Hearn & Older Win Big At Albany-Saratoga
Story By: TOBY LAGRANGE / ALBANY SARATOGA SPEEDWAY Photos By:DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
Malta, NY –July 9, 2016- A few days after Brett Hearn presented his Big Show 8 program at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway he returned to the driver role at the track and picked up the 35 lap Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified feature event at the track. His win on Friday night helped him considerably in the point standings.
The New Jersey super star came into the night tied with Kenny Tremont, Jr. for second in the season long point standings. They trailed Marc Johnson by 50 points. Both Tremont and Johnson suffered mechanical issues which allowed Hearn to close the gap and move him into a close second in points.
In other action Jon Miller (Featherfoot Sportsman Series), Dan Older, Sr. (King of Dirt Pro Stock Series), Josh Coonradt (Street Stocks), Zach Daurio (Limited Sportsman) and Ben Grant (Greg’s Towing & Repair Four Cylinders).
Demetrios Drellos and Kris Vernold led the field to the green with Elmo Reckner taking the early lead from position number three. On lap one four drivers tangled in turns one and two including Brian Gleason and Jeremy Pitts, who was subbing for Mark Kislowski.
On the restart Kenny Tremont, Jr. came to a stop in turn two. He would not continue. When racing resumed Reckner held the lead over Drellos, Vernold, Ronnie Johnson and Keith Flach. The caution flag waved on lap two as Bill Cody and Brian Whittemore tangled in turn two. The restart would see Reckner lead however Johnson was on the move.
Johnson took the lead on lap three with Reckner second, Vernold third, Drellos fourth and Jesse Mueller fifth. By lap six Drellos was back under Vernold but could not make the pass. On lap six Flach moved past Mueller for the fifth position and then on lap eight he moved past Drellos for fourth. On lap ten Johnson entered slower traffic. First putting Cass Bennett a lap down and then Todd Morey.
Flach meanwhile was able to move past Vernold for third and then on lap 12 Reckner for second. Vernold used the high side to get past Reckner for third on lap 15. Ryan Darcy spun in turn four on lap 16 to bring out the caution. While under yellow current points leader Marc Johnson headed to the pit area after showing smoke.
Johnson and Flach, a pair of third generation drivers led the field back to green with Johnson holding the lead over Flach, Mueller, Reckner and Vernold. By lap 20 Stewart Friesen and J.R. Heffner were all over Vernold for fifth. On lap 21 Friesen moved past Vernold for fifth and then a lap later past Reckner for fourth.
Flach meanwhile stayed close to Johnson, remaining within a few car lengths. Brett Hearn moved into fifth with about 12 laps to go. On lap 26 Johnson entered slower traffic again, this time with Flach within striking distance. On lap 28 Bodie Bellinger spun in turn two after contact with Drellos, who was sent to the rear. On the restart Johnson led the field however the field was four wide for second between Flach, Friesen, Hearn and Mueller. Vernold brought out the caution flag on lap 29 forcing a restart.
The restart would see Johnson and Hearn lead the field back to green with Hearn taking the lead over Johnson, Matt Delorenzo, Flach and Friesen. On lap 32 Delorenzo was able to get alongside Johnson for second. Heffner came to a stop on lap 34 setting up a one lap shootout to the end.
Hearn chose the inside and Delorenzo the top side as they paced the field to the restart. Hearn took the lead and held on to the finish. Delorenzo finished second with Flach nipping Johnson by a nose for third. Friesen rounded out the top five. With 32 Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modifieds on hand heat races were won by Flach, Vernold and Drellos.
Jon Miller won the 25 lap Featherfoot Sportsman Series feature event. Miller and Mike Ostrander led the field to the green with Miller taking the early lead over John Proctor, Ostrander, Anatriello and Justin Smith. Nick Lussier came to a stop on lap two forcing the first caution period of the event. On the restart Miller and Proctor battle for the lead with Miller controlling the top spot over Proctor, Ostrander, Anatriello and Ken Conroy.
With ten laps complete Miller held a half straightaway lead. Daryl Nutting and Jack Swinton spun on lap 11 to bring out the caution flag. The restart would see Miller and Proctor lead before current point leader Jeremy Pitts and David Schilling tangled in turn four. On the restart the top five remained the same with Adam Gage challenging for fifth.
