Matt Hirschman Repeats in Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak 110 at Lancaster

Matt Hirschman made it back-to-back wins in the Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak 110, winning on Saturday night with the Race of Champions Modifieds at Lancaster Motorplex.

A little more than a month after winning the 35th edition of the race, finally made up at Spencer Speedway after multiple attempts during the 2024 season at Lancaster, Hirschman claimed the win the 36th "Tommy/Tony 110" for his 63rd career RoC Modified Series victory.

When a caution flag flew with 18 laps to go, the field dove to pit road to prepare for the dash to the finish. Hirschman's crew got him and his No. 60 machine off pit road in front of the pack, taking the lead from Jack Ely.

From there, Hirschman led the rest of the way for his third RoC win of the season.

"We gained spots there on pit road and came out in the lead," said Hirschman in victory lane. "Being out front is always a good thing. I think, maybe more important now than it ever was. I raced here recently. We ran the Whelen race the last few years. The last time we ran RoC, I think we won the U.S. Open back in '23. That kind of felt like a vintage Matt Hirschamn race, an RoC race here at Lancaster. I feel like I used to run races that ran like that in a car that ran like that.

"That was probably 15 years ago now. I always love coming up here to Lancaster, and even New York in general. Everywhere you see those signs, I Love NY. I really do love racing these tracks in New York. We've been to Evans Mills, Chemung, Shangri-La, Holland, Spencer, and we've won at how many of them now. I'm even growing to like Riverhead a little, even though it's almost not New York, but it is."

Hirschman leaves Lancaster as the points leader for the Race of Champions Modifieds, and he hopes to battle for the championship in the coming months.

"We're really enjoying the RoC season here, and we're going to finish it out. I might not have been here, but we're leading the points. I feel like I owe it to the series to be here and have a title fight right to the end, because I know it's still close and it can go both ways right now. We'll see if we can finish strong. They're all big races. We're looking forward to it and see if we can get more wins."

Andy Jankowiak finished second, passing Austin Beers for the runner-up spot in the final 10 laps. The long green-flag run to start the race was not part of Jankowiak's strategy or expectation for the race, forcing him to adjust his gameplan.

"We were kind of set up to pit earlier, so I started getting free," said Jankowiak. "I figured pit with the lead would be your best shot, but I didn't think it would go that long. We were a little free trying to save the right-front. You know, probably letting Matt get by me didn't help me much there in the track position thing.

"I think we were a little better at the end. We were definitely getting through lapped traffic a little better but, you know, maybe a couple more laps we could have at least put some pressure on him. I could see he picked it up once I got to second. We were pretty similar."

Ely finished third after leading 25 laps before the caution flag flew. While Ely knew he'd pit if the caution did indeed come out, he certainly hoped for a green-flag finish to maintain his advantage.

"As soon as we got past lap 45, I knew that if the caution came out, we were coming in for a tire. It would have been interesting if that yellow didn't come out on lap 92 to see if Matt would have been able to get to me. I think he was a little bit better than us.

"I was struggling a little bit with lapped traffic, but once I got back into the preferred groove, I feel like we were pretty good. It would ahve been more interesting for me, at least, if the caution didn't come out, but I'm sure it was great for the fans to rerack them there with 18 to go and try again."

"Finishing third is bittersweet, especially when you have a car that good. We just fired a little too tight after the pit stop. Anytime you can finish on the frontstretch is a good night."

Austin Beers, currently second in RoC Modified Series points, finished fourth, with Patrick Emerling rounding out the top five.

The next stop for the Race of Champions Modifieds is Spencer Speedway on Friday, August 29 for the Maynard Troyer Classic VI.

-Photo credit: MoJo Photos/Race of Champions

36th Tribute to Tommy Druar and Tony Jankowiak 110 Unofficial Results