7.31.15 Albany Saratoga Speedway Results
Malta, NY – It has been a rough few weeks at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway for Brett Hearn. The Jersey Jet rebounded Friday night by putting the Madsen Motorsports number 20 into victory lane. With his points rival Kenny Tremont, Jr. having mechanical troubles he cut a hefty chunk out of Tremont’s points lead. During the evening, all heat races in all divisions awarded $50 to each winner.
In other action Derrick McGrew (Sportsman), Dan Older, Sr. (DIRTcar Pro Stock), Chris Ronca and Brandon Pitcher (Limited Sportsman), Hunter Sanchez (Street Stock) and Steve Ryan (Greg’s Towing & Repair Four Cylinders) were all feature winners.
Bobby Hackel, IV and Rich Ronca led the Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified field to the green. On the start Jesse Mueller and Mark Kislowski spun in turn four. On the restart Ronca held the lead with Hackel, Brian Gleason, Mike Perrotte and Marc Johnson following. Johnson made a three wide move out of turn two on lap three to go from fifth to third. Ronnie Johnson would move to fourth and Perrotte fifth.
Marc Johnson was the driver on the move. He took over second soon after making that three wide pass and immediately closed in on Ronca. He took the lead on lap nine. At the same time Brett Hearn moved to fifth. The current point leader Kenny Tremont, Jr. came to a stop in turn two on lap 11. He would be pushed to the pit area. On the restart Marc Johnson held the lead with Ronnie Johnson moving to second and Hearn all over Ronca for third. Hearn took third on lap 14.
Gleason came to a stop on lap 15 forcing a restart. On the restart Johnson continued to lead with Hearn taking over second from Ronnie Johnson, who slide back to third. Keith Flach came to a stop on lap 16 causing the caution flag to wave. When racing resumed Hearn took over the race lead with Marc Johnson second, Ronnie third, Ronca fourth and Peter Britten fifth.
Hearn quickly pulled away from the field. With five laps to go Hearn and Johnson were amidst heavy traffic however Hearn still had nearly a straightaway advantage. Jesse Mueller came to a stop on lap 31 erasing Hearn’s advantage. Hearn pulled away on the restart and was never challenged over the remaining laps. Marc Johnson held on for second with Ronnie Johnson third, Neil Stratton and Tyler Dippel. A total of 27 Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modifieds were on hand with heat races being won by Hackel, IV, Dippel and Tremont, Jr.
Derrick McGrew won his first 20 lap Sportsman feature of the season. Jack Bublak and Joe Orlando led the field to the green with Bublak taking the early lead over Nick Anatriello, Orlando, Scott Duell and Dave Baranowski, Jr. A spin by Elliot Lussier would bring out the caution flag on lap three. When racing resumed Bublak held the lead with Duell moving to second and Orlando third. One lap later Connor Cleveland would spin and collect Mike Ostrander in a hard hit.
On the restart Duell took the lead over Bublak. Cleveland spun in turn four on lap six to bring out the caution. Duell again held the lead on the restart with Bublak, Joey Scarborough, McGrew and Baranowski following. Jack Speshock took fifth from Baranowski on lap nine. Elliot Lussier came to a stop in turn two on lap 13 causing a caution. On the restart Duell would be the leader with Bublak and McGrew close behind.
Current point leader McGrew moved past Bublak for second on lap 18 and set his sights on Duell. Jack Swinton spun in turn four on lap 20 to bring out the caution flag. When racing resumed Duell and McGrew battled hard with McGrew taking the lead. Speshock took over third with Bublak and Rocky Warner rounding out the top five. Baranowski spun in turn four on lap 23 bringing out the final caution period.
On the restart Jon Miller and David Schilling spun in turn one, forcing a single file restart. When the race returned to green McGrew held the race lead and began to pull away. McGrew held on for the win with Duell finishing second, Bublak third, Warner fourth and Robert Bublak fifth. Jack Bublak refused technical inspection and was disqualified. This moved Speshock to fifth. A total of 27 Sportsman drivers entered the event with the heat races being won by Baranowski, Scarborough and Jack Bublak.
Dan Older, Sr. won the DIRTcar Pro Stock feature event. Bernie Companion was the first to lead the 25 lap DIRTcar Pro Stock feature event. The caution flag waved for the first time on lap two when Mark Burch spun in turn two. On the restart Companion held the lead with Chuck Dumblewski and Norm Loubier following. By lap five Kim Duell moved past Loubier for third and then two laps later moved under Dumblewski for second. Jeff Washburn spun in turn two on lap nine, collecting current points leader Byron Wescott. Wescott and Kenny Martin came into the night tied atop the points lead.
