8.22.14 Albany Saratoga Speedway Results
Malta, NY – Just over one year ago Mark Kislowski sat in victory lane for the first time at The Great Race Place. The Ballston Lake driver backed up that inaugural win this past Friday night with another trip to victory lane in the Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified feature event.
By starting the 35 lap feature event, Garden State certain Hall of Famer Brett Hearn clinched the 2014 Track Championship. The title is Hearn’s seventh track championship at the Malta oval and third consecutive. Only Kenny Tremont, Jr. has more track championships at Albany-Saratoga (12). Since Hector Stratton won the track championship in 1993 the only driver to be crowned Dirt Modified track champion at the track not named Tremont or Hearn was Dave Camara. Camara was the champion in 2000 and 2001.
In other action Chris Johnson won the final leg of the Featherfoot Warrior Series for the Sportsman division. Jeremy Pitts was crowned series champion. Kim Duell returned to victory lane in the DIRTcar Pro Stock division while Ron Casey and Randy Miller won the Limited Sportsman and Street Stock feature events respectfully. Darryl Hulburt won the Northeastern Vintage Dirt Modified Club event.
North country veteran Mike Perrotte and the younger of the racing Ronca brothers, Rich, led the field down to starter Rich Peterson’s green flag. Perrotte grabbed the early lead over Ronca and Brian Gleason before a jingle on the front stretch involving Justin Barber brought out the first caution flag of the event. Perrotte again led on the restart with Ronca, Neal Stratton, Gleason and Matt Depew following.
Kislowski meanwhile was on the move. He moved the Morris Auto Group/Terry’s Route 50 Super Lot number three into fifth on lap four and immediately set his sights on Gleason for the fourth position. It took only four laps for Kislowski to mount hard pressure on Gleason and on lap eight he moved into the fourth position. On lap 11 Stratton moved past Ronca for the second position.
At the one third point of the race Gleason started to make a charge. He moved past both Ronca and Kislowski heading into turn one to take over the third position on lap 11 and then a lap later took over second from Stratton. Kislowski moved into the third position on lap 15 forcing Stratton back to fourth. A lap later Ronnie Johnson started to make his presence known as he moved past Stratton into the fourth position.
As the race reached the halfway point Perrotte held about a two car lengths lead over Gleason with Kislowski, Johnson and Stratton completing the top five. With 15 laps to go the top three were under a blanket, working their way through slower traffic. Kislowski moved past Gleason for second on lap 21 and then immediately challenged Perrotte for the lead. The duo ran side by side for a couple of laps before Kislowski secured the lead for himself. At the same time Hearn moved past Stratton for the fifth position.
The second and final caution flag of the fast paced event slowed the field on lap 24 when Chris Busta spun on the front stretch. Kislowski held the top spot on the restart with the remainder of the top five remaining the same. On lap 26 Hearn would battle with Johnson for the fourth position. That battle lasted a lap as not only did the 2015 Track Champion take over the fourth position on lap 27 but he also moved past Gleason for third. Johnson moved past Gleason for the fourth spot on lap 28.
Hearn closed quickly on second place Perrotte and on lap 29 took over the runner up spot. As the field completed lap 30 Kislowski held a 3.187 second lead over Hearn. Hearn however was on the move and with two laps to go had cut that lead down to 1.646 seconds.
Kislowski’s advantage proved to be too much as Hearn had to settle for second. Kislowski picked up the win by .654 seconds over Hearn, Perrotte, Johnson and Gleason. Heat races for the 24 car field were won by Stratton, Gleason and Peter Britten.
“First and foremost I have to thank my family,” Kislowski said. “They give me the time to do this. We have a pretty good crew this year. We are working hard in the shop.”
Chris Johnson picked up the biggest victory in his young career Friday night by claiming the 25 lap finale of the Featherfoot Warrior Series. The win was the second of his career, with his first coming in August of 2007.
Nick Lussier was first to lead the event with Johnson and Elliot Lussier following. Early on Elliot seemed to have the car to beat. He moved past Johnson for second on lap three and then past his brother Nick for the lead on lap four. By lap five the top three had pulled away from the field. The trio opened up about a half straightaway lead before a caution on lap ten erased their advantage.
When racing resumed Elliot was the lead however he had Johnson all over him. Following a lap 14 restart Johnson had a good run on Lussier and the duo battled side by side briefly for the lead. A lap later Johnson took over the top spot. From there Johnson led the rest of the way to bring home the win in his Bigg Mann Painting number 1EJ. Nick Lussier would finish the event in second with Jeremy Pitts third, Elliot fourth and Colin Bokus fifth.
With his third place finish defending track champion Jeremy Pitts would be crowned the 2014 Featherfoot Warrior Series champion for the Sportsman division. A total of 33 drivers entered the event with heat races being won by both Nick and Elliot Lussier and Johnson. The consolation event was claimed by recent Limited Sportsman graduate David Emigh.
Kim Duell picked up the 25 lap DIRTcar Pro Stock feature event in very exciting fashion. Fast Eddie Thompson was first to the lead following Rich Peterson’s green flag. Thompson led until lap 12 when sophomore driver Byron Wescott took over. Wescott was strong on the lead however a lap 15 restart gave Duell the chance he needed. Duell pressured Wescott for the remaining laps with the duo side by side on the last lap. Duell and Wescott drag raced to the checkers with Duell picking up the win by .014 seconds. It was so close track officials needed video and transponder evidence to call it.
