Vernon, NY – On November 12, at the Vernon Downs Hotel, the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints celebrated their 39th season by honoring the top 15 drivers. A familiar last name was etched on the championship eagle trophy, but the first name was not eight-time champion Steve Poirier but rather his nephew Jordan.
The highlight of the evening was the crowning of Jordan Poirier as the 2022 Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Champion. Jordan beat out runner up Davie Franek, 3rd place Jason Barney, 4th place Shawn Donath and 5th place Danny Varin. Jordan hails from St-Mathieu de Beloeil, Quebec, Canada and began his racing career in 1000cc Lightning Sprints with championships in 2016 and 2018. He started to dabble in 360 sprint cars in 2015 and won the Pintys Knights of Thunder Series in 2020. Since the border opened after a two-year shut down, Jordan was able to commit to 2022 as his first year racing the full ESS tour. During the season, he amassed 6 Rifenburg Contracting Corp. fast time awards, 7 E & V Energy heat wins, 2 Cobra Coaches dash wins and feature wins at Airborne, Orange County Fair and Albany-Saratoga Speedways. He earned 15 top 5s, 18 top 10s and landed on the podium at 10 of the 21 races. All these accomplishments were done with his 2017 Eagle chassis and Al Parker engine.
Several special annual awards were also given out. The peer-voted Mechanic of the Year award went to Pete Northrup and Mason Olmstead, mechanics on the Danny Varin race team. Davie Franek won the last night of Speedweek at Fulton Speedway to solidify and become the Lane’s Yamaha Speedweek Champion. Jordan Poirier was presented with the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars throughout the season and won the Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Series for consistently posting the fastest times during timed hot laps. Jeff Cook attained the Cobra Coaches Dash Series with three dash victories. He was presented a unique trophy of race car parts with snakeskin cowboy boots for him and his wife by Cobra Coaches owner Chuck Hebing. The drivers with perfect attendance and this season’s feature winners were also honored.
ESS would like to thank Lucas Oil Products, Hoosier, FX Caprara, Cobra Coaches, Rifenburg Contracting Corp, Pinnacle Investments, E & V Energy, Ashley Lynn Winery, Lacailade Masonry, and numerous dash sponsors for their support throughout the season. A big thank you to the drivers, their crews and families, the officials, and fans for a fantastic 2022 season!
OHSWEKEN, Ont. (September 17, 2022) – Ryan Turner claimed $10,000 and the second Canadian Sprint Car Nationals win of his career on Saturday night at Ohsweken Speedway, while Mike Bowman was the victor in the Action Sprint Tour fueled by Pinty’s Crate Sprint Car event. A total of 74 drivers competed in the 18th Running of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals presented by Nitro 54 Variety and Arrow Express, including 36 360 Sprint Cars and 38 Crate Sprint Cars.
Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 360 Sprint Cars
Mikey Kruchka and Jordan Poirier earned front row starting spots for the 35 lap CSCN A-Main, both looking for their first Canadian Sprint Car Nationals win. Poirier took command early, looking to follow in his uncle Steve’s footsteps. Paulie Colagiovanni took the second spot from Kruchka on lap two and went after Poirier. The leaders were already beginning to close in on traffic on lap five, but got a reprieve when Nick Sheridan brought out the yellow flag with a broken rear end.
The double-file restart gave Colagiovanni a shot at the lead, but Poirier took command again while Ryan Turner moved into third past Kruchka. Colagiovanni was close behind Poirier and looking to pounce, but the race was slowed again on lap eight when Lynton Jeffrey and Chuck Hebing made contact on the frontstretch; Jeffrey’s car suffered significant front end damage and put the Australian driver out of the race. D.J. Christie also stopped on the track with left front suspension damage which eventually ended his race.
Poirier, Colagiovanni, and Turner restarted in the top three, while Liam Martin, Kruchka, and Kyle Phillips made up the other half of the top six. Martin powered around the outside on the restart, but got pinched between Colagiovanni and the backstretch wall; the contact was enough to break Martin’s rear end and bring out another yellow flag.
Poirier held serve on the next restart with Colagiovanni close behind, while Phillips and Turner diced for third. Row 12 starter Jason Barney moved into the top five, while Friday night winner Jordan Thomas also moved past Kruchka. The next yellow flag came out with 11 laps complete when Todd Hoddick stopped on the track with a mechanical issue.
Colagiovanni took the lead away from Poirier on the restart, while Poirier fell into the clutches of Ryan Turner. A slide job on lap 18 briefly got Turner past Poirier and in a position to challenge Colagiovanni just as they started to encounter traffic. Poirier’s counter was cut short when Barney caught the frontstretch wall and flipped violently. Barney was shaken up, but able to walk away from his badly-damaged car. Going back to the last completed lap put Poirier back into second, and he subsequently inherited the lead when a fuel leak during the stoppage forced Colagiovanni to the pit area and ended his bid for a second CSCN victory.
The race restarted just short of the halfway mark with Poirier leading, followed by Ryan Turner, Phillips, Kruchka, and Thomas. Poirier held the lead again, while Kruchka drove around the outside of Phillips to take third. Turner went after Poirier and took the lead as the two were lapping Dale Gosselin in turn two with 11 laps remaining, and Kruchka then took second from Poirier on the next lap. Another yellow flag appeared on lap 30 when Ryan Coniam spun in turn four.
