By Curtis Berleue (LaFargeville, NY) | As the 2023 edition of the Empire Super Sprints CNY Speedweek kicked off Wednesday night, it was a familiar face that found victory lane in Jordan Poirier.
The Beloeil, Quebec driver would start on the Pinnacle Investments pole by virtue of draw alongside of Shawn Donath. On the initial green, Donath took a commanding lead that stretched out to nearly two seconds ahead of Poirier by lap 8.
As the laps clicked off, Donath would maintain a torrid pace, ultimately extending his lead to just shy of 3 seconds. With two laps to go, however, a mechanical issue on the #53 of Donath allowed Poirier to slip by and take the lead.
9th-place starting Paulie Colagiovanni was also able to take advantage of Donath’s misfortune and was able to gain one more spot on an already impressive run and moved into second.
As they crossed the finish line in the 25-lap event, it was Poirier who got there first, scoring his second win of the season on tour.
“We had a good car all night and were able to make small gains from time trials to the heat,” said Poirier. “It’s always good to draw the pole, and we really didn’t have much for Shawn (Donath). It’s unfortunate he had a mechanical failure, but tonight I guess it was better to be lucky than good.”
It was Colagiovanni crossing the line in second, and Donath was able to hang on for a third place finish.
With 25 cars in the pit area for the first night of CNY Speedweek, the field was split into three timed hot lap groups. Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time awards went to Jason Barney, Shawn Donath, and Jeff Cook. E&V Energy heat race action went to Barney, Donath, and Davie Franek. The Cooks Plumbing, Heating & Hardware dash was won by Kelly Hebing.
The 2023 ESS CNY Speedweek continues tonight, June 29th at the Utica-Rome Speedway 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), 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:
Thursday, June 29 – Utica-Rome Speedway - Vernon, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)
Friday, June 30 – Brewerton Speedway – Brewerton, NY ($2,500 to Win CNY Speedweek)
Saturday, July 1 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,500 to win CNY Speedweek)
Full Results:
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 28-Jordan Poirier[1]; 2. #10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[12]; 3. #53-Shawn Donath[2]; 4. #87-Jason Barney[7]; 5. #7C-Dylan Swiernik[21]; 6. #90-Matt Tanner[5]; 7. #79-Jordan Thomas[10]; 8. #10-Jeff Cook[4]; 9. #28F-Davie Franek[9]; 10. #10H-Kelly Hebing[13]; 11. #4P-Chase Moran[15]; 12. #3-Parker Evans[19]; 13. #13-Keith Granholm[17]; 14. #33-Lacey Hanson[18]; 15. #13T-Trevor Years[16]; 16. 98R-Evan Reynolds[22]; 17. (DNF) #17-Sammy Reakes IV[3]; 18. (DNF) #41-Dalton Rombough[11]; 19. (DNF) 11J-Chris Jones[20]; 20. (DNF) #01-Danny Varin[8]; 21. (DNF) #88C-Chad Miller[14]; 22. (DNF) #36-Logan Crisafulli[6]; 23. (DNF) #23-Tyler Cartier[24]; 24. (DNF) 5Z-Zack Burd[23]
Cooks Plumbing, Heating, Hardware Dash (4 Laps): 1. #10H-Kelly Hebing[2]; 2. #88C-Chad Miller[1]; 3. #4P-Chase Moran[3]; 4. #13T-Trevor Years[4]; 5. #13-Keith Granholm[5]; 6. #33-Lacey Hanson[6]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. #87-Jason Barney[1]; 2. 28-Jordan Poirier[3]; 3. #41-Dalton Rombough[2]; 4. #79-Jordan Thomas[5]; 5. #88C-Chad Miller[7]; 6. #13T-Trevor Years[4]; 7. #3-Parker Evans[8]; 8. 98R-Evan Reynolds[9]; 9. (DNF) #23-Tyler Cartier[6]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. #53-Shawn Donath[1]; 2. #10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[2]; 3. #01-Danny Varin[4]; 4. #90-Matt Tanner[6]; 5. #10H-Kelly Hebing[3]; 6. #13-Keith Granholm[8]; 7. 11J-Chris Jones[5]; 8. (DNF) 5Z-Zack Burd[7]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. #28F-Davie Franek[2]; 2. #36-Logan Crisafulli[6]; 3. #17-Sammy Reakes IV[5]; 4. #10-Jeff Cook[1]; 5. #4P-Chase Moran[8]; 6. #33-Lacey Hanson[7]; 7. (DNF) #7C-Dylan Swiernik[3]; 8. (DNF) #98-Joe Trenca[4]
Awards & Contingencies:
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #87-Jason Barney, #53-Shawn Donath, #10-Jeff Cook
E&V Energy Heat Winners ($25 each): #87-Jason Barney, #53-Shawn Donath, #28f-Davie Franek
Cobra Coaches / Cooks Plumbing, Heating & Hardware Dash Winner ($100): #10h-Kelly Hebing
Pinnacle Pole Draw Award ($25): #28-Jordan Poirier
PJC Spray Foam Hard Charger Award ($50): #7c-Dylan Swiernik (+16)
Reverse Hard Charger Award: #10-Jeff Cook
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running ($35): #98r-Evan Reynolds
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place (5 gallons fuel): #4p-Chase Moran
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): #28-Jordan Poirier, #10c-Paulie Colagiovanni, #53-Shawn Donath
- Barbara Patterson on Jul 05, 2023
- Article Date: 6/28/2023 by Curtis Berleue