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Varin Victorious at Albany-Saratoga

2026-07-20 23:07

By Curtis Berleue (Malta, NY) | For the first time in 2026, and second time at Albany-Saratoga, Danny Varin was victorious on Friday with the Empire Super Sprints. The Fonda, NY driver spent the majority of the race in the top three, and took advantage of a late-race restart to get to the lead and pick up $2,000 for his efforts.
Dylan Swiernik and Jason Barney led the field to green from the front row, with Swiernik taking the lead into turn one. Matt Tanner would immediately jump to second by utilizing the extreme high side of the speedway to get by Barney in turns one and two. Danny Varin settled into third, with Barney in fourth.
At the front of the field, Swiernik and Tanner were running completely opposite lines, with Swiernik on the extreme bottom and Tanner on the extreme top.
A caution on lap 6 for Kyle Smith bunched the field back up. On the ensuing restart, Swiernik again jumped to the lead, and Jason Barney Briefly claimed second via a slider in turn one, but was unable to hold pace and again fell to fourth.
On lap 10, Tanner had a head of steam off the top side of turn four and was able to get by Swiernik to take the lead.
Another caution with just 10 laps to go would set up a double file restart, with Tanner taking the lead briefly only for Swiernik to pass him using the same high line off four that afforded him the lead just a handful of laps prior.
As the laps dwindled, the top four were battling hard , leading to contact between Barney and Swiernik, with Swiernik coming to a stop in turn two.
On the restart with seven to go, it would be Danny Varin taking control of the field, after spending the majority of prior laps sitting in third. Tanner settled into second, with Jordan Poirier entering the top three.
With a clear track in front of him, it was Varin who crossed the line first, for his first victory of 2026.
"It was dicey - the track was technical tonight," said Varin in victory lane. "Im super happy for this team - we've been struggling since we went to this tire, we're just trying to work with it and do the best we can. It's hard to get a good feel for it but we will keep plugging away."
Matt Tanner came home second after leading through the middle of the A-Main.
"We didn't lead the laps we needed to there at the end, said Tanner. "But from where we were during speed week, we really struggled but we put our heads together and put a good package together for tonight."
"It definitely paid off, we went quick time, won the heat and I was just pretty happy to run with Dylan, as fast as he's been."
Jordan Poirier rounded out the Ashley Lynn Winery podium with a third-place finish.
"Every yellow I could play with my shock a little bit, try to get my car a little bit better," said Poirier. "We were just a tiny bit too loose in the beginning of the race, but after that every yellow we got better and better. Sixth to third in these conditions, I will take it."
With 23 cars, the field was split into three timed hot lap groups. Rifenburg Contracting fast time awards went to Jordan Thomas, Matt Tanner and Jason Barney. Elab Smokers Boutique heat races were won by Jordan Thomas, Matt Tanner and Jason Barney, while Shawn Donath won the Donath Motor Worx / We Know Tools - Paul Wehnau SnapOn dash.
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, July 31 - Outlaw Speedway - Dundee, NY ($4,000 to Win Outlaw Summer Nationals)
Saturday, August 8 - Brockville Ontario Speedway - Brockville, ONT ($2,000 to Win)
Sunday, August 9 - Cornwall Motor Speedway - Cornwall, ONT ($2,000 to Win)

