By Curtis Berleue
(Drummondville, QC) | For the third time in 2026, Zach Sobotka ended the night in victory lane, this time in the Province of Quebec at Autodrome Drummond on Saturday night. His victory was his second of the season in the Transport Benoit Lafleur Canada Tour, and worth $3,000 for his efforts.
After drawing the pole, Dalton Rombough jumped out to the lead over the field, with Billy VanInwegen second and Matt Tanner third.
Tanner quickly advanced past VanInwegen to take the runner-up position with VanInwegen falling in line back in third.
The lead trio would remain the same until a lap thirteen incident that saw Tanner inherit the lead. Just two laps later, Zach Sobotka snuck past Tanner to take the lead. Sobotka, who had spent the entirety of the even until that point in fourth, would lead Tanner and VanInwegen.
Through the final eight laps, Sobotka was able to hang on for his second Transport Benoit Lafleur Canadian Tour win of 2026.
“I found the high side there early in one and two,” said Sobotka in victory lane. “I felt like it was good in three and four in the beginning of the race, but I felt like it just kept going away.”
“I just felt like I was spinning up there so I just kept going to the bottom. I figured that after that restart somebody was going to go back around me on the top but it ended up working out.”
Matt Tanner would hold on for third, while Billy VanInwegen rounded out the Ashley Lynn Winery podium in third. Jordan Poirier was fourth, and Shawn Donath completed the top five.
With 26 cars in attendance, the field was split into three timed hot lap groups. Rifenburg Contracting fast time awards went to Jeremy Lafleur, Dalton Rombough and Jordan Thomas. The Elab Smokers Boutique heats were won by Zach Sobotka, Matt Tanner and Davie Franek.
The Empire Super Sprints will take a weekend off, followed by a Labor Day weekend tripleheader. The weekend will start Friday at Brewerton Speedway in Brewerton, NY, followed by a trip to the Fulton Speedway in Fulton, NY and finish Sunday night at Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, NY for the $10,000 to win Cole Cup. 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, E&V Energy, A-Verdi Storage Containers, Elab Smokers Boutique, Pinnacle Investments, LLC, Wilwood Disc Brakes, FX Caprara, Ashley Lynn Winery, Slade Shock Technology, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Bicknell Racing Products, Swagger Factory, PJC Sprayfoam, Donath Motor Worx, Transport Benoit Lafleur, All Star Performance, Stirling Lubricants, Trenca & Co. Realty, Speedway Press, Primal Tee, and Glenn Styres Racing.
The ESS Road Ahead:
Friday, September 4 – Brewerton Speedway – Brewerton, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Saturday, September 5 – Fulton Speedway – Fulton, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Sunday, September 6 – Utica Rome Speedway – Vernon, NY ($10,000 to Win)
Full Results:
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 38-Zach Sobotka[7]; 2. 90-Matt Tanner[5]; 3. 4-Billy VanInwegen Jr[2]; 4. 28-Jordan Poirier[10]; 5. 53-Shawn Donath[11]; 6. 21-Alex Therrien[12]; 7. 28F-Davie Franek[9]; 8. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[8]; 9. 31C-Dale Curran[4]; 10. 17-Kyle Smith[13]; 11. 93-Bryan Cloutier[6]; 12. 79-Jordan Thomas[15]; 13. 98-Joe Trenca[21]; 14. 12-Alex Bergeron[14]; 15. 13T-Trevor Years[24]; 16. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[16]; 17. 8B-Alain Bergeron[19]; 18. 44-Eric Boisvert[20]; 19. 33-Lacey Hanson[22]; 20. 3G-Dale Gosselin[3]; 21. 41-Dalton Rombough[1]; 22. 19KC-Mathieu Bardier[18]; 23. 21L-Eric Laurendeau[17]; 24. 84-Tyler Rand[25]; 25. 55-Guy Gosselin[23]
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 38-Zach Sobotka[2]; 2. 31C-Dale Curran[1]; 3. 21-Alex Therrien[3]; 4. 4-Billy VanInwegen Jr[8]; 5. 17-Kyle Smith[6]; 6. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[4]; 7. 8B-Alain Bergeron[5]; 8. 33-Lacey Hanson[7]; 9. (DNS) 87-Jason Barney
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 90-Matt Tanner[2]; 2. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[3]; 3. 41-Dalton Rombough[4]; 4. 3G-Dale Gosselin[1]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron[5]; 6. 21L-Eric Laurendeau[7]; 7. 44-Eric Boisvert[6]; 8. (DNF) 55-Guy Gosselin[9]; 9. (DNS) 84-Tyler Rand
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 28F-Davie Franek[2]; 2. 53-Shawn Donath[1]; 3. 93-Bryan Cloutier[5]; 4. 28-Jordan Poirier[3]; 5. 79-Jordan Thomas[4]; 6. 19KC-Mathieu Bardier[6]; 7. 98-Joe Trenca[7]; 8. 13T-Trevor Years[8]
Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. 24-Jeremy Lafleur, 16.264[9]; 2. 21-Alex Therrien, 16.436[6]; 3. 38-Zach Sobotka, 16.510[2]; 4. 31C-Dale Curran, 16.634[4]; 5. 8B-Alain Bergeron, 16.638[8]; 6. 17-Kyle Smith, 16.802[1]; 7. 33-Lacey Hanson, 16.880[3]; 8. 4-Billy VanInwegen Jr[7]; 9. 87-Jason Barney[5]
Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 2 (2 Laps): 1. 41-Dalton Rombough, 15.806[3]; 2. 7C-Dylan Swiernik, 16.007[6]; 3. 90-Matt Tanner, 16.107[2]; 4. 3G-Dale Gosselin, 16.523[9]; 5. 12-Alex Bergeron, 16.964[5]; 6. 44-Eric Boisvert, 18.575[1]; 7. 21L-Eric Laurendeau[4]; 8. 84-Tyler Rand[8]; 9. (DNS) 55-Guy Gosselin
Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 3 (2 Laps): 1. 79-Jordan Thomas, 15.683[4]; 2. 28-Jordan Poirier, 15.909[3]; 3. 28F-Davie Franek, 16.232[8]; 4. 53-Shawn Donath, 16.291[7]; 5. 93-Bryan Cloutier, 16.390[2]; 6. 19KC-Mathieu Bardier, 16.396[5]; 7. 98-Joe Trenca, 16.563[1]; 8. 13T-Trevor Years, 16.799[6]
Awards & Contingencies (full members only eligible for payout):
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #24-Jeremy Lafleur; #41-Dalton Rombough; #79-Jordan Thomas
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat Winners ($25 each): #38-Zach Sobotka; #90-Matt Tanner; #28F-Davie Franek
Keizer Wheels 5th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #53-Shawn Donath
King Motorsports 10th Place Finisher ($25 Certificate): #17-Kyle Smith
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finisher (5 Gal Fuel): #93-Bryan Cloutier
Swagger Factory 12th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #79-Jordan Thomas
Wilwood Disc Brakes 13th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #98-Joe Trenca
All-Star Performance 15th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #13T-Trevor Years
A-Verdi Storage Containers Hard Charger Award ($50): #13T-Trevor Years (+9)
PJC Sprayfoam Reverse Hard Charger ($100): #41-Dalton Rombough (-20)
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): #38-Zach Sobotka; #90-Matt Tanner; #4-Billy VanInwegen
Hoosier Tire Award (RR Hoosier tire): #41-Dalton Rombough
Slade Shock Tech ($50 Certificate): #98-Joe Trenca