A RECORD IS SET FOR WINNERS IN A SEASON FOR SMART MODS
Andy Jankowiak Becomes the 8th Different Winner in 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Martinsville, VA (October 18, 2023) - For the first time in series history, the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic has eight different winners in a single season.
Andy Jankowiak became the eighth driver to grace the Pace-O-Matic victory lane with his triumph Sunday (October 15) at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. The previous record was six winners, set in three different years of competition. Jankowiak, from Tonawanda, New York, made the pass for the lead on rookie Carson Loftin during the final restart of the Pace-O-Matic 99 with just a handful of laps to go.
“I was killing them on restarts,” explained Jankowiak, the 2021 winner of the prestigious Race of Champions Modified event in the Northeast. “I nailed that thing perfectly (the last restart) and I think he must have spun his tires just a little bit. Man, it was the restart of my life. If that caution hadn’t come out I don’t think we would have done it.”
The second-generation driver becomes the 42nd driver in history to win a SMART Mods event.
“I’m so happy to be back in victory lane,” continued Jankowiak. “When I was little I made all these goals based off of racing video games I liked. I loved the NASCAR Legends game in the 1970 season and this was one of them (the races). And now I’m in victory lane; I’m just so glad we did it.”
In post-race tech, Andy Jankowiak’s engine was confiscated by SMART officials for further evaluation. An independent inspector deemed it legal after performing a complete checkdown process of the engine. (Click here to read the entire statement from SMART.) Jankowiak also won the Pace-O-Matic Pole Award earlier in the day by setting fast time during qualifying, After the redraw, the 73 Modified of Jankowiak would start sixth in the 99-lap event.
Carson Loftin, who started on the pole after the redraw, was the dominant driver in the race. The 15 year-old won the Jostens Lap Leader Award by being out front for 85 circuits. Loftin also won Bell Helmets Stage One (at the completion of lap 30) and grabbed the MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap of the Race by setting quick time on lap seven. Loftin also scored the Carolina Drilling Blast To the Front Award for being the highest finishing driver who has yet to win a Tour-Type Modified Series event.
By virtue of his runner-up finish, the rookie locked himself into the SMART 3 who will vie for the overall series championship.
Joining Loftin in the SMART 3 will be overall series point leader Burt Myers, who finished seventh at South Boston. Myers is a three time winner in 2023. Two-time winner Brandon Ward is second in the Racing Electronics point standings, but his number-2 modified had engine trouble at SoBo.
Myers, Ward and Loftin are the SMART 3 drivers who are eligible for the championship on Saturday, October 28 at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC.
Joey Coulter was one of the drivers competing to become part of the SMART 3. He finished in third place at South Boston.
Tommy Buzze, who finished fourth, scored a pair of awards. He was the Bankers Life Halfway Leader and his number-5 advanced more spots than any other driver, 13 in all, to become the Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger of the Race.
The season finale is Saturday, October 28, at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC. The Rumble at Rougemont will crown the 2023 champion for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. Please follow Orange County Speedway on social media for more information regarding the event.
For more information about the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic please visit the series website at www.smartmodtour.com, and be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: SMART Modified Tour| Twitter: @SMARTMods_ | IG: @smartmods_).
