By Matt Skipper
Flawless isn’t an understatement to describe Matt Janczuk’s performance at Super DIRT Week 52.
Leading every lap of the Feature, the Oneida, NY native captured his second straight Chevrolet Performance 75 win to tie Dave Marcuccilli and Rocky Warner as the winningest driver of the DIRTcar Sportsman division at Super DIRT Week.
Starting from the SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel and Aluminum pole position, Janczuk and Alex Lajoie led the field of 36 cars to the drop of the green flag. Janczuk immediately went to work by creating a gap between himself and his competitors before approaching the lapped traffic.
Having to get creative with packs of cars crowding the preferred racing lines on a slick racetrack, Janczuk got creative by maneuvering through the packs by steering his car low into the turns, then using the speed to slide high up the track.
While Janczuk led, Lajoie, of St-Hyacinthe, QC, had to fend off Richard Murtaugh for his second-place position. Murtaugh got the best of Lajoie to take over the spot, while Lajoie began to lose momentum.
That lost momentum came to a head with nine laps remaining, as Lajoie lost his right rear tire and surrendered his chance to win.
The new cast of drivers to challenge Janczuk for the win included Murtaugh, 2022 Sportsman champion Cody McPherson, and a pair of hard-charging drivers in the form of Tyler Corcoran and Zach Sobotka.
McPherson challenged Murtaugh for the second place spot, which gave Janczuk the opening to drive away with the $5,000 winner’s check and cement his place in Super DIRT Week history.
“This is just amazing,” Janczuk said. “We’ve been talking to a few people about moving up next year, and capping this year off with another win at Oswego is a testament to this team. This crowd is just amazing, and it’s amazing to showcase the talent that the field has to offer. It’s an awesome feeling.
“We looked at the track prep and hats off to this track crew for an amazing place to race. I looked at the track and said ‘I think we’re gonna be in trouble.’ Thank God we had a good starting position and made the best of it. It felt good all night and even through traffic, I was a little bit in trouble racing with the lapped cars, but it’s amazing to win at Oswego again.”
McPherson got by Murtaugh on the final lap of the Feature to take home the second-place result to Janczuk at the checkered flag.
“The track was a little greasy at the beginning and fell back to seventh,” McPherson said. “It was hammer down for the first 30 (laps) and the car kept getting better. I knew I just needed the track to dry out and by the end it was really good. Congrats to Matt, he was in a league of his own. To come home second, it’s great.”
Murtaugh earned his first career Chevrolet Performance 75 podium in his fourth attempt. The Fulton, NY driver said his goal was to better his fourth place from 2023, which he achieved by one position in 2024.
“It’s nice to get a podium this year after finishing fourth last year,” Murtaugh said. “My main goal was to finish better than fourth. (Janczuk and McPherson) are two of the best, so there’s nothing to hang my head on.
“I made too many adjustments on the car before we went out for the Feature. It paid off early to get to the front and have that drivability, but once I got out in clean air, the car was totally different. It wasn’t where it needed to be.”
Corcoran, of Central Square, NY, drove to a fourth-place finish from his 13th place starting spot for the Feature. Sobotka, of Parish, NY, earned a rewarding Hard Charger honor with a Chevrolet Performance 602 Engine for his 14-place charge from beginning the Feature in 19th.
“I didn’t know coming into this that we’d win a 602 engine for Hard Charger,” Sobotka said. “I can’t complain about that. I would’ve really liked to see me having all four tires, I feel like we had a top three car, easy. Coming up through the field, I was trying to go lower than everybody else and clipped the inside wall coming out of (Turn 4), but that’s my own fault. I’ve hit it here a couple of times. I didn’t expect to have a 602 engine to leave with.”
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar Sportsman Series finish the season at Brockville Ontario Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 19, before the Series moves to its next biggest stage of the 2024 season – the World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Oct. 31-Nov. 2. For tickets, click here.
SUPER DIRT WEEK AWARDS:
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel and Aluminum Pole Award ($500): Matt Janczuk
Fratto Curbing Outside Pole Award ($250): Alex Lajoie
Bart Contracting Hard Luck Award ($500): Chris Crane Jr
Velocita USA Last Car/Finisher Award ($500 Product Award Certificate): Chad Edwards
Dig Race Products Halfway Feature Leader Award ($200): Matt Janczuk
Chevrolet Performance/Penske Racing Shocks Hard Charger Award ($500/Chevrolet 602 Engine): Zach Sobotka
Integra Racing Shocks Last Car on Lead Lap Award ($200 Product Certificate): Hunter Hollenbeck
Fastline Performance Lap 20 Leader Award ($200): Matt Janczuk
Super DIRT Week Qualifying Heat 1: Matt Janczuk
Super DIRT Week Qualifying Heat 2: Alex Lajoie
Super DIRT Week Qualifying Heat 3: Richard Murtaugh
Super DIRT Week Qualifying Heat 4: Cody McPherson
Kirkey/Behrent’s Last Chance Showdown 1: Nicholas Root
Kirkey/Behrent’s Last Chance Showdown 2: Mike Fowler
Kirkey/Behrent’s Last Chance Showdown 3: Kyle Devendorf
Winters Performance LCS Transfer Bonus 1: Stephen Gray
Winters Performance LCS Transfer Bonus 2: Tanner Warner
Winters Performance LCS Transfer Bonus 3: Tony Finch Jr
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.
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