Full Results:
A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 01-Danny Varin[3]; 2. 90-Matt Tanner[4]; 3. 28-Jordan Poirier[6]; 4. 87-Jason Barney[2]; 5. 79-Jordan Thomas[9]; 6. 53-Shawn Donath[7]; 7. 38-Zach Sobotka[10]; 8. 96X-Chad Phelps[18]; 9. 4V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[11]; 10. 3A-Jeff Trombley[8]; 11. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[5]; 12. 99K-Mike Kiser[17]; 13. 28F-Davie Franek[14]; 14. 8-Dillon Paddock[12]; 15. 33-Lacey Hanson[13]; 16. 12T-Tyler Chartrand[21]; 17. 17S-Kyle Smith[15]; 18. 19-Floyd Billington[23]; 19. 13T-Trevor Years[22]; 20. 88C-Chad Miller[19]; 21. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[16]; 22. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[1]; 23. 739-Nicholas Kruger[20]
We Know Tools - Paul Wehnau SnapOn Dash (4 Laps): 1. 53-Shawn Donath[3]; 2. 3A-Jeff Trombley[1]; 3. 79-Jordan Thomas[5]; 4. 38-Zach Sobotka[6]; 5. 4V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[4]; 6. 8-Dillon Paddock[2]
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 79-Jordan Thomas[1]; 2. 8-Dillon Paddock[4]; 3. 38-Zach Sobotka[6]; 4. 3A-Jeff Trombley[3]; 5. 33-Lacey Hanson[5]; 6. 24-Jeremy Lafleur[2]; 7. 88C-Chad Miller[8]; 8. 13T-Trevor Years[7]
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 90-Matt Tanner[1]; 2. 01-Danny Varin[2]; 3. 4V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[4]; 4. 28-Jordan Poirier[5]; 5. 28F-Davie Franek[3]; 6. 99K-Mike Kiser[7]; 7. 739-Nicholas Kruger[8]; 8. 19-Floyd Billington[6]
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 87-Jason Barney[1]; 2. 53-Shawn Donath[2]; 3. 7C-Dylan Swiernik[3]; 4. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[4]; 5. 17S-Kyle Smith[5]; 6. 96X-Chad Phelps[6]; 7. 12T-Tyler Chartrand[7]
Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 1: 1. 79-Jordan Thomas, 15.159[1]; 2. 24-Jeremy Lafleur, 15.263[7]; 3. 3A-Jeff Trombley, 15.742[6]; 4. 8-Dillon Paddock, 15.823[2]; 5. 33-Lacey Hanson, 16.133[5]; 6. 38-Zach Sobotka, 16.184[3]; 7. 13T-Trevor Years, 16.185[4]; 8. 88C-Chad Miller, 16.566[8]
Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 2: 1. 90-Matt Tanner, 14.958[4]; 2. 01-Danny Varin, 15.708[8]; 3. 28F-Davie Franek, 15.751[5]; 4. 4V-Billy VanInwegen Jr, 15.950[3]; 5. 28-Jordan Poirier, 15.964[2]; 6. 19-Floyd Billington, 16.267[6]; 7. 99K-Mike Kiser, 16.348[1]; 8. 739-Nicholas Kruger, 17.074[7]
Rifenburg Contracting Qualifying 3: 1. 87-Jason Barney, 15.463[7]; 2. 53-Shawn Donath, 15.665[1]; 3. 7C-Dylan Swiernik, 15.694[6]; 4. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni, 16.032[2]; 5. 17S-Kyle Smith, 16.156[4]; 6. 96X-Chad Phelps, 16.387[5]; 7. 12T-Tyler Chartrand, 16.397[3]

Awards & Contingencies (full members only eligible for payout):
Rifenburg Contracting Fast Time ($25 each): #79-Jordan Thomas; #90-Matt Tanner; #87-Jason Barney
Elab Smokers Boutique Heat Winners ($25 each): #79-Jordan Thomas; #90-Matt Tanner; #87-Jason Barney
Donath Motor Worx / We Know Tools Dash Winner ($125): #53-Shawn Donath
Keizer Wheels 5th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #79-Jordan Thomas
King Motorsports 10th Place Finisher ($25 Certificate): #3A-Jeff Trombley
Pinnacle Investments 11th Place Finisher (5 Gal Fuel): #10C-Paulie Colagiovanni
Swagger Factory 12th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #99K-Mike Kiser
Wilwood Disc Brakes 13th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #28F-Davie Franek
All-Star Performance 15th Place Finisher ($50 Certificate): #33-Lacey Hanson
A-Verdi Storage Containers Hard Charger Award ($50): #96X-Chad Phelps (+10)
Ashley Lynn Winery Podium Finish (bottle of wine): #01-Danny Varin; #90-Matt Tanner; #28-Jordan Poirier
Hoosier Tire Award (RR Hoosier tire): #28-Jordan Poirier
Slade Shock Tech ($50 Certificate): #79-Jordan Thomas