On the restart Companion held the lead with Duell second. Todd Hoffman got loose in turn two on lap 11 and caused a jingle. When racing resumed Companion held the lead over Duell and Dan Older, Sr. Robbie Speed moved past Older for third on lap 14 and set his sights on the leaders. Speed took over second from Duell on lap 18 and went to work on trying to catch Companion.
Kevin Loomis spun in turn three on lap 23 to bring out the caution. Companion led on the restart however Brandon Emigh lost his hood on lap 24 to bring out another caution period. When the green flag waved Older moved alongside Companion and took over the race lead. He led the remainder of the way to pick up the win over Companion, Duell, Emigh and Martin. With 20 DIRTcar Pro Stocks pit side, heat races were won by Companion, Dave DePaulo and Wescott.
Brandon Pitcher won the held over Limited Sportsman feature event. Pitcher and Nick Fretto led the field to the green with Pitcher taking the early lead over George Dorvee. Following a lap two restart, the top two positions didn’t change as the leading duo began to pull away from third place John Stowell. Dorvee meanwhile was all over Pitcher by the time the race reached the half way point. Rob Lanfear took over third from Stowell on lap seven and then second from Dorvee on lap nine. Despite almost losing the lead on the first of two lap ten restarts, Pitcher was able to hang on for his first career feature win over Lanfear, Pat Jones, Chris Ronca and Rob Daurio.
Chris Ronca won the regularly scheduled 15 lap event. Matt Wescott was the first to lead with Mark Rabideau and Gary Derocher following. By lap five the top two had pulled away with Ronca challenging Derocher for third. Ben Brownell and Daurio came together on lap seven to bring out the caution flag. On the restart Rabideau took over the lead with Wescott and Derocher following. With five laps to go Rabideau had pulled away and Ronca and Derocher both made their way past Wescott.
After a caution flag on lap 12, racing resumed Ronca took over the lead. A jingle in turn three brought the caution flag back out on lap 13. Ronca led when racing resumed and held on for the win. Rabideau finished second with Jones third, Stowell fourth and Derocher fifth. With the win, Ronca now graduates to the Sportsman division. The heat races for the 24 car field were won by Pitcher, Jones and Mike Coffey.
Hunter Sanchez won his second Street Stock feature event of the season. Fred Harris and Jim Cutler led the 21 car field to the green with Harris taking the early lead. Cutler would settle into second before giving way to Damon Anderson on lap three. Anderson continued his charge by taking the lead from Harris on lap four. With Anderson pulling away the battle for second heated up between David Shippee and Bill Dupree. Shippee broke on lap eight, scrambling the field on the front stretch and giving second to Sanchez.
At the half way point Anderson had the lead by about five car lengths over Sanchez and Randy Miller. Sanchez and Miller quickly closed on Anderson, erasing his lead by the time Jon Hayes came to a stop in turn two, causing a caution. On the restart Anderson held the lead with Miller second and Sanchez battling Josh Coonradt for third. Coonradt made a daring move on the outside of turn one to go from fourth to the lead on lap 15. At the same time Sanchez and Miller got together Miller causing Miller to spin and make contact with Anderson, who also spun.
On the restart Coonradt and Sanchez battled for the top spot. Sanchez moved to the low groove on lap 18 as the duo continued the side by side battle. Sanchez took the lead on the last lap and held on for the win. Coonradt finished second with Frank Monroe third, Jeff Meltz, Jr. fourth and Matt Mosher fifth.
Steve Ryan won the 15 lap Greg’s Towing & Repair Four Cylinder event. Steve Jones was the first to lead the event. He held the top spot before giving way to Steve Ryan. Once out front Ryan pulled away and held on for the win. Ben Grant finished second, Ken Stager third, Floyd Billington fourth and Mark Lindblade fifth.
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway returns to action Friday evening August 7th with all divisions in action. The Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modifieds will compete for a $3,000 top prize. The Albany-Saratoga Speedway will honor some of the legends of the Great Race Place as the 50th Anniversary Celebration continues. Some of the drivers who will be on hand are C.D. Coville, Dave Lape, Dave Leckonby, Gibby Fountain, Dickie Larkin and more. Racing is set to begin at 7pm with pit gates opening at 4pm and grandstand gates opening at 5pm. For more information about Albany-Saratoga Speedway please log on to www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com.
