Elma, NY – Records are meant to be broken. Just ask Mike Janis and his Mike Janis Racing (MJR) team. Janis is coming off a record setting weekend just two short weeks ago in Englishtown, NJ at the NHRA Summernationals. Mike and his team ripped off the “shot heard round the world” as they raced to their 2nd Number 1 qualifying position in a row with a blistering 5.775 at over 250 mph!! This was the quickest supercharged run recorded to date in the world, and the team just missed the Pro Mod world record which was set at 5.772 back in 2011 under a different set of rules. MJR ended up losing in the semi finals to eventual event winner Billy Glidden. What is next for MJR??? The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, Tennessee June 19th – 21st. A “Father’s Day” weekend slated like no other!
“To run the way we did in Englishtown is still completely surreal to us” said Mike Janis, Owner/Driver at MJR. “We always knew we had incredible horsepower, it has really been about fine tuning it over the past few years. While our notes show that we have gone down the race track an impressive 100 out of 120 runs over the last two seasons, we still were not satisfied with our performance. When your constantly “on the go” sometimes you overlook the obvious. That is what we have been doing for the past two seasons. We finally just sat down as a team after Gainesville, myself, my son Mike Jr., Kevin, Dave, Ernie and just decided to take a step back. We all looked at each other and we weren’t sure exactly what we were missing 100%. After about ten minutes of tossing around a few ideas, we had a direction to go in. We showed up at Tulsa Raceway Park to test before Houston, and since that day in late April, we have not looked back! This car is really showing it’s true potential now with our changes. To run 5.775 in Englishtown was just awesome, plain and simple. I asked my son Mike Jr./Crew Chief on Friday night how fast we were going to go. He told me if it goes down that it would run a 5.79 or 5.80. It went 5.79! As if that wasn’t cool enough, we go out there in the heat of the day on Saturday and lay down a 77! Our Jan-Cen Racing Engines/Mike Janis Superchargers Camaro has been flying and we need to just stay focused. Currently we are sitting 5th in the Pro Mod Championship points standings. Only less than five rounds out of 1st, and two rounds out of 2nd. We need to have a great race this weekend in Bristol and really try to make some ground up. The weather will be nowhere near how it was in Englishtown. The temps will hit around 90 degrees all weekend with the corrected altitude reaching around 4500 feet for the better part of the event. Bottom line, these engines just can’t breathe in that kind of air. We are going to do everything in our power to be prepared, and if all goes according to plan we might just have a few more tricks up our sleeves for these guys” said an elated Janis.
“Now is the time when we are really trying to shine extra” said Kevin Peters, Co-Crew Chief at MJR. “Our goal right now is to try and win races so we can afford to keep this program going. We work hard for our partners and we want to keep them excited now and into the future. The better we perform, the more products we sell for them and the more brand awareness of their products we bring to the table. This is such a competitive class and very tough to run out of your own pocket. Mike and his son Mike Jr. are constantly trying to search for new partners to keep this program alive. We deserve to be out here with the best of them, that’s just how I feel. We are always talking with each other that someday a company will see the true value our organization has to offer and the stress and worrying from going race to race won’t be there anymore. It has been a dream of ours for quite sometime, and we hope that dream comes true because our team deserves it. You will not find a more passionate, energetic, hard working, talented, and caring group than all of us here at MJR. We make the fans smile, we make our partners smile, we make our customers smile…..bottom line… this is our life and our passion for what we do can not be broken or shattered. You can try to take the dog out of the fight, but your not going to take the fight out of the dog, it’s just not going to happen. It’s “Bristol or Bust” said Peters.
Pro Mod qualifying for the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals starts Friday June 19th at 4:30 PM and 7:00 PM. The third and final qualifying session will take place Saturday at 3:00 with first round of eliminations starting at 5:00 PM. Final eliminations will take place Sunday starting at 1:00 PM. You can follow live at www.espn3.com.
For any interested in marketing/partnership opportunities with Mike Janis Racing (MJR) please contact Mike Janis Jr. at 716-628-2591 or via email mikejanis1065@gmail.com.
About Mike Janis Racing
Mike Janis Racing, Inc. is a professional drag racing team that competes full-time in the NHRA, IHRA, and PDRA Pro Modified division. Mike Janis is a two-time Pro Modified World Champion and is currently number two all-time for most wins among Pro Modified drivers. Mike owns and operates Jan-Cen Racing Engines which designs and builds world class race winning engines along with their trademark Mike Janis Superchargers for customers all throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe. www.mikejanisracing.com www.facebook.com/mike.janisracing
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