Rain Washes Out Fulton; Colagiovanni Crowned CNY Speedweek Champion
By Curtis Berleue (Fulton, NY) | Due to early evening rain showers and more forecasted as the night went on, Fulton Speedway officials made the difficult decision to cancel the racing action on Saturday July 1, which was scheduled to include the finale of the 2023 Empire Super Sprints CNY Speedweek.
As a result of the cancelation, Paulie Colagiovanni was crowned the 2023 CNY Speedweek champion for the second time since the event’s inception. Consistency was key throughout the week for the Cicero, NY driver, as he didn’t finish outside of the top 5 once en-route to his championship.
His week started off strong with a second place showing at Can-Am on Wednesday, and then stayed within striking distance of point leader Jordan Poirier Thursday at Utica-Rome with a 5th place finish. Friday night at Brewerton, the stars aligned just right and Colagiovanni was able to win his first event at the track and take the week-long points lead in the process.
Going into Saturdays scheduled finale at Fulton, Colagiovanni had a 35-point lead over Poirier. Mother Nature had other plans, however, and the week-long championship was awarded to Colagiovanni as a result.
“It feels really good to win another Speedweek Championship,” said Colagiovanni. “Part of me wishes we would have been able to race tonight to battle it out with Jordan (Poirier) on the track, but I’m certainly not complaining about the result. We had speed all week, and this is a great way to cap it all off.”
“None of this and the success we have had this year would be possible without my family, crew, and some great sponsors in Stirling Lubricants, Randy’s Racing Filters and Paul Wehnau’s Snap-On Tools. Racing this many nights in a row isn’t easy, and to have the success we have had on top of it is a testament to all of the great people we have in our corner.”
A total of 38 drivers competed in at least one night of the 2023 Empire Super Sprints CNY Speedweek, with Jordan Poirier finishing second in the week-long standings followed by Jason Barney, Shawn Donath, and Matt Tanner.
After a well-deserved off weekend next week, the Empire Super Sprints will roar back into action with a doubleheader weekend on July 14th and 15th at the Freedom Motorsports Park in Delevan, NY and the Woodhull Raceway in Woodhull, 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), 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, July 14 – Freedom Motorsports Park – Delevan, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Saturday, July 15 – Woodhull Raceway – Woodhull, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Friday, July 21 – Albany-Saratoga Speedway – Malta, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Final CNY Speedweek Points:
1 10C Paulie Colagiovanni 343
2 28 Jordan Poirier 308
3 87 Jason Barney 303
4 53 Shawn Donath 273
5 90 Matt Tanner 272
6 01 Danny Varin 267
7 10 Jeff Cook 249
8 7C Dylan Swiernik 240
9 45 Chuck Hebing 229
10 79 Jordan Thomas 202
11 28F Davie Franek 181
12 3 Parker Evans 143
13 17 Sammy Reakes IV 141
14 4P Chase Moran 136
15 10H Kelly Hebing 131
16 36 Logan Crisafulli 130
17 41 Dalton Rombough 129
18 33 Lacey Hanson 118
19 13T Trevor Years 118
20 99L Larry Wight 111
21 22 Jonathan Preston 104
22 23 Tyler Cartier 100
23 13 Keith Granholm 98
24 98 Joe Trenca 88
25 5H Chris Hile 87
26 88C Chad Miller 78
27 56 Billy VanInwegen 77
28 99K Mike Kiser 74
29 5D Jacob Dykstra 74
30 5Z Zack Burd 59
31 9B Bobby Breen 46
32 35 Jared Zimbardi 43
33 11J Chris Jones 39
34 7NY Matt Farnham 37
35 9 Josh Pieniazek 28
36 29 Dalton Herrick 18
37 96X Chad Phelps 18
38 98R Evan Reynolds 0
