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CHAMPION

Empire Super Sprints Crown Jordan Poirier as 2022 Points Champion

Jordan Poirier is the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints points champion for 2022.  The Quebec native registered 15 top fives and 3 A Main wins enroute to his first points championship beating out Davie Franek and 2021 champion Jason Banrey for the title.
 
” We had a plan to try and win this championship the year COVID hit, so it’s been a long road to get here.  I owe it all to my parents, my girlfriend, and my entire family.  My sponsors, my crew, everyone involved, they know how much this means to me. “
 
In addition to the points championship, Poirier also captured the Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time point title.  ” My guys work so hard ” said Poirier in a post race interview, ” The car was pretty good right from the start almost every night. “
 
Poirier said consistency was the key for his run for the championship this year, ” I think we had 15 top fives and 18 top tens this year, I would have liked a few more wins this year but I was really happy with our consistency during the year. ”  The 24 year old grabbed three A Main wins at Airborne, Orange County and Albany – Saratoga this year.  The newly crowned champ comes from some great bloodlines as he is the nephew to eight time Empire Super Sprints Points Champion, Steve ” Fireball ” Poirier.  ” Yeah, we usually talk after every race, it’s been a great year. “
 
The Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Championship Points Tour has officially ended.  The season ending banquet will be held on Saturday, November 12th.
 
LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS FINAL POINT STANDINGS:
Jordan Poirier 2005
Davie Franek 1928
Jason Barney 1764
Shawn Donath 1718
Danny Varin 1624
Dylan Swiernik 1538
Matt Tanner 1505
Paulie Colagiovanni 1503
Jeff Cook 1290
Chuck Hebing 1137
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By Barbara Patterson

The 2022 Empire Super Sprints (ESS) Lucas Oil Tour CNY Speedweek begins at Can-Am Speedway on June 29, continues to a new track to speedweek, Thunder Mountain Raceway on June 30, back up north to Brewerton Speedway July 1 and finishes at Fulton Speedway on July 2. This is the 9th ESS Speedweek and Jason Barney, Paulie Colagiovanni, Danny Varin, Steve Poirier and Michael Parent have been crowned champions in the past. Who will earn the title this year? Let’s look at the drivers who have committed to all the races and have a chance of winning the CNY Speedweek title.

Jason Barney – “Racin’ Jason” is the front runner for the speedweek championship. He won the speedweek title in 2014 and 2021 and has past wins at three of the tracks. Will he get his first Can-Am win and add another title?

Dylan Swiernik – Dylan has been fast with his new motor and car. He won at Genesee Speedway and was on his way to earning another win at Evans Mills before he pirouetted on his tail tank. Can he knock down more wins during speedweek and challenge for the title?

Matt Tanner – Matt currently sits 3rd in points and has eight top tens. He has been a Speedweek bridesmaid. Will this be the year that he shakes off the “never the bride”?

Shawn Donath – He is always fast at three of the four tracks on the schedule and has won in the past at Brewerton and Can-Am. Count on his team to be in contention.

Davie Franek – “No Panic” won the United Sprint Car Series (USCS) Winter Heat Series and already has feature wins with USCS and PST. Will he add an ESS win and the speedweek title to his resume?

Brett Wright – Brett has been on an upward trajectory. In the last four races, he has finished in the top ten. Will his momentum continue and result in top fives and possibly a win?

Jeff Cook – He has garnered five top tens this season. Can-Am, his hometown track, has been his nemesis. Can he put together four top finishes to be in the running?

Kelly Hebing – “Little Cobra” may have a different driving style than her father but she is always racy. This season, she has led laps and been on the podium. Will her car be in a speedweek victory lane?

Sammy Reakes – The “Honey Badger” earned his nickname by beating “Cobra” at Can-Am a few years ago. He loves bull rings and Brewerton is one of his favorites. Will he be the dark horse for the championship?

Dalton Rombaugh – This year, Dalton switched to sprint cars after racing Sportsman at Can-Am. He has adapted quickly to open-wheel cars. With his experience at Can-Am, will he earn his first win there?

Scott Holcomb – Expect Scott to be quietly consistent. Will his consistency pay off during speedweek?

Lacey Hanson – Lacey loves running the low groove. Will all four tracks’ surfaces be conducive to her driving style?

Tyler Cartier – Four nights of back to back racing can take a toll physically on the driver and team. Tyler has been working out in the off season. Will his youth and workout regime give him an advantage during speedweek?

Keith Granholm – Lately, Keith has started the features based on his dash finishes. Look for him to continue this and creep up in the dash series points.

Fans, what are your predictions? Come see “America’s Race Cars” and root on your favorite drivers. Excitement guaranteed!

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20th Annual Don Gillette Memorial – Friday May 27th

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By Barbara Patterson and Kenneth Parrotte

The Empire Super Sprints (ESS) will race in the 20th annual Don Gillette Memorial at Brewerton Speedway on Friday, May 27. Don grew up in Brewerton and raced locally in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

Thomas Schmeh, former curator of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and passionate supporter of sprint car racing, is coordinating lap sponsorships for this meaningful race. Each lap is $20 and 100% of the money goes directly to each lap leader. To sponsor any of the 25 laps, email Tom at iowabasedtraveler@yahoo.com or private message Tom on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thomas.schmeh. This is a wonderful way to help the local 360 sprint car drivers and honor Don, one of the local greats, in racing.

History of the Don Gillette Memorial as remembered by Kenneth Parrotte

Donald Lake Gillette was born on April 12, 1936, in Brewerton, NY, to parents Lois and Donald “Pete” Gillette. He started racing and winning races locally in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s at Brewerton Speedway, Weedsport Fairgrounds, Fulton Speedway, Watertown Fairgrounds, and Oswego Speedway. Don joined the United Racing Club (URC) in 1960 and, by ’62, he and Jim Maguire were voted the most improved drivers. Don had two wins in 1962 and finished third in URC points.

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Jim Maguire told the story of a drivers meeting at the Shangri-La Speedway when a URC official called Don and Jim the “Whiz Kids” to get them to pay attention. The nickname “Whiz Kids” stuck with both Jim and Don.

Mario Andretti said he knew Don but did not pal around with him because of the distance between their respective homes in Brewerton, NY and Nazareth, PA. Mario said the cars had no cages and were a mix of old and new sprint cars. It was a tough time as they both were trying to move up the racing ladder. Don had a car and Mario was trying to find a winning ride for each race.

Don again finished third in URC sprint car championship points in 1964 with three feature wins and followed that up with three more wins in ’65. Don was on the road to getting an Indy Car ride. Tragically, while leading the September 19, 1965, URC sprint car race at Trenton Speedway, Don was involved in a fatal accident. He was 29 years old.