By Curtis Berleue
(Fulton, NY) | For the first time since 2012, Sammy Reakes IV was in Empire Super Sprints victory lane. His triumph Saturday night at the Fulton Speedway is just the second of his career in ESS action.
Pinnacle Pole sitter Matt Farnham jumped out to an early lead over Davie Franek, but Franek made quick work of Farnham and continued to lead the next 7 laps. On lap 9, Friday night’s winner Danny Varin assumed control of the field.
While leading, Varin made contact with an infield tire on lap 13, and sustained damage that rendered his #01 unable to complete the remainder of the event. Second place Sammy Reakes IV would thus inherit the lead and continued on to score his first victory of 2023 worth a cool $2,000.
“It was a great night, the car was OK. I didn’t think it was a winning car by any means at the beginning of the night,” stated an elated Reakes. “Really, I think the track just kind of came to me. We got kind of lucky with Varin breaking there.”
“If anyone was going to beat me, it would have had to be on the bottom. On the last lap, I just went down and protected the bottom. I didn’t care if I was slow or not, if you were going to pass me you’d have to go around me on the top.”
Jordan Poirier finished in the runner-up position, and Dylan Swiernik completed the Ashley Lynn Winery podium. Larry Wight was 4th, and Jonathan Preston rounded out the top five.
34 cars signed in for the second consecutive night, with the field being split into 4 groups for timed hot laps. Paulie Colagiovanni, Danny Varin, Joe Trenca and Jordan Thomas earned Rifenburg Contracting fast time honors in their groups. E&V Energy heat race wins went to Jordan Poirier, Danny Varin, Matt Farnham and Kelly Hebing.
The Cobra Coaches Dash presented in memory of George Ely was won by Dylan Swiernik, and he Lacaillade Masonry B-Main went to Shawn Donath.
The next scheduled event for the Empire Super Sprints is this coming Friday June 2nd at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, 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 June 2 – Albany-Saratoga Speedway – Malta, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Saturday June 3 – Orange County Fair Speedway – Middletown, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Friday, June 9 – Ransomville Speedway – Ransomville, NY ($2,000 to Win Ron Lux Memorial)
Full Results:
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. #17-Sammy Reakes IV[3]; 2. 28-Jordan Poirier[7]; 3. #7C-Dylan Swiernik[13]; 4. #99L-Larry Wight[17]; 5. #22-Jonathan Preston[5]; 6. #87-Jason Barney[9]; 7. #53-Shawn Donath[21]; 8. #98-Joe Trenca[12]; 9. #7NY-Matt Farnham[1]; 10. #79-Jordan Thomas[6]; 11. #10-Jeff Cook[8]; 12. #90-Matt Tanner[22]; 13. #10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[14]; 14. #56-Billy VanInwegen Jr[24]; 15. #10H-Kelly Hebing[11]; 16. #45-Chuck Hebing[10]; 17. #5H-Chris Hile[16]; 18. #66-Jordan Hutton[15]; 19. #3G-Dale Gosselin[18]; 20. #13-Keith Granholm[25]; 21. 84-Tyler Rand[23]; 22. #01-Danny Varin[4]; 23. #28F-Davie Franek[2]; 24. #4P-Chase Moran[20]; 25. #23-Tyler Cartier[19]
B-Main (10 Laps): 1. #53-Shawn Donath[2]; 2. #90-Matt Tanner[1]; 3. 84-Tyler Rand[5]; 4. #56-Billy VanInwegen Jr[14]; 5. #13-Keith Granholm[6]; 6. #19EM-Emily VanInwegen[7]; 7. #13T-Trevor Years[3]; 8. #33-Lacey Hanson[13]; 9. (DNF) #14B-Brett Wright[9]; 10. (DNF) #36-Logan Crisafulli[10]; 11. (DNF) #33X-Tommy Wickham[4]; 12. (DNS) #21-Steve Glover; 13. (DNS) #21B-Blake Warner; 14. (DNS) #41-Dalton Rombough
Dash (4 Laps): 1. #7C-Dylan Swiernik[2]; 2. #10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[1]; 3. #66-Jordan Hutton[3]; 4. #5H-Chris Hile[4]
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 28-Jordan Poirier[3]; 2. #87-Jason Barney[5]; 3. #10-Jeff Cook[1]; 4. #10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[2]; 5. #99L-Larry Wight[6]; 6. #90-Matt Tanner[4]; 7. 84-Tyler Rand[8]; 8. #14B-Brett Wright[7]; 9. #33-Lacey Hanson[9]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. #01-Danny Varin[2]; 2. #28F-Davie Franek[1]; 3. #45-Chuck Hebing[5]; 4. #7C-Dylan Swiernik[4]; 5. #3G-Dale Gosselin[6]; 6. #53-Shawn Donath[3]; 7. #13-Keith Granholm[8]; 8. #36-Logan Crisafulli[7]; 9. #56-Billy VanInwegen Jr[9]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. #7NY-Matt Farnham[1]; 2. #98-Joe Trenca[2]; 3. #22-Jonathan Preston[4]; 4. #66-Jordan Hutton[3]; 5. #23-Tyler Cartier[6]; 6. #13T-Trevor Years[5]; 7. #19EM-Emily VanInwegen[7]; 8. #21B-Blake Warner[8]
Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. #10H-Kelly Hebing[5]; 2. #17-Sammy Reakes IV[1]; 3. #79-Jordan Thomas[2]; 4. #5H-Chris Hile[7]; 5. #4P-Chase Moran[4]; 6. #33X-Tommy Wickham[8]; 7. #21-Steve Glover[3]; 8. #41-Dalton Rombough[6]
Awards & Contingencies:
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): 10-Paulie Colagiovanni, 98-Joe Trenca, 01-Danny Varin, 79-Jordan Thomas
E&V Energy Heat Winners ($25 each): 28f-Jordan Poirier, 01-Danny Varin, 7NY-Matt Farnham, 10h-Kelly Hebing
Cobra Coaches / In Memory of George Ely Dash Winner ($100): 7c-Dylan Swiernik
Lacaillade Masonry B Main Winner ($50): 53-Shawn Donath
PJC Spray Foam First Non-Qualifier ($50): 19EM-Emily VanInwegen
Pinnacle Pole Draw Award ($25): 7NY-Matt Farnham
PJC Spray Foam Hard Charger Award ($50): 53-Shawn Donath (+14)
Reverse Hard Charger Award: 7NY-Matt Farnham (-8)
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running ($35): 84-Tyler Rand
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place (5 gallons fuel): 10-Jeff Cook
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): 17-Sammy Reakes IV, 28-Jordan Poirier, 7c-Dylan Swiernik