Connor Cleveland Drives from Deep in the Field to Find Victory Lane at ‘The Great Race Place’ in Sportsman Action
Story and Photos By: MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM
MALTA, NY- June 10, 2017- Persistence, more often than not, always pays off.
In the three previous editions of the Mark Hughes Memorial at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, New York, Connor Cleveland has left the speedway at night’s end with a trophy in hand; it’s just never been for first place.
With three consecutive top-three finishes since the event’s inception after the tragic passing of Mark Hughes, the driver of the familiar No. 09 sportsman modified has come as close as one can without taking home the win and Friday night – with a starting position of 13th on the grid – to the outside observer his odds of finding victory lane didn’t seem to have improved.
However – with a self-described rocket ship – Cleveland drove forward in a masterful display of patience and poise to take the lead from then front-runner Andrew Buff with only four-laps remaining to claim victory in the 25-lap feature and pocketed a hard-earned $1,000 payday for his efforts.
“We unloaded for warm-ups and the car was really fast,” said Cleveland in victory lane. “I came back in and told the guys I didn’t want to change a thing. We had a rocket ship from the very beginning of the night.”
Cleveland, who is certainly full of youthful exuberance, knew from the onset of the evening how good his Troyer chassis was. Where some drivers may have pushed the issue, he showed his maturity throughout the entire evening.
“I had a good car and got up to third in the heat race,” He continued. “I was hung up for quite a while by the second place driver so I didn’t push the issue and ended up finishing third. I knew how good of a car we had tonight so I didn’t want to risk it.”
By not risking it, Cleveland found himself starting in the seventh row when the feature rolled out onto the speedway surface. Given the intense competition that attends the Malta oval weekly, he certainly had his work cut out for him when the initial green flag flew.
“The first couple of laps, I picked off a few cars on the bottom,” Cleveland explained. “Then I got stuck behind a couple of cars until the top of the track finally opened up for me. I set my car up to run the top and it worked out in our favor.”
It takes a potent combination between the car and its driver to move from deep in the field to the lead in just 25-laps; what Cleveland was able to accomplish in 21-laps of green flag racing was something to behold.
“The leader had a full straightaway on us,” He remarked. “And we just kept running him down and running him down and then we finally got to him and the caution came out right when I was passing the leader.”
With the yellow negating his bid for the top spot and relegating him back to second for the restart, Cleveland only had four circuits to finally seal the deal on the one race that has eluded him every season. Needless to say, he didn’t disappoint.
“I honestly thought that Buff was going to take the top on that restart,” said Cleveland. “I figured he was going to give me the bottom after he already saw me pass him up top before that caution which would have been fine, I was good on the bottom too, but he didn’t which surprised me. But no matter where I drove this thing tonight, it was a rocket.”
It wasn’t just pure serendipity that Cleveland’s Broadalbin Manufacturing Corporation sponsored entry found its way to the front and eventually to victory lane; the man behind the visor – who despite his age has become a veteran in the sportsman division – had a hefty role in the outcome as well before the car even found its way to the speedway surface.
“Before the race, I sat up on my hauler and looked at the track,” Cleveland continued. “I love to study the track; to figure out what it’s going to do. After about 20 minutes, I knew exactly what changes I wanted to make to the car and when you get it set up like that, it’s so much fun to drive. It’s one of the reasons I love this sport; to be able to come from the back like that and get the win, it’s one of the best feelings ever.”
If Connor Cleveland had to choose a race to win this season, the Mark Hughes Memorial was certainly at the top of the list and not for the monetary incentive that victory brings; instead, it’s the memory of the races namesake that drove the young pilot to push himself a little more on Friday night.
“Every time we have this race I seem to come alive,” Cleveland concluded. “Mark was a great guy and I raced with him quite a few times and if I ever needed anything for the car or just someone to talk to, he was always there. He was an all-around great guy and it’s so unfortunate that he’s gone but it’s a pleasure and an honor get this win in his memory tonight.”
Matt Noles is a contributing writer for Racers Guide and Dirt Track Digest. He currently resides in Sprakers, New York and can be reached via e-mail at matt_noles@yahoo.com.
