FONDA, N.Y. - Justin Barger is the reigning Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint champion and on Saturday night at the Fonda Speedway he kicked his title defense in impressive style. The Montrose, N.Y., pilot led all 25-laps of feature event for the victory.

For Barger it was his third career ESS victory at the historic Montgomery County oval and his 19th career series victory.

"Feels good to get a win like this," stated Barger. "We got a good draw and started on the front row. We were fortunate that we had a good enough car to hang on against these guys."

The race went green with Jason Barney and Barger starting on the front row. Barger took full advantage of his outside starting position and bolted to the high side as they entered turn one.

He and Barney were side-by-side down the back straightaway with Barger gaining the lead as they entered the third turn on the topside.

As the laps clicked off, Barger pulled away utilizing the high lane but his lead was negated on lap five when Jessica Zemken slowed after contact caused her to a left front flat.

The restart placed everyone on Barger's back bumper but on the restart he was flawless. He again opened up an advantage using the high side of the speedway.

"We were pretty much setup to run the top," commented Barger. "The car was fast and you were able to carry too much momentum up there. I tried the bottom and I couldn't get off two like I needed to."

With 13 laps complete, Barger was in slower traffic with Steve Poirier beginning to mount his charge. Barger's lead was three-quarters of a straightaway and Poirier began chipping away as the laps wound down.

The caution came out on lap 18 when contact sent Michael Parent spinning and into the wall in turn three.

Action resumed with Barger and Poirier the top two. Poirier dove to the inside and attempted to move by Barger in turns one and two but he was unable to make the pass stick on the inside.

"We went with a little bit of a harder tire," commented Barger. "We were kind of a sitting duck there for the first two or three laps after the restarts. I saw him underneath me there on the restarts but I was able to pull him a little bit and get my momentum back up."

At the checkered Barger won over with Poirier, of St. Mathieu de Beloeil, PQ., settling for a second place finish after starting eighth.

"It was a fun race," said Poirier. "It was a good battle with Justin (Barger) there. I thought I had something for him. We had a good car. I'm very happy to start eighth and finish second."

Poirier had one opportunity to make the move to get by Barger on a lap 18 restart. He was able to pull alongside but he could never get far enough ahead to secure the lead.

"My car was really strong on the bottom," commented Poirier. "Justin (Barger) ran the bottom the one lap and I had a chance but I made a mistake and couldn't get back to him."

Chuck Hebing, of Ontario, N.Y., started on the outside of the fifth row and he made several early moves to get inside the top five but he was unable to challenge for a top two finish.

"The car was good for a while there but I had nothing for Justin and Steve," said Hebing. "We were out of right rear tire at the end. I used up my car way too early getting to the front."

Rick Wilson, of Joyceville, Ont., fell back as far as tenth before making his way to a solid fourth place finish. Bobby Varin, the defending Modified track champion at Fonda Speedway, came home fifth in Pete Demitraszek's No. 61.

Pit Notes: 36 cars signed in for the season opener….Tyler Rice blew an engine in hot laps and was done for the night….Devin Caron made his first ever ESS start….Dylan Swiernik's ESS start was his first ever with a 360 engine in his car….Barney ran Brandon Warner's No. 10B.

Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints - SUNY Canton Series Event A-Main: Justin Barger, Steve Poirier, Chuck Hebing, Rick Wilson, Bobby Varin, Lance Yonge, Dan Kaszubinski, Jason Barney, Tommy Wickham, Shawn Donath, Dylan Swiernik, Warren Alexson, Mike Stelter, Josh Pieniazek, Jami Russell, Floyd Billington, Kyle Dutcher, Jeff Cook, Jessica Zemken, Cory Sparks, Michael Parent, Kevin Ward Jr., Anthony Cain, Chris Jones.

Lap Leader - Barger 1-25
Cook's Contracting Services Halfway - Barger $100
WestFront Construction Hard Charger - Swiernik (10 Pos.) $50
HG Associates Fast Time - Barger (20.025) $25
Car Mate Custom Built Tralers Heats - Yonge, Wickham, Zemken, Varin $25

Did Not Qualify - Matt Tanner, Jay Shypinka, Shane Ely, Mark Zemcik, April Wilson, Tyler Rice, Kory Gurney, Zack Weigand, Devon Caron, Tyler Rand, James Hanson, Dave Wickham.

Heat 1 - Lance Yonge, Justin Barger, Michael Parent, Dan Kaszubinski, Jeff Cook.
Heat 2 - Tommy Wickham, Jason Barney, Josh Peniazek, Kevin Ward, Kyle Dutcher.
Heat 3 - Jessica Zemken, Steve Poirier, Rick Wilson, Shawn Donath, Anthony Cain.
Heat 4 - Bobby Varin, Chuck Hebing, Cory Sparks, Jami Russell, Chris Jones.
Winners Circe/Cobra Coaches Dash - Jessica Zemken.
B-Main - Dylan Swiernik, Warren Alexson, Mike Stelter, Floyd Billington.