By Curtis Berleue
(LaFargeville, NY) | For the first time in 2025, Shawn Donath picked up the $2,000 win in Empire Super Sprints competition on Friday night at the Can-Am Speedway in LaFargeville, NY. It was his first victory at the northern NY oval since 2014.
Tyler Rand and Jordan Poirier led the field to green for 25 laps, and as the field completed lap one it was Poirier with the lead, followed by Davie Franek and Rand. Utilizing the extreme outside line of the speedway, Poirier quickly opened up a straightaway lead over the rest of the field.
By lap 7, Poirier had reached the back of the field, which allowed Franek to close the gap slightly. Behind them, Shawn Donath had managed to work his way around Joe Trenca for third. A handful of laps later, Donath used the low side of the track to pull even with Franek, and slide him for position exiting turn four.
His efforts were short lived, however, as Alex Therrien used the same move on Donath in the next set of corners, taking second and setting his sights on fellow Quebec driver Poirier. Therrien was able to catch Poirier and take the lead as the duo crossed the line to complete lap 16.
While Therrien opened his lead, Donath was able to get by Poirier for second. With three to go, Donath had caught Therrien and made his move to take the lead off of turn four.
Despite a late race charge from Franek, Shawn Donath held on to take his first win of 2025.
“Kudos to Tyler and his team, what a great race track,” said Donath in victory lane. “After that first start I was third and I knew we had a good car, it just took a little bit to get rolling.”
Davie Franek crossed the line in second.
“Shawn was good, I wish I moved down a little bit earlier, it started getting sticky down there with some rubber,” said Franek. “I probably could have pushed the envelope going into three there at the end, but on a two day weekend you don’t want to have to pull your backup car down.”
Alex Therrien held on to round out the Ashley Lynn Winery podium in third.
“I made some mistakes at the end of the race, it’s my fault for losing the lead,” said Therrien of his third place finish.
22 cars signed in on Friday night at Can-Am, and as such the field was split into three timed hot lap groups. Rifenburg Contracting fast time awards went to Davie Franek, Logan Crisafulli and Paulie Colagiovanni, and Elab Smokers Boutique heat races were won by Franek, Dalton Rombough and Jordan Poirier. The Cooks Family Diner Dash was won by Matt Tanner.
The next scheduled event for the Empire Super Sprints is Saturday August 2nd at the Brockville Ontario Speedway in Brockville, ONT. 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 (@ESSprints) and Instagram (@empiresupersprints).
The Empire Super Sprints would like to thank the following series sponsors for their continued support: Rifenburg Contracting Corp, Hoosier Racing Tire, Cobra Motorhomes & Trailers, E&V Energy, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Elab Smokers Boutique, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Lacaillade Masonry, Inc., Wilwood Disc Brakes, FX Caprara, Lanes Yamaha, Ashley Lynn Winery, Slade Precision Shocks, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Bicknell Racing Products, and DirtTrackDigest.com.
The ESS Road Ahead:
Saturday, August 2 – Brockville Ontario Speedway – Brockville, ONT ($2,000 to Win)
Friday, August 22 – Autodrome Granby – Granby, QC ($3,000 to Win)
Saturday, August 23 – Autodrome Drummond – Drummondville, QC ($3,000)
Full Results:
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 53-Shawn Donath[5]; 2. 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 3. 21-Alex Therrien[6]; 4. 98-Joe Trenca[3]; 5. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[7]; 6. 28-Jordan Poirier[2]; 7. 38-Zach Sobotka[12]; 8. 87-Jason Barney[8]; 9. 3-Paulie Colagiovanni[9]; 10. 90-Matt Tanner[13]; 11. 01-Danny Varin[19]; 12. 41-Dalton Rombough[11]; 13. 17-Sammy Reakes IV[20]; 14. Z28-Tucker Donath[18]; 15. 93-Bryan Cloutier[14]; 16. 13T-Trevor Years[21]; 17. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[16]; 18. 13E-Evan Reynolds[22]; 19. 84-Tyler Rand[1]; 20. 33-Lacey Hanson[10]; 21. 36-Logan Crisafulli[15]; 22. 93L-Guy Gosselin[17]
Cooks Family Diner Dash (4 Laps): 1. 90-Matt Tanner[2]; 2. 93-Bryan Cloutier[6]; 3. 36-Logan Crisafulli[5]; 4. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[1]; 5. (DNF) Z28-Tucker Donath[3]; 6. (DNF) 93L-Guy Gosselin[4]
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 28F-Davie Franek[4]; 2. 38-Zach Sobotka[2]; 3. 84-Tyler Rand[1]; 4. 33-Lacey Hanson[5]; 5. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[7]; 6. 93L-Guy Gosselin[6]; 7. 01-Danny Varin[3]; 8. 13E-Evan Reynolds[8]
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 41-Dalton Rombough[1]; 2. 53-Shawn Donath[3]; 3. 98-Joe Trenca[6]; 4. 21-Alex Therrien[2]; 5. 90-Matt Tanner[7]; 6. 36-Logan Crisafulli[4]; 7. (DNF) 17-Sammy Reakes IV[5]
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 28-Jordan Poirier[1]; 2. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[3]; 3. 3-Paulie Colagiovanni[4]; 4. 87-Jason Barney[2]; 5. Z28-Tucker Donath[5]; 6. 93-Bryan Cloutier[7]; 7. (DNF) 13T-Trevor Years[6]
Awards & Contingencies:
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #28F-Davie Franek; #36-Logan Crisafulli; #3C-Paulie Colagiovanni
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat Winners ($25 each): #28F-Davie Franek; #41-Dalton Rombough; #28-Jordan Poirier
Cobra Motorhomes & Trailers / Cooks Family Diner Dash Winner ($125): #90-Matt Tanner
Pinnacle Pole Draw Award ($25): #84-Tyler Rand
Keizer Wheels 5th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #7C-Dylan Swiernik
King Motorsports 10th Place Finisher ($25 Certificate): #90-Matt Tanner
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finisher (5 Gal Fuel): #01-Danny Varin
Wilwood Disc Brakes 13th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #17-Sammy Reakes IV
All-Star Performance 15th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #93-Bryan Cloutier
A-Verdi Storage Containers Hard Charger Award ($50): #01-Danny Varin (+8)
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running ($30): #24-Jeremy Lafleur
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): #53-Shawn Donath; #28F-Davie Franek; #21-Alex Therrien
Hoosier Tire Award (RR Hoosier tire): #90-Matt Tanner
Slade Shock Tech ($50 Certificate): #41-Dalton Rombough