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September 25, 2006 - Cayuga, Ont., Canada – “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good”. That saying is a perfect fit for Mike Janis’ 2006 IHRA Canadian Nationals experience.
With frequent rain stoppages throughout the weekend and the event already two months behind schedule, because of rain during the original July date, it seemed as if the 2006 IHRA Canadian Nationals would never make it into the books but, neither rain, nor 60 mile per hour winds, nor snow (Ok, there wasn’t any snow but, this is the “Great White North”) could stop this event; even if it took an extra day.
On Friday, Eaton and Aeroquip Sponsored, Mike Janis wowed the Canadian Crowd with a 6.16 pass at just over 231 miles per hour. The run placed Janis in the third qualifying position. Luckily for Janis his first run was a keeper because rain cancelled Friday Night’s qualifying session and held teams to only one try on Saturday. At the end of qualifying Janis fell to sixth in the order and would be paired with the AC-Delco Sponsored Harold Martin in round one on Sunday.
Martin, who qualified his Pontiac Grand Am in the 14th spot with a 6.247 at 226 miles per hour, was a tad late off the line in his first round pairing with Mike Janis and Martin seemed to get a bit loose around the 330’ mark. A combination of Martin’s slower reaction time and his getting out of shape helped Janis drive around him for the win with a 6.219 to Martin’s slower 6.501.
The run against Martin would be the only run Janis would make on Sunday as rain caused the event to be held over till Monday morning. On Monday Janis was set to face Tommy D’Aprile in round two. On paper this race was all D’Aprile. D’Aprile who qualified second with a 6.104 defeated Alan Pittman in round one with an impressive 6.095 pass at just under 235 miles per hour. With D’Aprile holding lane choice and a nearly two tenths advantage it seemed that the race being held over an extra day was only prolonging the agony of defeat for Janis and his crew but, drag racers aren’t run on paper. Both Janis’ and D’Aprile’s cars shook the tires about 100 feet out and Janis did a better job of recovering to take the win.
The win over D’Aprile squared Janis off with Marietta Georgia’s Eddie Ware. Ware qualified his swoopy Cynergy Composites bodied 67 Camaro in the 8th position and defeated Scott Cannon in round one and Danny Rowe in round two. Ware’s 6.131 elapsed time in round two gave him lane choice and over a tenth of a second advantage over Janis.
After both cars experienced tire shake it seemed as if this was Ware's race until his engine expired just before the finish line. Janis was able to recover from the tire shake and drive by Ware for the win. Mike Janis' incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.018), 330 ft (-0.038), 660ft(-0.068), 1,000ft(-0.033). MOV: 0.1599 seconds (approximately 43 feet).
The win over Ware put Janis into his third final round of the season and 25th of his career. Janis was once again the under dog as he was paired with John Russo. Russo qualified his supercharged 68’ Camaro in the 11th spot and defeated Jim Halsey in round one, Kenny Lange in round two and point leader Glenn Kerunsky in the semi-finals. Russo’s 6.112 in the semi’s secured him lane choice in the finals against Janis who could only muster a 6.322 in his semi-final appearance.
Janis left the line first with over a two-hundredths advantage but both drivers quickly went into tire shake. Janis was the first to recover and took his second Iron Man of 06’ and the 15th of his career.
“There’s no other way to look at it. We got lucky,” said Janis. “After we got by first round we looked at every round as the most important of the season to that point. When the race was postponed till Monday we lost part of our crew. And we knew it was going be tough. After we made it past D’Aprile we found a problem with the car but with out Steve here we didn’t have the manpower to fix it between rounds. We decided to let it ride and we got lucky. The track surface was tricky for everyone so it helped to level the field for us.”
“I’m more in awe right now than I am excited. Our driver won this race for us. With the race postponed till Monday we were short handed because our “ACE Mechanic”, Steve Hermann, had to head home to work his “day job”. We really could have used him here today. Without Steve we were forced to put a band-aid on our little problem and cross our fingers. Luckily, Dad out drove the other guys and proved why he’s one of the best drivers in the history of this class,” said Eaton Pro Modified Crew Chief Mike Janis Junior.
Next up for the Eaton Aeroquip Team of Janis is the TORCO RACING FUELS PRESIDENT’S CUP NATIONALS at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek Road, MD from September 29th thru October 1st.
