Friesen & Poirier Big Winners At Albany-Saratoga

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Friesen Stays Hot: Poirier Strikes Late for Feature Victories

Story By:TOBY LAGRANGE /ALBANY SARATOGA SPEEDWAY MEDIA                                                                                 Photos By:DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
 
IMG_0310Malta, NY –July 16, 2016- Stewart Friesen and Steve Poirier shared the spotlight Friday night at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Friesen won the Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified feature event, his third of the season and Poirier won the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprint A-Main event. The event was delayed just over an hour due to torrential rains that hit as hot laps were set to begin.

In other action Jack Speshock (Sportsman), Dave DePaulo (DIRTcar Pro Stock) and Mark Burch (Street Stocks) were each feature winners.

C.G. Morey and Brian Whittemore led Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified feature event field to the green with Morey taking the early lead over Whittemore, Todd Morey, Demetrious Drellos and Brian Gleason. Drellos moved past Whittemore for second on lap three as Jesse Mueller challenged Gleason for fifth. Matt Depew came to a stop on lap four bringing out the first caution flag.

On the restart Drellos took over the top spot with Morey, Mueller, Elmo Reckner and Whittemore following. Gleason moved past Whittemore for fifth on lap six. Justin Barber spun in turn four on lap seven to setup another restart. When racing resumed numerous cars tangled in turn one, including Don Ronca, Matt Delorenzo, Ray Hoard and Bobby Hackel, among other.

The restart would see Drellos lead with Morey, Mueller, Reckner and Gleason round out the top five. The driver on the move was Stewart Friesen. The Sprakers driver moved past Gleason for fifth on lap 11 and set his sights on the leading four drivers. Reckner moved to second on lap 11 with Friesen closing.

On lap 12 Friesen moved past Morey for fourth and then past Mueller for third on lap 14. He quickly closed on Reckner and on lap 16 he began to challenge for second. Whittemore came to a stop on lap 16 to bring out the caution flag.

IMG_0304When racing resumed Drellos led the field with Friesen all over him. Reckner held on to third with Mueller and Bodie Bellinger rounding out the top five. Friesen took the lead at the start/finish line on lap 19 however the caution would wave for Mueller who spun in turn four and Bellinger who slowed on the backstretch.

Friesen and Drellos led the field back to the green with Friesen taking the lead over Drellos, Brett Hearn, Keith Flach and Marc Johnson. Gleason slowed on lap 21 to force another restart. After two attempts, the restart would see Friesen lead with Hearn second, Drellos third, Flach fourth and Johnson fifth. On lap 25 Ronnie Johnson moved past Marc Johnson for fifth and then a lap later past Flach and Drellos for third.

IMG_0305In the end Friesen maneuvered through slower traffic to bring home the win. Hearn finished second with Ronnie Johnson third, Drellos fourth and Marc Johnson fifth. Heat races for the 35 car Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified field were won by Morey, Reckner and Brian Whittemore.

Paul Kinney took the early lead with Jason Barney moving to second and Paulie Colagiovanni to third. Colagiovanni quickly closed in on Kinney and Barney however on lap four, the back end got out from under him and he backed it into the turn four fence. On the restart Barney held the lead over Kinney and Jessica Zemken. Chuck Hebing would take over third soon after.

At the half way point Barney held a sizable lead over Kinney and Hebing however the caution flag would wave for Dave Axton who came to a stop in turn one. The restart would see Barney continue to lead with Hebing second and Poirier third. Jeff Cook spun on lap 17 to force a restart. On the restart Barney led with Poirier second and Hebing third.

IMG_0336Poirier pulled off a slide job on lap 22 for the lead. Barney attempted the same a lap later but couldn’t make it stick. Poirier picked up the win over Barney, Hebing, Danny Varin and Kinney.

A total of 31 Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints were on hand with heat races being won by Shawn Donath, Jeff Cook and Brandon Kidd. Each heat race paid $100 courtesy of Elmo’s Speed Supply and Carmate Trailers.

Danny Varin won the Cobra Coaches Dash and Mike Kiser won the B-Main.

Jack Speshock won the 25 lap Sportsman feature event. Speshock and Andrew Buff led the field to the green however a tangle on the start forced a caution flag before a lap could be completed. When racing got underway Speshock held the lead with Andrew Buff and Cody Bleau following. At the half way point Speshock held the lead over Bleau and Hunter Bates. On lap 18 Chad Edwards went from fourth to second in one pass. In the end Speshock would not be denied, picking up the win over Edwards, Jason Gray, Bleau and Bates. A total of 31 drivers entered the event.

