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As the old saying goes “the cream always rises to the top” and that is just what happened at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway last Friday night as preseason favorites Brett Hearn (modified driver), Chris Busta (sportsman), and Cale Kneer (Pro-street) all seemed to be hitting their stride as they enter the Summer stretch.
Hearn had gone a month without a win, but backed up last week’s win with his third of the season. Hearn started 18th on the grid and broke into the top five on Lap 16 of the 35-lap race. Mike Ronca led the first six laps until Matt Sheppard blasted past on the outside on Lap 7. Sheppard was setting a torrid pace and appeared to be on his way to his first Malta win when, on Lap 20 while exiting Turn 2, he made contact with the Jersey Barrier, popping his left front tire in the process. Sheppard would continue racing with the flat tire, however not nearly as fast. A.J. Romano took the lead on Lap 21 with Hearn right on his rear bumper. Hearn drew even with Romano on Lap 24 and one lap later pulled away. Hearn pulled out to a two-second lead over the final 10 laps and went on to rack up win No. 81 at the track. Romano held off Ken Tremont Jr. late in the race to finish second as Jim Davis had his best run of the season to finish fourth over Vince Quenneville. Following the 25-Lap Sportsman feature, Christ Busta of Clifton Park was back in Victory Lane in the car he nearly destroyed a week ago. Busta went roof first into the Turn-3 light pole last week causing heavy damage. However his crew, along with help from the Hearn/Salerno team, put the car back together at least as good as before. Busta, coming from the ninth starting spot, overtook Whitey Slavin on the sixth lap and held off a persistent Mike Tholin late in the race to capture his third win of the season. Tholin’s second place finish equaled his best finish of the year. Points leader Dustin Delaney finished third ahead of Slavin and Matt Depew. Kneer finally lived up to preseason expectations as he took his first checkered flag of the season in the 31-Lap Ed Frank Jr. Memorial Race. Kneer finished the ’06 season with two consecutive wins but could only muster one top-three finish this year until last Friday. He started off in the fourth position and took over the lead from Darryl Carl on Lap 3. It was however, anything but a cake walk from there, as he first had to fend off Kim Duell during the middle stages of the race and after a Lap-25 restart, had heavy pressure from Jimmy Eaton. The heaviest of that pressure had Eaton tapping Kneer and getting him sideways in the third turn. Kneer saved his car from spinning and held on to take the win. Eaton finished second over Lori Cary, Duell and Dan Madigan. The Budget Sportsman class ran their fourth race of the year and had a first-time winner. Bryan Davis took the lead from Al Williams after contact between the two resulted in Williams spinning out. Brandon Jacobsen led the first half of the race before Williams took over. Williams led until with two laps left to go he and Davis had their run-in. Paul Dunham finished second ahead of Angela Hoard, Chuck Allen and Kale Groff.
Mike Minick won the 20-Lap Limited feature. Ken Conroy and D.J. Brundige led the early laps before Jeff Monroe took over on Lap 12. Monroe appeared headed for the win until a flat tire sidelined him with only four laps to go. Minick led the final four laps to take his first win since May of the ‘05 season. Brundige was second, last week’s winner Brandon Emigh finished third ahead of Dan Petronis and Kim Monroe Jr. In the Mini-Stock divisions, Phil DeFiglio in his 6-cylinder and Brette Osgood in his 4-cylinder continued their winning ways as they took their eighth and sixth wins respectively. Racing returns tonight with “Race & Rock Night — after the races are completed, there will be a free concert featuring the band “Rockin’ Horse.” Race time is 6:45 p.m. Also, coming up on Tuesday, it is the Night of Thrills featuring two Enduros, fireworks and the return of Megasaurus. The action will begin at 6:45 p.m. Modified: 1. Brett Hearn 2. A.J. Romano 3. Ken Tremont 4. Jim Davis 5. Vince Quenneville 6. Matt Sheppard 7. Todd Stone 8. Mike Ronca 9. Matt DeLorenzo 10. Jeff Trombley Sportsman: 1. Chris Busta 2. Mike Tholin 3. Dustin Delaney 4. Whitey Slavin 5. Matt Depew 6. Rich Ronca 7. Jack Gentile 8. Kory Sandstedt 9. Mike Ketchum 10. Josh Hohenforst Pro-Street: 1. Cale Kneer 2. Jimmy Eaton 3. Lori Cary 4. Kim Duell 5. Dan Madigan 6. Bernie Companion 7. Darryl Carl 8. Jeff Washburn 9. Bill Smith IV 10. Chuck Towslee Budget Sportsman: 1. Bryan Davis 2. Paul Dunham, Jr. 3. Angela Hoard 4. Chuck Allen 5. Kale Groff Limited: 1. Mike Minick 2. D.J. Brundige 3. Brandon Emigh 4. Dan Petronis 5. Jim Monroe, Jr. 4-cyl: 1. Brette Osgood 2. Travis Tromans 3. Shane Marks 4. Jason Dickson 5. Andy Hickok 6-cyl.: 1. Phil DeFiglio 2. Ray Galusha 3. Dan Lorenc |