Modified Results (35 Laps) – 1) Brett Hearn, 2) Marc Johnson, 3) Ronnie Johnson, 4) Neil Stratton, 5) Tyler Dippel, 6) Matt Delorenzo, 7) Matt Depew, 8) Mike Perrotte, 9) Bobby Hackel IV, 10) Kris Vernold, 11) Jim Nagle, 12) Rich Ronca, 13) Keith Flach, 14) Don Ronca, 15) Peter Britten, 16) Ray Hoard, 17) Jessey Mueller, 18) Rich Scagliotta, 19) Brian Gleason, 20) Ken Tremont Jr, 21) Rob Pitcher, 22) Mark Kislowski, 23) Elmo Reckner, 24) Jimmy Cottrell, DNS) Alex Bell, DNS) Don Mattison, DNS) Dylan Scribner
Sportsman Results (25 Laps) – 1) Derrick McGrew, 2) Scott Duell, 3) Rocky Warner, 4) Robert Bublak, 5) Jack Speshock, 6) Hunter Bates, 7) Joey Scarborough, 8) Chris Johnson, 9) Nick Anatriello, 10) Jeremy Pitts, 11) Joe Orlando, 12) Jon Miller, 13) Stan Lemiesz, 14) David Schilling, 15) Jack Swinton, 16) Dave Baranowski Jr, 17) Connor Cleveland, 18) Mike Tholin, 19) Elliott Lussier, 20) Nick Lussier, 21) Adam Gage, 22) John Proctor, 23) Tim Hartman Jr, 24) Mike Ostrander, DQ) Jack Bublak, DNS) Andrew Buff, DNS) Mike Burdo, DNS) Shannon Donnelly
Limited Sportsman Results Feature #1 (15 Laps) – 1) Brandon Pitcher, 2) Rob Lanfear, 3) Pat Jones, 4) Christopher Ronca, 5) Zach Daurio, 6) John Stowell, 7) Gary Derocher, 8) Mark Rabideau, 9) Mike Coffey, 10) Ben Brownell, 11) Nick Fretto, 12) Bob Schmidt, 13) Travis Billington, 14) George Dorvee, 15) Matt Westcott, 16) Clint Bonner, 17) Diana Huyck, 18) Scott Bennett Jr, 19) Reggie Bonner, 20) Emily Quinn, DNS) Anthony Alger, DNS) Ken Conroy, DNS) Anthony Savoca
Limited Sportsman Results Feature #2 (15 Laps) – 1) Christopher Ronca, 2) Mark Rabideau, 3) Pat Jones, 4) John Stowell, 5) Gary Derocher, 6) Mike Coffey, 7) Brandon Pitcher, 8) Travis Billington, 9) Diana Huyck, 10) Clint Bonner, 11) Emily Quinn, 12) Bob Schmidt, 13) Rob Lanfear, 14) George Dorvee, 15) Reggie Bonner, 16) Scott Bennett Jr, 17) Nick Fretto, 18) Matt Westcott, 19) Zach Daurio, 20) Ben Brownell, DNS) Anthony Alger, DNS) Ken Conroy, DNS) Anthony Savoca
Pro Stock Results (25 Laps) – 1) Dan Older, 2) Bernie Companion, 3) Kim Duell, 4) Brandon Emigh, 5) Ken Martin, 6) Dave Depaulo, 7) Todd Hoffman, 8) Chuck Dumblewski, 9) Byron Wescott, 10) Norm Loubier, 11) Robbie Speed, 12) Daniel Sanchez, 13) Scott Lawrence, 14) Pete Porter, 15) Kevin Loomis,16) Steve Burch, 17) Bill Smith, 18) Phil DeFiglio, 19) Jeff Washburn, DNS) Mark Burch
Street Stock Results (20 Laps) – 1) Hunter Sanchez, 2) Josh Coonradt, 3) Frank Monroe, 4) Jeff Meltz Jr, 5) Matt Mosher, 6) Randy Miller, 7) Nathan Dahoda, 8) Mike Arnold, 9) David Cook, 10) Fred Harris, 11) Ron Redman Jr, 12) Jeremy Hayes, 13) Mark Dwyer, 14) Jake Currier, 15) Jim Cutler, 16) Bill Duprey, 17) Damon Anderson, 18) Michael Sanchex, 19) John Hayes, 20) Jay Fitzgerald, 21) David Shippee, DNS) John Morris Jr
4 Cylinder Combined Results (12 Laps) – 1) Steve Ryan, 2) Ben Grant, 3) Ken Stager, 4) Floyd Billington, 5) Mark Lindblade, 6) David Mullineaux, 7) Brett Horlacher, 8) Steve Jones, 9) Dave LaBarge, 10) John Lindblade, 11) Mike Parodi, 12) Tim Meltz
4 Cylinder Single Cam Results (12 Laps) – 1) Floyd Billington, 2) Mark Lindblade, 3) Brett Horlacher, 4) Steve Jones, 5) Dave LaBarge, 6) John Lindblade, 7) Mike Parodi, 8) Tim Meltz
4 Cylinder Dual Cam Results (12 Laps) – 1) Steve Ryan, 2) Ben Grant, 3) Ken Stager, 4) David Mullineaux