Steve Poirier Fights Off Jessica Zemken
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
By MIKE MALLETT
GRANBY, Que – Steve Poirier hasn’t had the start to the 2009 racing season he would have liked. The two-time defending Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint Champion has struggled so far this season, with his best run a fourth two weeks ago at Utica-Rome Speedway.
Friday night at the Autodrome Granby, Poirier nearly lost the event to Jessica Zemken after she took the lead with less than ten laps to go, but he fought his way back to win the Northwood 2 Construction/LaSalle Motorsports Canadian Sprint Car Series, Fondations 4 Saisons 25 Lap A-Main. The win paid him a total of $2,125 for his efforts.
“It has been a long time since we have been to Victory Lane,” said Poirier. “We didn’t run well at the end of last year, and we didn’t run well at the beginning of this year. We had a little bit of luck tonight. It feels good to finally get a win again.”
Poirier started on the pole of the main event, with Zemken alongside after Jeff Cook won the first heat and pulled the number four for the inversion. At the green, Poirier got the jump on Zemken and pulled away in his AMB Moteurs-powered J&J.
Poirier pulled away early on, and opened up a half-straightaway lead over Zemken before he reached slower traffic. By the sixth circuit, Poirier reached the tail of the field, and began putting slower cars down a lap. While he was doing so, Zemken began to close the gap.
At the halfway point of the main-event, Poirier was the leader but Zemken had closed to within a car length. She patiently worked the bottom as Poirier used the outside.
“My car was really fast on the outside at the beginning,” stated Poirier. “My car felt really good up there, and I felt like that was the fastest way around.”
Zemken’s patience paid off as she was able to sneak underneath Poirier in turn two for the lead on lap 18 as the pair battled in heavy lapped traffic.
“When I got to the slower car,s I had to slow down a little bit,” commented Poirier. “I think I was a little too patient. Jessica (Zemken) got close to me and was able to get by me on the bottom. I wasn’t as good down there.”
The slower traffic proved to be difficult for Zemken as well, as she got stuck in line behind Lee Ladouceur's slower car. As she tried to get underneath him, Poirier went back to the outside, and drove around her as they exited turn four on lap 22.
“The lapped traffic was very difficult out there tonight,” said Poirier. “She (Zemken) was faster than me but she was running the bottom. The lapped cars seemed to prefer the bottom which was lucky for me. I was able to go around her and the slower car on the outside to regain the lead.”
Poirier led the final three laps to earn his first win of the season, and his 20th career win with the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints.
Zemken, of Sprakers, N.Y., was all smiles after the event considering she nearly beat Poirier at one of his home tracks in her Silly’s Racing Engines-powered Maxim. “It’s pretty cool to come up here and run with Steve (Poirier), knowing what I know and what he knows,” stated Zemken. “He’s run thousands of laps here, and I’ve only run here a few times. I’m just happy to have as good of a finish as we did.”
Hometown driver, Michael Parent of Granby, crossed in third behind Poirier and Zemken. He got close to the top pair but was unable to overcome them in his Fisher-powered Eagle.
“I think my car was about the same as Steve (Poirier) and Jessica’s (Zemken),” said Parent. “I want to win one of these races someday but a third place finish is okay. We are getting better.”
Former Granby winner, Alain Bergeron, advanced one position forward to finish in fourth, while Antwerp, N.Y. star, Jeff Cook, lost one spot from his starting position and finished in fifth.