WEST LEBANON, N.Y. � There is an old saying, �it�s better to be lucky than good.� As of late, Steve Poirier has been both.
Poirier, of St. Mathieu de Beloeil, Que., won his ninth Lucas Oil 25th Anniversary Empire Super Sprint 25-lap A-Main as they returned to the Lebanon Valley Speedway for the first time since 1987.
Poirier was fortunate to start on the front row of the Dick Spadaro Early Ford Reproductions A-Main with his AMB Moteurs powered J&J after winning his heat race event. The inversion number drawn was low giving him a prime starting position for the feature.
�This place can be hard to pass so starting up front really helps,� stated Poirier. �Last week we ran bad in the heat and got a big inversion, tonight we ran good in the heat and got a small inversion. I think I had a good car but I�m not sure if I could have started tenth and won. We have some good luck right now.�
Poirier started on the outside of the front row, or Lebanon Valley�s pole, and took the lead on the high side of turn one.
He raced out in front until lap two when the red flag was displayed for Jami Russell. Russell�s car didn�t turn and he went hard into the turn three wall, rode the wall and hit a telephone pole. His car was done but he was uninjured in the incident.
Action got back underway with Poirier again gaining the advantage on the field. He amassed a full straightaway lead and was just coming up on slower traffic when the second caution of the race came out for Jeff Cook. Cook spun in turn four as he was battling with Justin Barger.
�My car was good everywhere,� said Poirier. �I could run the middle or the outside. I wasn�t sure what I was going to do when I got to the lapped cars. It can be pretty dangerous to try some lines here in traffic. You don�t know if the lapped cars are going to go to the outside or stay down low.�
This gave the field another opportunity to get by Poirier but on the restart he was flawless. He worked through the middle of turns one and two and then ran the high side of turns three and four.
By the time the final caution flag flew on lap 17 for Geoff Quackenbush, Poirier was again a full quarter-track in front of second place running Barger.
On the restart, Barger took a look to the inside of Poirier and tried to pull off the pass for the lead. He could not get the necessary run to take the lead allowing Poirier to once again pull away.
�On the last restart I heard an engine behind me,� commented Poirier. �I knew I had company and I wasn�t sure if they had a better car than me. I didn�t want to go into the turn and see them go by me on the outside so I drove in a lot harder than I had been.�
At the checkered flag it was Poirier crossing the line first to add to his point lead while pocketing $2,000 for the win.
Barger, of Montrose, N.Y., settled for second with his Ohsweken Speedway sponsored Maxim. Barger started the race from the inside of row four. He moved into the runner-position by the halfway point but he was unable to make any serious challenges on Poirier for the lead.
�Our car was really good,� said Barger. �We burned up our tires early in the race getting through traffic. We had to pass all those cars coming from seventh and by the time I got to him (Poirier) I had ate up my tires.�
Local product, Jessica Zemken, finished in third in her Silly�s Competition Engines powered Maxim. Zemken made drastic changes to the car after her heat race in attempt to get her to the front and it paid off.
�I wasn�t expecting to be good as I was,� stated Zemken, of Sprakers, N.Y. �I thought I was going to have to just get in line and go. I tightened the car a lot more than thought I needed to and at the last minute we went with a harder tire and it worked out alright. I was able to get into the turns a lot harder than anyone else.�
After starting on the pole, Jared Fink, of Germantown, N.Y., had his strongest run of the season to come home in fourth. Brian McDonald, of Cornwall, Ont., held off the late charges of Doug Emery to complete the top five.
ESS/Lebanon Valley Notes: A fine field of 28 sprints in the pits to kick off Kings 200 weekend�Making first starts for 2008 were Bubba Broderick, Tim Hogue and Warren Alexson, they were the #101-103 different drivers in ESS competition for this season�While a heat win and a solid 10th place in the A-Main made for a good night for Alexson, for Broderick (A bent frame from a wall encounter during hot laps) and Hogue (electrical problems) it was a night to forget�Tim Kelly took a hard flip during the dash, Lee Ladouceur was added to the feature field as an alternate�Engine woes hindered Josh Weller and Lance Yonge all night, they were the first two to drop out of the 25 lap finale��Other than ESS President Chuck Miller, most likely the only other individual on hand that was at the Valley some 21 years ago was Adrain Flath who took second on that evening. Jeff Cook is married to Adrian�s daughter Lori�Special thanks to former ESS regular Dick Spadaro for sponsoring the A-Main and also Jason Herrington who added $900 to the night with the sponsorship of the dash, the heats and a special hard charger award�Lebanon Valley Promoter Howie Commander was very pleased with the return of he ESS winged wonders and has already secured at least one date for 2009�Next week the stars and cars from the Lucas Oil Tour will head the annual Arrow Express Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints/Dick Spadaro Early Ford Reproductions A-Main – Steve Poirier ($2,275), Justin Barger, Jessica Zemken, Jared Fink, Brian McDonald, Doug Emery, Alain Bergeron, Jason Barney, Tommy Wickham, Warren Alexson, Cory Sparks, Russ Bennett, Jeff Cook, Michael Parent, Anthony Cain, Mike Stelter, Normand Beaudreault, Geoff Quackenbush, Lee Ladouceur, Adam Gordon, Jami Russell, Josh Weller, Lance Yonge.
Lap Leader – Poirier 1-25.
Did Not Qualify – Jeff Lutes, Tim Hogue, Bubba Broderick, James Hanson.
Scratched – Tim Kelly
Added Starters – Lee Ladouceur, Lance Yonge
Herrington Farms/Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 1 – Warren Alexson ($125), Tim Kelly, Justin Barger, Doug Emery, Jason Barney, Russ Bennett
Herrington Farms/Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 2 – Steve Poirier ($125), Jeff Cook, Josh Weller, Jami Russell, Jessica Zemken, Mike Stelter
Herrington Farms/Car Mate Custom Built Trailers Heat 3 – Jared Fink ($125), Brian McDonald, Alain Bergeron, Geoff Quackenbush, Michael Parent, Tommy Wickham
Herrington Farms/Walt’s Hobby Dash – Jeff Cook ($125)
KSE Racing Products B-Main – Cory Sparks, Adam Gordon, Anthony Cain, Normand Beaudreault.
Cash Bonuses:
Dick Spadaro Early Ford Reproductions A-Main – Poirier $400
Herrington Farms/Lane’s Yamaha Hard Charger Bonus – Zemken (7 pos.) $250
National Parts Peddler Halfway Bonus – Poirier $100
Les Constructions Ultra Blue Collar Award – Barney $100
Cook’s Contracting Bridesmaid Bonus – Barger $50
HG Associates Pole Award – Fink $50
AMB Moteurs Fast Time Award – Poirier (18.663) $50
Herrington Farms/Car Mate Custom Built Trailers – Alexson, Poirier, Fink $125