CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. – Kevin Root bested Matt Janczuk in a duel for the ages as the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series kicked off its Fall Championship Sunday at Land of Legends Raceway.

Janczuk and Land of Legends Raceway regular Kane Bristol lead the field to the green flag on the half-mile. Bristol jumped to an early lead but Janczuk battled back to retake the top spot on a restart. From all the way back in the ninth starting position, Root made big gains in the early going.

Root made his way into the top-three and then passed Bristol for second. The DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series Central Region champion and reigning Land of Legends Raceway track champion then set his sites on Janczuk. Root tried everything, going high and low on the Utica-Rome regular and made the pass only to lose it again with six laps to go.

The pair continued to duel and with two laps to go with Root taking the position in the midst of heavy lapped traffic. He went on to win the 40-lap, $2,000-to-win feature.

After a rooftop celebration with his son, Kevin Root took a moment to remember why we were all there.

“Tonight is not about me. It’s about a guy [Gerald Haers] that touched me when I grew up and I’m grateful to the family. This one is for Gerry. He did a lot for me in my life and for my family,” Root said.

Root and Janczuk put on a fantastic show that Gerald Haers would have been proud of.

“If the fans did not enjoy that, I don’t know what you are doing right now. That was one amazing race,” Root exclaimed. “We had an amazing, amazing car.”

Root lost the lead on a late-race restart, but managed to get the lead back.

“I didn’t think we were going green, I didn’t see the lights out, I think my one-way-radio was messed up and he [Janczuk] took off and I thought, ‘Oh shoot!’

“I came down the front stretch behind him and just about hit the wall. I told myself to calm down and get my stuff together, you got the best car. Get your composure, hit your marks, slow down, don’t overdrive it, and lapped traffic played a key role.”

Janczuk impressed the crowd with his second-place finish on a track he rarely sees.

“This track was challenging. It was only my second start ever so I’ll take a second to Kevin [Root]. He’s a hell of a competitor. With him having all that experience here, I’m just happy to have run as well as we did going into the rest of these Fall Championship races,” Janczuk said.

Local fan-favorite Bristol rounded out the podium. Kyle Inman and Garrison Krentz completed the top-five.

The finish:

Kevin Root, Matt Janczuk, Kane Bristol, Kyle Inman, Garrison Krentz, Paul Guererri, Jackson Gill, Chris Mackey, Shane Pecore, Nick Guererri, Alan Fink, Tim Baker, Steve Gray, Brad Rouse, Jessica Power, Zach Sobokta, Mark Yorker, Mike Fowler, Kevin Ridley, Bob Henry Jr., Matt Guererri, Sean Beardsley, Alex Payne, Jeff Taylor, Cameron Tuttle, Torry Stoughtenger, Dale Corbett, Matt Steffenhagen, A.J. Lloyd