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Speedweek-FP

Empire Super Sprints CNY Speedweek Kicks Off Wednesday

By Curtis Berleue (LaFargeville, NY) | Each season, one of the most anticipated events on the Empire Super Sprints schedule is the CNY Speedweek. Consisting of five nights of action in a row at five different tracks, it is one of the most grueling yet rewarding weeks of the season for 360 sprint car drivers in the northeast.

This year’s version will kick off on Wednesday, July 3 at the Can-Am Speedway in LaFargeville, NY. Just minutes from the Canadian border, the 4/10-mile oval is the traditional CNY Speedweek kick-off venue. Last year, Jordan Poirier sat in victory lane to start the week.

The following night, Thursday July 4, the tour will head south to the Utica-Rome Speedway. While this is the first trip of the season to Utica-Rome, three ESS events were at the track last year. In 2023, Paulie Colagiovanni, Danny Varin and Matt Farnham all found victory lane at the Vernon, NY facility.

Friday night, July 5, will see the second for three scheduled ESS events in 2024 at the Brewerton Speedway in Brewerton, NY. Earlier this season, it was Danny Varin who sat in victory lane. After the action on Friday evening, drivers and crews can look forward to the annual pit party.

One night later, the stars and cars of the Empire Super Sprints will head just a few minutes up the road to the Fulton Speedway for night number four on the week, on Saturday July 6. Two ESS events have already been completed at Fulton in 2024, with Jason Barney picking up the season opener on April 26, and the Memorial Day weekend event on May 25 th falling to rain.

Rounding out the week will be the first of two stops in 2024 at the Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, NY. Local modified ace Larry Wight has been tough to beat in a sprint car at the 3/8-mile venue in recent years, having picked up the two most recent A-Mains held in 2022 and 2023.

Each event on the CNY Speedweek calendar will see a boosted purse, with the winner earning a cool $2,500. Special CNY Speedweek merchandise will be available to purchase at the ESS apparel trailer in limited supply at each track throughout the week. Additional information for each night, including admission prices and an order of events, can be found on each track’s website/social media pages, along with on the Empire Super Sprints social media pages.

For the latest news, information, and schedule updates regarding the Empire Super Sprints be sure to check the series website (www.EmpireSuperSprints.com) and follow along on Facebook (Empire Super Sprints), Twitter (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support:
Rifenburg Contracting Corp, PJC Spray Foam, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Coaches, E&V Energy, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Fondations 4 Saisons, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., FX Caprara, ASI Racewear, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Bicknell Racing Products, DirtTrackDigest.com and LC Design.

The ESS Road Ahead:
Wednesday, July 3 – Can-Am Speedway – LaFargeville, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)

Thursday, July 4 – Utica-Rome Speedway – Vernon, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)

Friday, July 5 – Brewerton Speedway – Brewerton, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)

Saturday, July 6 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)

Sunday, July 7 – Weedsport Speedway – Weedsport, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)

Ontario-Weekend-FP

ESS Crosses the Border to Brockville, Cornwall This Weekend

By Curtis Berleue (Brockville, ONT) | Some of the most anticipated events on the Empire Super Sprints schedule each year are always the trips north of the border into Canada.  2024 is no different, and this coming weekend is the first of three border crossings for full-point events for the season.

Saturday, the tour will invade the Brockville Ontario Speedway for their first of two trips to the track, and Sunday will be the lone stop in 2024 at the Cornwall Motor Speedway. A strong contingent of ESS regulars is expected to take on some of the toughest Canadian locals.

Leading the charge north is current points leader Jason Barney, who, in addition to the success he’s been enjoying so far in 2024, will be tough to beat as he is a former winner at both Brockville (2017) and Cornwall (2018) in ESS action. 

Two time and defending champion Jordan Poirier sits second in points headed into the weekend.  The Quebec native and local favorite also has had success at both tracks in the past, notching an ESS win at Cornwall in 2017.

All persons entering the pits on Saturday at Brockville should be reminded that a digital waiver must be signed per the tracks insurance, and no paper waiver will be available at the track.  The waiver can be found at https://bos.speedwaiver.com .  Additionally, all teams looking to purchase medium tires should get their order to Shawn Donath no later than Thursday as only a limited supply will be available at the track this weekend.

The official order of events for both nights, along with pricing for each event can be found on both tracks’ website and Facebook pages, along with on the Empire Super Sprints social media channels.  

