By Curtis Berleue
(Drummondville, QC) | For the second time in 2023, Matt Tanner found himself in Empire Super Sprints victory lane on Saturday night, this time at the Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, QC.
Starting alongside Pinnacle Pole Award winner Bryan Cloutier, Tanner was able to take the lead on lap 2 from Cloutier. For the next handful of laps, Tanner would extend his lead and remain unchallenged.
Meanwhile, local favorite and current tour point leader Jordan Poirier was rapidly making his way forward from his 10th starting position. By lap three he cracked the top 5, and then moved into the runner-up position on lap 8 and immediately set his sights on Tanner.
As the field clicked off lap 15, Poirier briefly slipped by Tanner, before Tanner reclaimed the lead from him just two laps later. With one lap remaining, Poirier made a last-ditch effort to take the lead from Tanner, but ultimately fell all the way to 6th. As such, 7th starting Danny Varin inherited the second spot as the field crossed the finish line, and Shawn Donath would move up one spot into third as well to round out the podium.
“We weren’t very good in hot laps, honestly,” said Tanner. “We changed quite a bit of stuff for the heat race and were able to get the heat win.”
“I didn’t really think that Jordan (Poirier) was going to come from tenth to pass me, but when he went by me, he kinda showed me what to do honestly. To get this win is pretty cool, it’s the first time in probably 6 or 7 years that I have won two ESS races in the same year.”
“The fans up here bring so much excitement. It’s like a big party compared to down in the states. It’s like the 4th of July with the fireworks, you come out of the flames for driver intros. When I got out of the car in victory lane, it’s like you’re at a concert with the crowd cheering and music going – it’s a pretty cool deal.”
Danny Varin ultimately came home in second.
“The car was really good, it was pretty late when the car got going there,” said Varin. “It’s a great experience being up here in Canada – to walk away with a third last night and second tonight, the team is super happy.”
Shawn Donath rounded out the Ashley Lynn Winery podium.
“I just ended up picking the wrong lanes at the wrong time tonight,” said Donath. “I should have been on the bottom earlier, and should have gotten to the top sooner than I got back to it. All in all, it was a good night and a good solid finish.
By virtue of his win, Matt Tanner is also the 2023 Coffrage 4 Saisons Canadian Tour champion by just one point over Jordan Poirier. Jeff Cook, Dylan Swiernik and Jason Barney rounded out the top 5.
With 19 cars signed in for the nights action, the field was split into 3 timed hot lap groups. Jeff Cook, Jason Barney and Jordan Poirier picked up Rifenburg Contracting fast time awards in the respective groups. E&V Energy heat wins went to Matt Tanner, Dalton Rombough and Jordan Poirier.
The next scheduled event for the Empire Super Sprints is this coming Friday, September 1 at the Brewerton Speedway in Brewerton, 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, September 1 – Brewerton Speedway – Brewerton, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Saturday, September 2 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Friday, September 8 – Utica Rome Speedway – Vernon, NY ($2,000 to Win Make-Up Feature from 8/4)
Full Results:
A-Main: 1. #90-Matt Tanner[4]; 2. #01-Danny Varin[10]; 3. #53-Shawn Donath[3]; 4. #7C-Dylan Swiernik[8]; 5. 28-Jordan Poirier[9]; 6. #41-Dalton Rombough[5]; 7. #10-Jeff Cook[7]; 8. #36-Logan Crisafulli[13]; 9. #87-Jason Barney[12]; 10. #3G-Dale Gosselin[6]; 11. 19-Mathieu Bardier[11]; 12. #13T-Trevor Years[16]; 13. 22T-Tomy Moreau[18]; 14. #33-Lacey Hanson[15]; 15. 98R-Evan Reynolds[2]; 16. 19D-Allan Downey[19]; 17. #13-Keith Granholm[17]; 18. 93-Guy Gosselin[14]; 19. (DQ) 55-Bryan Cloutier[1]
E&V Energy Heat 1: 1. #90-Matt Tanner[1]; 2. #10-Jeff Cook[4]; 3. #01-Danny Varin[3]; 4. #53-Shawn Donath[2]; 5. #36-Logan Crisafulli[5]; 6. #13T-Trevor Years[6]; 7. 19D-Allan Downey[7]
E&V Energy Heat 2: 1. #41-Dalton Rombough[3]; 2. 55-Bryan Cloutier[2]; 3. #87-Jason Barney[4]; 4. 98R-Evan Reynolds[5]; 5. 93-Guy Gosselin[6]; 6. #13-Keith Granholm[1]
E&V Energy Heat 3: 1. 28-Jordan Poirier[4]; 2. 19-Mathieu Bardier[1]; 3. #3G-Dale Gosselin[2]; 4. #7C-Dylan Swiernik[6]; 5. #33-Lacey Hanson[5]; 6. 22T-Tomy Moreau[3]
Awards & Contingencies:
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #10-Jeff Cook; #87-Jason Barney; #28-Jordan Poirier
E&V Energy Heat Winners ($25 each): #90-Matt Tanner; #41-Dalton Rombough; #28-Jordan Poirier
Pinnacle Pole Draw Award ($25): #55-Bryan Cloutier
PJC Spray Foam Hard Charger Award ($50): #01-Danny Varin (+8)
PJC Spray Foam Reverse Hard Charger Award ($50): #98R-Evan Reynolds (-13)
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running ($35): #93-Guy Gosselin
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place (5 gallons fuel): #19-Mathieu Bardier
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): #90-Matt Tanner; #01-Danny Varin; #53-Shawn Donath