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WOODHULL, NY – The last time Cory Sparks got to hold the checkered flag in Victory Lane was back in 2004 when he was still racing Mini-Sprints.
On Saturday night at the Woodhull Raceway, the 21-year-old driver from Edinburg, N.Y., held off Chuck Hebing and George Suprick en route to his first career Lucas Oil 25th Anniversary Empire Super Sprint tour victory.
The 25-lap A-Main was sponsored Dick Carbery as he wished the Empire Super Sprints good luck on their 25th anniversary tour. With that sponsorship, Sparks earned at total of $2,200 for his efforts.
“This feels absolutely great,” said Sparks. “It’s been a long time since I had a win. We came from the back of the heat to finish in second, then we won the dash and we won the A-Main. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Sparks dedicated his first ESS victory to Jeff Edwards who was affectionately known at Jeffro. Edwards passed unexpectedly about a month ago.
“This one is for Jeffro,” said an emotional Sparks after the win.
Sparks started on the outside of the second row in his Emery powered JEI mount. He ran in that position for the first ten laps before getting by Chuck Hebing. On the 13th lap he used the bottom lane to pass Brian McDonald for the race lead.
A late race caution almost derailed his chances of a win but he held off both Hebing and George Suprick to secure the win.
Hebing, in Bud Burlew’s No.28, battled Suprick in the final laps to finish in the runner-up position. Suprick, coming off a fifth at Clinton County Raceway, secured a third place finish.
Steve Poirier, utilizing an AMB Moteurs powered J & J Auto Racing chassis, finished in fourth after starting 12th. McDonald, after leading the first 12 laps, lost brakes in his Triple X mount causing him to fall back to secure a solid fifth place finish.
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SLIM LEAD: McDonald started on the outside of the front row and he immediately took the lead from Gordy Button as racing got underway on the tight Steuben County one-third mile oval. McDonald took his No.151kb to the far outside of the high banked oval.
TWO QUICK CAUTIONS: McDonald, of Cornwall, Ont., continued to work the extreme high line of the speedway as did Hebing. The race was slowed the first time on lap 4 when Jeff VanDusen spun off of turn two. Four laps later the caution again came out, this time it was Bubby Kerrick who spun in turn four. After both restarts, McDonald continued to lead the way.
PASSING THE COBRA: With ten laps complete, McDonald and Hebing worked to the outside of the speedway while Sparks worked the bottom in his Farrell Oil/Sparks Excavating sponsored car. Sparks took advantage of the open lane and moved by Hebing for second on 11.
“As soon as I saw him go to the top I knew I had a shot to get by him (Hebing),” said Sparks. “I wasn’t good on the top and I was hoping that when he saw my nose he wouldn’t come down. He didn’t and I was able to get around him.”
STAYING ON THE BOTTOM: Two laps after getting by Hebing, Sparks used the very same line to take the lead. He worked down to the bottom of turns one and two with McDonald staying put on the outside.
“I caught him (McDonald) quick enough that he didn’t see me down there,” commented Sparks. “By the time he saw me I was able to get by for the lead.”
SLOWER TRAFFIC: Sparks continued to lead when he raced into slower traffic. Fortunately for Sparks, most of the slower cars were running the middle to the top of the speedway giving him a clear line on the bottom.
NOT A CAUTION: Sparks’ final challenge came on lap 20 when the caution flew one final time for Tim Kelly when he spun in turn two. This placed Hebing and Suprick directly behind Sparks.
“I did not want to see that caution,” commented Spark. “I saw that Cobra (Hebing) behind me on the white board when they gave us the lineup and I just thought to myself don’t mess this one up.”
OFF THE TOP: Sparks made no mistakes in the final laps giving him his first victory. Hebing made several attempts in the closing laps to get by Sparks on the extreme outside of the speedway, but it was to no avail. With two laps to go, Hebing went into turns three and four and got too high with his Jimmy D’s powered Triple X causing his right rear to get over the banking.
“We came up a bit short tonight,” said Hebing about his second place finish. “I ran it over the edge a couple times and if I didn’t do that I might have caught him (Sparks). I was pressing a little bit trying to catch him.”
GOOD AT WOODHULL: Hebing won an event earlier in the season and now has a second place finish to go along with that win. Making the strong run even more special was the fact it was near his car owner’s home town.
“Woodhull has been good to us,” commented Hebing. “It was good to have a strong run for Bud (Burlew) at his home track.”
SUPER WEEKEND: Suprick, of Clarks Summit, Pa., came from the inside of the sixth row to score his second consecutive top five finish with the Empire Super Sprints. In the closing laps he battled with Hebing to take the second position away, but he couldn’t get enough of a run off the bottom of the turn to get by him giving him third place run.
“That was an exciting run with Cobra (Hebing),” said Suprick. “Had I known the three of us had a lead like we did I would have moved around a little bit to try and get by him. It was tough on the bottom because I lost so much momentum getting into the turn.”
QUALIFYING: A strong field of 30 cars entered the event with Anthony Cain, Hebing and VanDusen winning their heats. The dash was won by Sparks while Kelly won the 10-lap B-Main.
ESS/Woodhull Notes: A record field of 30 sprints played host to a big crowd on a picture perfect evening…Jeff Frasier made his first ever ESS start with his 305 c.i. sprinter and made the starting field…Pa. drivers that ran the event the night before at Clinton County who traveled north were Bobby Howard, Matt Heimbach, John Smith III, Matt Miller and Rich Brungard…Clinton County winner Justin Barger had motor troubles and only took one lap in the A-Main…Next up for the Lucas Oil Tour will be two important stops on the SMAC Magazine Canadian Invasion Series with the first trips of three to both Edelweiss and Brockville.
RACE RESULTS (7/12/08)
Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints Dick Carbery Gook Luck on Your 25th Anniversary ESS A-Main (25 laps): Cory Sparks, Chuck Hebing, George Suprick, Steve Poirer, Brian McDonald, Gary Troutman, Jeff Cook, Lance Yonge, Anthony Cain, Bobby Howard, Alain Bergeron, Gordy Button, Michael Parent, Matt Heimbach, Jeff VanDusen, Lee Ladouceur, Mike Stelter, Howard Singer, Bubby Kerrick, Tim Kelly, John Smith III, Jeff Frasier, Justin Barger
Lap Leaders: 1-12 McDonald, 13-25 Sparks
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