Drag Illustrated Issue 113, September 2016 | Page 75

CHASING GOLD PHOTOS: MARK J. REBILAS, IAN TOCHER The Lancaster, New York-based Jan-Cen Motorsports team won two IHRA Pro Modified world championships before moving over to the NHRA Pro Mod Series. Just a few points shy of the title in 2015, Janis won’t rest until he claims the championship Wally at the end of the season. strength of consistent round wins and a sentimental event win at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. “Last year at Norwalk was my biggest win, bigger than the Indy win or anything else. It’s the home race and all kinds of family were there. (Mike Jr.) called all of the shots for it. We wouldn’t have won if I was calling the shots, I guarantee you that,” Janis Sr. chuckles. “He raced real smart.” Home for the Janis team is Lancaster, New York, a quaint town just east of Buffalo. Father and son both spend their weekdays at the small September 2016 shop and manufacturing facility shared by JanCen Racing Engines and Mike Janis Superchargers. The building also houses a Polaris and Arctic Cat dealership, complete with a factory authorized service center. Along with longtime friend and employee Kevin Peters, Mike and Mike Jr. design, manufacture and develop their own engine and supercharger components for their car, as well as for domestic and international customers in doorslammer racing and tractor pulling. “Our car is a test vehicle for everything that we run on our customers’ cars. We started building and modifying our own superchargers about eight years ago. Since then we’ve been manufacturing our new billet injector hats and all our own supercharger parts that go into the raw casting of the case. We’re able to constantly develop and try new things not only for ourselves but anything that will help our customers down the road,” Janis Jr. explains. “Every part and piece on the car, whether it’s the engine or the driveline setup with our converter, any of that stuff is just stuff that we’ve worked on. When you have total control of your product you’re able to do that. We’re fortunate that we work with a lot of outside sources and knowledgeable people. It’s all about surrounding yourself with really good people. That’s where we’ve been able to separate ourselves from everybody else.” One of those people is Kevin Peters, who toils away in the shop during the week and travels with the race rig to all 10 NHRA Pro Mod events and the occasional test session. “I want to highly stress that our success would not be possible without our longtime employee, Kevin Peters. He’s responsible for all of the R&D development that goes on here. He pushes us to be better. Together we call ourselves the Three Musketeers. Without him and the effort he’s put in over the last 20 years, none of this success would be possible. We’re grateful for him being an employee, but even a better friend,” Janis Jr. adds. Janis Sr. also gives Peters a wealth of credit for being a driving force behind the innovation that has come out of the Jan-Cen shop, especially over the last several years. Whether it’s an unusual injector hat design or a set of headers with adjustable tips, the trio is always trying something new. “Between the three of us, we’ll spend all day working and one of us will walk over and bounce an idea off of the other. We’re in a 40-by-60 building, working together all day. I think that’s where it starts. The lunch table discussion is all about motors and how to go faster. We’re pretty serious about it. Kevin and Mike Jr. have been the big drive behind the whole thing. Kevin is just incredible with his thoughts and machining. He’s done us a lot of good.” Having the right people in place is critical for the Jan-Cen team, seeing as their skeleton crew must handle the workload and schedule of a much larger operation. When most of their competitors are testing or preparing their cars for a race, the “Three Musketeers” are designing a new injector hat, machining a supercharger case, or making dyno pulls on a customer’s engine. Test sessions are carefully scheduled when the shop schedule and budget allows. Late nights and early mornings are reserved for after-hour maintenance on the Jan-Cen Camaro. DragIllustrated.com | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 75