Tony Jankowiak / Tommy Druar Memorial Race to be Held at Lancaster during Resurrected U.S. Open Weekend September 21, 2014
For Immediate Release (August 20, 2014)
Tonawanda, NY
The Tony Jankowiak / Tommy Druar Memorial will be held as a part of Lancaster Speedway’s U.S. Open Weekend. It will be a one-day event, sanctioned by the Race of Champions asphalt Modified Tour, 125-laps on Sunday, September 21, 2014. The event, which has been a traditional part of the Lancaster Speedway schedule, was cancelled by the former track promoter just one-week prior to the annual running of the event. Andy Jankowiak and Joe Skotnicki took on the project of not only trying to save the event, but also protect the integrity of what the event stood for. “Lancaster is an important race track in the history of modified racing and the Tony/Tommy race is a traditional celebration and memorial to honor two of the best Modified racers from the Western New York area. When the race was originally cancelled, we felt an obligation to it,” stated Andy Jankowiak, son of the late Tony Jankowiak. “I contacted Joe (Skotnicki) to utilize his experience and we went to work.” After originally being denied an opportunity to promote the event under the former management of Lancaster, Jankowiak and Skotnicki examined the opportunity of moving the race, knowing the race would return to Lancaster one-day under the right conditions.
“Both Joe and I wanted the race at Lancaster,” continued Jankowiak. “However, terms could not be met and we moved forward. John White at Spencer was willing to help and host the race. We cannot thank him enough for being willing to take the risk. Other factors determined the fate of this however we never gave up and spent countless hours making sure it would happen.” After speaking with new promoter, Bill Catania, who will promote the US Open Weekend at Lancaster an agreement was reached to tag the US Open RoC Modified portion as the Tony Jankowiak / Tommy Druar Memorial race. In addition to the agreement for the 2014 season, the trio of Jankowiak, Catania and Skotnicki are examining possibilities for the future promotion of the event. The Tony Jankowiak / Tommy Druar Memorial event is now an event represented and promoted by members of the Jankowiak and Druar families, who will protect the integrity and play an integral role of the event going forward as well create programs to assist in the benefit, the growth and the future of the sport.
Jankowiak and Skotnicki would like to thank Race of Champions Modified Tour promoter, Andrew Harpell, for his continued support and cooperation in making this event happen. His dedication, along with the dedication of his officials and series drivers, helps ensure the success of this race. For more information on the US Open please call 336-793-8465 or log on to
www.lancasterusopen.com. You can also like the event of Facebook at facebook.com/theusopen and follow on twitter @LancasterUSOpen.
For Further Information Contact, Andy Jankowiak - (716) 830-1305 / andy_jankowiak@yahoo.com
