6.23.23 Albany Saratoga Speedway Results
MALTA – One of the definitions of “momentum” in the Cambridge Dictionary is “the increase in the rate of development of a process.”
Adam Pierson has momentum, and he doesn’t want to slow down.
Ten days after finishing third in the Super DIRTcar Series “Summer Starter” at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Pierson came right back and broke a two-year winless drought by winning Friday night’s 35-lap NAPA Modifieds feature at the historic Malta track.
And he had to overcome a 13th starting position to do it.
“It’s tough here,” he said, wiping the sweat off his brow after the caution-free 35-lapper. “To come from 13th and get a win, that’s something. The last time we won was ’21, so I’m glad we broke that streak.”
But Pierson wasn’t really a part of the story until the final 12 laps.
Big-block modified rookie Justin Stone started on the pole and controlled the early portion of the race. But on lap 13, he slowed dramatically in the front straightaway, the victim of a broken brake line, giving the lead to Ryan McCartney, who had started next to Stone in the front row.
While Jack Speshock hounded McCartney, Pierson continued to work his way through the pack, and was up to third by lap 16. Pierson had been racing side-by–side with Keith Flach for a number of laps, but Pierson finally moved into third, hugging the bottom.
At that point, McCartney was setting a good pace, and Speshock was following in his tire tracks on the outside, leaving the bottom wide open for Pierson. He took the runner-up spot away from Speshock on lap 23, and the next time around, he went under McCartney in the third turn to get the lead.
That left Speshock and McCartney to battle for second, and they swapped that spot on laps 29 and 30. But defending track champion Matt DeLorenzo came out of nowhere, rocketed past Speshock on lap 31 and then worked his way under McCartney on lap 33, allowing him to finish second for the third time this season.
Pierson admitted that he didn’t know if he could pull out a win running the bottom.
“To be honest, I didn’t think so,” said Pierson, who recorded his first modified win at Albany-Saratoga on Sept. 3, 2021. “I made the right tire choice, I had a 400 (tire compound) on and it came in about halfway through the race and that made a big difference. I could see the top was going away because they kept pushing out farther and farther. I just had to stay off that inside barrier and not get any flat tires.”
In addition to getting the winner’s share of the purse, Pierson also earned a $500 bonus for winning the Crazy Horse Modified Clash, which was part of Ron Mensing’s Native Pride Night.
Following Pierson and DeLorenzo across the finish line were Speshock, McCartney and Flach. McCartney’s finish was the best of his career.
It was Veterans’ Night in the dual 20-lap sportsman features, as Ron Proctor, who celebrated his 70th birthday on June 9, won the first 20-lapper, and Michael Ballestero, 64, chalked up his second win of the season in the second feature. Both received $1,000 paydays through sponsorship from Emerick Associates.
Proctor started on the pole and led all 20 laps in the first feature. Dylan Madsen, who started sixth, only needed six laps to move into second and eventually reeled in Proctor, but on two occasions, Madsen made little miscues in the turns, allowing Proctor, who won his first modified feature at Albany-Saratoga in 1985, to get some breathing room and hit the finish line 0.449 seconds ahead of Madsen, Andy Buff, Chris Jakubiak and Zach Buff completed the top five.
Ballestero’s win in the second feature was equally as significant, as it was the 35th of his career, moving him back into a tie with Tim Hartman Jr. on the all-time sportsman win list at Albany-Saratoga. Ballstero started 10th in the second 20-lapper, easily caught the leaders and was about to pass Scott Duell for the lead when a caution flew on lap 16. But Ballestero then got a good jump on the restart and got the lead for good.
Ironically, Hartman Jr. made a late charge and finished second, with Joey Scarborough getting up for third.
The 25-lap pro stock feature saw a first-time winner, as Jordan Modiano held off Shane Henderson to record the first win of his career at Albany-Saratoga. “This is my first win on dirt,” said Modiano, who used to race on the tracks of Long Island before moving to the Capital Region. “I’ve won on asphalt, but never on dirt. I had no idea who was behind me. I just tried to run my race and do the best I could.”
It was a good night for Modiano, who earned $1,000 for the win through sponsorship from Saratoga Masonry Supply, and he also won the Four States Enterprises Pro Stock Dash for Dash, which was worth another $200.
The Limited Sportsman also ran a pair of features, with Kyle Swart and Connor Crane both coming away with the first wins of their young careers.
In the first feature, Swart had a little scare when he bobbled coming out of the fourth turn coming down to the white flag, which allowed Mike Arnold to get right on his bumper. But Swart ran a perfect final lap to hold off Arnold by 3/10th of a second.
