5/26/2024
Empire Super Sprints
Varin Wins Don Gillette Memorial at Brewerton Speedway
By Curtis Berleue (Brewerton, NY) | For the second time in two years, Danny Varin is the winner of the Don Gillette Memorial at the Brewerton Speedway. Leading every lap, Vain picked up $2,000 for his efforts to kick off Memorial Day weekend.
Starting on the Pinnacle Pole alongside Chris Hile, Varin jumped out to an early lead. Hile followed Varin in second for the majority of the first 10 laps, before 4th place starting Shawn Donath moved into the top 3 on lap 11.
While Donath, Hile, and Jason Barney were busy battling at the front of the field, however, Larry Wight and Chad Phelps were each working on an impressive run from deep in the field. Starting 7th, Wight fell back as far as 10th in the opening laps before picking his way through the field. By lap 11, Wight had cracked the top 5, and moved into third just a few short laps later on lap 15.
Phelps had started 21st, and by lap 8 had passed 11 cars to break into 10th. The following four laps, Phelps moved by four more cars and found himself in 6th place.
Meanwhile at the front of the field, Varin was still in command, closely followed by Shawn Donath who had worked his way into the second position, and Larry Wight. With four laps to go, Wight moved past Donath to take second.
As the field crossed the line, it was Varin who got there first, followed by Larry Wight and Shawn Donath rounding out the Ashley Lynn Winery podium. Jason Barney finished fourth, and Chad Phelps rounded out the top 5. Phelps’ run from 21st to 5th was good enough to earn him the A-Verdi Storage Containers hard charger award.
35 cars signed into the pits on A-Verdi Storage containers night at the Brewerton Speedway. The field was split into four hot lap / qualifying groups, with Jordan Poirier, Shawn Donath, Dylan Swiernik and Danny Varin earning Rifenburg Contracting fast time awards in each. E&V Energy heat wins were scored by Jordan Poirier, Jason Barney, Dylan Swiernik and Danny Varin. The Cobra Coaches Dash presented by J&Z Snowdrifters was won by Tyler Rand, while Chad Phelps won the Lacaillade Masonry B-Main.
The next scheduled event for the Empire Super Sprints is Friday June 7th at the Ransomville Speedway in Ransomville, NY, followed by a trip to the Freedom Motorsports Park in Delevan, NY the following night, June 8.
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, 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, June 7 – Ransomville Speedway – Ransomville, NY ($2,000 to Win Ron Lux Memorial)
Saturday, June 8 – Freedom Motorsports Park - Delevan, NY ($2,000 to Win)
Saturday, June 15 – Evans Mills Raceway Park – Evans Mills, NY ($3,000 to Win Kevin Ward Jr. Memorial Asphalt Spectacular)
Full Results:
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. #01-Danny Varin[1]; 2. #99L-Larry Wight[7]; 3. 53-Shawn Donath[4]; 4. 87-Jason Barney[11]; 5. 96X-Chad Phelps[21]; 6. #5H-Chris Hile[2]; 7. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[12]; 8. #79-Jordan Thomas[10]; 9. 28-Jordan Poirier[9]; 10. #41-Dalton Rombough[5]; 11. 36-Logan Crisafulli[6]; 12. 90-Matt Tanner[14]; 13. #4-Billy VanInwegen Jr[3]; 14. 84-Tyler Rand[13]; 15. 28F-Davie Franek[8]; 16. 11J-Chris Jones[15]; 17. 10-Kelly Hebing[18]; 18. 12-Alex Bergeron[24]; 19. 4P-Chase Moran[17]; 20. 13E-Evan Reynolds[19]; 21. 3-Parker Evans[22]; 22. 33-Lacey Hanson[20]; 23. X-Dan Bennett[26]; 24. 2-Dave Axton[25]; 25. 47-Kyle Drum[16]; 26. 66-Jordan Hutton[23]
Lacaillade Masonry B-Main (10 Laps): 1. 96X-Chad Phelps[1]; 2. 3-Parker Evans[3]; 3. 66-Jordan Hutton[6]; 4. 12-Alex Bergeron[7]; 5. 98-Joe Trenca[14]; 6. 2-Dave Axton[8]; 7. #17S-Kyle Smith[11]; 8. X-Dan Bennett[10]; 9. 13T-Trevor Years[4]; 10. 18J-JT Ferry[13]; 11. #25G-Tyler Graves[15]; 12. 23-Eric Cartier[12]; 13. 29-Dylan Menditto[9]; 14. 6K-Kyle Dutcher[5]; 15. (DNS) #17-Sammy Reakes IV
J&Z Snowdrifters Dash (4 Laps): 1. 84-Tyler Rand[2]; 2. 90-Matt Tanner[3]; 3. 11J-Chris Jones[4]; 4. 47-Kyle Drum[1]
E&V Energy Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 28-Jordan Poirier[2]; 2. #79-Jordan Thomas[1]; 3. 36-Logan Crisafulli[4]; 4. 47-Kyle Drum[7]; 5. 4P-Chase Moran[6]; 6. 96X-Chad Phelps[3]; 7. 6K-Kyle Dutcher[5]; 8. 29-Dylan Menditto[9]; 9. (DQ) 18J-JT Ferry[8]
E&V Energy Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 87-Jason Barney[5]; 2. #4-Billy VanInwegen Jr[4]; 3. 53-Shawn Donath[1]; 4. 84-Tyler Rand[3]; 5. 10-Kelly Hebing[8]; 6. #17-Sammy Reakes IV[6]; 7. 66-Jordan Hutton[7]; 8. X-Dan Bennett[9]; 9. 98-Joe Trenca[2]
E&V Energy Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[1]; 2. #99L-Larry Wight[4]; 3. #5H-Chris Hile[2]; 4. 90-Matt Tanner[3]; 5. 13E-Evan Reynolds[8]; 6. 3-Parker Evans[9]; 7. 12-Alex Bergeron[5]; 8. #17S-Kyle Smith[6]; 9. #25G-Tyler Graves[7]
E&V Energy Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. #01-Danny Varin[1]; 2. #41-Dalton Rombough[2]; 3. 28F-Davie Franek[3]; 4. 11J-Chris Jones[8]; 5. 33-Lacey Hanson[5]; 6. 13T-Trevor Years[7]; 7. 2-Dave Axton[6]; 8. 23-Eric Cartier[4]
Awards & Contingencies:
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #28-Jordan Poirier; #53-Shawn Donath; #7C-Dylan Swiernik; #01-Danny Varin
E&V Energy Heat Winners ($25 each): #28-Jordan Poirier; #87-Jason Barney; #7C-Dylan Swiernik; #01-Danny Varin
Cobra Coaches / J&Z Snowdrifters Dash Winner ($100): $84-Tyler Rand
Lacaillade Masonry B Main Winner ($50): #96X-Chad Phelps
PJC Spray Foam First Non-Qualifier ($50): #98-Joe Trenca
Pinnacle Pole Draw Award ($25): #01-Danny Varin
A-Verdi Storage Containers Hard Charger Award ($50): #96X-Chad Phelps
Pinnacle Investments Last Car Running ($30): #X-Dan Bennett
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place (5 gallons fuel): #36-Logan Crisafulli
Hoosier Tire Award (RR Hoosier Tire): #29-Dylan Menditto
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): #01-Danny Varin; #99L-Larry Wight; #53-Shawn Donath
Article Credit: Curtis Berleue
Submitted By: Barbara Patterson