The single-file restart with five laps left saw Turner, Kruchka, Poirier, Phillips, and Hebing in the top five. Turner doggedly stuck to the low side of the track while Kruchka searched for a way past on the outside. Kruchka made a bold move on lap 34 diving low between Turner and the inside wall in turn one, but Kruchka slid high and Turner drove back around him. Poirier got a shot at Kruchka while Turner drove under the white flag, but Phillips stopped high in turn four to bring out the yellow flag and force a one lap dash to the finish.
Turner had a good restart and drove to the win with Kruchka settling for the runner-up spot. Hebing slipped past Poirier on the last lap to claim the final podium spot, while Mitch Brown rounded out the top five. Josh Hansen, Cory Turner, Jordan Thomas, Glenn Styres, and Baily Heard rounded out the top ten.
The unique circumstances of 2022 allowed Turner to claim two Canadian Sprint Car Nationals wins in one season, a feat that is unlikely to ever be possible again. He also did it with two different cars and two different teams following his move to the No. 15 in August.
“I think we’ve just been gaining speed and winning this race shows just how much we’ve really been gaining,” Turner exclaimed. “Our crew killed it all night; they were thrashing right before we went out, changing tires, changing rims. They worked their butts off.”
Kruchka wasn’t unhappy with second and the $5,000 payday, but wished the race had stayed green. Still, it was a good finish for the veteran driver who has had his share of CSCN heartbreak in the past.
“It’s frustrating because we only get typically one shot at this a year, and then to come so close…” lamented Kruchka. “I’m sure I had a better car running around the top; I just I knew it was going to be a long race and I packed it full of fuel but I was scared to pack it too much because sometimes you get a stumble at the start. I didn’t need that last caution…with the momentum I think we would have been alright, but (on the restart) I got a couple bumbles and I was just praying to hang on to second.”
Chuck Hebing added to his illustrious Canadian Sprint Car Nationals resume with his sixth top-five CSCN finish and third podium.
“We survived…a couple of the guys had trouble up front,” Hebing observed. “We were better on cold tires than we were on hot tires; you know we haven’t been up here in so long and we will make some changes for next time, but it was good to be back.”
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Action Sprint Tour fueled by Pinty’s Crate Sprint Cars
Lucas Smith and Austin Roes drew front row starting spots for the 25 lap Crate Sprint Car A-Main. A $5,000 prize awaited the winner, as Mike Bowman chose the brand new crate engine as his prize for winning the Canadian Crate Nationals the previous night.
Jacob Dykstra took the lead and was looking to regain some of the advantage he lost in the AST points standings following his disqualification on Friday night. The only major incident of the race occurred when John Cadman clipped the frontstretch wall and flipped hard. The veteran of pavement racing emerged uninjured and vowed to return for more fun on the dirt.
AST championship contender Mathieu Bardier brought out a yellow flag just past the halfway mark, briefly heading to the pit area before salvaging a 16th place finish. Bowman had fallen back early in the race but charged forward after the yellow flag, using traffic to catch and pass Smith, Steve Murdock, and Dykstra to take the win and sweep the weekend. Dykstra settled for the runner-up spot, followed by Murdock, Smith, and Darren Dryden, another AST championship hopeful.
Up Next at Ohsweken Speedway Ohsweken Speedway will officially wrap-up its 2022 season in November with the annual Night of Champions Award Celebration. The 2022 division champions and top points finishers in all four weekly Friday Night Excitement divisions will receive their awards and cash from the championship points fund. Stay tuned to www.ohswekenspeedway.com for more information in the coming weeks.
