Pro Mods: Chicago Style in Buffalo

By Outlaw Nick

There's nothing like a good old fashioned Wednesday night match race and Chicago style shootout to bring back memories. But this wasn't some nostalgia race. No sir, this was modern day Pro Mod versus Nitro Coupe plus a quick doorslammer field at Lancaster Motorsports Park.

To start off the evening the first round of qualifying for the Pro Mod Shootout looked like this:

L Dave Tomasino .508 4.582 154.12 
R Jim Sears .445 5.158 131.48

L Jack Grainy .505 4.926 141.92
R Matt Guenther .466 4.453 162.94

L Kasey Janzen .529 5.945 80.98
R Joe Lillenthal .519 4.514 163.62

L Joe Boniferro .551 4.656 150.98

R John Flanigan .497 4.957 141.60

Then it was time for the featured match up. Mike Swinarski in the left lane, Mike Janis in the right. They left together with identical .556 RTs but Swinarski had problems and clocked a 5.822 at 84.60 while Janis roared through the traps with a fine 4.299 at 161.91 mph for the win.

Round two of the Shootout was crucial. In a Chicago style race only the two quickest qualifiers advance to the big money round.

L Joe Lillenthal .051 4.562 161.24
R Kasey Janzen .565 4.503 142.50

Wow! Right off the bat Kasey knocked Joe out of the number two spot. That had to be a good feeling for Kasey as his team has been struggling with their triple disc clutch ever since they installed it.

L John Flanigan 1.621 4.927 142.85
R Joe Boniferro .564 4.786 152.00

Flanigan and his amazing Jeep improved slightly but not enough to make the cut.

L Jim Sears .512 5.125 134.32
R Dave Tomasino .500 4.550 146.57

Both cars improved on their first round runs but again it was not enough.

L Matt Guenther .526 4.940 121.29
R Jack Grainy .498 4.960 121.66

Neither driver improved so it would be Matt Guenther and Kasey Janzen in the final. Nitrous versus Blower!

Round two of the match race saw both drivers struggle to get down the track.

L Mike Janis .627 5.040 129.72 W
R Mike Swinarski .560 7.665 52.51 L

Two straight for the Jan-Cen car!

Shootout Final:

L Kasey Janzen .469 4.441 144.53 W
R Matt Guenther .494 5.389 92.98 L

Two good runs in a row for Kasey even though he had to lift near the end as the car was drifting toward the wall. That was a real confidence builder. That makes three wins in a row at this track for Kasey. In the other lane, Matt had troubles of his own as the car made a hard move for the centerline.

The stage was set for the final run of the match race. Although Mike Janis had won twice over the Nitro Coupe, both drivers wanted to put on a good show for the fans. 

L Mike Janis 4.440 161.88 W
R Mike Swinarski 4.590 155.27 L

Swinarski got a slight lead off the line but Janis ran him down!

The bracket portion of the race ran King of the Hill style with the winner of the Box class running the winner of the No Box class. The No Box winner beat the Box car in the final. The kicker is the No Box winner was a snowmobile! That thing ran quicker than my bracket car! 

There was a good turnout for this race and I'm glad to say I got a chance to meet more good people. Mike Janis, Rob Kozak and his Dad Rich, big-papa-pump, Kasey Janzen (who I somehow managed to miss at Lebanon Valley), John Vouros, Matt Guenther, John Salemi from the band Snapcase and many others. I would like to give special thanks to Sharon Hughes and the staff of Lancaster Motorsports Park staff for their hospitality.

The next Pro Mod race at Lancaster will be Friday August 29.

Outlaw Nick
ProModifieds.com