On lap 17 Andrew Buff and Chad Edwards both challenged Conroy for fifth. With five laps to go Conroy, Buff and Edwards continued to battle as the top four pulled away. In the end Miller would bring home the win over Proctor, Anatriello, Ostrander and Conroy. Heat races for the 32 Sportsman entries were won by Proctor, Anatriello and Ostrander.
Dan Older, Sr. won the 30 lap Full Fender Firecracker King of Dirt Pro Stock Series event. Older and Chuck Dumblewski led the field to the green with Older taking the early lead over Dan Madigan. The caution flag waved on lap one for debris off the Jason Casey machine. On the restart Jay Casey came to a stop in turns one and two.
When racing resumed Older held the lead over Madigan, Dumblewski, Dave DePaulo and Kim Duell. Dumblewski took over the second position on lap three. Devon Camenga and Kevin Loomis tangled in turn two to bring out the caution flag. At the same time Rob Yetman and Walt Brownell tangled in turn three. The restart would see Older hold the lead over Madigan, Dumblewski, Nick Stone and Duell.
On lap eight Stone moved under Dumblewski for third. The duo ran side by side for a lap before Stone was able to make the pass. Stone quickly closed on Madigan. On lap ten Stone looked under Madigan however clipped the implement tire and spun to the infield. This moved Dumblewski and Duell up a spot and DePaulo back into the top five. Stone fell to tenth.
At the halfway point the top four remained the same however Robbie Speed had moved past DePaulo for fifth. Speed quickly closed on the top four and by lap 18 was all over Duell. On lap 19 Speed moved past Speed for fourth and then closed on Dumblewski. Daniel Sanchez slowed on lap 22 to force a caution flag.
On the restart Older remained the leader over Madigan, Dumblewski, Speed and Duell. On lap 24 Dumblewski was all over Madigan for third and took the spot a lap later. Speed followed through and then moved past Dumblewski for second on lap 26. The caution flag waved on lap 26 when Dave Bissonnette, Jeff Washburn, Rob Yetman and Brandon Emigh tangled in turn two.
On the restart Older held the lead over Speed and Kenny Martin. Jon Routhier spun on lap 28 to bring out the caution flag. The restart would see Older hold the lead over Speed and Martin. Older would lead the rest of the way to take the big win over Speed, Martin, Dumblewski and Stone. A total of 33 King of Dirt Series Pro Stocks entered the event with heat races being won by Jeff Washburn, Dean Charbonneau and Duell.
Josh Coonradt won the 20 lap Street Stock feature event. Ron Redmond led early in the event but soon gave way to Coonradt. Once out front Coonradt would not be denied his fourth win of the year. Coonradt was followed by John Filarecki, David Shippee, Paul Braymer and Bill Dupree. Heat races for the 23 Street Stocks were won by Filarecki and Redmond.
Zach Daurio won the 20 lap Limited Sportsman feature event. The win was his third of the season in the division which means he will graduate to the Sportsman division. Derek Bornt was the first to lead. Bornt led the first 15 laps before giving way to Daurio. Once out front Daurio led the remainder of the way to pick up the win over Mike Block, Brandon Pitcher, Bornt and Dan Grignon. The heat races for the 20 car field were won by Travis Billington and Daurio.
Ben Grant won the 15 lap Greg’s Towing & Repair Four Cylinder feature event. The win was his first of the season. Dave Mullineau finished second with Jason Lang third, Robert Garney fourth and Mike Parodi fifth. A total of 15 drivers entered the event.
The Albany-Saratoga Speedway is back in action on June 15th with all divisions in action plus the only appearance by the Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints. For more information on the Albany-Saratoga Speedway please visit our website at www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com.