Duell would be the winner with Wescott settling for second, Thompson third, Kenny Martin, Jr. fourth and Rob Yetman fifth. Heat races for the 18 car field were won by Thompson and Walt Brownell.
Coming into the night Martin trailed Yetman by three points in the race for the track championship. Yetman headed pit side early after being involved in a jingle that caused his hood to come up and thus blocking his vision. He battled back to finish fifth, which allows him to take a one point lead into the season points finale this coming Friday night.
Ron Casey picked up his first career Limited Sportsman feature event win in the divisions 15 lap event. Casey led the entire distance to put the Innovative Speed and Graphics machine in victory lane over Andrew Buff, Ricky Davis, Jack Bublak and Zack Daurio. Heat races for the 17 car field were won by Davis and Casey.
Randy Miller won the 20 lap Don Don’s Delights Street Stock feature event. Miller took the lead on a lap 12 restart caused by then leader Paul Mulrain’s spin. Once out front Miller brought home the win over Jason Meltz, Bill Duprey, Jody Thew and Scott Lawrence. A total of 22 drivers entered the event.
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway returns to action this Friday night with all weekly divisions in action. It will be Back to School Kid Raffle Night and the final point’s night for the DIRTcar Modified and DIRTcar Pro Stock divisions. Racing is set to start at 7 p.m.
Coming up on Friday September 12th the annual Northeast Crate Nationals will take center stage. The Sportsman division will be on hand for a $2,225 to win event along with the Street Stock division and an event for the Pro Stocks. Please stay tuned for further announcements regarding this event.
Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified $3,000 To Win Results (35 Laps) – 1) Mark Kislowski, 2) Brett Hearn, 3) Mike Perrotte 4) Ronnie Johnson, 5) Brian Gleason, 6) Matt Delorenzo, 7) Peter Britten, 8) Ken Tremont Jr, 9) Stewart Friesen, 10) Marc Johnson, 11) Keith Flach,
12) Rich Ronca, 13) Jimmy Cottrell, 14) Elmo Reckner, 15) Todd Ryan, 16) Neil Stratton, 17) Dylan Scribner, 18) John Lutes Jr., 19) Todd Morey, 20) Chris Busta, 21) Matt Depew, 22) Bobby Hackel IV, 23) Justin Barber, 24) Don Ronca
Sportsman Featherfoot Series Results (25 Laps) – 1) Chris Johnson, 2) Nick Lussier, 3) Jeremy Pitts, 4) Elliott Lussier, 5) Colin Bokus, 6) Rocky Warner, 7) Jake Scarborough, 8) Connor Cleveland, 9) Jush Sunn, 10) Hunter Bates, 11) Adam Gage, 12) Mike Burdo, 13) Chad Miller, 14) Olden Dwyer, 15) Joe Orlando, 16) Chad Edwards, 17) Cody Bleau, 18) Scott Duell, 19) Ivan Joslin, 20) Rob Maxon, 21) David Emigh, 22) Mike Ostrander, 23) Joey Scarborough, 24) John Proctor, 25) Nick Anatriello, 26) Derrick McGrew, 27) Jon Miller, 28) Robert Bublak, 29) Jack Speshock, 30) Dave Baranowski Jr, DNQ) Chris Murray, DNQ) Daryl Nutting, DNQ) Jack Swinton, Note: Don Scarborough Substitute Driver for Joey Scarborough
Limited Sportsman Results (15 Laps) – 1) Ron Casey, 2) Andrew Buff, 3) Ricky Davis, 4) Jack Bublak, 5) Zach Daurio, 6) Alissa Cody, 7) Brandon Pitcher, 8) Christopher Ronca, 9) Bob Schmidt, 10) Scott Flanders, 11) Anthony Savoca, 12) Diana Huyck, 13) Walter Cook, 14) Jesse Edwards, DNS) Travis Billington, DNS) Ben Brownell, DNS) Shannon Donnelly
DIRTcar Pro Stock Results (25 Laps) – 1) Kim Duell, 2) Byron Wescott, 3) Ed Thompson, 4) Ken Martin, 5) Rob Yetman, 6) Walt Brownell, 7) Bill Smith, 8) Bernie Companion, 9) Dan Older, 10) Brandon Emigh, 11) Dave Depaulo, 12) Jeff Washburn, 13) Norm Loubier, 14) Danny Wood, 15) Cassidy Wilson, 16) Cody Whitbeck, 17) Mike Stebbins, 18) Robbie Speed, Note: Rob Lagevin Substitute Driver for Dave DePauloDon Don’s Delights Street Stock Results (20 Laps) – 1) Randy Miller, 2) Jason Meltz, 3) Bill Duprey, 4) Jody Thew, 5) Scott Lawrence, 6) Hunter Sanchez, 7) Jeff Meltz Sr, 8) Josh Coonradt, 9) Fred Harris, 10) Frank Monroe, 11) Damon Anderson, 12) John Hayes, 13) Chase Aussicker, 14) Jaske Currier, 15) George Dorvee, 16) Jordan Kasper, 17) Paul Mulrain, 18) Darrell Older, 19) Paul Braymer, 20) Jason Barrett, 21) Dave Stickles, 22) Matt Mosher