By MIKE MALLETT
VERNON, N.Y. – On Sunday night at the Utica-Rome Speedway someone other than Steve Poirier and Chuck Hebing secured the limelight. Although at the end of the night those two drivers earned podium finishes it was Shawn Donath who stole the show.
The South Onondaga, N.Y., product ran strong most of the night and got the lead early in the 25-lap A-Main and drove away for his second tour win of the 2011 in his Doug Emery Motorsports ride.
“This car has been fast all season,” said Donath. “I can’t thank Doug, Barb, Pete, Brian and Glen and all the guys. They do so much work for me and I really appreciate it. This means a lot for us to get a win here.”
It was a nice rebound for Donath who has had his fair share of issues over the past few races. They caught an implement tire at Brewerton Speedway while running second and then were involved in a late race incident on Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park while in the top five.
“I’ve always had a fast car but unfortunate incidents have taken us out of races,” stated Donath. “It’s just nice to come here to Utica-Rome; it’s such an awesome facility and to win a race and this is probably one of the best races of my career.”
Youngsters Matt Tanner and Josh Pieniazek started on the front row. Before either one could assert themselves as the leader Jason Barney spun on the front straightaway. Hebing was also involved a suffered a left rear flat but everyone was able to continue.
On the restart it was Tanner who got the jump but his lead lasted only a lap before Pieniazek drove by him on the outside in turns one and two on the second circuit.
Pieniazek led with Donath taking second on the third circuit in a three wide move entering turns three and four. That move paid off for Donath as the caution was displayed just a lap later when Michael Parent slowed on the speedway.
Pieniazek elected to start on the outside for the restart putting Donath on the bottom. Donath got a good restart and dove to the bottom of turns one and two for the lead. Once in front he began to extend his advantage over the competition.
“I didn’t even want the inside lane,” said Donath. “I was hoping he was going to take the inside and I wanted to get a run down there in one. Fortunately there was enough bite down there on the bottom that I could out drag him and get the lead.”
While Donath raced away, all eyes began to watch Poirier and Hebing. Poirier moved into second by the midway point while Hebing was charging back up from the rear of the field after the lap one incident.
With five laps to go, Donath had almost a full straightaway lead with Poirier running second and Hebing inside the top five. Donath easily led the final five circuits while Poirier finished in second. Hebing made impressive moves in the closing laps to finish in third.
Poirier earned the second place finish even though he missed the setup a bit on his No. 28FM. It was his second consecutive second place finish at the Vernon, N.Y. oval.
“The 33 (Donath) was super good tonight,” stated Poirier in Victory Lane. “I thought at the beginning we had something on the bottom but five or six laps in there was nothing there. I hadn’t tried the outside at all in the heat race or dash. My car was losing it a bit there in the feature. I’m happy with a second place finish.”
Hebing was all smiles after coming from the tail of the field to finish in third. He passed more cars on this night than anyone else even though he technically started the event from the sixth spot.
“We had a real good car and it was unfortunate what happened at the start there,” stated Hebing. “We went six wide into the corner and Jason (Barney) and I got together. It was unfortunate he was trying to get up through and I understand that. We had a real good race car and to get to third with no cautions is pretty good”
Kevin Ward Jr., of Port Leyden, N.Y., drove from the 20th starting position to finish in fourth while Matt Tanner earned his first top five finish of the 2011 season with the Empire Super Sprints with his Rifenburg Construction #90. Rounding out the top ten were Cory Sparks, who was driving another Doug Emery Motorsports mount after engine woes in his car at Canandaigua, Bryan Howland, Pieniazek, Lance Yonge and Dylan Swiernik.
ESS/Utica-Rome Notes: A total of 20 cars in the pits…Making his first ever start in a sprint car was Sammy Reakes IV who piloted the Tommy Wickham back-up, Reakes will be running a sprint next year…It was a minor miracle that show got it with weather all around the Vernon, NY area. Hard rain was reported just five miles south of the track, lightning was seen in the sky most of the night and a tornado was even reported just 40 miles east of the track…The recent flooding in the Eastern part of NY state affected the field as several teams couldn’t attend as they are still attending to damages suffered at home or at their businesses…Nest weekend the Lucas Oil Tour will head to Can-Am Motorsports Park for special event that was added to the schedule a month ago in tribute to the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
Lucas Oil/SUNY Canton A-Main – Shawn Donath, Steve Poirier, Chuck Hebing, Kevin Ward Jr., Matt Tanner, Cory Sparks, Bryan Howland, Josh Pieniazek, Lance Yonge, Dylan Swiernik, Tommy Wickham, Jason Barney, George Suprick, Tim Kelly, Mike Stelter, Jeff Cook, Sammy Reakes IV, Paul Habeck, Kory Gurney, Michael Parent.
Lap Leader – Donath 1-25
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 1 – Howland, Habeck, Hebing, Wickham, Yonge, Stelter, Cook
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 2 – Poirier, Barney, Sparks, Tanner, Parent, Kelly, Ward Jr.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 3 – Donath, Suprick, Swiernik, Pieniazek, Gurney, Reakes IV
Bhreac Corp./Cobra Coaches Dash – Howland
Westward Painting Corp Halfway – Donath $100
WestFront Construction Hard Charger – Ward Jr., (16 pos.) $50
Ohsweken Speedway Winners Bonus – Donath $50
Mohawk Racing Parts Pick 5 – Tanner $50
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers – Howland, Poirier, Donath $25
HG Associates Fast Time – Pieniazek (19.462) $25
The Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints are brought to you by: Lucas Oil, Northwood 2 Construction/LaSalle Motorsports, SUNY Canton, 730 Truck Stop, Hoosier Racing Tires, Les Constructions Ultra, Westward Painting Corporation, Fondations 4 Saisons, Car Mate Trailers, The National Parts Peddler Newspaper, WestFront Construction, Cobra Coaches, The Ohsweken Speedway, Mohawk Racing Parts, Engine Research, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Riverside Bar and Grill, Coffrage Daniel Lampron, Jasmin Peloquin Sport, FX Chevy and many, many associate sponsors.