Jankowiak doesn’t lift until he sees god or the checkered flag and wins first ARCA race at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. — After a wild race at Talladega, Andy Jankowiak from Tonawanda, N.Y. wins his first ever ARCA Menards Series race and does it leading only the final lap of the race.
The race was led mostly by pole sitter and winner of two ARCA races on the year so far Gio Ruggiero, and fan favorite Garrett Mitchell (also known as Cleetus McFarland). The first half of the race was fairly tame with Ruggiero leading approximately eight to 10 cars in a breakaway with another dozen or more in a second group.
Drivers such as Daniel Dye and Jake Bollman would lose the lead draft as the leaders would continue to pull away from the second group and put multiple cars a lap down.
The first caution of the race would fly on lap 30 after Alli Owens spun out in the tri-oval following contact with Con Nicolopoulos. She would fall out of the race following this.
The race restarted with Ryan Huff leading as he did not pit under the caution but quickly lost the lead back to Ruggiero.
Pinnacle Racing Group teammates Jack Wood and Taylor Reimer who had been running in the lead pack before the caution would both be penalized for changing lanes before the start-finish line. Both would then also receive additional penalties for pit road speed violations.
The caution would fly again a few laps later for the second time of the day for the scheduled halfway break.
When the race resumed again, McFarland would take advantage of a push from Dye on the top line and dropped in front of Ruggiero to take the lead leading his first ever laps in ARCA competition on lap 48. The caution would fly again shortly after for an incident involing AJ Moyer.
On the restart, Ruggiero would take back the lead but got too far out in front as McFarland took the lead back with a push from Jake Finch.
On lap 58, a scary wreck brought out the fourth caution of the day when Eric Caudell went spinning after contact with Bobby Dale Earnhardt. Bryan Dauzat would then spin into the back of Caudell causing a massive collision. Both drivers climbed out of their cars ok.
The racing heated up and got more intense as cars from the Nitro Motorsports brigade started to contend for the lead. Bollman got a push from Gus Dean to the lead before contact with McFarland sent him spinning but the caution was not thrown.
After Isabella Robusto took the lead with seven laps to go, the big one struck after Will Kimmel tried to thread the needle between Thomas Annunziata and Ruggiero, sending Annunziata around and collecting drivers such as George Siciliano (also known as Squirrel McNutt), Andrew Patterson, Bryce Haugeberg, Huff, Earnhardt, Tim Richmond, Jason Kitzmiller and others.
The race would be red flagged after a clean up, but under caution with five laps to go Ron Vandermeir Jr who was involved in the prior accident would blow a tire and spin out on the backstretch, prolonging the caution.
The race restarted with a one lap shootout with Robusto in the lead. Kimmel would push Robusto out front in turns one and two to a big lead before Kimmel would receive a push from Dean out front and into the lead.
McFarland and Dean would then pass both of them in turns three and four and nearly made contact coming out of four. Jankowiak who went with them into third would take advantage and take it three wide into the tri-oval passing both up top and winning the Alabama Manufactured Housing 200 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Jankowiak also pulled off what he said he would two years ago at Daytona in 2024 which also ended on a one lap shootout, saying “I’m not lifting until I see god or a checkered flag.” Jankowiak would win in his sixth start at Talladega and 48th overall in the series.
Jankowiak thanked KLAS Motorsports team owners Kevin Lapierre and Andy Seuss, as well as his crew chief Mike Dayton for helping get him to this point in his career and others along the way. He also dedicated the win to Whelen Modified Tour car owner Steve Mendoza, also from Upstate New York.
Amongst other notable finishers included McFarland who with second earned his best career finish in the ARCA Menards Series, Taylor Reimer who came back from the earlier penalties to finish up in sixth, and Ryan Vargas who had to start from the rear of the field finishing in eight.
The ARCA Menards Series will return at Watkins Glen International for the General Tire 100 at the Glen in Watkins Glen, NY on May 8.
Race Results
- 71 Andy Jankowiak
- 30 Garrett Mitchell
- 25 Gus Dean
- 55 Isabella Robusto
- 18 Gio Ruggiero
- 77 Taylor Reimer
- 8 Sean Corr
- 91 Ryan Vargas
- 28 Jack Wood
- 24 Daniel Dye
- 69 Will Kimmel
- 15 Jake Finch
- 01 Cody Dennison
- 12 Takuma Koga
- 66 Derek White
- 10 Ed Pompa
- 34 Logan Misuraca
- 20 Jake Bollman -1 Lap
- 06 Con Nicolopoulos -1 Lap
- 86 Jeff Maconi -1 Lap
- 41 Robbie Kennealy -2 Laps
- 48 Brad Smith -2 Laps
- 19 Matt Kemp -4 Laps
- 26 Ron Vandermeir Jr Out
- 99 Michael Maples -6 Laps
- 70 Thomas Annunziata Out
- 11 Bryce Haugeberg Out
- 1 Andrew Patterson Out
- 0 George Siciliano Out
- 36 Ryan Huff Out
- 89 Bobby Earnhardt Out
- 27 Tim Richmond Out
- 97 Jason Kitzmiller Out
- 03 Alex Clubb -9 Laps
- 79 Steve Lewis Jr -12 Laps
- 7 Eric Caudell Out
- 75 Bryan Dauzat Out
- 17 Monty Tipton Out
- 88 AJ Moyer Out
- 93 Alli Owens Out
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