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Ohsweken Speedway Statistical Report Saturday, September 17 2022 Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada 18th Running of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals presented by Nitro 54 Variety & Arrow Express Total Entries: 74
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Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 360 Sprint Cars (36 Entries – Pinty’s Knights of Thunder 360 Sprint Car Series w/Empire Super Sprints, Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Cars, Patriot Sprint Tour, & Southern Ontario Sprints)
Awards: -A-Main Winner Bonus: Ryan Turner (Free Fire Suit – EPIC Racewear) -Bill Peer Memorial Best Appearing Car: Matt Farnham ($350 – Corr/Pak Merchandising) -Travis Rutz Long Tow: Ryan Coniam ($250 – Niagara Golf Lounge at Best Western Cairn Croft Hotel) -Fastest Qualifier: Todd Hoddick ($300 – Qwick Wick) -Fastest Canadian Qualifier: Mitch Brown ($300 – Ohsweken Speedway) -Rookie of the Nationals: Baily Heard ($250 – Slack Lumber) -Hard Charger: Tyler Rand ($300 – Nitro 54 Variety) -Larry Gartly Memorial Last Chance Hard Charger: Tyler Rand ($200 – Doddey Creek Agri Services) -George Huppunen Memorial Hard Luck: Nick Sheridan ($400 – Huppunen Brothers)
Qualifications Flight 1 1. 94 Todd Hoddick – North Tonawanda, New York – 13.814; 2. 10 Mitch Brown – Brantford – 13.904; 3. 0J Lynton Jeffrey – Prairie City, Iowa – 13.919; 4. 45 Nick Sheridan – Mount Brydges – 14.129; 5. 13 Cory Turner – 14.140; 6. 87X Shone Evans – Scotland – 14.261; 7. 10C Paulie Colagiovanni – Cicero, New York – 14.265; 8. 46C Ryan Coniam – Denver, Colorado – 14.285; / 9. 90 Travis Cunningham – Grimsby – 14.329; 10. 1 Holly Porter – Dorchester – 14.388; 11. 11J Chris Jones – Picton – 14.453; 12. 14H Jim Huppunen – Welland – 14.471; 13. 0 Glenn Styres – Ohsweken – 14.485; 14. 81 Derek Jonathan – Lewiston, New York – 14.550; 15. 3G Dale Gosselin – Saint-Pie, Quebec – 14.606; 16. 21 John Burbridge Jr – St. Williams – 14.640; 17. 0C Cole MacDonald – Waterdown – 15.322; 18. 28 Jordan Poirier – Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec – NT
Qualifications Flight 2 1. 45H Chuck Hebing – Ontario, New York – 14.051; 2. 01K Mikey Kruchka – Hamilton – 14.069; 3. 15R Ryan Turner – Dunnville – 14.099; 4. 88H Josh Hansen – Beamsville – 14.189; 5. 9 Liam Martin – Binbrook – 14.195; 6. 79 Jordan Thomas – Harding, Pennsylvania – 14.269; 7. 70 Baily Heard – Niagara Falls – 14.341; 8. 5 D.J. Christie – Beachville – 14.388; / 9. 110 Jake Brown – Brantford – 14.445; 10. 87 Jason Barney – Brewerton, New York – 14.560; 11. 11 Jamie Turner – Caistor Centre – 14.705; 12. 21K Kyle Phillips – Grand Island, New York – 14.718; 13. 7NY Matt Farnham – Tonawanda, New York – 14.719; 14. 13KG Keith Granholm – Syracuse, New York – 14.751; 15. 70MM Dave McKnight – Brampton – 14.899; 16. 84 Tyler Rand – Picton – 14.973; 17. 46 Kevin Pauls – St. Catharines – 15.249; 18. 94X Scott Hall – Wilsonville – NT
Ohsweken Speedway on GForceTV Can’t make it to the track or don’t live within driving distance? No problem! Check out all of Ohsweken’s weekly Friday Night Excitement action live online or on-demand for FREE on GForceTV. Just search for GForceTV on YouTube or Facebook, or visit www.ohswekenspeedway.ca to watch.
About Ohsweken Speedway: Opened in 1996, Ohsweken Speedway is a motorsports complex and event centre featuring a 3/8 mile clay oval auto racing track and 1/6 mile clay oval Micro Sprint and Karting track. The facility is owned by the Styres family, and located in the village of Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada. Ohsweken’s weekly Friday Night Excitement racing program runs from May to September each year, featuring 360 Sprint Cars, Crate Sprint Cars, Thunder Stocks, and Mini Stocks, while the facility also hosts weekly Micro Sprint and Kart racing on Thursday nights. Several major events highlight the annual schedule including the track’s signature event – the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
Racing at Ohsweken Speedway is made possible with support from the following partners: Ackland Insurance, Arrow Express, Nitro 54 Variety, Auto Parts Centres, Bradshaw Brothers Fuels, Burger Barn, Case IH & O’Neil’s Farm Equipment, Core-Mark International, Corr/Pak Merchandising Inc., Creative Edge Signs & Graphics, EPIC Racewear, Gale’s Auto Aftermarket, Ohsweken Speedway Racesource, Halifax Thunderbirds, Hoosier Tire Canada, HRW Automotive, Insta-Insulation/Insta-Panels, Jibs Action Sports, Kool Kidz Ice & Water, Middleport Mechanical, Miska Trailer Factory, Pinty’s Delicious Foods, Renway Energy, Strickland’s GMC, Club 54 Racing, Oakwood Transport, and Safety-Kleen.
Weedsport, New York – Phoenix, New York’s Larry Wight continued his hot streak by winning his second consecutive Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints A Main at Weedsport Speedway on Saturday night. Wight took over the top spot on lap eight and held off a hard charging Jordan Poirier late in the race to secure the win, his third overall for the year. Tyler Cartier led the 25 car field down to Dave Farney’s green flag with Danny Varin and Larry Wight lurking in the next two rows. Varin and Wight quickly made their way to the front by lap two and both were in lapped traffic by lap five. Wight grabbed the lead on lap eight and opened up a four car lead on Varin with Davie Franek and Joe Trenca within striking distance of Varin. A couple of early race red flags kept the field bunched together but took out Cartier on lap 6 and Shawn Donath and Dylan Swiernik on lap 10. All drivers were ok but done for the night. Halfway through the race, current point leader Jordan Poirier (from 10th) and 2019 champion Paulie Colagiovanni (from 13th) were making their presence known as they pushed towards the front. Varin’s night ended as the 01 snapped a rear axle while tracking down the 99L of Wight on lap 16. The lap 16 restart had Wight leading with Colagiovanni, Franek, Trenca and Poirier in hot pursuit. Poirier made his way into second by lap 21 and was closing the gap on Wight but ran out of time, finishing second. Following Wight and Poirier across the line were Colagiovanni, Franek and Trenca. Billy VanInwegen ran well finishing sixth followed by Scott Kreutter, Chuck Hebing, Jason Barney with modified driver Chris Hile rounding out the top ten.