Dave DePaulo won the 25 lap DIRTcar Pro Stock feature event. Dean Charbonneau and DePaulo led the field to the green with DePaulo taking the early lead over Norm Loubier and Charbonneau. Walt Brownell moved past Charbonneau for third on lap three and set his sights on the leaders. Justin Knight came to a stop in turn three on lap five to bring out the caution flag. While under yellow Nick Stone pulled the 27N pit side and Brownell came to a stop in turn one. Stone returned however Brownell did not.

On the restart DePaulo held the lead with Loubier and Charbonneau following. Nick Arnold came to a stop in turn four on lap six to bring out the second caution period. The restart would see DePaulo hold the lead over Loubier and Charbonneau. After a lap eight caution for Kim Duell, racing resumed with Charbonneau spinning in turn four. The incident collected Ed Thompson and others.

DePaulo held the lead when racing resumed with Dan Older, Sr. and points leader Robbie Speed following. On lap 13 Speed moved past Older for second and set his sights on DePaulo. DePaulo and Speed battled over the last ten laps of the event. In the end DePaulo was able to hold on for the win over Speed, Older, Brandon Emigh and Bill Smith. A total of 23 drivers entered the event.

Mark Burch won the 20 lap Street Stock feature event. Burch picked up the win over Josh Coonradt, Jason Meltz, Scott Lawrence and Jeff Meltz, Sr. A total of 22 drivers entered the event. The Limited Sportsman event was postponed due to the curfew. A total of 20 Limited Sportsman were on hand.

The Albany-Saratoga Speedway is back in action on June 22nd with Crushin’ Cancer Night. All divisions will be in action plus the Super DIRTcar Series for the Pro Stocks. The Greg’s Towing and Repair Four Cylinders will also be in action. The held over Limited Sportsman event will be held as well. For more information on the Albany-Saratoga Speedway please visit our website at www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com.

Modified Results (35 Laps) – Stewart Friesen, Brett Hearn, Ronnie Johnson, Demetrious Drellos, Marc Johnson, Keith Flach, Kenny Tremont, Jr., L.J. Lombardo, Matt Delorenzo, J.R. Heffner, Neil Stratton, Mark Kislowski, Jessey Mueller, Jimmy Cottrell, Elmo Reckner, Kris Vernold, Pep Corradi, Rob Pitcher, Ricky Davis, Brian Whittemore, Floyd Billington, C.G. Morey, Don Ronca, Bill Cody, Brian Gleason, Bodie Bellinger, Todd Morey, Rich Ronca, Ryan Darcy, Justin Barber, Cass Bennett, Ray Hoard, Bobby Hackel, IV, Craig Seeley, Matt Depew

Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints A-Main (25 laps) – Steve Poirier, Jason Barney, Chuck Hebing, Danny Varin, Paul Kinney, Shawn Donath, Jessica Zemken, Cory Sparks, Parker Evans, Matt Tanner, Brandon Kidd, Kelly Hebing, Will Hull, Chad Miller, Josh Pieniazek, Denny Peebles, Jeff Cook, Dan Douville, Dave Axton, Mike Kiser, Paulie Colagiovanni, Jonathan Preston

Sportsman Featherfoot Series Results (25 Laps) – Jack Speshock, Chad Edwards, Jason Gray, Cody Bleau, Hunter Bates, Connor Cleveland, Andrew Buff, Derrick McGrew, Tim Hartman, Jr., Adam Gage, Scott Duell, Jack Swinton, Nick Lussier, Justin Smith, Jack Lehner, John Proctor, Chris Ronca, Jon Miller, Nick Anatriello, Jesse Edwards, Joe Orlando, Pat Jones, Mike Coffey, Jr., David Schilling, Chris Johnson, Robert Bublak, Jr., Jeremy Pitts, Mike Ostrander, Daryl Nutting, Zack Daurio, Ken Conroy

DIRTcar Pro Stock Results (30 Laps) – Dave DePaulo, Robbie Speed, Dan Older, Sr., Brandon Emigh, Bill Smith, Kenny Martin, Kim Duell, Nick Stone, Norm Loubier, Nick Arnold, Daniel Sanchez, Dean Charbonneau, Ed Thompson, Zach Welch, Pete Porter, Josh Rozelle, Rob VanAernam, Kevin Loomis, Chuck Dumblewski, Jimmy Eaton, Justin Knight, Gus Hollner, Walt Brownell

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