ARCA: Andy Jankowiak scores the biggest underdog win since Greg Van Alst’s 2023 Daytona triumph
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
As stated on this site’s homepage, the mission of LASTCAR.info is to fill in the missing pieces of untold stories in this sport. While its primary focus involves the last-place finisher in each race, this mission extends far beyond those teams and drivers, aiming to highlight the lesser-funded underdogs of racing who embody the spirit of the foundations on which this sport was built.
There is perhaps no better example of this than Andy Jankowiak, who finished first for the first time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Alabama Manufactured Housing 200 at Talladega Superspeedway in his No. 71 Hook’d Solutions Chevrolet.
Jankowiak, who led only the final lap, took the checkered flag in his 48th career start.
While fellow ARCA driver Brayton Laster has earned the nickname “The Pizza Man” due to his love of pizza and pizza-themed racing helmets, Jankowiak also has a connection to the popular food. The New York racing driver is also a part-time pizza delivery driver, using tips from his deliveries to help fund his racing career.
Jankowiak was born into a racing family. His father, Tony, made 35 starts in NASCAR’s Modified Tour, the last of which claimed his life in a crash at Stafford Motor Speedway in 1990, when Andy was just two years old. This came just one year after his uncle, Tommy Druar, was also killed in a racing accident. While Jankowiak has made 12 Modified Tour starts of his own, he has become best known for his part-time career in the ARCA Menards Series, which began in 2021 with an eighth-place finish at Daytona.
In 2024, Jankowiak was again running in the top ten in the closing laps and in contention for the win when he gave the FOX Sports broadcast one of the sport’s most memorable quotes, saying, “I’m just gonna put my foot on the floor, and I’m not lifting until I see God or a checkered flag.” The radio transmission quickly went viral and has even been used in edits of Ross Chastain’s infamous “Hail Melon” wall ride at Martinsville Speedway in 2022, perhaps misleading viewers into believing the quote came from Chastain instead. Jankowiak ultimately finished that Daytona race in 10th, the last car running at the finish after a last-lap accident eliminated over half of the remaining lead lap cars.
Entering Saturday’s race, Jankowiak had a career-best finish of fourth in ARCA, which he achieved twice: once at Michigan in 2023 and again at Talladega in 2025. After surviving a multi-car incident on Lap 70, Jankowiak found himself in sixth place on the backstretch with half a lap remaining. For a moment, it appeared as if Isabella Robusto might become the first female driver to win a national ARCA race, but her lead proved to be too big as the pack quickly ran her down to draft past her entering Turn 3. Coming off of Turn 4 and entering the tri-oval, Jankowiak took Gus Dean and fan favorite Garrett Mitchell (Cleetus McFarland) three-wide when the two made contact entering the tri-oval. Jankowiak’s momentum got him to the start-finish line first, while Mitchell edged ahead of Dean by .003 second to finish in a career-best second place.
The moment took a while to fully sink in for Jankowiak, who said in his post-race interview with Fox Sports that he’s “done this before. I just always wake up.”
When considering the significance of Jankowiak’s victory, one can’t help but also think of Greg Van Alst’s Daytona win three years ago, where the independent driver famously said, “Guys like me aren’t supposed to do this.”
Indeed, in an era that often feels dominated by top teams such as Joe Gibbs Racing, Pinnacle Racing Group, and Nitro Motorsports, it is refreshing to know that the underdog spirit can still occasionally emerge victorious despite the odds.
‘Heartbreaking’ accident adds to Alli Owens’ frustrations in her comeback
Alli Owens finished last for the first time in her ARCA Menards Series career when her No. 93 Bighorn Outdoors Chevrolet fell out with crash damage after 28 of 76 laps.
The finish came in Owens’ 34th career ARCA national start.
While she did make a one-off O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start with Obaika Racing at Richmond in 2016, 2026 marks the first time in nearly 16 years that Owens has competed at the ARCA level. While her career-best finish came at sixth at Talladega in 2009, her strongest performance perhaps came the following season at Daytona, where she ran as high as third in a Venturini Motorsports entry before a late spin dropped her back to 23rd in the race results. This performance was largely overshadowed by another female driver’s stock car debut, as Danica Patrick was by far the top headline both leading up to and following the race, where she ultimately scored a sixth-place finish of her own.
This season, Owens, now a mother of three children, has returned to ARCA competition with the stated goal of inspiring other female drivers looking to enter motorsports. Her comeback is unfortunately off to a rough start, as an accident left her 34th at Daytona in February while driving for Kimmel Racing. For Talladega, Owens picked up a ride with Costner Motorsports and, after starting last in a full field of 40 cars, ran as high as 16th before getting spun in the tri-oval. The damage from a hard hit to the outside wall ultimately proved terminal, leaving her as the first car out of the race.
While the Fox Sports broadcast only had the aftermath of her spin, Owens told Frontstretch that her spotter had cleared her, but added, “ultimately, it’s my decision to make sure I am clear.” Nevertheless, the incident adds another hurdle to her ARCA comeback, with Owens admitting on Facebook that the frustration “makes it hard to want to keep trying.”
In total, 41 cars appeared on the entry list for only 40 spots in the race. In a situation resembling the charter system seen in NASCAR’s Cup Series, 36 of these spots were already determined before the teams arrived at the track, as the top 36 entries in 2026 ARCA owner points were automatically locked into the field. With no officially scheduled qualifying session, the five remaining entries went out in the practice session’s final group, with the slowest of the five set to miss the race.
Of these five, Nick White was easily the slowest, losing the draft and posting a lap time of 1:04.794 seconds, nearly 10 seconds off of Owens’ 55.255. Owens later revealed that her car had a steering issue during the session, which left her fourth of the five go-or-go-home entries and may have prevented her from qualifying had White been able to run a competitive lap time.
Following Owens up the running order was A.J. Moyer, whose engine failed after 49 laps. Monty Tipton then pulled off with mechanical issues after making it seven laps further than Moyer. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Bryan Dauzat and Eric Caudell, who brought out the caution for an accident between the two on Lap 58.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #93-Alli Owens / 28 laps / accident
39) #88-A.J. Moyer / 49 laps / engine
38) #17-Monty Tipton / 56 laps / mechanical
37) #75-Bryan Dauzat / 57 laps / accident
36) #7-Eric Caudell / 57 laps / accident
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 20)
1st) Ryan Huff Motorsports, Rise Racing with Earnhardt-Shearer Racing, Maples Motorsports, Costner Motorsports (1)
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 20)
1st) Chevrolet (3)
2nd) Ford (1)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE throughout the 2026 ARCA season to view the full drivers’ standings for both the ARCA Menards Series and its East and West divisions. You can also find the manufacturers’ and owners’ standings for all three series HERE.
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 20)