” What a crazy night, lots of cautions tonight but the car was good on restarts” commented Wight after the race. ” This is the same car we won at Fulton with and didn’t make any changes to it. We unloaded the car today and didn’t have to touch it all night.”
Jordan Poirier was a busy man in the driver’s seat for the A Main, “Yeah, we had a lot going on during the race. The car was ok early in the race but I made some adjustments about halfway through that worked. Regarding all the cautions, “Towards the end of the race I was worried about running out of gas, I was riding around the bottom and leaning out the fuel line just to make sure I had enough.”
Paulie Colagiovanni rallied for a podium finish after missing the setup early in the night. ” I will take it, I missed the setup early but made some good changes for the Dash run so, I thought we would be ok for the A Main. I was hoping the bottom would slick off a little, which it did, the high side worked well for us tonight”
Fast Times were set by Billy VanInwegen, Shawn Donath and Joe Trenca. Heat wins went to Tommy Wickham, Shawn Donath and Danny Varin. Paulie Colagiovanni won the Dash and ChrisHile won the B Main.
The final points race for the 2022 Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Championship Tour:
Friday, September 16th at Land of Legends Speedway
LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS A MAIN RESULTS from WEEDSPORT SPEEDWAY 9/10/2022:
LARRy WIGHT, Jordan Poirier, Paulie Colagiovanni, Davie Franek, Joe Trenca, Billy VanInwegen, Scott Kreutter, Chuck Hebing, Jason Barney, Chris Hile, Bobby Parrow, Logan Crisafulli, Steve Glover, Lacey Hanson, Nick Sheridan, Tommy Wickham, Danny Varin, Kelly Hebing, Kyle Smith, Jonathan Preston, Shawn Donath, Dylan Swiernik, Tyler Cartier, Chris Jones, Jeff Cook
Awards and Contingencies:
Pinnacle Pole Award : Cartier, $25
Halfway Leader : Wight, $50
Hard Charger Award : Parrow, $50
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running : Sheridan $50
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finish: Parrow, $25 in fuel
Highest Finishing ESS Rookie : Hile, $25
First Non-Qualifier: Granholm, $65
First Non-Feature Winner : Joe Trenca, $65
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Award : VanInwegen, Donath, Trenca, $25 each
E & V Energy Heat Race Award : Wickham, Donath , Varin, $25 each
Fulton, New York – Lightnin’ Larry Wight lived up to his nickname at Fulton Speedway Saturday night, catching and passing Davie Franek late and in heavy lapped traffic to win his second Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints A Main of the year. The Phoenix, New York driver took the lead from pole sitter Jason Barney midway through the race and was putting some distance between himself and the field until the races only caution on lap 14 brought the field together. Davie Franek dove under Wight just after the restart to take the lead and began to inch away from Wight as the laps wound down. On lap 21, while in heavy lapped traffic, Franek lost momentum behind a lapped car allowing Wight to put himself right up to the left side panel as the two dragged raced off of turn four. Wight edged ahead as Franek looked to repeat the move on the next lap. Franek could reach the Gypsum Express tail tank but did not have enough to retake the lead, settling for the runner up spot. Jonathan Preston ran well all night bringing the Preston Racing 22 home in third place. Jason Barney and Paulie Colagiovanni rounded out the top five. Current point leader Jordan Poirier finished sixth with Joe Trenca, Scott Holcomb, Scott Kreutter and Shawn Donath completing the top ten.
Davie Franek after the race, ” That one hurts a little, kind feel like I gave that one away.” Franek had a strong weekend with two podium finishes at Brewerton ( 3rd ) and Fulton ( 2nd )
By his own admission Jonathan Preston would say his year has not been what he expected, but a strong showing at Fulton was what he needed, ” Car was good tonight, the car ‘balled up’ when down low but really strong up top, we were fast enough to stay with the leaders “. ” It was good to be in the hunt for a win again “
Fast Times were set by Colagiovanni, Poirier and Joe Trenca while the heat race wins went to Franek, Wight and Preston. Matt Farnham won the Dash and Scott Holcomb won the B Main.
