8.8.14 Albany Saratoga Speedway Results
Malta, NY – Heading into last Friday nights racing action, New Jersey superstar Brett Hearn had a month long winless streak going at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. That winless streak is nothing but a distant memory as Hearn picked up his second straight Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified feature event win Friday night at the Great Race Place.
The win was Hearn’s eighth of the season and 851st total of his career. In addition, Friday nights checkered flag extended his already comfortable points lead in his quest for track championship number seven at the track.
In other action Tim Hartman, Jr. (Sportsman), Bernie Companion (DIRTcar Pro Stocks), Anthony Alger (Limited Sportsman), Randy Miller (Don Don’s Delights Street Stocks) and Steve Ryan (Greg’s Towing and Repair Four Cylinders) all won feature events.
Matt Depew and Brian Gleason led the field down to the start of the DIRTcar Modified feature event with Depew taking the early lead over Gleason, Chris Busta, Don Ronca and Rich Ronca. Busta slipped high on lap one, opening the door for Don Ronca to move into the third position. By lap four Elmo Reckner was on the move. The Ballston Lake driver was already inside the top five while Ronnie Johnson moved past Mark Kislowski for the fifth position.
Gleason meanwhile started to suffer handling issues on the Recovery Sports Grill number 14g. After starting on the front row the Altamont driver was passed by Don Ronca for second on lap seven and then two laps later slid high in between turns three and four, which allowed Busta past for third. Heading into turn one Gleason slid up and over the banking which forced the first caution period of the event.
Don Ronca would lead on the restart with Depew, Busta, Peter Britten and Reckner following. A lap later John Lutes, Jr. and Cass Bennett came together in between turns one and two, forcing the caution flag to wave again. Ronca again held the lead on the restart with Depew, Reckner, Busta and Britten following.
This is when Hearn decided to make his charge. After restarting from the seventh position on lap ten, Hearn moved to sixth on this restart and then on lap 13 moved past Britten and Busta for the fourth position. The caution flag waved for the final time on lap 14 when Gleason came to a stop in turn four, ending his evening.
When racing resumed Ronca continued to lead with Reckner, Hearn, Depew and Britten following. Kenny Tremont, Jr. had moved into the sixth position. On lap 15 Reckner attempted a slide job on Ronca for the lead however Reckner would slide up over the burn allowing Hearn to get underneath. Reckner would regain the position from Hearn however the Corporate Jet moved back past on lap 16.
Hearn immediately began pressuring Ronca for the lead. On lap 20 Hearn took the Madsen Motorsports number 20 past Ronca for the lead. Britten meanwhile had moved to third not long after and then on lap 25 the Australian driver moved past Ronca for second. Britten closed quickly on Hearn and with five laps to go had narrowed the lead down to just a few car lengths.
That is as close as Britten would get to Hearn as the six time track champion would not be denied his eighth win of the season. Britten had to settle for second with Ronca beating Kenny Tremont, Jr. be less than a nose for third. Ronnie Johnson rounded out the top five. Heat races for the 24 car field were won by Jimmy Cottrell, Depew and Busta.
“I didn’t know how it was going to shake out,” Hearn said. “Peter (Britten) was real good and Ronnie (Johnson) was good at the beginning of the race. I needed a couple of good restarts to make those passes and hang on to it. It was a heck of a race and a good race track.”
Tim Hartman, Jr. picked up his third Sportsman feature event win of the season. Hartman will now head back down to Florida where he attends college. Elliot Lussier and John Proctor led the field to the green with Proctor taking the early lead. Proctor held the lead through a few early race restarts before Hartman began to make his charge. Hartman moved to second on lap six and then past Proctor for the lead a lap later. Once out front Hartman would not be caught as he brought home his seventh career win at the Great Race Place. Derrick McGrew finished second with Cody Bleau third, Jeremy Pitts fourth and Hunter Bates fifth. Heat races for the 32 car field were won by Lussier, Jake Scarborough and Robert Bublak.
Bernie Companion brought home his first DIRTcar Pro Stock feature win of the season. The win was his sixth career triumph at the track and first since September of 2007. Jeff Washburn grabbed the early lead in the 25 lap event before giving way to Companion on lap 19. Companion then pulled away for the win over Washburn, Dan Older, Sr., Rob Yetman and Chuck Dumblewski. Heat races for the 18 car field were won by Dumblewski and Brandon Emigh.
Anthony Alger survived to win the caution filled 15 lap Limited Sportsman feature event. Alger moved his Fast Track Racing Parts number one out front at the drop of the green and led the entire distance to pick up the win. Jack Bublak would finish second with Jesse Edwards third, Andrew Buff fourth and Ken Conroy fifth. Heat races for the 20 car field were won by Edwards and Bublak.
Randy Miller won the 20 lap Don Don’s Delights Street Stock feature event. The win was Miller’s sixth of the season at the Great Race Place. Fred Harris took the early lead, holding the top spot until lap two when fellow front row starter Paul Braymer took over. Braymer led until lap 14 when Miller moved past for the lead. Once out front Miller’s F&L Construction number 12 would not be touched. Miller picked up the win over Braymer, Frank Monroe, Bill Duprey and Jason Meltz.
Steve Ryan continued his dominance of the Greg’s Towing and Repair Four Cylinder division. Ryan picked up his seventh win of the season in the eight events held for the division. Dan Older, Jr. would finish second with Robert Garney third, Clifford Booth fourth and Chris Keller fifth.
