RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. — For the second time this season, Paulie Colagiovanni found himself in Empire Super Sprints victory lane, this time at the Ransomville Speedway for the Ron Lux Memorial.
Johnny Smith and Matt Farnham led the starting field to the initial green flag. After a caution on the initial start for Jonathan Preston, Smith was able to jump out to an early lead.
Fourth-starting Colagiovanni made quick work of the cars in front of him, and by lap two he had worked his way into second. On lap six, he was able to get by Smith for the lead and never looked back.
Meanwhile, Shawn Donath was also mounting a charge to the front and was able to get by Smith for the second spot on lap nine, while working the bottom of turns three and four.
Although a late race caution would bunch the field up once more on lap 18, neither Donath nor Smith were ever able to make a serious challenge for the lead. At the end of 25 laps, it was Colagiovanni who sailed to victory in the Ron Lux Memorial, worth $2,000.
“I noticed the top was getting crumbly and dirty, and a lot of the guys getting up against the wall, so I pulled my wing back and went right to the bottom – it stuck really good,” said Colagiovanni. “Once I saw that caution, I knew I just had to get by lap cars because Shawn (Donath) is always pretty good here. Luckily, we were able to hold on for the win.”
As with any points battle, consistency is the name of the game and Shawn Donath has been a model of consistency as of late. Friday night was no different, as Donath brought his No. 53 machine home in second for yet another podium finish.
Polesitter Johnny Smith IV was able to hold on to third.
The finish:
Feature (25 laps): 1. #10C-Paulie Colagiovanni[4]; 2. #53-Shawn Donath[5]; 3. #3Z-Johnny Smith[1]; 4. 28-Jordan Poirier[7]; 5. #87-Jason Barney[8]; 6. #7C-Dylan Swiernik[6]; 7. #90-Matt Tanner[12]; 8. #36-Logan Crisafulli[13]; 9. #7NY-Matt Farnham[2]; 10. #45-Chuck Hebing[9]; 11. 90T-Travis Cunningham[17]; 12. #10-Jeff Cook[15]; 13. #13-Keith Granholm[14]; 14. #13T-Trevor Years[11]; 15. (DNF) #5D-Jacob Dykstra[3]; 16. (DNF) #22-Jonathan Preston[10]; 17. (DNF) #15-Ryan Turner[16]