OHSWEKEN, ONT. – Steve Poirier gave up the series point lead to Michael Parent during the five nights of Central New York Speedweek after struggling with only one top five finish. Friday night the series returned to one of Poirier’s best tracks. Poirier is the winner of three Canadian Sprint Car Nationals at the Ohsweken Speedway and Friday night the former three-time series champion returned to form in dominant fashion to win his third 25-lap Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint feature of 2013.
“Feels good because we’ve struggled the last seven or eight races,” commented Poirier. “At that point you try to think too much about what is the problem. Tonight luck turned our way. Good draw obviously helped and the track was tough to pass on. Starting second was the key tonight.”
Poirier started on the front row with local hero Glenn Styres on the pole of the A-Main. Styres got the initial jump on Poirier racing out to a several car length advantage in the early going of the race.
Poirier stayed steadily with Styres as they entered slower traffic with only five laps showing complete. Styres was patient and methodical as he worked traffic keeping Poirier at bay.
The first caution came out when Etienne Girard broke the left front on his No. 422 and stopped in the fourth turn. At this point Styres led with Poirier, Mikey Kruchka and Bryan Howland making up the front two rows for the restart.
Green was shown with Styres just able to hold off Poirier going into the first turn. He went right up on the cushion while Poirier worked down on the bottom of the speedway and slid up to the top on exit.
Unlike the start of the race, Poirier was able to hang right with Styres over the next few laps. Then on lap 12 Poirier made his move in turns one and two. Poirier entered low and slid up in front of Styres as they exited turn two to take the lead.
Poirier led at halfway while Styres began searching for a faster line on the surface. Styres moved up above the cushion in the rougher part of the track as the attempted to get back to Poirier.
Things remained unchanged until a lap 19 caution for debris in turn one. The nose wing had come off of Chris Steele’s No. 80 car. It sat in the first turn on the surface necessitating a yellow.
For the restart Poirier did the very same thing that helped him take the lead. He dove low into turns one and two while catching the cushion on exit. Styres meanwhile was consistent around the extreme outside of the speedway.
Over the final five laps Poirier experienced braking issues and Stryes got close enough that he early being able to pull off s slide job of his own as they came off the fourth turn to the checkered flag. It was no avail giving Poirier yet another win at Ohsweken Speedway.
“I’m pretty lucky,” said Poirier. “My car was losing brakes after two or three laps. That’s why on the restarts I could hit my marks. After that it was really tough. I was trying to be patient. I thought I would have company out front because the car was a bit better with brakes. It would have been easier had them but I’m happy with the win tonight.”
Styres thrilled the crowd with his over the top style the last portions of the race. He went for it all only to come up short in his quest for the victory.
“You either are going to make it or you not,” said Styres about running around the top in the loose stuff. “I’m looking at the wall and thinking how much it is going to hurt if I get upside down. I just road right through it and it is actually a lot of fun. You can’t get a ride like that at Canada’s Wonderland so I just do it here.”
Kruchka returned from a half-year hiatus due to motor issues to finish in the third position after a hard fought battle with Howland over the final few circuits. It matched his best Empire Super Sprint finish.
“It’s been a rough season for us,” said Kruchka. “We got about a race in a half in and blew up a motor and it’s been trying to get back. I got to thank everyone that helped me out. We are having a tough time this year and it’s been trying. To come out and get a top three like this turns it around and a trophy gets me motivated. We’ll be back in Victory Lane at some point I promise.”
Howland, of Union Springs, N.Y., settled for fourth with Mitch Brown advancing from the 14th starting position to complete the top five. Rounding out the top ten were Jessica Zemken, heat and dash winner Jim Huppunen, Michael Parent, Jason Barney who earned the hard charger honors and Lance Yonge.
ESS/Ohsweken Notes – A solid field of 33 sprints filled the pits in front of Ohsweken’s biggest crowd of the year…Dain Naida and Kruchka returned to the Ohsweken wars after motor problems sidelined them for weeks. Naida continued to have issues in his heat and B-Mains…The track turned up very tacky with near record speeds recorded all night…Next up for the Lucas Oil Tour will be the make-up for the Mohawk rainout which is now on July 26th which will also be the final Le Groupe Tour of Canada full point show.
Le Groupe Ultra Tour of Canada A-Main – Steve Poirier ($1,800), Glenn Styres, Mikey Kruchka, Bryan Howland, Mitch Brown, Jessica Zemken, Jim Huppunen, Michael Parent, Jason Barney, Lance Yonge, Keith Dempster, Jared Zimbardi, Paul Kinney, Shane Ross, Steve Collins, Jamie Collard, Kevin Ward Jr., Chris Steele, Kyle Moffit, Todd Hoddick, James Evens, Tom Huppunen, Jamie Turner, Etienne Girard.
Did Not Qualify – Derek Jonathan, Havard Daniels, Stan Zanchin, Coner Mahoney, John Burbridge, Dain Naida, Steve Goldner, Scott Sherk, Jeremy Hughes.
Lap Leaders – Styres 1-12, Poirier 13-25
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 1 – Yonge, Kruchka, Styres, Zemken, Moffit, Parent
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 2 – J. Huppunen, Poirier, Howland, Steele, Brown, Ward Jr.
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 3 – T. Huppunen, Collard, Zimbardi, Dempster, Evans, Hoddick.
Nathan Ackland State Farm/Cobra Coaches Dash – T. Huppunen
Lacaillade Masonry B-Main – Collins, Barney, Kinney, Turner
Added Starters – Girard, Ross.
Bonuses:
Westward Painting Company Halfway – Poirier $100
Ohsweken Speedway Winners Bonus – Poirier $100
Fondations 4 Saisons Hard Charger – Barney (11 pos.) $50
Fondations 55 Pick 5 – Brown $50
North Eastern Pool and Spa Power Pick – $50
Lacailade Masonry B-Main – Collins $50
Car Mate Custom Built Trailers – Yonge, J. Huppunen, T. Huppunen $25
Go Nuclear Go Fast Award – $25
JImmy D’s Speed and Machine Fast Time – $25
For more information on the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints:
Web: www.empiresupersprints.com
Twitter: @ESSprints
Facebook: www.facebook.com/#!/EmpireSuperSprints
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The Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints are brought to you by: Lucas Oil, Le Groupe Ultra, SUNY Canton, Mach 1 Chassis, Today’s Options, Hoosier Racing Tires, Fondations 4 Saisons, Cobra Coaches, Westward Painting Company, Fondations 55, Camara Slate, North Eastern Pool and Spa, Lacaillade Masonry, Car Mate Trailers, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Ohsweken Speedway, Dover Brake and Clutch, FX Chevy and many, many associate sponsors!!