Chasing the Rabbit
MALTA - Matt DeLorenzo is starting to feel like a greyhound at a dog track. No matter how fast he runs, he can’t catch the rabbit.
DeLorenzo, off to the best start of his racing career, picked up his fourth straight runner-up finish Friday night in the 35-lap 358 modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. But no matter how fast he runs, he can’t catch Brett Hearn.
Hearn kept his perfect record intact by picking up his fourth straight victory in the Madsen Motorsports small block. Despite starting 17th, Hearn quickly charged to the front, got the lead from Ronnie Johnson on lap 14 and was gone.
That left DeLorenzo and Johnson, two of the best young drivers in the Northeast, to battle for second, and DeLorenzo grabbed the No. 2 position with one lap left, just as he had done the previous week.
If it’s any consolation, DeLorenzo tied the track record with his fourth straight second-place finish. The only other driver to finish second four weeks in a row was Will Cagle, who turned the trick in the 1977 season, the first season that C.J. Richards ran the speedway as a dirt track.
Johnson, who had suffered a flat tire when leading the feature the previous week, sat on the pole and set the early pace. Hearn was already up to 10th when Frank Hoard Sr. spun out in the first turn, bringing out a caution.
Johnson continued to have things his own way while Hearn picked his way through the pack. Another yellow on lap 13, this one for Jack Cottrell, who wound up against the fourth turn wall, put Hearn in position to dust Johnson off on the restart, and that’s just what he did.
After missing the first race of the season, Hearn is now 4-for-4 in the Brioschi-sponsored small block, and can tie Jack Johnson’s track record of five consecutive victories on Friday night.
Ken Tremont Jr., who has been one of the hardest-working drivers at the track in the first month of the season, got up for fourth, with Mike Perrotte fifth.
Defending champion Dave Camara continued his early-season run of bad luck, going through two engines in the Camara Slate small block. One engine went sour just as Camara finished his heat race, so he brought out his backup car and qualified through the consi. But the motor in the backup car only lasted 14 laps of the feature, putting Camara 23rd in the 24-car field.
Completing the top 10 were Tim Laduc, Jim Ryan, Gene Munger, Randy Hotaling and Mike Ronca.
John Bellinger drove to a very popular victory in the 20-lap sportsman feature. The win was Bellinger’s first at Albany-Saratoga Speedway since he was involved in a horrible wreck at the track last June that left him with a broken jaw and ended his 2001 campaign.
Bellinger, who started on the outside pole, got the lead on lap six and then got locked into a real battle with Tony Ballestero. Ballestero, who had started ninth, moved into the No. 2 position on lap eight and then made his way around Bellinger for the lead on lap 15.
But Bellinger wasn’t going to be denied. He hung right with Ballestero for the next three laps, and then rocketed back into the lead on lap 18 to get the victory.
Tim Hartman was third, followed by Tim Clemons and Bill Cody, who had his best career finish.
Carl Vladyka picked up his third win of the season for owner Bob Clark in the 20-lap pro-street feature. Vladyka started seventh, but it only took him nine laps to get to the front and snatch the lead away from Mike Bradley, who led the first eight laps of the race.
Hollywood Joe Santoro made a late run and put some pressure on Vladyka in the closing laps of the feature, but Vladyka finished with a .309-second margin of victory. Chris Maxon was a distant third.
Jim Monroe held off Roy Fifield to win the hobby stock feature, while Amanda Clemens, a rookie driver, notched her first career victory in the six-cylinder cruiser feature. Another first-time winner emerged in the four-cylinder cruiser division, with Phil Defiglio taking the checkered flag.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway will be back in action Friday night with the Spring Championships, with double points being offered in all divisions. There will also be an enduro on the racing card, which will begin at 7 p.m.
MODIFIEDS: BRETT HEARN, Matt DeLorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Ken Tremont Jr., Mike Perrotte, Tim Laduc, Jim Ryan, Gene Munger, Randy Hotaling, Mike Ronca, Don Ackner, Don Mattison, Ron Dwyer, Wayne Jelley, Ron Proctor, Brian Gerrain, Jeff Betit, Chuck Higley, Frank Hoard Jr., Todd Ryan, Frank Hoard Sr., John Harrison, Dave Camara, Jack Cottrell.
SPORTSMAN: JOHN BELLINGER, Tony Ballestero, Tim Hartman, Tim Clemons, Bill Cody, Jimmy Cottrell, Ray Martindale, Mike Boomhower, Gary Gates, Ken Anatriello, Jimmy Davis, Stan Lemiesz, Tom Proctor, Neal Erickson, Keith Nichols, Jason Herrington, Jack Swinton, Derrick McGrew, Erik Mack, Jack Gentile, Randy Salisbury, Mike Ballestero, Rich Ronca.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: CARL VLADYKA, Joe Santoro, Chris Maxon, Adam Tranka, Dan Madigan, Vince Santoro, Charlie Koenig, Bob Schmidt, Mike Fritz, Fred Little, Matt Anatriello, Brian Holbritter, Ed Pieniazek Jr., Steve Burega, Dean Charbonneau, Mike Bradley, Jason Brownell, Walt Brownell, Mike Paquin, Dan Daniels, Cale Kneer.
HOBBY A MAIN: JIM MONROE, Roy Fifield, David Daniels, Chris Busta, Dan Daniels, Todd Dunston, Mike Tholin, Lori Cary, Nathan Chaves, Adam Stoddard, Eric Sbregea, Mike Ostrander, John Filarecki, Fred Harris, Brad Breel, Chris Reckner, Kevin Sawyer, Bill Smith.
HOBBY B MAIN: MIKE OSTRANDER, Fred Harris, Chris Reckner, John Morris Jr., Ed Sears, Garnet Prescott, Jason Walker, Steve Breault, Larry King, John Laviolette, Shannon Donnelly, Mike Pinke, Rusty Palmateer.
SIX-CYLINDER CRUISERS: AMANDA CLEMENS, Keith Wright, Luke MacIsaac, Jon Atwell, Harry Williams, Jason Pelton, Peter Pelech, Todd Burch, John Quintana, Elmer Montville, Ken Bergstrom.
FOUR-CYLINDER CRUISERS: PHIL DEFIGLIO, Charlie Stoddard, Jim Monroe, Jason Duncan, Joe Naccarato, Mike Mrzyglod, Ed Mason, Bill Lehman, Joe Ladd, Jeffrey Krause, Kevin Van Chance, Trent Shaver, Kevin Connors, Stan Durie.