RPW Exclusive: Jordan Thomas Heads Back To Weedsport & Scores First ESS A-Main Win Of ’24

Column By: MARTY CZEKALA / RPW – WEEDSPORT, NY – The one that got away July 6 on CNY Speedweek returned to Jordan Thomas.

Coming to the checkers battling Matt Tanner for the hit, Thomas’ No. 79 got too high and into the wall, changing the complexity of this race.

Fast-forward to Sept. 8. He made it through turn four on lap 25 while leading to record his first win of the Empire Super Sprints season at Weedsport Speedway.

“I saw the white flag and had a little bit of flashback,” said Thomas. “I was like, ‘Take it easy on this lap.’ Set up a pace I knew was good. You can get into trouble easily. Glad it worked out though.”

That trouble nearly bit Thomas once again, similar to his turn four wall impact on the final lap. This time, early in the race, the driver of the No. 79 got a little too wide off turn four, driving with a handful down the front straight.

“The wall sneaks up on you,” Thomas told RPW. “I was holding on to set a good pace.”

Thomas started fourth in the feature behind Logan Crisafulli, Scott Kreutter and Joe Trenca. Thomas wasted no time moving up to second after the opening lap. It was a game of cat and mouse, with Thomas chasing down Crisafulli for the lead.

The latter driver of the No. 36 led the opening 10 laps until, on lap 11, having issues passing Zach Sobotka, Thomas closed in and took the lead in three and four with a slide job.

“Logan was really good in the beginning,” explained Thomas. “He set up a really good pace and I was trying my damdest to get up to him. I could see he didn’t know where to go when he got up to a lapped car. I could get to the bottom and sneak up on him. That’s racing. That’s what happened to me last time.”

“I thought we were gonna go back further,” said Crisafulli. “I just made some dumb moves in lapped traffic, but it was a good night.”

The No. 36 had a hot cylinder issue, but Crisafulli believed the problem had resolved itself.

Larry Wight rounded out the podium after a late race pass on Joe Trenca to finish third.

Normally, when a driver brings the 360 or even 410 sprint car for double duty at Weedsport, chances are likely they’re running a big block. Take Larry Wight and Chris Hile, for example. But one driver performed double duty in a Sportsman ride.

Zach Sobotka made his ESS debut in a 305 sprint car wrapped similar to his Sportsman, which he purchased recently from Paul Colagiovanni. Sobotka finished 23rd in a race, with the goal of shaking down the car and not causing damage in the first race.

Sobotka has run three CRSA events this year, and every finish has been in the top 10, including a best finish of third.

Speaking of CRSA, about a quarter of the 30-car entry list was made of full-time CRSA drivers, from 360 to 305 engines. The highest finishing CRSA finisher was Jeff Trombley in 15th.

CRSA was scheduled to race Saturday night at Weedsport, night one of the Cavalcade Cup, before rain claimed the show.

This event caps the 2024 Weedsport Speedway season. For the Empire Super Sprints, two points races remain on the year with the next race a non-points event at Ohsweken Speedway for the $20,000 Northern Sprint Car Nationals.

Many ESS drivers will be attending and know there’s a lot of money up for grabs. But drivers like Thomas know the competition is set to be tough once again.

“All those teams up there are spending money and have drivers that appear to get better and better.,” said Thomas. “It’s a lot tougher to win a race up there than it was 5-6 years ago.”

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. #79-Jordan Thomas[4]; 2. 36-Logan Crisafulli[1]; 3. #99L-Larry Wight[8]; 4. 98-Joe Trenca[3]; 5. 90-Matt Tanner[6]; 6. 28-Jordan Poirier[5]; 7. 01-Danny Varin[7]; 8. 5H-Chris Hile[9]; 9. 87-Jason Barney[10]; 10. 22-Jonathan Preston[14]; 11. #52-Scott Kreutter[2]; 12. #41-Dalton Rombough[16]; 13. 4P-Chase Moran[13]; 14. #7NY-Matt Farnham[11]; 15. 3A-Jeff Trombley[15]; 16. 28F-Davie Franek[19]; 17. 10-Kelly Hebing[20]; 18. 8-Dillon Paddock[21]; 19. 2-Dave Axton[18]; 20. 13T-Trevor Years[22]; 21. 13E-Evan Reynolds[23]; 22. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[17]; 23. 38-Zach Sobotka[24]; 24. 53-Shawn Donath[12]