For the latest news, information, and schedule updates regarding the Empire Super Sprints be sure to check the series website (www.EmpireSuperSprints.com) and follow along on Facebook (Empire Super Sprints), Twitter (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, PJC Spray Foam, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Coaches, E&V Energy, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Fondations 4 Saisons, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., FX Caprara, ASI Racewear, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Bicknell Racing Products, DirtTrackDigest.com and LC Design.

The ESS Road Ahead:

Saturday, June 22– Brockville Ontario Speedway – Brockville, ONT ($2,000 to Win)

Sunday, June 23 – Cornwall Motor Speedway – Cornwall, ONT ($2,000 to Win)

Wednesday, July 3 – Can Am Speedway – LaFargeville, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)

Evans-Mills-FP

Kevin Ward Jr. Memorial Asphalt Spectacular Up Next for Empire Super Sprints

By Curtis Berleue (Evans Mills, NY) | Once a season, the cars and drivers of the Empire Super Sprints trade the dirt for asphalt at the Evans Mills Raceway Park.  This season is no different, as the tour moves north to celebrate the late Kevin Ward Jr. once again in a $4,000 to win main event.

Last season, Dalton Rombough joined the list of drivers that have successfully tamed the dirt-to-asphalt transition as he stood in victory lane at the end of the night. Other winners on the asphalt at Evans Mills in recent years include Danny Varin (2022), Tommy Wickham (2021), and Scott Holcomb (2019).

The evening will also see a full card of on track action including sportsman modifieds, pro late models, legends cars and sport compacts/thunder stocks.  A unique on track autograph session will be held, where fans can get up close and personal with the stars of the Empire Super Sprints for photos and autographs.

General admission prices are set at $25 for adults, $23 for military members, $10 for youths and children ages 9 and under are free.  More information on the evening’s events can be found on the Evans Mills Raceway Park website (www.evansmillsracewaypark.com) along with on the track and ESS social media pages.

For the latest news, information, and schedule updates regarding the Empire Super Sprints be sure to check the series website (www.EmpireSuperSprints.com) and follow along on Facebook (Empire Super Sprints), Twitter (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, PJC Spray Foam, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Coaches, E&V Energy, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Fondations 4 Saisons, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., FX Caprara, ASI Racewear, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Bicknell Racing Products, DirtTrackDigest.com and LC Design.

The ESS Road Ahead:

Saturday, June 15 – Evans Mills Raceway Park – Evans Mills, NY ($4,000 to Win Kevin Ward Jr. Memorial Asphalt Spectacular)

Saturday, June 22 – Brockville Ontario Speedway – Brockville, ONT ($2,000 to Win)

Sunday, June 23 – Cornwall Motor Speedway – Cornwall, ONT ($2,000 to Win)

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WNY Doubleheader Kicks off June for Empire Super Sprints

By Curtis Berleue (Ransomville, NY) | To kick off the month of June, the Empire Super Sprints are set to head to Western NY for a doubleheader weekend. For the only time in 2024, the tour will make a stop at the Ransomville Speedway in Ransomville, NY on Friday night and at the Freedom Motorsports Park in Delevan, NY on Saturday night.

Friday’s trip to the Ransomville Speedway will again pay tribute to Ron Lux in the 25 lap Ron Lux Memorial paying $2,000 to win.  Lux competed in the supermodified division at Oswego Speedway where he was a champion, along with the USAC sanctioned sprint car events.  His career came to an untimely end in 1966, as Lux succumbed to injuries sustained in a USAC sprint car crash at the age of 28.

On Saturday, the tour moves an hour and a half south to the Freedom Motorsports Park.  Saturday’s event at Freedom will be one of the highest paying tour events of the season, with $4,800 being added to the purse in memory of Julia Horton.  The added prize money has been distributed through the field – the A-Main will pay $4,000 to win, $600 for 10th and $400 to start!  Last year at Freedom, it was Jonathan Preston who was victorious.

The weekends Cobra Coaches Dash Series dashes will pay $125 to the winner of the four lap affair each night courtesy of IndyKart Raceway Indoor Karting. IndyKart is an authentic indoor racing experience where drivers can compete in professional, fully electric racing karts at speeds of over 45mph on a European-style racing circuit.

Pricing information and a full order of events for the weekends on-track action can be found on both Ransomville and Freedoms websites and social media pages, along with on the Empire Super Sprints social media pages.