The last 2 point races for the 2022 Empire Super Sprints Championship Tour:
Saturday, September 10th at Weedsport Speedway
Friday, September 16th at Land of Legends Speedway
LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS A MAIN RESULTS from FULTON SPEEDWAY 9/3/2022:
LARRY WIGHT, Davie Franek, Jonathan Preston, Jason Barney, Paulie Colagiovanni, Jordan Poirier, Joe Trenca, Scott Holcomb, Scott Kreutter, Shawn Donath, Dylan Swiernik, Matt Farnham, Matt Billings, Matt Tanner, Jeff Cook, Steve Glover, Bryan Howland, Chad Miller, Keith Granholm, Kelly Hebing, Dalton Rombough, Reese Nowotarski, Tyler Cartier, Chuck Hebing, Jordan Hutton, Chris Hile
Awards and Contingencies:
Pinnacle Pole Award : Barney, $25
Halfway Leader : Wight, $50
Hard Charger Award : Swiernik, $50
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running : Cartier, $50
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finish: Swiernik, $25 in fuel
Highest Finishing ESS Rookie : Rombough, $25
First Non-Qualifier: Tyler Emmons, $65
First Non-Feature Winner : Joe Trenca, $65
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Award : Colagiovanni, Poirier, Trenca, $25 each
E & V Energy Heat Race Award : Franek, Wight, Preston, $25 each
Brewerton, N.Y. -Danny Varin continued his hot streak at Brewerton Speedway on Friday night as the Fonda, New York pilot collected his seventh Empire Super Sprints win of the 2022 campaign. Varin ducked under current point leader Jordan Poirier midway through the A Main and handled a couple of late race restarts enroute to the $2,000 payday.
” This is unbelievable, I really don’t know what to say ” added Varin just before he climbed up the top wing to celebrate in front of a packed house at the D Shaped Dirt Demon. Varin was humble in victory lane, giving credit to his crew, family, friends and sponsors, ” I can’t thank everyone who supports us enough “.
With a season high 34 cars in the Brewerton pit area, it took four heats to set the 26 car field that would take the green flag for the 25 lap A Main. Current point leader Jordan Poirier and Matt Farnham led the field to green with Poirier grabbing the lead until lap two when Sammy Reakes IV, Shawn Donath and Paulie Colagiovanni got together in turn two resulting with Reakes rolling the 17 and was done for the night. Both Donath and Colagiovanni were able to continue. On the ensuing restart, Poirier took command and began distancing himself from the pack. As Poirier was reaching lapped traffic, Varin ( started sixth ) was slowly reeling Poirier in with Larry Wight ( started 11th ) and Davie Franek ( started eighth ) not far behind. On lap 12, Varin got the bite he needed low off of turn two to power by the Poirier machine. Two laps later, Poirier made contact with a lapped car and came to a stop in between turns one and two, ending his night. The lap 14 restart saw Varin leading Franek, Chuck Hebing, Wight and Jonathan Preston into turn one and it stayed that way until a lap 16 caution bunched the field up again. Chad Miller, Paulie Colagiovanni and Dylan Swiernik came together in turn four ending the night for all three drivers. Larry Wight was able to get by Hebing for third on the restart and set sights on the 01 machine of Varin. The final caution of the night was for Hebing as he came to a stop in turn two which bunched the field and put Franek and Wight on Varin’s tail tank for the last seven laps. Wight snuck under Franek on lap 20 to move into second but Varin had moved out to a 10 car advantage by then leaving Wight little to close the gap. Varin cruised to a 5 car length win with Wight and Franek completing the podium. Tommy Wickham ( from 17th ) and Shawn Donath ( early race incident ) rounded out the top five with Jeff Cook, Jonathan Preston, Matt Billings, Jason Barney ( from 25th ) and Scott Kreutter completing the top ten.
Group Fast times were set by Varin, Donath, Reakes and Poirier. Heats were won by Franek, Farnham, Reakes and Poirier. Dylan Swiernik won the Dash and Chad Miller took the B Main.
Next three LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS tour dates:
Saturday, September 3rd at Fulton Speedway
Saturday, September 10th at Weedsport Speedway
Friday, September 16th at Land of Legends Speedway
LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS A MAIN RESULTS FROM BREWERTON SPEEDWAY 9/2//2022:
DANNY VARIN, Larry Wight, Davie Franek, Tommy Wickham, Shawn Donath, Jeff Cook, Jonathan Preston, Matt Billings, Jason Barney, Scott Kreutter, Joe Trenca, Denny Peebles, Reese Nowotarski, Billy VanInwegen, Matt Tanner, Chris Jones, Scott Holcomb, Matt Farnham, Chuck Hebing, Dylan Swiernik, Paulie Colagiovanni, Chad Miller, Kelly Hebing, Keith Granholm, Jordan Poirier, Sammy Reakes IV
Awards and Contingencies:
Pinnacle Pole Award : Poirier, $25
Halfway Leader : Varin, $50
Hard Charger Award : Barney, $50
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running : Holcomb, $50
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finish: Trenca, $25 in fuel
Highest Finishing ESS Rookie : Nowotarski, $25
First Non-Qualifier: Parker Evans, $65
First Non-Feature Winner : Kreutter, $65
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Award : Varin, Donath, Reakes, Poirier, $25 each
E & V Energy Heat Race Award : Franek, Farnham, Reakes, Poirier, $25 each
OHSWEKEN, Ont. (August 15, 2022) – Paulie Colagiovanni took his first Canadian Sprint Car Nationals win on Monday night at Ohsweken Speedway, holding off Stewart Friesen for the $10,000 prize and his first Pinty’s Knights of Thunder 360 Sprint Car series victory. Mike Bowman won the Action Sprint Tour Crate Sprint Car series fueled by Pinty’s A-Main, while Aaron Turkey won the $1,500 Qwick Wick Hot Lap Challenge for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series cars.
