Drag Illustrated Issue 140, January 2019 | Page 81

THE CHAMPIONS ISSUE NHRA Pro Mod Mike Janis A fter coming so close to his first NHRA Pro Mod champion- ship just a few years ago, Mike Janis wanted to make sure he put everything into a title chase should it happen again. That included rac- ing overseas, an immense amount of work in the team’s shop and an aggressive mindset on the track. It proved to be the perfect recipe for a champi- onship in 2018, as Janis clinched the NHRA Pro Mod title by a mere seven points over three-time world champion Rickie Smith, using a hot start to hold off a huge number of talented competitors. “We came out swinging and came out real ag- gressive,” Janis says. “The whole season we were upbeat and just put together a lot of good runs all year, and I had a lot of confidence driving the car.” When Gainesville came around to open 2018, Janis felt like he was already in mid-season form thanks to a successful winter racing in Qatar. That carryover was evident, as he went to the final round in Gainesville, won in Richmond and advanced to three more semifinals. Beating Smith by less than a round meant every victory Janis captured in eliminations made a difference. But the tireless work at the team’s Lancaster, New York, shop proved to be worth it and the local community has re- sponded with an outpouring of support for Janis. “It’s unbelievable the local fans that have followed us,” Janis ad- mits. “It’s been a great month. There’s always people stopping by wanting to congratulate you.” Janis clinched the cham- pionship after Smith lost his second-round matchup to Rick Hord, and he had no problem putting the title right at the top of his long list of accomplishments. His son, Mike Jr., won the Crew Chief of the Year award at the NHRA Pro Mod banquet the next night, finishing off a dream season that was Janis’ biggest to date. He has no plans of slowing down in 2019 as a repeat title is now the goal, but he has made sure to enjoy the biggest accomplish- ment in his standout career. “Winning the championship was great and then to see my son get an award, it was definitely a memorable moment,” Janis says. “It doesn’t get any better than that. We won championships in IHRA back in the day and out of the 30-40 cars, there were probably five that could win. Now there’s 25-30 cars and every single one can win. So this means a lot to win a NHRA championship. It’s the cream of the crop.” – JOSH HACHAT DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DI DANIEL PHARRIS MID-WEST RADIAL OUTLAWS SERIES RADIAL VS THE WORLD Ja n u a r y 2 0 1 9 DragIllustrated.com | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 81