Photo Courtesy of: Ron Kozak
Mike Janis Wins Canadian Nationals
September 25, 2006 - Cayuga, Ont., Canada – “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good”. That saying is a perfect fit for Mike Janis’ 2006 IHRA Canadian Nationals experience.
With frequent rain stoppages throughout the weekend and the event already two months behind schedule, because of rain during the original July date, it seemed as if the 2006 IHRA Canadian Nationals would never make it into the books but, neither rain, nor 60 mile per hour winds, nor snow (Ok, there wasn’t any snow but, this is the “Great White North”) could stop this event; even if it took an extra day.
On Friday, Eaton and Aeroquip Sponsored, Mike Janis wowed the Canadian Crowd with a 6.16 pass at just over 231 miles per hour. The run placed Janis in the third qualifying position. Luckily for Janis his first run was a keeper because rain cancelled Friday Night’s qualifying session and held teams to only one try on Saturday. At the end of qualifying Janis fell to sixth in the order and would be paired with the AC-Delco Sponsored Harold Martin in round one on Sunday.
Martin, who qualified his Pontiac Grand Am in the 14th spot with a 6.247 at 226 miles per hour, was a tad late off the line in his first round pairing with Mike Janis and Martin seemed to get a bit loose around the 330’ mark. A combination of Martin’s slower reaction time and his getting out of shape helped Janis drive around him for the win with a 6.219 to Martin’s slower 6.501.
The run against Martin would be the only run Janis would make on Sunday as rain caused the event to be held over till Monday morning. On Monday Janis was set to face Tommy D’Aprile in round two. On paper this race was all D’Aprile. D’Aprile who qualified second with a 6.104 defeated Alan Pittman in round one with an impressive 6.095 pass at just under 235 miles per hour. With D’Aprile holding lane choice and a nearly two tenths advantage it seemed that the race being held over an extra day was only prolonging the agony of defeat for Janis and his crew but, drag racers aren’t run on paper. Both Janis’ and D’Aprile’s cars shook the tires about 100 feet out and Janis did a better job of recovering to take the win.
The win over D’Aprile squared Janis off with Marietta Georgia’s Eddie Ware. Ware qualified his swoopy Cynergy Composites bodied 67 Camaro in the 8th position and defeated Scott Cannon in round one and Danny Rowe in round two. Ware’s 6.131 elapsed time in round two gave him lane choice and over a tenth of a second advantage over Janis.
After both cars experienced tire shake it seemed as if this was Ware's race until his engine expired just before the finish line. Janis was able to recover from the tire shake and drive by Ware for the win. Mike Janis' incremental margins (negative if behind): 60ft(-0.018), 330 ft (-0.038), 660ft(-0.068), 1,000ft(-0.033). MOV: 0.1599 seconds (approximately 43 feet).
The win over Ware put Janis into his third final round of the season and 25th of his career. Janis was once again the under dog as he was paired with John Russo. Russo qualified his supercharged 68’ Camaro in the 11th spot and defeated Jim Halsey in round one, Kenny Lange in round two and point leader Glenn Kerunsky in the semi-finals. Russo’s 6.112 in the semi’s secured him lane choice in the finals against Janis who could only muster a 6.322 in his semi-final appearance.
Janis left the line first with over a two-hundredths advantage but both drivers quickly went into tire shake. Janis was the first to recover and took his second Iron Man of 06’ and the 15th of his career.
“There’s no other way to look at it. We got lucky,” said Janis. “After we got by first round we looked at every round as the most important of the season to that point. When the race was postponed till Monday we lost part of our crew. And we knew it was going be tough. After we made it past D’Aprile we found a problem with the car but with out Steve here we didn’t have the manpower to fix it between rounds. We decided to let it ride and we got lucky. The track surface was tricky for everyone so it helped to level the field for us.”
“I’m more in awe right now than I am excited. Our driver won this race for us. With the race postponed till Monday we were short handed because our “ACE Mechanic”, Steve Hermann, had to head home to work his “day job”. We really could have used him here today. Without Steve we were forced to put a band-aid on our little problem and cross our fingers. Luckily, Dad out drove the other guys and proved why he’s one of the best drivers in the history of this class,” said Eaton Pro Modified Crew Chief Mike Janis Junior.
Next up for the Eaton Aeroquip Team of Janis is the TORCO RACING FUELS PRESIDENT’S CUP NATIONALS at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek Road, MD from September 29th thru October 1st.
Photo Courtesy of: Ron Kozak
