Andy Jankowiak enters Kansas with growing determination on the heels of more strong runs

Andy Jankowiak departed Talladega Superspeedway last month more disappointed with a fourth-place finish than he would have been just a few years ago.

Victory was within grasp for the versatile competitor who battled Lawless Alan for control of the lead from the top lane in the closing laps. Thad Moffitt shuffled Jankowiak to the middle lane just before the penultimate caution of the race, costing the latter an opportunity to challenge Alan for the win on an abbreviated one-lap shootout.

Jankowiak believes his performance at Talladega is indicative of the strides KLAS Motorsports has made with every aspect of their program. While the near miss remains fresh in his mind, Jankowiak has every reason to believe he can at least contend for another top five in Friday’s Tide 150 at Kansas Speedway (8 p.m. ET on FS1).

“It was pretty cool looking back on [Talladega],” Jankowiak said. “It’ll drive you crazy thinking about all the little things. We had a very fast race car with a chance to win, so you like to capitalize on those opportunities. It always sucks to come up short, but hopefully we’ll get a little further next time [at Kansas] and get a W.”

Jankowiak’s commitment to the ARCA Menards Series started merely as a dream to race at Daytona International Speedway, which became a reality in 2021.

An eighth-place finish that day generated plenty of positive publicity for Jankowiak, who found sponsorship to run several more ARCA Menards Series events across the 2021 season. One of those sponsors was Dak’s Market, a convenience store company whose chief executive officer Kevin Lapierre quickly developed a close friendship with Jankowiak.

Two years later, Lapierre took over Jankowiak’s ARCA Menards Series operation alongside Andy Seuss, a competitor from the northeast like Jankowiak. Lapierre and Seuss’ goal was to turn the rebranded KLAS Motorsports into a race-winning program, all while Jankowiak stayed on board as the driver.

Jankowiak said everyone at KLAS Motorsports embodies a small-team mentality by taking a variety of jobs around the shop, which in turn has strengthened their overall bond. He still occasionally works on the cars but also handles other responsibilities like social media and sponsor discussions.

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Lapierre and Seuss primarily overseeing the day-to-day operations has been a tremendous blessing for Jankowiak. Instead of overwhelming himself trying to keep up with the top-tier organizations, Jankowiak can now prioritize refining his race craft.

“It got to be more than I could handle on my own,” Jankowiak said. “The other guys on the team would be quick to point out I don’t have the same level of craftsmanship it takes to be working on cars professionally. Coming from a short-track background, I didn’t have enough time to become a true student of the NASCAR before my time clock runs out.

“I’m more of a helper to the guys who are really good with that stuff.”

Since Lapierre and Seuss came on board as co-owners, Jankowiak has gradually expanded his presence in the ARCA Menards Series. The 2024 season was Jankowiak’s most active on the platform to date, as he competed in 11 events and tallied six top 10s, one of which was a fifth at Iowa Speedway.

Two years of hard work for Jankowiak and KLAS Motorsports nearly paid off with a victory in the most recent ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas last September. After running inside the top five most of the day, Jankowiak had an opportunity open in front of him when leader Tanner Gray and Amber Balcaen made contact on the final restart.

With Gray’s tire slowly deflating, Jankowiak stayed close to his back bumper while simultaneously playing defense against the Pinnacle Racing Group cars of Connor Zilisch and Corey Day. An aggressive maneuver from Day on the last lap caused him to get loose under Jankowiak, sending the latter into the wall and relegating him to seventh.

The outcome prompted Jankowiak to have a discussion with Day about his decision to stay so close to his left side in Turn 1. Departing Kansas that day with a damaged car was frustrating for Jankowiak, who knew he could have at least obtained a career-best finish were it not for the last-lap contact.

“[Kansas] was similar to Talladega in a way, because we were second coming to the white flag,” Jankowiak said. “There’s probably been a handful of these races where we had a pretty strong argument for a chance to win. It was never our race to lose, but we’ve been in the mix with the top handful of cars a few times now.

“If we keep doing the right things and learn from our mistakes, we’re going to get there.”

Jankowiak is returning to Kansas determined to avenge a disappointing result from the fall and build on the momentum from Talladega. He and KLAS Motorsports are bringing two cars to their next three intermediate appearances starting at Kansas; an older chassis and the same one Jankowiak brought to the facility in September.

Being part-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Jankowiak comes with the disadvantage of having to keep up with the big-budget programs that race every week like PRG and Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite this, Jankowiak said running Talladega and Rockingham Speedway over the past few weeks have kept him fresh and stalwart behind the wheel.

With KLAS Motorsports continuing to grow and more upcoming starts on his schedule, Jankowiak believes he has never been in a better position to secure his first ARCA Menards Series checkered flag.

“[A win] would be life-changing and program-changing,” Jankowiak said. “It would validate everything we’ve been working on for five years. We don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch. Pinnacle Racing Group and the Gibbs guys are still ahead of us realistically, but we’re inching a little bit closer to them.

“The speed is there, but we just need those guys to make one mistake and us not to. Then we’ll see what happens.”

Jankowiak wishes last year’s fall Kansas race and Talladega had played out differently, but those defeats are serving to motivate him. Never afraid of being aggressive, Jankowiak is determined to show his competition in Friday’s Tide 150 that a small-team mentality can accomplish big things.