole shot on Lange and never looked back taking the win with a 5.995 at 239.91 to Lang's 6.08 run at just over 235 miles per hour. "I really wanted this one," said an elated Janis. "We finished off the season with style. We would like to thank all of the people who support us and give us a chance to do this. Weber's, Smith's, Nology, Royal Purple, Denny's, Mike R. and Scott, and everyone who helps. Thanks for believing in us. Next season we'll be running a new car and we'll have a lot of work to do this off season but for now we can celebrate."
Mike Janis Racing Would Like To Thank Their Sponsors:
Jan-Cen Automotive Jan-Cen Motorsports - High Performance Automotive Parts & Accessories, Snowmobiles, ATVs, Dyno Tested Racing Engines, Aluminum Trailers, and Custom Racing Repairs
Torco Racing Fuels Torco Race Fuels - Home
Royal Purple Royal Purple Consumer, Industrial, & Racing Divisions
Nology Inc. Nology HotWires Spark Plug Wires and High Performance Ignition Systems
NGK NGK Spark Plugs USA
Denny's Driveshafts Dennys Driveshaft High Speed Balanced Steel and Aluminum Driveshafts Specialist drive shaft parts Denny's
Mac Tools Initializing....
RAM Clutches RAM Clutches Online
JE Pistons JEPistons.com | JE Pistons
Smith's Provisions SMITH's Ham, Wiener, Sausage, Deli Meat & Bacon Products
Weber's Mustard Weber's - website coming soon!
Weld Wheels Weld Racing Wheels – Forged Truck, SUV, Car, Motorcycle and Racing Wheels
Air Brushing By Sandy Airbrush Airbrushing Western New York Car Airbrushing Buffalo NY True Fire Real Fire
Precision Graphics
Photo by: Roger Richards
Janis Wins Battle But Loses War
Rockingham, NC –For the third race in a row and the fourth time this season Mike Janis has made his way to the winner's circle. The win marks Janis' 19 th carrier IHRA victory but that's not the whole story.
Earlier this season Two Time IHRA Pro Modified Series Champion, Mike Janis, decided to skip the IHRA race in Edmonton and forgo the 41 bonus points associated with a driver attending every IHRA event. This is nothing new to Janis he's done it in the past and it has bitten him. A good example would be the 2003 season. Janis skipped Edmonton and would have won his second title by just attending the race or 2004 when Janis skipped Edmonton and still clinched a title. Well, history has a funny way of repeating its self. Janis lost the 2007 title by a mere 22 points. Once again just attending the Edmonton race would have made him the champ.
"There's two ways to look at it. One, this is really our fourth title in 6 years of running the circuit full time or two, we're pretty stupid," I prefer the first option laughed Janis. "What are you going to do? I feel we raced fair all season. We just hit our stride a little late."
No one can say that Janis' team backed away from a fight. They came to Rockingham knowing they were looking at an Everest sized battle and they never gave up. Entering the event Scott Cannon Jr. lead Janis by 34 points but Cannon received a 41-point bonus for making all of the IHRA events pushing his lead to 75 points. For Janis to win he would need to go after the IHRA elapsed time record of 5.938 and earn the 20 bonus points associated with setting a record. On his final qualifying attempt Janis' crew chief and son Mike jr. put the Jan-Cen powered Cobalt on the ragged edge. The blue Cobalt left like a rocket posting incremental times of: 60ft-0.998 sec., 330ft-2.61 , 660ft-3.900, 1,000ft-4.99 (In comparison the incremental times on the record holding run were : 60ft-0.996 sec., 330ft-2.611, 660ft-3.902, 1,000ft-5.008 ) but without warning Janis' Cobalt slowed after 1,000 foot posting a 6.00 elapsed time at just 210 miles per hour. The team later found that the return spring on the fuel shut off valve broke. "A thirty cent part," exclaimed Mike Jr. "We would've had the record and the Last Man Standing bonus if not for a thirty cent part!"
Feeling the pressure from Janis Cannon rolled into round one paired with "teammate" Tony Pontieri. Pontieri who recently left the Al Billes camp has been tuned lately by Scott Cannon Junior's Father. Pontieri secured Cannon's title when he left before the tree was activated taking the foul and handing the championship to Cannon. Cannon later lost in round two.
"There's no shot for us at a title but we came here to win this race and that's what we're going to do. No more BS, no more politics, just racing," said crew - member Steve Hermann. And that's just what they did. Janis took wins over Matt Hagan, Shannon Jenkins, and Pat Stoken on his way to the finals against Kenny Lang. Lang made his way to the finals by defeating Mark Nielsen, Jim Halsey, and Mike Stawicki.
Janis strapped a hole shot on Lange and never looked back taking the win with a 5.995 at 239.91 to Lang's 6.08 run at just over 235 miles per hour. "I really wanted this one," said an elated Janis. "We finished off the season with style. We would like to thank all of the people who support us and give us a chance to do this. Weber's, Smith's, Nology, Royal Purple, Denny's, Mike R. and Scott, and everyone who helps. Thanks for believing in us. Next season we'll be running a new car and we'll have a lot of work to do this off season but for now we can celebrate."
Mike Janis Racing Would Like To Thank Their Sponsors:
Jan-Cen Automotive Jan-Cen Motorsports - High Performance Automotive Parts & Accessories, Snowmobiles, ATVs, Dyno Tested Racing Engines, Aluminum Trailers, and Custom Racing Repairs
Torco Racing Fuels Torco Race Fuels - Home
Royal Purple Royal Purple Consumer, Industrial, & Racing Divisions
Nology Inc. Nology HotWires Spark Plug Wires and High Performance Ignition Systems
NGK NGK Spark Plugs USA
Denny's Driveshafts Dennys Driveshaft High Speed Balanced Steel and Aluminum Driveshafts Specialist drive shaft parts Denny's
Mac Tools Initializing....
RAM Clutches RAM Clutches Online
JE Pistons JEPistons.com | JE Pistons
Smith's Provisions SMITH's Ham, Wiener, Sausage, Deli Meat & Bacon Products
Weber's Mustard Weber's - website coming soon!
Weld Wheels Weld Racing Wheels – Forged Truck, SUV, Car, Motorcycle and Racing Wheels
Air Brushing By Sandy Airbrush Airbrushing Western New York Car Airbrushing Buffalo NY True Fire Real Fire
Precision Graphics
Photo by: Roger Richards
