Most people in February remember the quote made during the ARCA Daytona race, when seventh-place finisher Andy Jankowiak stated, “I’m not lifting till I see God or the checkered flag.” Well, I talked with the man behind the quote, Andy Jankowiak, sometimes known as Andy J, and the pizza man for delivering pizza to therace at Daytona. He is the driver of the #73 for KLAS Motorsports, and we talked after the Kansas test.

Q: So, going back to last year- on a scale, how do you feel like you did as a driver?

A: I’m learningand growing as a driver. We used to come to a lot of these ARCA races not having enough to wreck, and now that I’m with KLAS Motorsports, we have an opportunity to have the fine details prepared. Heck, I mean, we almost won the Michigan race, but it’s the fine details and side drafting and being ready for the small things that make the difference between first and second. 

Q: What’s it like running the full ARCA schedule while simultaneously having a full time job?

A:Can’t say I’ve been to the pizza job for a while, I was there once this week, I’ll be back for sunday though but they’ve been accommodating to my schedule as much, I’ve been there for 16-17 years, racing and they’re big supporters of the races and even sponsor my modified.

Q: How has this season been on a scale from 1-10, I know we’re only 4 races in , but how has that shown you for later on in the season, around the summer swing?

A:I say we’re doing quite a lot of the right things, but we don’t get the luck. When your season starts with a huge crash at Daytona it shows that we have to keep going. We had the tire blowout at Phoenix, and we went to Dover with a  9th or 10th place car and stayed in 7th, on the lead lap, and need to keep doing this, taking on what we can do. When you’ve got a chance for the win at Daytona, you’ve got to do it. It’s definitely a balance between it, just got to be smart and take care of the equipment.

Q: Your currently 7th in points after 4 races. How do you feel like you can continue this momentum for the rest of the season, especially after 2 great showings, albeit with the fuel pressure issues at Talladega?

A: I’d think with Andy Seiss on the team, we go to Daytona and Talladega with some great equipment, and those are our best chances for the win, but in the same breath, though, we had two top 5s at Michigan and Charlotte last year, and that makes us ready for Kansas. There’s still a gap between the top 5 and us, but we know we can get them. 

Q Do you think ARCA should stop using the old gen 6?

A: I’m not as familiar, most of our cars are gen 4 and our SS car is gen 5 (Car OF Tommorow) and here at KLAS, and being a smaller team we have the inventory we have right now, and do a good job and knowing how to get better and we know what to do with the cars we have for the year.  Down the road, it’s hard to say. ARCA does a pretty good job for knowing on older chassis and have done the same thing for a long time, I think Venturini will be fast in a gen 4, 5 or 6 and bringing 6 or 7 cars have been brought by them for 30 or so years, not just a mechanical disadvantage.

Q: Do you think the open practice the day before at tracks like Kansas is good for the drivers, more specifically people who haven’t raced an intermediate?

A: Yea- I think it’s good, it’s a larger expense so I don’t wanna see it used too many times, but we come to Daytona, and here with 2 testing days and at the end of the day is good for a small team like us to gain rather than the teams with a deeper notebook. It’s a positive thing, but in the right allotment for sure.

Q- Outside of Racing, do you take time for yourself by going on IRacing or NR2003 to prepare for tracks you’ve never seen?

A: Absolutely- I use NR2003 more on the driver thingsand as an indoor hobby,. Sometimes, I go to tracks like Berlin and get my laps up there. And with IRacing with the scanning on these tracks really helps, especially for tracks like Phoenix for pit road entry and exit that I can learn about, and every lap on the cars are money. Anything we can do that takes it to a limit. I’ve been using the sim with TJ (Majors), messing around on his setup, and going to his house, and it helps. It’s not everything, but it’s something you can do anywhere.

Q: How did your operation go from a one off at Daytona 3 years ago to (and correct me if I’m wrong) running the whole season this year?

A:My whole ARCA career is the same thing-  going to the roulette table, betting  the same number 5 times and winning all 5 times. We went to Daytona, got our opportunities and we actually had Andy Seiss from this, we had a Road Course car done as well and had 6-7 races a year, and the biggest piece of the puzzle is Kevin Laupierra and we almost had a spot for Daytona, but couldn’t get the deal done quick enough, but he brought on V1 Fiber for Talladega, helped out on the sponsorship and got Florida Safety Systems, and filling the gaps to get to the next race and making prize money. Kept the boat on the water too long. I didn’t plan any of this and how it worked out it looks like I’m smart, but it was really all good luck and good fortune.

9. Does Pineapple belong on pizza? 

A: Absolutely. Whatever you want on your pizza. You definitely aren’t the first person to ask me that. *laughs*

Thank you again to Andy Jankowiak for talking to me and good luck on the rest of the season! Andy races next at the Tide 150 on May 4th, but while I’m writing this, today at 2:00 on FS1. 

Header Image Sourced Via Andy J Racing FB