Pinty’s Knights of Thunder 360 Sprint Car Series Paulie Colagiovanni and Jordan Thomas started first and second respectively to begin the Knights of Thunder A-Main. 30 drivers qualified for the 35 lap race, all of them racing to be the champion of the 17th Running of the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals. Colagiovanni put a commanding lead on the field while Cory Turner and Thomas contended for the second spot. NASCAR Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen began to make his way through the pack from row five and began to challenge for third place with nineteen laps left. Dylan Westbrook ended a bid to win his first CSCN early with mechanical problems. It was all smooth sailing for Colagiovanni until the only caution of the night came out with nine laps to go, as Shone Evans spun and came to a stop on the track. Friesen gave everything he had left in the tank but Colagiovanni prevailed and crossed the finish line first, taking his first CSCN win after being the runner-up in his last attempt. Friesen finished second, Cory Turner third, Jordan Thomas fourth, and Mitch Brown fifth.
Awards: -Fastest Qualifier: Dylan Westbrook ($300 from Qwick Wick Fire Starter) -Fastest Canadian Qualifier: Dylan Westbrook ($300 from Ohsweken Speedway) -Hard Charger: Nick Sheridan ($300 from Nitro 54 Variety) -Larry Gartly Memorial Last Chance Hard Charger: Liam Martin ($200 from Doddey Creek Agri Services)
Qualifications Flight 1 1. 47X Dylan Westbrook – Scotland – 14.657; 2. 28 Jordan Poirier – Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Quebec – 14.800; 3. 14H Jim Huppunen – Welland – 14.890; 4. 88H Josh Hansen – Beamsville – 15.222; 5. 87X Shone Evans – Scotland – 15.357; 6. 45 Nick Sheridan – Mount Brydges – 15.390; 7. 5 DJ Christie – Beachville – 15.426; 8. 52 Stewart Friesen – Niagara-on-the-Lake – 15.466; 9. 79 Jordan Thomas – Harding, Pennsylvania – 15.488; 10. 87 Jason Barney – Brewerton, New York – 15.498; 11. 01K Mikey Kruchka – Hamilton – 15.581; 12. 84 Tyler Rand – Picton – 15.595; 13. 17X Mack DeMan – Mississauga – 15.614; 14. 68 Aaron Turkey – Ohsweken – 15.660; 15. 5D Jacob Dykstra – Port Colborne – 15.689; 16. 3G Dale Gosselin – Saint-Pie, Quebec – 15.698; 17. 21J John Burbridge Jr – St. Williams – 16.075; 18. 46 Kevin Pauls – St. Catharines – 16.925; 19. 27 Paul Ballantyne – Brantford – NT
Qualifications Flight 2 1. 9 Liam Martin – Binbrook – 15.371; 2. 0 Glenn Styres – Ohsweken – 15.501; 3. 13 Cory Turner – Tillsonburg – 15.508; 4. 7NY Matt Farnham – Tonawanda, New York – 15.557; 5. 10C Paulie Colagiovanni – Cicero, New York – 15.589; 6. 10 Mitch Brown – Brantford – 15.631; 7. 15 Ryan Turner – Dunnville – 15.733; 8. 1 Holly Porter – Dorchester – 15.919; 9. 20AU Brayden Cooley – Kirkstall, Victoria, Australia – ; 10. 90 Travis Cunningham – Grimsby – 16.005; 11. 70 Baily Heard – Niagara Falls – 16.043; 12. 94 Todd Hoddick – Cheektowaga, New York – 16.065; 13. 11 Jamie Turner – Caistor Centre – 16.069; 14. 46C Ryan Coniam – Burlington – 16.511; 15. 110 Jake Brown – Brantford – 16.570; 16. 0C Cole Macdonald – Waterdown – 17.002; 17. 24 Ben Silliker – Grande Prairie, Alberta – 17.199; 18. 70MM Dave McKnight – Brampton – NT
Fonda, New York – Hometown driver Danny Varin continued his winning ways at the Fonda Speedway on Saturday night, claiming his sixth win of the year with the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints. It was also Varin’s sixth ESS victory in a row at the Track of Champions. Varin tracked down early race leader and pole sitter Josh Pieniazek on lap nine and despite two late cautions, was never contested for the win. Varin made a clean sweep of the night by posting fast time in his group, winning his heat and ultimately the A Main enroute the $2,000 payday. The racing behind Varin was exciting to watch as drivers had their choice of the extreme bottom or the top of the track. Early stages of the race saw Pieniazek stay out front until Varin moved by on lap nine followed by outside pole sitter Dylan Swiernik. While Varin and Swiernik were putting some distance between themselves and the pack, some notable drivers were making their way to the front. Current points leader Jordan Poirier ( started 12th ), Paulie Colagiovanni ( started 13th ) and Shawn Donath ( started 15th ) had all moved into the top 10. On lap 14, Jordan Poirier had moved into fifth when he did a full 360 spin and go after contact with a lapped car. The cost for the spin and go was high as the Quebec native dropped back to tenth but would rally for a seventh place finish. Donath’s charge to the front was nothing short of spectacular as he ripped the lip around the 1/2 mile dirt oval to move from eighth to third in the last 10 laps of the race. Varin, whose last five laps of the A Main were his fastest for the whole race, took the checkered flag first, followed by Swiernik and Donath. Matt Tanner and Paulie Colagiovanni rounded out the top five. Davie Franek, Poirier, Pieniazek, Jason Barney and Mike Kiser completed the top ten.
