Stafford Speedway’s 52nd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® has added ARCA Menards Series driver and Modified veteran Andy Jankowiak to the entry list. Jankowiak will be piloting his family owned #73 with sponsorship from Automotive Consultants, Florida Safety Systems, and Yukon Creek Sportsman Club. Jankowiak has had the Sizzler® in his sights for the last several seasons, but scheduling conflicts with the ARCA Menards Series had prevented him from making the trip to the Connecticut half-mile facility.
“The Spring Sizzler® is a race that I’ve always had circled on my calendar but it usually always fell on Talladega weekend so I haven’t been able to do it the last 2 years,” said Jankowiak. “This year we’ll be in Dover so it worked out and it’s a challenge that I’m looking forward to.”
Jankowiak will certainly be facing a challenge when he takes to the track on April 27-28 for NAPA Spring Sizzler® activities. Whereas the majority of the Sizzler® field has plenty of experience to lean on, Jankowiak has one career start at Stafford, finishing 17th in the 2020 Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series event while driving the #59 car for Steve Mendoza. What Jankowiak lacks in experience for Stafford, he more than makes up for with his enthusiasm for Stafford and the NAPA Spring Sizzler®.
“I’m racing against a lot of experience, which I don’t have, but we love the challenge,” said Jankowiak. “Every time you step into something new you learn and build to get where you want to go. We’ll be up against the likes of Ronnie Silk and Matt Hirschman but this is a race that I’ve always wanted to compete in and this is the year things finally worked out. It’s always been a goal of mine to win the Sizzler® and I know that’s a lofty goal, but you have to be in it to win it and this will be our first time. It might not be this year or next year, but we’ll take as many shots at it as we can. I have way too much respect for the competition to go there and ever say winning would be anything but impossible, but we’re certainly going to give it everything we’ve got. It’s going to be tough for sure and I don’t have any expectations otherwise, but that’s why we race.”
The NAPA Spring Sizzler® will serve as Jankowiak’s first start of the season with his family owned #73 car as well as being his first trip to Stafford since the end of the 2020 season. Jankowiak was on a hot streak at the end of the 2023 season and he’s looking to carry that momentum with him into his Stafford experience on April 27-28.
“We were performing really well at the end of last season so we’re hoping to carry that over into this year,” said Jankowiak. “We had a strong run in the Turkey Derby and we won a Southern race at South Boston, so we’re certainly encouraged and I think the biggest thing we’ll be battling is experience. I go to enough racetracks now where I’m used to not being used to them. I think the Sizzler® is one of the crown jewels in modified racing and it’s probably in the top-3 or top-4 modified races on anyone’s list. It’s certainly a race that I want to compete in and if I was fortunate enough to say I won it, it would mean a lot. We’re chasing a W, but I’m sure you probably have to go to Stafford a couple times to really get a handle on the track. So maybe winning is a long term goal but I don’t walk through the gates unless I think I’ve got a shot. If we can come out of there with a solid finish, the car in one piece, and a little money to help pay the tire bill, that would be a good day but you’re always going to the track to win.”
The 52nd Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® is set for Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28. Saturday, April 27th and will consist of two 40-lap NAPA Duel qualifying races for the Open Modified division. The 40-lap races will each pay $3,500 to win and will set the field for Sunday’s NAPA Spring Sizzler®. Stafford’s Late Model, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions will complete Saturday’s racing program with qualifying and feature racing.
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Sunday, April 28th will play host to the $20,000 to win 52nd NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®. Filling out Sunday’s racing card will be qualifying and feature racing for the SK Modified® and SK Light Modified divisions along with last chance qualifiers for the NAPA Spring Sizzler®.
For more information, visit staffordspeedway.com, follow Stafford Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or contact the track office at 860-684-2783.
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