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Andrew Harpell
Administrative Director
(607) 755-5555
Email:
rocdirt@aol.com |
Race of Champions
P.O. Box 2828
Binghamton, NY 13902
24-hour fax:
(607)
775-3417 |
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Matt Janczuk Wins RoC Sportsman 30 at Utica Rome |
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posted on 08/22/11 by AndrewHarpell |
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Matt Janczuk powers to RoC Sportsman victory at Utica Rome Speedway
By Ryan Lepre
Matt Janczuk took the lead on lap two of the 30 lap Race of Champions Sportsman event Sunday evening at Utica Rome Speedway and was never challenged over the final 28 circuits however the racing from second on back kept the fans attention.
Janczuk who was involved in a jingle in his heat race looked to have a long night ahead of him as he suffered some front end damage but somehow his crew made a quick fix and he was able to rejoin the heat. Janczuk then charged up to finish third to make the redraw and eventually drew the third starting spot for the feature which he utilized to take his sixth victory at Utica Rome this season.
“I got to thank my crew for getting this thing back together it was pretty tore up after the heat race but we were able to make it back to a redraw spot.” stated Janczuk in victory lane “I raced these tour guys before so we have a lot of respect for them but starting up front definitely helped, it was nice starting up front for once and it made for a nice clean race.”
Chris Mackey and Jeremy Vunk led the field to the green flag with Mackey taking the lead while Janczuk, Vunk and Jeff Crambo were in pursuit. RoC Sportsman point leader James Cornell slide over the bank in turn three and four dropping towards the pack of the field. The yellow lights came on for Chris Pope on lap two and on the ensuing restart Janczuk in his Wentworth Construction No.33x vaulted past Mackey and into the lead in turn two. Within five circuits Janczuk started to distance himself from the field while Steve Way began racing Crambo for the fourth spot.
With 11 laps complete AJ Filbeck drew the yellow as he spun in turn four and Claude Hutchings Jr. narrowly missed slamming into him. On the restart Mackey and Vunk raced side by side but Mackey maintained the spot. Crambo carried a ton of speed running the extreme outside and was able to grab third from Vunk on lap 13. Cornell spun in turn one to draw the yellow on lap 14. Way snagged fourth from Vunk on lap 14 and immediately started to work on Crambo for third when the yellow was out once again as Mike Dougherty Jr. stopped in the infield.
Crambo had turns one and two figured out as he charged to the outside of Mackey for second however slight contact between them halted Crambo’s momentum as Mackey held the spot. Crambo, Way and Vunk were racing three wide for third on lap 21. With five laps left Janczuk was on cruise control and Mackey also ran away from a tight race for third with Way leading Crambo and Vunk.
The final yellow came with four to go and on the restart Crambo pulled even with second place Mackey on the backstretch but couldn’t complete the pass. Now Crambo and Way raced side by side on lap 28 and on lap 29 Vunk decided to make it three way fight for third. Entering turn one on the last lap Crambo jumped the cushion dropping him to fifth. Janczuk took the checkers first as Mackey in the Rood Trucking No.3M was the runner-up. Vunk grabbed third on the last lap while Way and Crambo completed the top five. Hutchings, Jack Miller, Joe Harrington, Filbeck and Tye-Scott Rood rounded out the top ten.
ROC NOTES: Heat races for the 26 RoC Sportsman were won by Jeremy Vunk, AJ Filbeck and Chris Pope…Jeff Crambo’s fifth place finish combined with James Cornell’s 17th place finish has shuffled the top spot in the RoC Sportsman standings…Crambo has now over taken the point lead on Cornell by 2 points…It was announced on Sunday that the RoC Dirt Sportsman 100 Finale at Five Mile Point Speedway on Friday, October 28th will now pay a minimum of $200 to take the green…
Official RoC Sportsman 30 Feature Finish: MATT JANCZUK, Chris Mackey, Jeremy Vunk, Steve Way, Jeff Crambo, Claude Hutchings Jr., Jack Miller, Joe Harrington, A.J. Filbeck, Tye Rood, Mike Button, Randy Shantel, Sammy Piazza, Aaron Jacobs, Brian Thomas, Bobby Heinz, James Cornell, Brad Szulewski, Rich Townsend, Mike Dougherty, Craig Pope. DNS – Jim Rothwell, Jeff Leslie, Heath Carney.
Next Event: Tuesday, August 29th at I-88 Speedway (Afton, NY)
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