Modified Results (35 Laps) – 1) Brett Hearn, 2) Matt Delorenzo, 3) Keith Flach, 4) Ronnie Johnson, 5) Stewart Friesen, 6) Don Ronca, 7) Elmo Reckner, 8) L.J. Lombardo, 9) Neil Stratton, 10) Ricky Davis, 11) Jessey Mueller, 12) Jimmy Cottrell, 13) Matt Depew, 14) Bodie Bellinger, 15) Brian Gleason, 16) Rich Ronca, 17) Demetrios Drellos, 18) Kris Vernold, 19) J.R. Heffner, 20) Justin Barber, 21) Todd Morey, 22) Marc Johnson, 23) Ray Hoard, 24) Bobby Hackel IV, 25) Ryan Darcy, 26) Cass Bennett, 27) Bill Cody, 28) Brian Whittemore, 29) Ken Tremont Jr, 30) Mark Kislowski, DNS) Floyd Billington, DNS) C.G. Morey,
Sportsman Featherfoot Series Results (25 Laps) – 1) Jon Miller, 2) John Proctor, 3) Nick Anatriello, 4) Mike Ostrander, 5) Ken Conroy, 6) Andrew Buff, 7) Chad Edwards, 8) Tim Hartman Jr, 9) Adam Gage, 10) Connor Cleveland, 11) Chris Johnson, 12) Cody Bleau, 13) Scott Duell, 14) Hunter Bates, 15) Derek McGrew, 16) Mike Tholin, 17) Robert Bublak, 18) Mike Coffey, 19) Jason Gray, 20) Jack Speshock, 21) Jack Lehner, 22) Justin Smith, 23) Pat Jones, 24) Joe Orlando, 25) David Schilling, 26) Daryl Nutting, 27) Jack Swinton, 28) Jeremy Pitts, 29) Christopher Ronca, 30) Jesse Edwards, 31) Nick Lussier, DNS) Jason Furman
Limited Sportsman Results (20 Laps) – 1) Zach Daurio, 2) Mike Block, 3) Brandon Pitcher, 4) Derek Bornt, 5) Dan Grignon, 6) Nick Fretto, 7) John Stowell, 8) Jacob Volpi, 9) Dylan Bokus, 10) Diana Huyck, 11) Stephen Kneer, 12) Scott Bennett Jr, 13) Brandon Daley, 14) Travis Billington, 15) James Meehan, 16) Gary Derocher, 17) Ryan Heath, 18) Reggie Bonner, DNS) Clint Bonner, DNS) Steve Burch
King of Dirt Pro Stock Series Results (30 Laps) – 1) Dan Older, 2) Robbie Speed, 3) Kenny Martin, 4) Chuck Dumblewski, 5) Nick Stone, 6) Kim Duell, 7) Dave Depaulo, 8) Dean Charbonneau, 9) Dan Madigan, 10) Bill Smith, 11) Zach Welch, 12) Nick Arnold, 13) Jon Routhier, 14) Rob Yetman, 15) Byron Wescott, 16) Ed Thompson, 17) Devon Camenga, 18) Kevin Loomis, 19) Rob VanAernam, 20) Pete Porter, 21) Josh Rozelle, 22) Jay Casey, 23) Dave Bissonnette, 24) Luke Horning, 25) Norm Loubier, 26) Daniel Sanchez, 27) Gus Hollner, 28) Walt Brownell, 29) Jimmy Eaton, 30) Jason Casey, 31) Todd Hoffman, DQ) Brandon Emigh, DQ) Jeff Washburn
Street Stock Results (20 Laps) – 1) Josh Coonradt, 2) John Filarecki, 3) David Shippee, 4) Paul Braymer, 5) Biill Dupre, 6) Nathan Dahoda, 7) Paul Mulrain, 8) Curt Condon, 9) Joey Wilson, 10) Scott Lawrence, 11) Al Relyea, 12) Jeff Meltz Sr, 13) Chase Aussicker, 14) Ron Redmond, 15) Jason Meltz, 16) Damon Anderson, 17) Jordan Casper, 18) John Morris Jr, 19) Joshua Reome, 20) John Hayes, 21) Matt Mosher, 22) David Cook, 23) Mark Burch, 24) Hunter Sanchez
4 Cyliner Single Cam Results (15 Laps) – 1) Robert Garney, 2) Mike Parodi, 3) Merton LaBounty, 4) Jethro Rossman, 5) Tim Meltz, 6) Tyler Burch, 7) Will Ryan
4 Cylinder Dual Cam Results (15 Laps) – 1) Ben Grant, 2) Dave Mullineaux, 3) Jason Lang, 4) Steve Ryan, 5) David Frame, 6) Josh Wood, 7) William Sass Jr.
