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— Jankowiak goes two-for-two in Midgets; Ridgway, Welshans, Heitzhaus, and Szafraniec round out the weekend as winners, as well —
NORTH EAST, P.A. (September 12, 2026) — The day started off with Mother Nature unleashing a little bit of fury over Lake Erie Speedway on Saturday, forcing the program into a couple-hour rain delay. However, the weather turned around, and the sky ended up a beautiful mirage of pinks, oranges, and yellows as the cars ripped around the ⅜-mile paved oval.
Six classes took to the track, with the most prominent event being the Race of Champions Modified series’ 75-lap main event.
Andy Jankowiak — coming fresh off of a win with the WNY Mighty TQ Midgets two races before — led the 18-car field to green. Jankowiak faced hard pressure early on from Jake Lutz, Eddie Hawkins, Paulie Hartwig III, and Hirschman. Try as he might, he just couldn’t keep up the momentum, and he ended up falling back to fifth while Hirschman made his way up to the front.
Lap traffic became a factor on Lap 33, and 11 laps later the caution came out. Hawkins went to the rear of the field, allowing Jankowiak to move up a spot. On the restart, though, Hartwig didn’t make it easy for Jankowiak, and ran side-by-side with him all throughout the corners and straightaways.
The remaining 31 laps saw Jankowiak and Hartwig duke it out for third, with Hartwig reigning victorious at the end. Hirschman and Lutz finished in the top two places, respectively.
Hirschman, from Northampton, PA, was surprised at his run in Victory Lane.
“[Lutz’s] strength [was good], and we were able to out-run him,” said Hirschman. “I didn’t expect to go from fifth to first that fast, but the opportunity presented itself, and once we got out front it was the same [as before.] Awesome race track.”
Rounding out the top three were:
● Jake Lutz — Hamburg, NY
● Paulie Hartwig III — Galloway, NJ
Other winners for the night included:
WNY Mighty TQ (Three-Quarter) Midgets: Andy Jankowiak — Tonawanda, NY
Race of Champions 602 Sportsman Modifieds: Carter Ridgway — Williamson, NY
Race of Champions Street Stocks: Tucker Welshans — South Wales, NY
Trucaliber Feirme Ltd Late Models: Dave Heitzhaus — Strykersville, NY
FOAR Score Four Cylinder Dash Series: Jeff Szafraniec — Akron, NY
Next up on the Race of Champions schedule is Wyoming County International Speedway, with its “Family of Series” making their appearance on Friday, October 3.
Full unofficial results and more: https://www.rocmodifiedseries.
The Race of Champions is a premier sanctioning body for Modified and Stock Car racing on both asphalt and dirt surfaces throughout the Northeast, with events across New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Its primary marketing partners include Sunoco Race Fuels, Hoosier Racing Tire, Racing America, Airport Collision, Rocket Performance, Waddell Communications, Image X Design, Sherwood Racing Wheels, DirtTrackDigest.com, and Speed Sport.
The 76th Annual Race of Champions Weekend will take place later this year, continuing its tradition as the second-longest-running auto racing event in North America—second only to the Indianapolis 500.
For more information, contact Race of Champions Media at media@rocmodifiedseries.com