Fast times were set by Joe Trenca, Franek, and Varin while heat races were won by Jeff Cook, Barney and Varin. Poirier was the Dash winner.
Next three Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints tour dates:
Friday, September 2nd at Brewerton Speedway
Saturday, September 3rd at Fulton Speedway
Saturday, September 10th at Weedsport
LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS A MAIN RESULTS from Fonda Speedway:
DANNY VARIN, Dylan Swiernik, Shawn Donath, Matt Tanner. Paulie Colagiovanni, Davie Franek, Jordan Poirier, Josh Pieniazek, Jason Barney, Mike Kiser, Chad Miller, Joe Trenca, Scott Kreutter, Jeff Cook, Kelly Hebing, Jeff Trombley, Lacey Hanson, Chris Jones, Logan Crisafulli, Tyler Cartier, Scott Holcomb, Floyd Billingotn, Trsvis Billington, Jeremiah Munson
Awards and Contingencies:
Pinnacle Pole Award : Pieniazek, $25
Halfway Leader : Varin, $50
Hard Charger Award : Donath, $50
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running : Hebing, $50
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finish : Miller, $25 in fuel
Highest Finishing ESS Rookie : Crisafulli, $25
First Non-Feature Winner : Kiser, $65
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Award : Trenca, Franek, Varin, $25 each
E & V Energy Heat Race Award : Cook, Barney, Varin, $25 each
Vernon, New York – Danny Varin knows his way around the Utica Rome Speedway. Varin used a great early race restart on the way to his fifth Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints win of the year and his second at Utica Rome. On a lap two restart, the Fonda, New York chauffeur split the front row cars of Kelly Hebing and Jordan Poirier and emerged out of turn two with a lead he would never lose. Current point leader Jordan Poirier kept Varin in his sights and slowly began to reel Varin back in until lap 12 when Steve Glover slowed in turn two to bring out the caution. Varin chose the bottom lane for the restart and it paid off as he pulled two car lengths on the field as they exited turn two. As Varin opened up to a half straightaway lead and Poirier comfortably in second, the battle was for third the rest of the way as five cars each took turns running third until the checkered flag flew. At the line, Varin won by ten car lengths over Quebec’s Jordan Poirier with South Onondaga, New York pilot Shawn Donath rounding out the podium finish. Paulie Colagiovanni and Speedweek champ Davie Franek rounded out the top five.
Fast Times went to Varin, Josh Pieniazek and Donath while Varin, Franek and Colagiovanni captured heat wins. Sammy Reakes IV won the Dash.
Next three Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints tour dates:
Saturday, August 6th at Fonda Speedway
Friday, September 2nd at Brewerton Speedway
Saturday, September 3rd at Fulton Speedway
LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS A MAIN RESULTS from Utica Rome Speedway:
DANNY VARIN, Jordan Poirier, Shawn Donath, Paulie Colagiovanni, Davie Franek, Chuck Hebing, Dylan Swiernik, Matt Billings, Jason Barney, Dalton Rombough, Sammy Reakes IV, Jonathan Preston, Scott Holcomb, Scott Kreutter, Chris Jones, Lacey Hanson, Tyler Cartier, Kelly Hebing, Matt Tanner, Billy VanInwegen, Steve Glover, Blake Warner, Josh Pieniazek, Chad Miller
Awards and Contingencies:
Pinnacle Pole Award : Poirier, $25
Halfway Leader : Varin, $50
Hard Charger Award : Billings, $50
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running : Cartier, $50
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finish : Reakes IV, $25 in fuel
Highest Finishing ESS Rookie : Rombough, $25
First Non-Qualifier: Joe Trenca, $65
First Non-Feature Winner : Billings, $65
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Award : Varin, Pieniazek, Donath, $25 each
E & V Energy Heat Race Award : Varin, Franek, Colagiovanni, $25 each
Jordan Poirier executed clean slide jobs to win Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. By adding another ESS win to his season, Poirier, from Quebec, Canada, still leads the ESS Lucas Oil Championship Tour points and the ESS Rifenburg Contracting Corp. Fast Time points. It also moved him up to the top five in the National 360 Wing Sprint Car Win list.
Danny Varin drew the Pinnacle Pole to lead the field to the green flag with Davie Franek starting on the outside. Paulie Colagiovanni spun in the high side of turn four to bring out the caution before lap one was completed. On the restart, Tyler Cartier spun in the middle of turn four which collected Colagiovanni and Floyd Billington. All three cars were able to restart. When the green flag waved, Varin walked away from the field to lead 19 of the 25 laps. On lap nine, Scott Duell, former Sportsman driver at Albany-Saratoga, slowed to a stop in turn four and was unable to continue. Davie Franek started to pressure leader Varin and tried a slide job in turn four but Varin was able to motor around. On lap ten Poirier took over second from Franek and set his sights on Varin. The yellow flag flew on lap twelve for Brett Wright who jumped the right rear of Jason Barney’s car on the backstretch. Wright was unable to continue. On the restart, Lacey Hanson pulled into the infield due to mechanical issues that have plagued her the last two races. With five to go, Poirier went low in four to set up his slide job. He took the lead but it wasn’t a done deal. In turn one, Varin retook the lead. The two raced down the backstretch and in turn four Poirier dove low again to slide Varin for the lead. Varin dove into turn one to retake the lead but Poirier changed his line to motor around Varin on the cushion. Poirier then shook off Varin to take his third checkered flag of the season. After the race, Poirier said, “I loved racing with Varin. It was close but fair.” The Ashley Lynn Winery Podium was Poirier, Varin and Franek.
