Whelen to continue support of Andy Jankowiak; Andy Seuss and Kevin Lapierre to lead rebranded KLAS Motorsports

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Whelen Engineering Co., a global leader in the emergency warning industry since 1952, will return as a sponsor of KLAS Motorsports driver Andy Jankowiak for six events during the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season.

The partnership between Jankowiak, KLAS Motorsports and Whelen will begin with the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18. The event will be the first time the No. 73 team will compete under the KLAS Motorsports banner and team owners Kevin Lapierre and Andy Seuss.

Lapierre and his company, Dak’s Market, have been a steadfast supporter of Jankowiak and the No. 73 team in years past. Beginning in 2023, Lapierre and Seuss will assume ownership roles as well as the many duties involved with those positions.

Seuss will also assume the role of team manager and will oversee weekly preparations. Seuss, a two-time NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour champion driver, has played a large role in the growth and development of the No. 73 team from the outset by supplying the team with a North Carolina-based shop and lending his experience whenever possible. This will be Seuss’s first full-time year with the team.

“Kevin has been a huge supporter of our efforts since very early on in our ARCA racing efforts and supplied our race team with two cars last season,” Jankowiak said. “Having Andy Seuss working with us full time will give us a huge advantage from where we were last year. Andy’s involvement and Kevin’s ability to handle so many of the leadership roles on the team allows me to take a step back and focus more on my role as the driver.

“Kevin and Andy want to take what we have all built together and make it better. We will be using much of the same equipment, inviting back all of our existing sponsors and keeping the foundation of the team the same with crew chief Mike Dayton and spotter T.J. Majors. Our Buffalo team members, including my Uncle Jake and Rick Hoctor, will be playing all of the same roles.

“I think what we have is special, and I am proud of how far we have come as a team. But for us to take that next step, we have to keep evolving. This is one huge leap in the right direction, and I am excited.”

The Whelen Engineering Co. designs and manufactures reliable and powerful warning lights, white illumination lighting, sirens, controllers and high-powered warning systems for Automotive, Aviation (Whelen Aerospace Technologies – WAT), and Mass Notification industries worldwide.

Whelen is proud to be the Official Warning Light of NASCAR and a steadfast supporter of motorsports at many different levels, including title sponsorship of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and sponsorship in IMSA.

Jankowiak is following up a career-best ARCA Menards Series finish of sixth at Daytona International Speedway last February. The car showed excellent speed during the pre-race practice last week, where he set the sixth fastest time overall.

“We were thrilled with how testing went, and it was a wonderful way to unveil our new team and showcase the Whelen Engineering company,” Jankowiak said.

In addition to Daytona, Whelen will support the team during events at Talladega Superspeedway, Kansas Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Watkins Glen International.

“We could not be more excited to represent Whelen Engineering Company,” Jankowiak said. “It’s been a privilege to work with Geoff Marsh, Peter Tiezzi and Jeff Busch. Our goal in our second season together is to do our best to represent everyone at Whelen and go win an ARCA race together.”

Jankowiak also wanted to give a special thanks to Ted Marsh for his involvement in the team’s racing efforts.

The No. 73 team will also feature several returning sponsors for the Daytona event, including Automotive Consultants of Ithaca, Florida Safety Systems, Thermal Foams Inc., PlanterBoxDirect.com, Yukon Creek Sportsman’s Club, Pinnacle Travel Staffing and Mike Sells Golf Carts.