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway returns to action this Friday night at 7pm. On tap will be the Night of Features. Only the Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modifieds will run heat races, the remaining divisions will compete in a features only program. It will also be Meet the Racer night. The Greg’s Towing and Repair Four Cylinders will also be on the card.
Coming up on Friday September 12th the annual Northeast Crate Nationals will take center stage. The GRIT Sportsman Series will be on hand for a $2,225 to win event along with the Street Stock division. Please stay tuned for further announcements regarding this event.
For more information on the Albany-Saratoga Speedway including the 2014 racing schedule, photos and point standings please log on to our website at www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com.
Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified $3,000 To Win Results (35 Laps) – 1) Brett Hearn, 2) Peter Britten, 3) Don Ronca, 4) Ken Tremont Jr, 5) Ronnie Johnson, 6) Elmo Reckner, 7) Mark Kislowski, 8) Matt Depew, 9) Keith Flach, 10) Chris Busta, 11) Marc Johnson, 12) Matt Delorenzo, 13) Rich Ronca, 14) Neil Stratton, 15) Mike Perrotte 16) John Lutes Jr., 17) Brian Whittemore, 18) Justin Barber, 19) Jimmy Cottrell, 20) Vinnie Sanganetti, 21) Brian Gleason, 22) Cass Bennett, DNS) Jim Nagle, DNS) Jeremy Wilder
Sportsman Results (25 Laps) – 1) Tim Hartman Jr, 2) Derrick McGrew, 3) Cody Bleau, 4) Jeremy Pitts, 5) Hunter Bates, 6) Scott Duell, 7) Chad Miller, 8) Olden Dwyer, 9) Alex Bell, 10) Jack Swinton, 11) Dave Baranowski Jr, 12) Joe Orlando, 13) Connor Cleveland, 14) Jack Speshock, 15) Mike Burdo, 16) Chris Johnson, 17) Adam Gage, 18) Timothy Davis, 19) Robert Bublak, 20) Jon Miller, 21) Mike Ostrander, 22) Nick Lussier, 23) Joey Scarborough, 24) John Proctor, 25) Jake Scarborough, 26) Elliott Lussier, 27) John Virgillio, 28) Jack Gentile, 29) Colin Bokus, 30) Pete Jeske, 31) Andy Durie, 32) Rob Maxon
Limited Sportsman Results (15 Laps) – 1) Anthony Alger, 2) Jack Bublak, 3) Jesse Edwards, 4) Andrew Buff, 5) Ken Conroy, 6) Alissa Cody, 7) Ricky Davis, 8) Ben Brownell, 9) Zach Daurio, 10) David Emigh, 11) Bruce Schwab, 12) Steve Wagoner, 13) Bob Schmidt, 14) Travis Billington, 15) Diana Huyck, 16) Emily Quinn, 17) Christopher Ronca, 18) Scott Flanders, 19) Shannon Donnelly, 20) Matt Atwood
DIRTcar Pro Stock Results (25 Laps) – 1) Bernie Companion, 2) Jeff Washburn, 3) Dan Older, 4) Rob Yetman, 5) Chuck Dumblewski, 6) Walt Brownell, 7) Kim Duell, 8) Ken Martin, 9) Byron Wescott, 10) Robbie Speed, 11) Brandon Emigh, 12) Bill Smith, 13) Dave Depaulo, 14) Danny Wood, 15) Rowdy Burch, 16) Kevin Loomis, 17) Ed Thompson, DNS) Mike Bradley
Don Don’s Delights Street Stock Results (20 Laps) – 1) Randy Miller, 2) Paul Braymer, 3) Frank Monroe, 4) Bill Duprey, 5) Jason Meltz, 6) Damon Anderson, 7) Scott Lawrence, 8) Jody Thew, 9) Josh Coonradt, 10) John Filarecki, 11) Paul Mulrain, 12) Jaske Currier, 13) John Hayes, 14) Chase Aussicker, 15) Matt Mosher, 16) Curt Condon, 17) Fred Harris, 18) Jordan Kasper, 19) Mike Sanchez, 20) David Shippee, 21) Dave Stickles, 22) Luke MacIsaac
Greg’s Towing & Repair 4 Cylinder Combined Results (15 Laps) – 1) Steve Ryan, 2) Dan Older, 3) Robert Garney, 4) Clifford Booth, 5) Chris Keller, 6) Dave LaBarge, 7) Brett Horlacher, 8) Rich Tinkham, 9) Tim Meltz, 10) Dylan LaPort, 11) Gary Mallory, 12) Mike Parodi, 13) Ben Britch, 14) Amber Rivers, DNS) Mike Dianda, DNS) Pete Vila
Greg’s Towing & Repair 4 Cylinder Single Cam Results – 1) Dan Older, 2) Robert Garney, 3) Chris Keller, 4) Dave LaBarge, 5) Brett Horlacher, 6) Rich Tinkham, 7) Tim Meltz, 8) Dylan LaPort, 9) Gary Mallory, 10) Mike Parodi, 11) Ben Britch, 12) Amber Rivers
Greg’s Towing & Repair 4 Cylinder Dual Cam Results – 1) Steve Ryan, 2) Clifford Booth, DNS) Mike Dianda, DNS) Pete Vila