Andy Jankowiak ran a throwback scheme that paid tribute to his mom, Debby Druar Jankowiak, during the ARCA Menards Series East race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Debby used those same colors when she raced her pure stock at Lancaster Motorplex in New York.
“In case you didn’t know, my mom is a badass racecar driver!” said Andy, 34, of Tonawanda, New York. “Very early on, it was safe to say that my mom was my hero. I loved to brag to all my friends at school that my mom was a race car driver and the only girl to beat all of the guys at our local track. I thought she was the coolest! Still do.”
Both Andy and Debby endured two tragic losses in their family.
Tony Jankowiak, Andy’s father and Debby’s husband, passed away in a racing crash at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1990. Tommy Druar, Andy’s uncle and Debby’s brother, also died in a racing crash, but at Lancaster Motorplex in 1989.
As Andy started racing, Debby mentored him and continues to do so today.
“She’s one of the smartest racing people I know,” Andy said. “She can always tell me what I did wrong and what I did right after the race.”
Andy said his father had the talent to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. The younger Jankowiak seems to be tirelessly seizing upon the opportunities his dad missed out on.
Last year, Andy, who has primarily raced pavement modifieds, began competing in ARCA. He earns a living delivering pizzas in the Buffalo, New York, area. Andy was saving his tips toward a down payment on a house, but instead used it to help acquire an ARCA car from Ken Schrader. (For more on Schrader, read “Ken Schrader: No Signs of Slowing Down”.)
Andy made his debut in the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona International Speedway. Andy brought the car to a surprising eighth-place finish. He credited the effort to another ARCA driver with modified experience, Andy Seuss, who gave Jankowiak a place to stay and work on his car in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area.
That Daytona finish combined with Andy’s likeable personality led to him finding funding to compete in a total of 13 ARCA races.
Andy also saves money by wrenching on his own vehicles. His hands-on, take-charge approach sometimes results in missing practice sessions when needed to make the car better for the main event.
Andy doesn’t do it all on his own. Jake Jankowiak, his uncle, works on his crew. Mike Dayton, who has experience in the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck series, serves as crew chief.
Back to this past weekend’s ARCA race at Bristol, Andy Jankowiak qualified mid-pack, in 16th place. However, he finished eighth.
“My team never gave up and kept digging all day long,” Andy said. “Other than not handling well in the first half, we had a really good day. Tech went good and pit stops were smooth. We are getting better, all we needed was a little good luck. Finally!”
After that strong performance, Andy made another announcement after the race.
“We are going to keep on rolling with the Debby Druar Jankowiak throwback for another race before the year is over,” said Andy. “I am excited to announce we are going to race the ARCA finale at Toledo Speedway [in Ohio]!”
Andy Jankowiak also once again gave a nod to the inspiration to his most recent paint scheme — his mother.
“Thank you for always having my back, helping me chase my dreams, and being the center of our great big racing family,” Andy said. “I know that hasn’t always been easy. I love that through it all, me, you and Jake are still at the races together every Saturday night.”
Dave Meredith has written for several racing and outdoors publications. He is the immediate past president of the Connecticut Association of Photographers and a former member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association. Meredith resides in Rogersville, Tennessee, with his wife, Hazel.