For the latest news, information, and schedule updates regarding the Empire Super Sprints be sure to check the series website (www.EmpireSuperSprints.com) and follow along on Facebook (Empire Super Sprints), Twitter (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, PJC Spray Foam, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Coaches, E&V Energy, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Fondations 4 Saisons, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., FX Caprara, ASI Racewear, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Bicknell Racing Products, DirtTrackDigest.com and LC Design.

The ESS Road Ahead:

Friday, June 7 – Ransomville Speedway – Ransomville, NY ($2,000 to Win Ron Lux Memorial)

Saturday, June 8 – Freedom Motorsports Park – Delevan, NY ($4,000 to Win)

Saturday, June 15 – Evans Mills Raceway Park – Evans Mills, NY ($3,000 to win Kevin Ward Jr. Memorial Asphalt Spectacular)

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Brewerton, Fulton up Next for Empire Super Sprints

By Curtis Berleue (Oswego, NY) | Coming off a successful start to the 2024 season just a few short weeks ago, the Empire Super Sprints are set to get back in action this coming weekend for a Memorial Day doubleheader. The tour will stop at Brewerton Speedway on Friday May 24, and then return to the Fulton Speedway for the second time in 2024 the following night, Saturday May 25.

Friday’s trip to the Brewerton Speedway will be the first of three stops for the tour at the ‘D-Shaped Dirt Demon’ in 2024.  The event will once again pay respect to the late Don Gillette, who was a Brewerton, NY native climbing the sprint car ranks before he tragically lost his life at the Trenton Speedway when he was 29 years old. Danny Varin is the defending winner of the Don Gillette Memorial, and Paulie Colagiovanni was victorious in the other two stops at the track for the tour in 2023.

Saturday night, the cars and stars of the Empire Super Sprints will move just 25 minutes up the road to the Fulton Speedway, where Jason Barney picked up the season-opening win at the end of April.  Barney has been nearly unbeatable at Fulton with 8 wins in the last 13 events held there, and a total of 11 victories dating back to 2014. Coming into the weekend as the points leader, he is sure to once again be a force to be reckoned with at both tracks.

Friday night’s program will receive extra support from J&Z Snowdrifters, who have come on board to present the Cobra Coaches Dash Series Dash. The official order of events for both nights, along with pricing for each event can be found on both tracks’ website and Facebook pages, along with on the Empire Super Sprints social media channels.

For the latest news, information, and schedule updates regarding the Empire Super Sprints be sure to check the series website (www.EmpireSuperSprints.com) and follow along on Facebook (Empire Super Sprints), Twitter (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, PJC Spray Foam, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Coaches, E&V Energy, Fondations 4 Saisons, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., FX Caprara, ASI Racewear, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Bicknell Racing Products, DirtTrackDigest.com and LC Design.

The ESS Road Ahead:

Friday, May 24 – Brewerton Speedway – Brewerton, NY ($2,000 to Win Don Gillette Memorial)

Saturday, May 25 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,000 to Win)

Friday, June 7 – Ransomville Speedway – Ransomville, NY ($2,000 to Win Ron Lux Memorial)

Head-West-HP

ESS Heads to Fulton for 2024 Season Opener

By Curtis Berleue (Fulton, NY) | The Empire Super Sprints are hoping the second time is the charm this weekend with their second attempt at getting the 2024 season under way this Friday at the Fulton
Speedway.

With the originally scheduled lid-lifter at Outlaw Speedway cancelled two weeks ago due to wet weather and cold temperatures, all focus is now on Fulton Friday night for the annual ‘High Bank Holdup’ weekend. The full points opener will once again be the headliner of the Friday night portion of the two-day show, paying $2,000 to the winner.

Last year, Jason Barney picked up his first of three Fulton Speedway wins in the ‘High Bank Holdup’ main event. Sammy Reakes IV was the winner in May at Fulton, Mother Nature was victorious in July for the CNY Speedweek event, and then Barney went on to round out the season with two more Fulton wins in September.

As is usual at Fulton, a strong contingent of drivers is expected this Friday night. Last weeks open
practice at the Oswego County oval saw no less than 11 sprint cars make laps in preparation for this
Fridays event.


DirtTrackDigest.com will present the Cobra Coaches dash on Friday night. For years, Dirt Track Digest
has been a leader in local and national dirt racing coverage, with written, photo, and video content of
modifieds, sprint cars and late models from around the country.

