October 26 2026

Thomas Tops Field in Finale at Outlaw

By Curtis Berleue (Dundee, NY) | For one final time in 2026, the Empire Super Sprints hit the track on Friday at the Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY. Jordan Thomas topped the field, picking up $4,000 in the annual Hoag Memorial. The win was the third on the year for the 2026 Transport Benoit Lafleur Canada Tour champion.

Steve Murdock led the field to green alongside Paulie Colagiovanni. Murdock jumped out to the initial lead, where he would stay for the first eight laps. Mike Lichty moved up to second, with Colagiovanni falling in line in third.

Colagiovanni began to cut into Murdoch’s lead on lap five, and by lap eight he was able to get by him to take the lead.

As the laps clicked off, Colagiovanni remained out front with Murdoch second, Lichty running third. Jordan Thomas worked his way to a podium position on lap 12, getting by Lichty, and a few laps later made it to second.

The field was slowed just one time with a red flag on lap 23. On the ensuing restart, Jordan Thomas was able to sneak by Colagiovanni for the lead, and Dillon Paddock came from sixth to take third with just a lap to go.

Ultimately, Colagiovanni couldn’t return serve and Thomas held on for his third victory of the season.

“I started on the inside, and that’s really not my forte,” said Thomas in victory lane. “I knew Paulie (Colagiovanni) was gone before that caution – he’s got a killer piece under the hood and those guys work hard.”

“We were pretty good and then we got to lap traffic and I was having a lot of trouble getting tearoffs to rip off. Looking back on it, I’m glad that caution came out and it worked out in our favor.”

After leading the majority of the event, Paulie Colagiovanni came home in second, with Dillon Paddock rounding out the Ashley Lynn Winery top three.

There were 23 cars signed in to the pits at Outlaw on Friday for the final event of 2026, splitting the field into three timed hot lap groups. Rifenburg Contracting fast time awards went to Davie Franek, Jordan Thomas and Jared Zimbardi. Elab Smokers Boutique heats were won by Shawn Donath, Zach Sobotka and Dillon Paddock, while Davie Franek won the Donath Motor Worx dash presented by Grimes Dairy Equipment.

The only remaining event on the Empire Super Sprints calendar is the annual rules meeting and awards banquet, which will be held on Saturday November 14 at the Vernon Downs Casino & Hotel in Vernon, NY.

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), X (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).

The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, Hoosier Racing Tire, E&V Energy, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Elab Smokers Boutique, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Wilwood Disc Brakes, FX Caprara, Ashley Lynn Winery, Slade Shock Technology, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Bicknell Racing Products, Swagger Factory, PJC Sprayfoam, Donath Motor Worx, Transport Benoit Lafleur, All Star Performance, Stirling Lubricants, Trenca & Co. Realty, Speedway Press, Primal Tee, and Glenn Styres Racing.

The ESS Road Ahead:

Saturday, November 14 – Rules Meeting & Awards Banquet – Vernon Downs Casino & Hotel – Vernon, NY

Full Results:

A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 79-Jordan Thomas[6]; 2. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[2]; 3. 21B-Dillon Paddock[12]; 4. 66-Jordan Hutton[10]; 5. 15-Steve Murdock[1]; 6. 84-Mike Lichty[4]; 7. 41-Dalton Rombough[9]; 8. 38-Zach Sobotka[8]; 9. 35-Jared Zimbardi[5]; 10. 28F-Davie Franek[7]; 11. 31C-Maverick Coffey[13]; 12. 3-Denny Peebles[19]; 13. 29-Dalton Herrick[16]; 14. 36-Mike Stelter[14]; 15. 53-Shawn Donath[3]; 16. 17-Kyle Smith[11]; 17. 0C-Cole MacDonald[20]; 18. 18-Timmy Lotz[22]; 19. 23-Ashton VanEvery[15]; 20. 86-Nick Cappelli[23]; 21. 25G-Tyler Graves[17]; 22. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[21]; 23. 15B-Spencer Burley[18]

Grimes Dairy Equipment Dash (4 Laps): 1. 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 2. 38-Zach Sobotka[1]; 3. 41-Dalton Rombough[2]; 4. 66-Jordan Hutton[6]; 5. 17-Kyle Smith[5]; 6. 21B-Dillon Paddock[3]

Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 53-Shawn Donath[2]; 2. 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 3. 41-Dalton Rombough[1]; 4. 15-Steve Murdock[3]; 5. 31C-Maverick Coffey[7]; 6. 29-Dalton Herrick[6]; 7. 3-Denny Peebles[5]; 8. 30-Kirsten Dombroski[8]

Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Zach Sobotka[1]; 2. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[3]; 3. 79-Jordan Thomas[4]; 4. 84-Mike Lichty[2]; 5. 36-Mike Stelter[7]; 6. 25G-Tyler Graves[5]; 7. 0C-Cole MacDonald[6]; 8. 18-Timmy Lotz[8]

Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21B-Dillon Paddock[2]; 2. 35-Jared Zimbardi[4]; 3. 66-Jordan Hutton[3]; 4. 17-Kyle Smith[5]; 5. 23-Ashton VanEvery[1]; 6. 15B-Spencer Burley[6]; 7. (DNS) 86-Nick Cappelli

Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. 28F-Davie Franek, 12.664[1]; 2. 15-Steve Murdock, 12.670[3]; 3. 53-Shawn Donath, 12.834[5]; 4. 41-Dalton Rombough, 13.090[7]; 5. 3-Denny Peebles, 13.205[2]; 6. 29-Dalton Herrick, 13.339[4]; 7. 31C-Maverick Coffey, 13.399[8]; 8. 30-Kirsten Dombroski, 14.695[6]

Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 2 (2 Laps): 1. 79-Jordan Thomas, 12.715[5]; 2. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni, 12.976[4]; 3. 84-Mike Lichty, 13.043[2]; 4. 38-Zach Sobotka, 13.427[6]; 5. 25G-Tyler Graves, 13.591[3]; 6. 0C-Cole MacDonald, 13.606[7]; 7. 36-Mike Stelter, 13.744[1]; 8. 18-Timmy Lotz, 13.842[8]

Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 3 (2 Laps): 1. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 12.972[5]; 2. 66-Jordan Hutton, 13.057[1]; 3. 21B-Dillon Paddock, 13.415[6]; 4. 23-Ashton VanEvery, 13.418[2]; 5. 17-Kyle Smith, 13.511[7]; 6. 15B-Spencer Burley, 13.905[4]; 7. 86-Nick Cappelli, 16.915[3]

Awards & Contingencies (full members only eligible for payout):

Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #28F-Davie Franek; #79-Jordan Thomas; #35-Jared Zimbardi

Elab Smokers Boutique Heat Winners ($25 each): #53-Shawn Donath; #38-Zach Sobotka; #21B-Dillon Paddock

Donath Motor Worx / Grimes Dairy Equipment Dash Winner ($125): #28F-Davie Franek

Keizer Wheels 5^th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #15-Steve Murdock

King Motorsports 10^th Place Finisher ($25 Certificate): #28F-Davie Franek

Pinnacle Investments 11^th Place Finisher (5 Gal Fuel): #31C-Maverick Coffey

Swagger Factory 12th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #3-Denny Peebles

Wilwood Disc Brakes 13th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #29-Dalton Herrick

All-Star Performance 15th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #53-Shawn Donath

A-Verdi Storage Containers Hard Charger Award ($50): #21B-Dillon Paddock (+9)

PJC Sprayfoam Reverse Hard Charger ($100): #53-Shawn Donath (-12)