MALTA - No one will ever accuse Jack Cottrell of not being aggressive again.
Cottrell wrestled the lead away from defending track champion Dave Camara on lap 72 and went on to win Tuesday night’s special 100-lap Sunoco Race Fuels Big Block/Small Block Challenge at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.
The win was Cottrell’s fifth career victory at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in the 358 modified division, and was his first extra-distance win at the historic Malta oval. The first-place payoff of $3,000 was his second-biggest payday ever at Albany-Saratoga, as he earned $10,000 for finishing third in the Empire State Nationals in 1999.
Cottrell cut his racing teeth at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, beginning his racing career in the old late model division, capping his career in that class with a track championship in the late 1970s before moving up to the modifieds.
The Rock City Falls Rocket has always been a threat, but was also a businessman. Because he foots all of the bills for his racing operation, there have been nights in the past where Cottrell would take a top-five finish, rather than risk his car.
But on Tuesday night, in the biggest race of the year at Malta, he went for the win.
Last year, big blocks, running on Hoosiers, dominated the challenge race, but on Tuesday, the small blocks were buzzing on the track, baked by three days of 90-degree weather. The field included the big blocks of the Romano brothers, Jack Johnson and Frank Cozze, among others, but the CVRA regulars dominated the feature.
The event began with Ron Proctor and Don Ackner in the front row, and Proctor went right to the front in the Ron White-owned 27. Cottrell, who had qualified for the feature by finishing third in the consy, was so far back, in 26th place, he needed radar just to keep track of the leaders.
Also sitting deep in the pack were Johnson and Ken Tremont Jr., who had started 20th and 22nd, respectively, and they brought out the first caution on lap seven, when they got into a little jingle. Both went to the pits, but quickly rejoined the field.
Proctor set the pace for the first 10 laps, but he had a lot of company, as both Scott Noel and Gene Munger were breathing down his neck. Noel then grabbed the lead on lap 18, and put on a good show, battling with Munger in every turn.
A lot of attention was focused in the middle of the pack, where Camara, who had started 18th, and Tremont were putting on a big charge. Tremont hadn’t lost any laps in his quick pit stop, and was using both feet on the gas pedal to get the Freihofer-sponsored 115 back into contention.
By lap 29, Camara had worked his way up to third, with Tremont fourth, but Tremont’s bid for the victory ended shortly thereafter, as he retired with mechanical problems on lap 40.
Camara had to work overtime just to get past Mike Perrotte to grab the No. 2 position, finally making that pass on lap 44. That proved to be a big move, because the caution flag came out on the next lap and Camara then used the restart to take the lead away from Noel.
Cottrell had been using every inch of the race track to get to the front, and when Camara got the lead on lap 45, Cottrell was already sitting third, just behind Noel.
Cottrell took over second on lap 51, and he and Camara had a heck of a battle. Camara was using two different lines, running low through turns one and two, and then drifting up against the cushion in three and four, while Cottrell was running an extremely high line all the way around the speedway.
Cottrell kept inching closer, looking for a way to get the lead, and on lap 72, he thought he saw his chance. Heading into the third turn, he dove low in his Farrell Oil-sponsored small block, just as Camara began to go high,. Coming out of the fourth turn, the two cars came together, with Camara heading toward the wall while Cottrell headed for the flag stand, with the lead.
Camara bounced off the wall, bringing out the yellow. He rejoined the field at the rear, but his hopes for the $3,000 payday were out the window.
Noel and Ronnie Johnson then set off in pursuit of Cottrell. But Noel couldn’t keep the pace, and in the final 10 laps, began to fall back.
That left Johnson to make one final challenge, but Cottrell already had the race wrapped up, getting the biggest win of his CVRA career.
Ronnie Johnson came across the finish line second, but was later disqualified when he came up light in the postrace weigh-in.
That gave the No. 2 position to veteran Frank Hoard Sr. Like Cottrell, Hoard also had to qualify through the consolation, but ran a steady race and stayed out of trouble, and was rewarded with a second-place finish.
Cozze was the first big block across the finish line, in third, while Bobby Varin, who won the challenge last year, finished fourth, despite making three pit stops in the Ed Munger-owned big block. Randy Hotaling, another CVRA regular, completed the top five.
Rounding out the top 10 finishers were Camara, who battled back from his incident with Cottrell for a top-10 finish, Ron Dwyer, Rich Ricci Jr., Jimmy Becker and Proctor.
Carl Vladyka dominated the 30-lap open pro-street stock feature, outrunning Chris Maxon and invader Buddy Henke to get the win. Henke was running the fastest laps of the night late in the race, but ran out of time in his attempt to catch Vladyka.
Defending track champion Mike Tholin won the 20-lap hobby stock feature, beating Dave Daniels to the finish line by over two seconds. Mike Traylor was right on Daniels rear bumper for third.
Albany-Saratoga Speedway will be back in action on Friday, July 12, with all divisions in action. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.
SUNOCO RACE FUELS 100: JACK COTTRELL, Frank Hoard Sr., Frank Cozze, Bobby Varin, Randy Hotaling, Dave Camara, Ron Dwyer, Rich Ricci Jr., Jimmy Becker, Ron Proctor, Scott Noel, Gene Munger, Jack Johnson, Mike Perrotte, Mike Romano, John Bellinger, Don Ronca, Ronnie Holmes, A.J. Romano, Matt DeLorenzo, Tim Laduc, Jason Herrington, Don Ackner, Ken Tremont Jr., Mike Ronca, Jeff Trombley, Todd Ryan, Andy Bachetti. DQ: Ronnie Johnson.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: CARL VLADYKA, Chris Maxon, Buddy Henke, Brian Holbritter, Mike Paquin, Joe Santoro, Adam Tranka, Ed Thompson, Dean Charbonneau, Don Daniels, Dudka, Bob Schmidt, Charlie Koenig, William Smith, Mike Bradley, Matt Anatriello, Cale Kneer, Mike Fritz, Jason Brownell, Vince Santoro, Ed Pieniazek Jr., Jay Fitzgerald, Fred Little, Steve Burega, Dan Madigan, C.J. Brooks.
HOBBY STOCKS: MIKE THOLIN, Dave Daniels, Mike Traylor, Gary Michaud, Jim Monroe, Lori Cary, Dan Daniels, Fred Harris, Adam Stoddard, Chris Busta, John Filarecki, Ron Tollner, Jeff Monroe, Chris Reckner, John Laviolette, Ed Sears, Roy Fifield, Mike Ostrander, Bill Smith.