ESS: Jessica Zemken to debut end of May

Jessica Zemken to Make Her Sprint Car Debut with the Empire Super Sprints on May 29th.

SPRAKERS, N.Y. -- It will be a dream come true for the 19 year old, second generation Jessica Zemken. On Sunday evening, May 29th at the Utica-Rome Speedway the talented young lady will strap herself behind the wheel of a full blown 360 sprint car and take on the best of the Empire Super Sprints (ESS).

The 2004 sportsman champion at the very same half-mile oval will make her winged debut aboard the Patterson Motorsports #33Z Buckley built sprint and the usual packed house will be ready to cheer her on. While she has shown tremendous success in what is still a budding career with sportsman and now also modifieds, sprint cars has always been a dream.

Under the tutelage of Doug Emery, Zemken will have a sprint veteran of many A-Main wins in her corner as a teammate. "I can remember talking to Jessica at the Parts Peddler trade show in November and she mentioned how much she wanted to get in a sprint and I always kept that in the back of my mind." said Emery on the new venture. "I was talking to Tommy (Patterson) and he really liked the idea and actually got the ball rolling. If it wasn't for Tom, this would never have happened, it's mostly his stuff and he just wanted to help her out. We are all excited to see how she will do."

The now sprint car rookie will not enter the event totally "green" as they say in the racing circles. Jessica was able to take some practice laps in her car on May 15th at Utica-Rome and she impressed all. Fast times and a smooth driving style will help in making her an instant contender in a ride that has seen success with first Wayne Patterson, then the legendary Kramer Williamson and also Emery.

"I just can't wait to drive the sprint car with ESS at Utica! Even just the test was a blast, they are fun to drive." said a wide-eyed Zemken. "I just have to thank, Tom, Doug, everyone for putting their trust in me. I'm going to be nervous, no doubt, but I really hope I can qualify and then see what happens from here. I've always wanted to drive sprints and now I have the chance, it really is a dream come true."

The major backing is from the Patterson's but also having a big help in the effort is M&W Aluminum Products from Syracuse, N.Y. and also Emery who assembled the motor under the hood. Plans currently call for her to run all three ESS events at Utica-Rome with maybe more in the future.

Zemken is coming off a record making year, not only did she win the DIRT sportsman title at Utica-Rome but she also placed fourth in points at Thunder Alley and 10th in the overall Sunoco DIRT Sportsman Series. She tallied a total of seven feature wins at Utica-Rome, Thunder Alley, Afton and capped it off with a Series event win at the Brockville Ontario Speedway. So far in 2005 she has taken in two top fives at Utica-Rome and also been behind the wheel of her fathers (Ray) modified at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

On May 29th, many eyes will be watching at the fast half-mile in Vernon, N.Y., Jessica Zemken will make her maiden voyage in a sprint car on the very tough Empire Super Sprints' circuit. It will be a historic night, a memorable night and hopefully a successful night as well. For more information you can log on to www.jessicazemken.com or www.empiresupersprints.com and also www.uticaromespeedway.com

-ess-