A full schedule of events for this weekend’s action, along with admission pricing can be found on the
Fulton Speedway website, www.FultonSpeedway.com, along with on both the tracks and series social
media pages.

For the latest news, information, and schedule updates regarding the Empire Super Sprints be sure to
check the series website (www.EmpireSuperSprints.com) and follow along on Facebook (Empire Super
Sprints), Twitter (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, PJC Spray Foam, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Coaches, E&V Energy, Fondations 4 Saisons, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., FX Caprara, ASI Racewear, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Bicknell Racing Products, DirtTrackDigest.com and LC Design.

The ESS Road Ahead:
Friday, April 26 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,000 to Win)

Friday, May 24 – Brewerton Speedway – Brewerton, NY ($2,000 to Win Don Gillette Memorial)

Saturday, May 25 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,000 to Win)

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ESS Set to Kick off 41st Season at Outlaw Speedway

By Curtis Berleue (Dundee, NY) | After a long off season, the stars and cars of the Empire Super Sprints are ready to kick off another season of action this weekend at the Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY.  The tour’s 41st gets underway this Saturday, April 13, with one of the schedule’s highest paying events – the $4,220 to win Cal Lane Memorial.

Over the course of 40 years, 82 Empire Super Sprints events have been contested at the Dundee oval, producing 50 different winners.  Most recently, Jared Zimbardi and Jordan Thomas visited victory lane in 2023, while mother nature intervened and cancelled the other two ESS events scheduled last season.

As always, a strong field is expected for this special non-points event to kick off the 2024 season.  The evenings Cobra Coaches Dash will be presented by Lanes Yamaha of nearby Watkins Glen.

Friday night has been set aside as a practice night, and all teams are invited to shake down their rides ahead of Saturdays racing action.

For Friday’s practice session, pit gates are set to open at 5pm, with grandstands at 5:30pm and hot laps scheduled for 6:45pm. Pit admission is set at $30, and grandstand admission $15.

Saturday’s schedule sees pit gates opening at noon, grandstands at 1pm, hot laps at 2pm and racing at 3pm.  Pit admission will be $45, and grandstand admission is $25 for adults, $22 for seniors 63+, and kids 12 & under admitted free of charge.

For weekend schedule updates, and a full order of events for each day, be sure to check both the tracks website (www.outlawspeedwayllc.com) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/OutlawSpeedwayLLC) along with the official Empire Super Sprints Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EmpireSuperSprints).

For the latest news, information, and schedule updates regarding the Empire Super Sprints be sure to check the series website (www.EmpireSuperSprints.com) and follow along on Facebook (Empire Super Sprints), Twitter (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, PJC Spray Foam, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Coaches, E&V Energy, Fondations 4 Saisons, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., FX Caprara, ASI Racewear, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Bicknell Racing Products, DirtTrackDigest.com and LC Design.

The ESS Road Ahead:

Saturday, April 13 – Outlaw Speedway – Dundee, NY ($4,220 to Win Cal Lane Memorial Spring Nationals)

Friday, April 26 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,000 to Win)

Friday, May 24 – Brewerton Speedway – Brewerton, NY ($2,000 to Win Don Gillette Memorial)

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Syracuse Motorsports Expo kicks off 41st racing season for ESS

To start their 41st season, the Empire Super Sprints (ESS) will have an exhibit at the Syracuse Motorsports Expo, in the Micron Center of Progress building at the NYS Fairgrounds, on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10. Stop by the ESS booth to pick up the 2024 schedule which consists of 28 point and 6 non point races at 17 different tracks throughout New York, Ontario and Quebec Canada.

ESS will have on display the #87 of two time ESS Champion Jason Barney, the sharp looking #98 of Joe Trenca, and the #10 of “Lil Cobra” Kelly Hebing. It’s an opportunity for fans to view a 360 sprint car up close, peek in the cockpit, and check out the stagger on the rear tires.

ESS will continue the tradition of having a special autograph session of your favorite ESS drivers. It will be held on Saturday at 2:00 pm in the ESS exhibit area. It’s a great opportunity to get an autograph and photo with your favorite 360 sprint car drivers.

The show is the perfect time to register your car and sign up for an ESS membership whether you are a driver, owner or crew member. Come by the merchandise trailer to check out the 2024 ESS apparel design and purchase a new t-shirt for your racing wardrobe.