The rest of the top five, in the Lucas Oil feature, were Shawn Donath, last week’s winner at Freedom Motorsports Park, and Dylan Swiernik. Sixth through tenth were Colagiovanni, who ran the cushion to work his way back from the tail of the field, Scott Holcomb, with his first top ten of the season, Chuck Hebing, Matt Tanner and Jason Barney. Heats were won by Jeff Cook, Colagiovanni, and Varin. Tyler Cartier passed six cars to earn the Hard Charger award and Chad Miller won the Cobra Coaches/J & D Waste Equipment Dash.
ALBANY-SARATOGA MOTORSPORTS PARK SPEEDWAY RACE RESULTS 7/22/22
Empire Super Sprint A-Main (25 Laps) – JORDAN POIRIER, Danny Varin, Davie Franek, Shawn Donath, Dylan Swiernik, Paulie Colagiovanni, Scott Holcomb, Chuck Hebing, Matt Tanner, Jason Barney, Tyler Cartier, Chad Miller, Josh Pieniazek, Jeff Cook, Floyd Billington, Jeff Trombley, Chase Moran, Brett Wright, Lacey Hanson, Scott Duell
Next three races for the Empire Super Sprints: Utica-Rome Speedway – Friday, August 5 Fonda Speedway – Saturday, August 6 Brewerton Speedway – Friday, September 2
Awards and Contingencies : Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Award: Cook, Donath, Varin $25 each Cobra Coaches / Mary Ennis Dash Winner: Miller $100 Pinnacle Pole Draw Award: Varin $25 E & V Energy Heat Winners: Cook, Colagiovanni, Varin $25 each Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish: Poirier, Varin, Franek bottle of wine to each Halfway Leader: Varin $50 Hard Charger Award: Cartier $50 Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running Award: Moran $50 Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finish Award: Cartier $25 fuel Highest Finishing ESS Rookie: Duell $25 First Non-Feature Winner: Cartier $65 Hoosier Tire Award: Wright, RR tire
Shawn Donath has been knocking on victory lane’s door numerous times this season and Friday night at Freedom Motorsports Park the door opened. Donath crossed the threshold four car lengths ahead of the field to park his Panther Frameworx in the winner’s circle. After doing a wing dance, an excited Donath said, “I’m really happy with the way things are going right now and I have to thank my team for their hard work.”
Local favorite, Jared Zimbardi, drew the Pinnacle Pole to lead the field to the green flag. On the start, Zimbardi left room on the inside and Donath, who started third, blasted through the opening to take over first position. Once he took the lead, Donath led all 25 laps while Zimbardi ran the high groove to cross the finish line in second. Zimbardi’s podium finish added to his outstanding night of capturing the Riffenburgh Fast Time award and winnning the first E & V Energy heat race.
While Donath and Zimbardi were up front, there was a torrid battle in positions three through six. Jason Barney, Sammy Reakes, Jordan Poirier, and Dylan Swiernik kept the crowd entertained by making passes on each other low and high lap after lap. There were times during the Lucas Oil feature when this group was two and three wide. Swiernik ripped the top to get around his competitors for third and was awarded the Hard Charger of the race. Point leader Poirier finished fourth and rounding out the top five was Reakes. Sixth through tenth were Jason Barney, Davie Franek, local Kyle Drum, Chuck Hebing, and Jeff Cook, the Cobra Coaches/Mary Ennis Dash winner.
FREEDOM MOTORSPORTS PARK SPEEDWAY RACE RESULTS 7/15/22
Empire Super Sprint A-Main (25 Laps) – SHAWN DONATH, Jared Zimbardi, Dylan Swiernik, Jordan Poirier, Sammy Reakes, Jason Barney, Davie Franek, Kyle Drum, Chuck Hebing, Jeff Cook, Brett Wright, Kelly Hebing, Mike Stelter, Blake Warner, Lacey Hanson
Next three races for the Empire Super Sprints: Albany-Saratoga Speedway – Friday, July 22 Utica-Rome Speedway – Friday, August 5 Fonda Speedway – Saturday, August 6
Awards and Contingencies : Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time Award: Drum, Zimbardi $25 each Cobra Coaches / Mary Ennis Dash Winner: Cook $100 Pinnacle Pole Draw Award: Zimbardi $25 E & V Energy Heat Winners: Zimbardi, Franek $25 each Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish: Donath, Zimbardi, Swiernik bottle of wine to each Halfway Leader: Donath $50 Hard Charger Award: Swiernik $50 Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running Award: Warner $50 Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finish Award: Wright $25 fuel Highest Finishing ESS Rookie: Warner $25 First Non-Feature Winner: Wright $65 Hoosier Tire Award: Franek, RR tire