By Dean Reynolds
LaFARGEVILLE, NY – Danny Varin will tell you that he just hasn’t felt comfortable for most of the year in his familiar #00. But he again put together 25 strong laps to pick up the win Friday night at the Can-Am Speedway. The win was worth $2,085 and fourth this year on the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints (ESS) 35th Anniversary Tour.
Taking the lead on lap five of the Mach 1 Chassis A-Main when leaders Paulie Colagiovanni and Matt Tanner came together, Varin never looked back in the NAPA Auto Parts US and E&V Energy I90/81 Series event besting Paul Kinney and Billy VanInwegen for the podium finishes.
“We have been struggling some this year but they had the car phenomenal tonight, I just felt so comfortable,” said the Fonda, NY native, “I actually was just trying to make sure I got the car to the end.”
Varin did admit he was a little lucky getting the lead, “They (Colagiovanni and Tanner) were just going for the lead and the same spot, it was a racing deal but we were lucky to avoid it as I was going low anyways,” he went on, “The lap traffic was throwing me a curve as the dirty air was moving my car all over.”
The caution lights came on in the late stages and Varin welcomed the slow down, “Usually I like the lap traffic as I seem to be able to make the right passes but this time I wanted to be back in clean air,” he continued, “I mean there are a lot of good cars here but I just felt the clean air was better for me.”
The runner-up spot for Kinney was a welcomed sight for the driver that has had some trouble finding speed during the 2018 campaign, Unlike Varin, Kinney was welcoming the late race caution, “I actually didn’t want to see the yellow as I seem to be catching Danny a little bit,” Kinney talk about the late stages, “On the restart he pulled out about ten car lengths and that was about it.”
Still, the Durhamville, NY driver was happy with his finish, “It’s just good to get a strong finish and to finish second to Danny feels real good,” Kinney went on about his performance as of late, “It seemed we were having problems even qualifying at some races, last week we got sixth and now here so we hope we can keep the momentum going.”
For VanInwegen, he came from the dash (which he won) to start 13th and make it home third, “We learned a lot from the dash and just had a real good car,” he said, “I’m glad we were better on the ½ mile, our short track program seemed to be a bit better this year,”
He went on, “The guys have been working hard to get me to what I like on set-ups. We are still learning as this is our first time on the entire ESS tour. It’s been tough but we are having fun.”
Jeff Cook and Jason Barney rounded out the top five, the next five was made up of Mike Mahaney who earned hard charger honors coming from 25th, Tanner rebounding for seventh, Steve Poirier, Jonathan Preston and Brett Wright.
A total of 32 sprints filled the pits in front of a big crowd.
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints
Mach 1 Chassis A-Main at Land of Legends – Danny Varin ($2,085), Paul Kinney ($1,035), Billy VanInwegen ($935), Jeff Cook ($630), Jason Barney ($555), Mike Mahaney ($220), Matt Tanner ($480), Steve Poirier ($445), Jonathan Preston ($410), Brett Wright ($400), Kelly Hebing ($395), Scott Holcomb ($320), Denny Peebles ($350), Josh Flint ($150), Alex Vigneault ($375), Keith Granholm ($350), Jeff Trombley ($300), Paul Pekkonen ($300), Dalton Herrick ($350), Pete Richardson ($300), Dave Axton ($500), Paulie Colagiovanni ($325), Mike Kiser ($350), Coleman Gulick ($325), Dylan Swiernik ($300), Yan Bilodeau ($350)
DNQ – Chad Miller, Chris Jones, Shawn Donath, Matt Billings, Emily VanInwegen, Tyler Trump
E3 Spark Plugs Fast Time – Donath, Gulick, Tanner, Varin $25
Car Mate Trailers Heats – Colagiovanni, Kinney, Tanner, Poirier $25
Engler Machine and Tool Halfway – Varin $50
Pinnacle Pole Award – Kiser $50
Insinger Performance Hard Charger – Mahaney (19 pos), $50
Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 14th Anniversary – Flint $50
Fondations 55 Last Car Lead Lap – Peebles $50
Lacaillade Masonry B-Main – Bilodeau – $50
Fondations 55 Pick 5 – Barney $25
SUNY Canton Smart Finish – Hebing $35
L&J Landscaping/Cobra Coaches Dash – VanInwegen ($125), Vigneault ($75), Herrick ($50), Granholm ($50)
Around Town Plumbing and Heating Just Missed – Jones $25
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium – Varin, Kinney, VanInwgen $10
Hoosier Tire – Axton $200
For more Information on the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints:
Web: www.empiresupersprints.com
Twitter: @ESSprints
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmpireSuperSprints