By Curtis Berleue
(Fulton, NY) | After waiting out a rain delay of over 12 hours, it was Danny Varin who sat in victory lane at the Fulton Speedway early Saturday afternoon. Rain showers late in the program on Friday night caused the postponement of the remainder of the program, including the final two Empire Super Sprints heat races until Saturday Morning.
Pinnacle Pole sitter Sammy Reakes IV took charge of the field from the drop of the green flag, leading the first 16 laps. Danny Varin, who had started third, spent the first 8 laps in third before getting to second on lap 10.
Just 6 laps later, Varin was able to get by Reakes IV for the top spot. Behind Varin, Jordan Poirier and Nick Sheridan battled for the podium. A last-lap effort by Poirier to get by Varin came up short, and it was ultimately Varin who came out on top, claiming his 5th win of the season.
“I felt pretty good before that last caution, but the last caution had me nervous,” said Varin in victory lane. “This is huge for this team. We want more wins, but everybody else is really, really good. It’s been tough this year, we’ve hit a low spot this last month but my wife told me before we came up here that I owed her that trophy, so we snagged it.”
Jordan Poirier not only finished second in the A-Main, but also clinched his third tour championship in as many years.
“We were bad at the beginning of the feature, and then during the red flag I messed with my wing a little bit,” said Poirier. “I got better after that to end up on the podium.”
“We’ve been like second or third all year long, we were never the fastest but just consistent. We kept our nose clean and were always there. It’s a testament to this team. We didn’t break anything this year, we finished all our races.”
“At the end of the day that’s what we aimed for at the beginning of the season and to win the championship, it feels so good.”
Nick Sheridan held on to third place, rounding out the Ashley Lynn Winery podium.
“This is awesome, its our first time coming down here,” said Sheridan. “This track is great, we’ve never really raced anything this slick before, so we were trying some stuff with the setup. It was a little free but I’m not going to complain. There are some really good drivers in front of me.”
On Friday night the field was split into four timed hot lap groups. Matt Farnham, Chris Hile, Jason Barney and Nick Sheridan all earned Rifenburg Contracting fast time awards in their respective groups. The first two E&V Energy heat races were completed before the rain came, with Logan Crisafulli and Joe Trenca picking up wins.
As the program resumed Saturday morning, Jason Barney and Nash Ely won the final two E&V Energy heats.
The final scheduled on-track event for the Empire Super Sprints this season is Friday October 18th at the Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, NY for the annual $4,000 to win Hoag Memorial weekend. 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), X (formerly 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, A-Verdi Storage Containers, 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, October 18 – Outlaw Speedway – Dundee, NY ($4,000 to Win Hoag Memorial)
Saturday, November 9 – ESS Awards Banquet & Rules Meeting
Full Results:
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 01-Danny Varin[3]; 2. 28-Jordan Poirier[7]; 3. 45-Nick Sheridan[2]; 4. #17-Sammy Reakes IV[1]; 5. #99L-Larry Wight[9]; 6. 98-Joe Trenca[4]; 7. 10V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[15]; 8. 4P-Chase Moran[10]; 9. 36-Logan Crisafulli[8]; 10. 87-Jason Barney[11]; 11. 13T-Trevor Years[17]; 12. 38-Zach Sobotka[22]; 13. 21-Spencer Burley[19]; 14. 3-Parker Evans[14]; 15. 23-Tyler Cartier[23]; 16. 77-Matt Rotz[18]; 17. #41-Dalton Rombough[12]; 18. 13E-Evan Reynolds[21]; 19. 22E-Nash Ely[5]; 20. 53-Shawn Donath[13]; 21. 5H-Chris Hile[6]; 22. #79-Jordan Thomas[16]; 23. 100-Chris Hulsizer[20]
E&V Energy Heat 1: 1. 36-Logan Crisafulli[1]; 2. #99L-Larry Wight[7]; 3. #17-Sammy Reakes IV[8]; 4. #41-Dalton Rombough[3]; 5. #79-Jordan Thomas[5]; 6. #7NY-Matt Farnham[4]; 7. 28F-Davie Franek[6]; 8. 68-Aaron Turkey[2]; 9. 77T-Tyeller Powless[9]
E&V Energy Heat 2: 1. 98-Joe Trenca[1]; 2. 5H-Chris Hile[4]; 3. #15-Ryan Turner[3]; 4. 53-Shawn Donath[2]; 5. 13T-Trevor Years[6]; 6. 21-Spencer Burley[7]; 7. 13E-Evan Reynolds[8]; 8. 38-Zach Sobotka[9]; 9. 23-Tyler Cartier[5]
E&V Energy Heat 3: 1. 87-Jason Barney[4]; 2. 28-Jordan Poirier[2]; 3. 4P-Chase Moran[9]; 4. 3-Parker Evans[3]; 5. 10-Kelly Hebing[1]; 6. 9-Liam Martin[5]; 7. 77E-Ashton VanEvery[7]; 8. 87X-Shone Evans[6]; 9. #3Z-John Smith IV[8]
E&V Energy Heat 4: 1. 22E-Nash Ely[2]; 2. 45-Nick Sheridan[4]; 3. 01-Danny Varin[3]; 4. 10V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[5]; 5. 77-Matt Rotz[6]; 6. 100-Chris Hulsizer[8]; 7. (DNS) 71-Mike Bowman; 8. (DNS) #89-Robbie Stillwaggon
Awards & Contingencies:
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #7NY-Matt Farnham; #5H-Chris Hile; #87-Jason Barney; #45-Nick Sheridan
E&V Energy Heat Winners ($25 each): #36-Logan Crisafulli; #98-Joe Trenca; #87-Jason Barney; #22E-Nash Ely
Pinnacle Pole Draw Award ($25): #17-Samy Reakes IV
A-Verdi Storage Containers Hard Charger Award ($50): #38-Zach Sobotka (+10)
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running ($30): #23-Tyler Cartier
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place (5 gallons fuel): #13T-Trevor Years
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): #01-Danny Varin; #28-Jordan Poirier; #45-Nick Sheridan
Hoosier Tire Award (RR Hoosier tire): #28-Jordan Poirier