Recently we talked about a driver on the rise — A.J. Miller. This week we’re going to talk about a guy who has already conquered the mountain a few times — the man that is always working hard — Matt Janczuk.
The Oneida resident has been a force in the sportsman series for years. He made a couple forays in to the small block and big block divisions but always settled back in to the sportsman series where he can fulfill his competitive drive and not break his bank account.
In 2020, Janczuk, who is a sergeant and an officer in charge at the Hamilton police department, won the only two races at Utica-Rome Speedway and seven other races — three at the Land of Legends (Canandaigua), three more at Can-Am Speedway (LaFargeville) and the OktoberFAST Sportsman Shootout 50 at Fulton Speedway. Janczuk had nine wins in just 23 starts.
When Janczuk says he’s in it for the wins — he’s not kidding.
Case in point was his spectacular run down of Kyle Inman last June. The last lap pass on the high side of turn four was epic. Janczuk will put the car wherever he has to put it to win.
Janczuk’s other cardiac-pounding win was at the Land of Legends in Canandaigua where he passed two cars on the final lap by driving deep in to turn three and the “car stuck” and he drove off for the win.
“I’m in it for wins,” said Janczuk with a smile. “My biggest concern is always who I have in front of me- guys (other drivers) I have to watch out for.”
His focus remains the same each race. The longer races are sometimes- seemingly- a little too easy for Janczuk because he qualifies well, starts up front and then never relinquishes the lead. That’s what good racers do- they make it look easy- that’s what Janczuk does.
What isn’t easy right now is the switch to a Teo chassis after running a Bicknell chassis for almost 20 seasons.
I visited Janczuk’s shop in Durhamville where he had just started putting the new car together after making the trip to New Jersey a couple days before to pick up his new bullet.
Janczuk just turned 37 years-old and you get the feeling other than racing and winning he really enjoys the process of “figuring out” a car and in this case, a whole knew chassis. “After 19 or so years racing a Bicknell chassis- I get to put together a Teo chassis,” quipped Janczuk.
One thing Janczuk and the 33x sportsman team will have to figure out is the their racing schedule. Utica-Rome Speedway has been Janczuk’s personal playground the past few seasons, having amassed seven track championships at the “Fast Track of the East.” However an ad on everyone’s Facebook feed has advertised that Utica-Rome Speedway is for sale. Obviously, the hope is the track will open up in 2021 with pandemic restrictions being eased.
The buzz is Fulton Speedway will open up for the 2021 season. So— for now— Janczuk is committed to racing at Fulton Speedway on Saturday nights.
Janczuk will also hit some Brett Deyo races which require American Racer tires for the series. Plus the 33x will follow the Super Dirtcar Series Sportsman series.
Balancing family, wife Meghan and children Aubrey and Brody, work, their thriving business Meghan owns— Finish Line Designs— they have built the past couple years, it doesn’t seem like Janczuk would have time to devote to racing. But the man is always working hard and winning is priority one.
See you at the races soon.
The Link LonkFebruary 07, 2021 at 09:00PM
https://romesentinel.com/stories/matt-janczuk-is-working-hard-and-looking-for-more,109988
Matt Janczuk is working hard and looking for more - Rome Sentinel
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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