By Bob Dillner - Short Track Life Media Group - Twitter: @shorttracklife_
SMART Modified Tour Race #11
Official Race Results for the Pace-O-Matic 99 - 10/14/2023
South Boston Speedway - South Boston, VA- 0.400 mile
Race Length: 99L - 39.6 M - 63.756 KM
Fin Str Car Driver Laps
1 6 73 Andy Jankowiak 99
2 1 23 Carson Loftin 99
3 8 02 Joey Coulter 99
4 17 5 Tom Buzze Jr. 99
5 5 25 Tim Brown 99
6 7 18va Bobby Labonte 99
7 3 1 Burt Myers 99
8 15 4 Jason Myers 99
9 12 14 Bobby Measmer Jr. 99
10 14 12pa Jake Crum 99
11 11 39 Jonathan Cash 99
12 10 55 Jeremy Gerstner 99
13 21 8ny Tyler Barry 99
14 20 8F Chris Finocchario 99
15 4 15 Brian Loftin 99
16 16 21 Jimmy Wallace 99
17 13 18 Daniel Yates 94
18 2 2 Brandon Ward 88
19 19 45 Gary Young Jr. 78
20 18 07va Dennis Holdren 76
21 9 7ny Caleb Heady 37
Time of Race: 0h:59:17 | Cautions: 7 for 37 Laps
Lap Leaders: C. Loftin 85, Buzze Jr. 10, Jankowiak 4
Pace-O-Matic Pole Award: Andy Jankowiak - 14.371 seconds (100.202 mph)
Bell Helmets Stage Winner: Carson Loftin
Jostens Lap Leader: Carson Loftin
Bankers Life Halfway Leader: Tom Buzze
Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger Award: Tom Buzze Jr. (+13 Positions)
Carolina Drilling Blast to the Front: Carson Loftin
MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap: Carson Loftin - 14.668 seconds (Lap 7)
Pace-O-Matic Hard Luck Award: Brandon Ward
Oval Marketing Free Tire Award: Burt Myers
SMART Modified Tour
The SMART Modified Tour captures the essence of one of the most legendary forms of racing in America, pavement Modifieds. Born in 1988, these ground-pounding, 600-horsepower missiles are a must-see for any racing fan.
In 2020, Chris Williams brought SMART Modifieds back to prominence after a brief hiatus. Due to the overwhelming popularity from its fan base, a four-race schedule in its initial year has given birth to an adventurous 14-race schedule in 2023.
This year will mark the third full-season of SMART Modified Tour racing. Many of Modified racing’s best drivers, from all over the country, will compete with the series, which visits 13 different racetracks in three different states in the Mid-Atlantic - North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
SMART Modifieds compete on grueling asphalt oval short tracks, embedded in quaint local communities, each spring, summer and fall.
Pace-O-Matic
Pace-O-Matic develops, produces, and licenses fun and entertainment in the form of skill games in various states, including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Kentucky, Illinois and Texas, among others. Since its founding in 2000, the organization has built a talented leadership team and a culture defined by integrity, innovation, and compliance. Learn more at www.paceomatic.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Martinsville, VA (October 18, 2023) - For the first time in series history, the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic has eight different winners in a single season.
Andy Jankowiak became the eighth driver to grace the Pace-O-Matic victory lane with his triumph Sunday (October 15) at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. The previous record was six winners, set in three different years of competition. Jankowiak, from Tonawanda, New York, made the pass for the lead on rookie Carson Loftin during the final restart of the Pace-O-Matic 99 with just a handful of laps to go.
“I was killing them on restarts,” explained Jankowiak, the 2021 winner of the prestigious Race of Champions Modified event in the Northeast. “I nailed that thing perfectly (the last restart) and I think he must have spun his tires just a little bit. Man, it was the restart of my life. If that caution hadn’t come out I don’t think we would have done it.”
The second-generation driver becomes the 42nd driver in history to win a SMART Mods event.
“I’m so happy to be back in victory lane,” continued Jankowiak. “When I was little I made all these goals based off of racing video games I liked. I loved the NASCAR Legends game in the 1970 season and this was one of them (the races). And now I’m in victory lane; I’m just so glad we did it.”
In post-race tech, Andy Jankowiak’s engine was confiscated by SMART officials for further evaluation. An independent inspector deemed it legal after performing a complete checkdown process of the engine. (Click here to read the entire statement from SMART.) Jankowiak also won the Pace-O-Matic Pole Award earlier in the day by setting fast time during qualifying, After the redraw, the 73 Modified of Jankowiak would start sixth in the 99-lap event.
Carson Loftin, who started on the pole after the redraw, was the dominant driver in the race. The 15 year-old won the Jostens Lap Leader Award by being out front for 85 circuits. Loftin also won Bell Helmets Stage One (at the completion of lap 30) and grabbed the MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap of the Race by setting quick time on lap seven. Loftin also scored the Carolina Drilling Blast To the Front Award for being the highest finishing driver who has yet to win a Tour-Type Modified Series event.
By virtue of his runner-up finish, the rookie locked himself into the SMART 3 who will vie for the overall series championship.