Crane, the younger brother of Chris Crane Jr., last year’s limited sportsman champion, went right to the front from his third starting position and easily outran Joe Venditti to come away with his first career win. “This is crazy,” he said in victory lane. “I never thought I’d be here so soon.”
Jason Meltz won the 20-lap street stock feature, only needing five laps to get the lead from his fourth starting position. Chris Stalker and Jeff Meltz Sr. waged a heated battle for the No. 2 spot, with Stalker beating out Meltz Sr. by a nose.
Elmer Montville dominated the four-cylinder feature, finishing in front of his cousin Adam to post his second win of the season. Kyle Lamfear finished fifth overall and had the first single-cam car across the finish line.
NAPA MODIFIEDS: ADAM PIERSON, Matt DeLorenzo, Jack Speshock, Ryan McCartney, Keith Flach, Ken Tremont Jr., Rich Ronca, Jack Lehner, Brian Calabrese, Peter Britten, Mike Mahaney, Don Ronca, Ronnie Johnson, Marc Johnson, Jeremy Pitts, Jessey Mueller, CG Morey, Vinnie Visconti, Robert Bublak, Justin Stone, Kris Vernold, Brandon Daley, Matt Depew. DNS: Demetrios Drellos, Neil Stratton.
NORTHEAST PAVING & SEALCOATING SPORTSMAN: (first feature, 20 laps): RON PROCTOR, Dylan Madsen, Andrew Buff, Chris Jakubiak, Zach Buff, Mike Coffey Jr., Chad Edwards, Travis Witbeck, Chris Crane Jr., Taylor Wason, Elliot Lussier, Derrick McGrew Jr., Mike Jeske, Jon Miller, Dave Baranowski Jr., Marty Kelly III, Jim Osgood, Justin Barber, Travis Billington.
NORTHEAST PAVING AND SEALCOATING SPORTSMAN (second feature, 20 laps): Michael Ballestero, Tim Hartman Jr., Joey Scarborough, Brandon Darrah, Pat Jones, Daryl Nutting, Scott Duell, David Boisclair, Bryce Breault, Taylor LaPlante, Jeff Washburn, Michael Wagner Fitzgerald, Floyd Billington, Tyler Rapp, Jason Bruno, Dan Grignon, Eric Mack, Mike Benson, Nick Lussier.
SARATOGA MASONRY SUPPLY PRO STOCKS: JORDAN MODIANO, Shane Henderson, Jay Corbin, Luke Horning, Pete Stefanski, Brandon Emigh, Chucky Dumblewski, Rich Crane, Jason Casey, Jay Casey, Kyle Hoard, Kim Duell, Phil Difiglio, Dom Denue, Pete Vila, Dean Charbonneau, Jaxson Ryan.
HAUN WELDING LIMITED SPORTSMAN (first feature, 15 laps): KYLE SWART, Mike Arnold, Chase Zimmer, Dylan Grogan, EJ Gallup, Nick Arnold, John Santolin, David Zelker, Timmy Wilmot, Walter Cook, Mike Engwer, Phil Arnold, Brandon Tyler, Alex Palmer-Sawyer, Steve Burch.
HAUN WELDING LIMITED SPORTSMAN (second feature, 15 laps): CONNOR CRANE, Joe Venditti, Dakota Green, Dan Seguin, Chad Gregory, Tanner Coon, Nick Auspelmyer, Ron Delease, Mike Parodi, Scott Towslee, James Galarneau, Mike Baker, Damian Anderson, Jordan Hill, Sara Arnold.
LAKE AUTO PARTS STREET STOCKS: JASON MELTZ, Chris Stalker, Jeff Meltz Sr., Jimmy Duncan, Matt Mosher, Josh Hemming, Mike Bussino , Josh Bussino, Patrick Cram, Jason Barrett, Fred Shippee, Dana Van Veghten, Al Relyea, Nick Napoli, Ray Pierre Jr., Tim McFarland, Dan Buell, Joey Wilson.
GREG’S TOWING FOUR-CYLINDERS: ELMER MONTVILLE, Adam Montville, David Frame, Justin Ramsey, Kyle Lamfear (first single-cam finisher), Josh Ramsey, Daniel Joubert, John Mason, Josh Rheome, Brenden Lauzon, Robert Garney, Tom Hill, Olivia Swinton, Brittany Ladd, Chris Duffney Jr., Ashlynn Ramsey.