9.23.23 Albany Saratoga Speedway Results
MALTA – On the night that Ken Tremont Jr. closed the book on his Hall of Fame dirt track modified racing career, Stewart Friesen added another chapter to his.
Friesen drew the outside pole and led all 115 laps Saturday night to win the Super DIRTcar Series race that was the crown jewel of the season-ending Malta Massive Weekend at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.
In chalking up his first SDS victory of the season, Friesen walked off with a check for $11,500. Both the race distance and the winner’s payout were part of the weekend-long tribute to Tremont, who was driving his iconic No. 115 for the final time before heading into retirement.
Tremont wasn’t about to walk off quietly into the sunset, however. Behind the wheel of a new chassis, he finished his career with a 10th-place finish.
But the night belonged to Friesen. He easily got the jump on Adam Pierson on the first lap and was never seriously challenged, despite a handful of restarts during the 115-lap feature.
And he made it look so easy. By lap 15, he had already caught the tail end of the field, and began lapping cars at ease, looking like a slalom skier darting left and right around each big block modified he encountered.
The first caution came out on lap 43, when Mat Williamson, who had won Friday night’s 50-lap 358 Modified Series race, had to pit with a flat tire.
The subsequent restart allowed Super DIRTcar Series points leader Matt Sheppard, who had started 10th, to move into fourth.
The next caution almost cost Friesen his lead. On lap 66, Neil Stratton blew his motor in the third turn while Friesen was getting ready to put him a lap down. As Stratton began to slow in the fourth turn, he instinctively pulled to the outside, pinching Friesen into the wall. But Friesen came away unscathed.
While Friesen was controlling the pace, two young guns were having the best runs of their careers. James Meehan, who started fourth, was never far away from the lead, while Felix Roy, who started fifth, kept hounding Meehan and finally moved into the No. 2 position following a restart on lap 77.
Sheppard’s luck ran out on lap 91, when he suffered a flat tire while running fourth. On the restart, Kolby Schroder, making a rare trek away from his Lebanon Valley home, brought out a yellow after he dropped off the backstretch while battling for a top-five position.
Misfortune also struck Justin Stone, who was also trying to pull a huge upset. Stone’s motor let go on lap 101, ending his bid for a top-five finish.
At the end, Friesen had his fourth career Super DIRTcar Series win at Malta, and a guaranteed starting spot in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Oswego next month.
“I can’t thank my team enough,” said Friesen in victory lane. “I stunk in this race last year.”
Friesen was also quick to pay his own personal tribute to Tremont.
“First and foremost, I’d like to congratulate Ken on his awesome career,” Friesen said. “You guys have been lucky to have him here all those years. It was always a privilege to watch him race. When I first starting coming here, I was racing for the Madsens, and it was Ken who was kicking my butt. But he was also the first one to offer me advice.”
Roy finished second and Meehan was third, easily their best finishes ever in a Super DIRTcar Series race. Larry Wight finished fourth after starting 20th, and Peter Britten completed the top five.
Luke Horning dominated the accompanying 30-lap DIRTcar Pro Stock Series feature, continuing his incredible 2023 campaign.
Horning, who started third, began pressuring leader Chucky Dumblewski after just five laps, and took the low line out of the fourth turn on lap eight to get the lead.
With the race only being slowed by one caution, on lap 19, Horning was never seriously challenged and came away with his 19th overall victory of the season.
He now has three wins on the Super DIRTCar Series trail, and padded his points lead.
“We need a slick track to show what this car can do,” said Horning after his win. “When it’s hammer down, it doesn’t work, so the track tonight was good for us.”
Horning was referring the hour and a half rain delay that took place early in the card.
Kim Duell, who had started sixth, used the only restart to get around Dumblewski for the No. 2 position, but he still finished over two seconds behind Horning. Pete Stefanski, Dumblewski and Jaxson Ryan completed the top five.
Chase Zimmer also took home one of the specially designed Malta Massive Weekend championship belts, winning the 20-lap limited sportsman feature. Zimmer started on the pole and led all 20 laps, but lapped traffic gave him some anxious moments.
Because of a quick pace, Zimmer began the lapping process after just six laps, and when he had to let off the throttle for slower cars, Mike Arnold pulled right up on his rear bumper, but Zimmer never gave up the lead.
The first caution of the feature came out on lap 17, which should have given Arnold a shot at the lead. Instead, 2023 track champion Dylan Grogan, who was running fourth, made a big move to take over second on the restart. But he had no chance to catch Zimmer, who came away with his second win of the year.
SUPER DIRTCAR MODIFIED SERIES (115 laps): STEWART FRIESEN, Felix Roy, James Meehan, Larry Wight, Peter Britten, Billy Decker, Jimmy Phelps, Mat Williamson, Tim Sears Jr., Ken Tremont Jr., Marc Johnson, Adam Pierson, Chris Hile, Jack Lehner, Darren Smith, Chad Brachmann, Matt Sheppard, Kolby Schroder, Brett Haas, Max McLaughlin, Justin Stone, Ronnie Johnson, Anthony Perrego, Neil Stratton, Mike Mahaney, Josh Hohenforst, CG Morey.
DIRTCAR PRO STOCK SERIES (30 laps): LUKE HORNING, Kim Duell, Pete Stefanski, Chucky Dumblewski, Jaxson Ryan, Chad Jeseo, Kevin Fetterly Jr., Shane Henderson, Slater Baker, Johnny Rivers Jr., Ian Bressette, Jordan Modiano, Chris Wemple, Phil Difiglio, Dave Stickles, Shawn Perez Jr.
HAUN WELDING LIMITED SPORTSMAN: CHASE ZIMMER, Dylan Grogan, Mike Arnold, Mike Parodi, Chad Gregory, Tanner Coon, Josh Coonradt, Nick Arnold, Tyler Bobar, Kyle Swart, Ron Delease, Jordan Hill, Nick Auspelmyer, Anthony Maxon, Craig Coons, Connor Crane, Kristen Swartz, Dan Seguin, Cordell Younger, Walter Cook, Chayton Young, John Santolin, Damian Anderson, Matt Jordan, Nick Ventura, Matt Debo, Sara Arnold, Colton Emigh, Garrett Bisgiarella, Alex Smith.