Joining Loftin in the SMART 3 will be overall series point leader Burt Myers, who finished seventh at South Boston. Myers is a three time winner in 2023. Two-time winner Brandon Ward is second in the Racing Electronics point standings, but his number-2 modified had engine trouble at SoBo.
Myers, Ward and Loftin are the SMART 3 drivers who are eligible for the championship on Saturday, October 28 at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC.
Joey Coulter was one of the drivers competing to become part of the SMART 3. He finished in third place at South Boston.
Tommy Buzze, who finished fourth, scored a pair of awards. He was the Bankers Life Halfway Leader and his number-5 advanced more spots than any other driver, 13 in all, to become the Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger of the Race.
The season finale is Saturday, October 28, at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC. The Rumble at Rougemont will crown the 2023 champion for the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic. Please follow Orange County Speedway on social media for more information regarding the event.
For more information about the SMART Modified Tour powered by Pace-O-Matic please visit the series website at www.smartmodtour.com, and be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: SMART Modified Tour| Twitter: @SMARTMods_ | IG: @smartmods_).
By Bob Dillner - Short Track Life Media Group - Twitter: @shorttracklife_
SMART Modified Tour Race #11
Official Race Results for the Pace-O-Matic 99 - 10/14/2023
South Boston Speedway - South Boston, VA- 0.400 mile
Race Length: 99L - 39.6 M - 63.756 KM
Fin Str Car Driver Laps
1 6 73 Andy Jankowiak 99
2 1 23 Carson Loftin 99
3 8 02 Joey Coulter 99
4 17 5 Tom Buzze Jr. 99
5 5 25 Tim Brown 99
6 7 18va Bobby Labonte 99
7 3 1 Burt Myers 99
8 15 4 Jason Myers 99
9 12 14 Bobby Measmer Jr. 99
10 14 12pa Jake Crum 99
11 11 39 Jonathan Cash 99
12 10 55 Jeremy Gerstner 99
13 21 8ny Tyler Barry 99
14 20 8F Chris Finocchario 99
15 4 15 Brian Loftin 99
16 16 21 Jimmy Wallace 99
17 13 18 Daniel Yates 94
18 2 2 Brandon Ward 88
19 19 45 Gary Young Jr. 78
20 18 07va Dennis Holdren 76
21 9 7ny Caleb Heady 37
Time of Race: 0h:59:17 | Cautions: 7 for 37 Laps
Lap Leaders: C. Loftin 85, Buzze Jr. 10, Jankowiak 4
Pace-O-Matic Pole Award: Andy Jankowiak - 14.371 seconds (100.202 mph)
Bell Helmets Stage Winner: Carson Loftin
Jostens Lap Leader: Carson Loftin
Bankers Life Halfway Leader: Tom Buzze
Pace-O-Matic Hard Charger Award: Tom Buzze Jr. (+13 Positions)
Carolina Drilling Blast to the Front: Carson Loftin
MJ Printing & Graphics Fastest Lap: Carson Loftin - 14.668 seconds (Lap 7)
Pace-O-Matic Hard Luck Award: Brandon Ward
Oval Marketing Free Tire Award: Burt Myers
SMART Modified Tour
The SMART Modified Tour captures the essence of one of the most legendary forms of racing in America, pavement Modifieds. Born in 1988, these ground-pounding, 600-horsepower missiles are a must-see for any racing fan.
In 2020, Chris Williams brought SMART Modifieds back to prominence after a brief hiatus. Due to the overwhelming popularity from its fan base, a four-race schedule in its initial year has given birth to an adventurous 14-race schedule in 2023.
This year will mark the third full-season of SMART Modified Tour racing. Many of Modified racing’s best drivers, from all over the country, will compete with the series, which visits 13 different racetracks in three different states in the Mid-Atlantic - North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
SMART Modifieds compete on grueling asphalt oval short tracks, embedded in quaint local communities, each spring, summer and fall.
Pace-O-Matic
Pace-O-Matic develops, produces, and licenses fun and entertainment in the form of skill games in various states, including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Kentucky, Illinois and Texas, among others. Since its founding in 2000, the organization has built a talented leadership team and a culture defined by integrity, innovation, and compliance. Learn more at www.paceomatic.com.