Franek closes out Speedweek with a win and the Championship

Fulton, New York – Wantage, New Jersey wheelman Davie Franek saved his best for the last night of the ESS / CNY Speedweek.  His dominating victory at Fulton on Saturday night earned him the $2,500 top prize and propelled him to the 2022 Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints / CNY Speedweek Championship.  

 

” This is unbelievable ” Franek stated in victory lane.  ” We have been chasing this thing for three or four years now and finally we got it “.  ” I can’t thank my guys enough, they work so hard on the cars, I gotta thank my sponsors and everyone who supports us, we couldn’t do it without them “.

 

Starting seventh on the grid, Franek used the high side of the Fulton high banks to get around early race leader Shawn Donath on lap ten and cruised to his first ESS victory of the year.  Donath was strong all night finishing second with Quebec’s Jordan Poirier finishing third.

 

Donath and outside pole sitter Matt Tanner lead the 25 car field to the green flag with Donath surging into the lead followed closely by Tanner, Poirier, Jeff Cook and Matt Billings.  On lap four, Franek slipped by Cook for fourth and used the cushion to move around Tanner and Poirier by lap six.  By lap ten, Franek had closed the gap between himself and Donath and slipped underneath Donath as they entered turn one.  On the same lap, defending Speedweek Champion Jason Barney moved into the top five as well.  Franek stretched his lead to 10 car lengths as his car was flawless up top on the cushion.  At the halfway point of the race, Franek led Donath and Poirier with Barney and Dylan Swiernik now rounding out the top five.  Franek continued to maintain his lead through the remainder of the race using the high side to get around slower traffic enroute to the win.  The rest of the top five was Donath, Poirier, Swiernik, who slipped under Barney late in the race to grab fourth and Barney.  Danny Varin finished sixth, followed by Matt Tanner, Kelly Hebing, Jonathan Preston and Paulie Colagiovanni. 

 

Fast Times went to Franek, Chuck Hebing and Matt Tanner while Franek, Tanner and Larry Wight claimed heat race wins.  The B Main was won by Jonathan Preston and Joe Trenca visited victory lane after winning the Cobra Coaches / Walt’s Hobby Town Dash .

 

Speedweek Notes :

– Sammy Reakes endured qualifying struggles for all four races but he was the Hard Charger for three of those four races, finishing tenth overall in Speedweek points.

– Franek used consistent finishes of fourth, second, sixth and first to claim this year’s Speedweek title.

– Jordan Poirier, Matt Tanner and Shawn Donath were separated by one point in the final point standings with Poirier and Tanner tied for second.

 

Next three Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints tour dates:

Saturday, July 9th at Orange County Speedway

Friday, July 15th at Freedom Motorsports Park

Friday, July 22nd at Albany-Saratoga Speedway

 

LUCAS OIL EMPIRE SUPER SPRINTS A Main results from Fulton Speedway:

DAVIE FRANEK, Shawn Donath, Jordan Poirier, Dylan Swiernik, Jason Barney, Danny Varin, Matt Tanner, Kelly Hebing, Jonathan Preston, Paulie Colagiovanni, Matt Billings, Sammy Reakes IV, Jeff Cook, Larry Wight, Joe Trenca, Tyler Cartier, Keith Granholm, Denny Peebles, Tommy Wickham, Dalton Rombough, Lacey Hanson, Jordan Hutton, Tyler Emmons, Chuck Hebing, Chad Miller