~ By Tom Boggie

I don’t want to start any ugly rumors, but I think Mike Mahaney might have a new female in his life.

I even know her name.

Whoa there, keyboard jockeys. Simmer down. Let me explain.

After Mahaney won last Friday night’s Super DIRTcar Series race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, I asked him if the car he had just driven to victory was his regular Friday night car. “No,” Mahaney answered. “This one, we save for the big shows. Her name’s Jenny.”

And Jenny was a real sweetheart last Friday, carrying Mahaney to a victory, despite running with a flat left front tire.

Mahaney wasn’t really sure when he clipped the inside Jersey barrier, causing the tire to go flat. He thinks it might have happened somewhere around lap 10. But the tire stayed on the rim, allowing Mahaney to maintain his pace while hugging the bottom and outrun Marc Johnson for the win that paid $7,500.

Mahaney’s victory last Friday gave him the rare distinction of winning back-to-back Super DIRTcar Series races at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. His first came in the Malta Massive Weekend season finale last year. After he won that 100-lap series race, which was his first career series win, he had said he hoped it wouldn’t take as long to get another one.
It didn’t take long at all.

“It shows how much our team is growing, especially here,” said Mahaney last Friday. “We get to take a lot of notes and work on making the car better.

“You know, when you race as much as we do, stuff gets worn out. I’m fortunate to have guys who provide me with enough equipment to save some for these big events.”

Mahaney said he had his hands full, racing with three tires.
“Obviously, the tire isn’t centered anymore and it wanted to go to the left, which got me real loose. Then, when I hit the brake, it would lock up. At least the rubber stayed on the rim and I could still handle it, somewhat.

“Traffic was exciting for me. The car was very versatile. I could even run the middle to get by traffic. Usually, I can’t run the middle here.”

The podium was occupied by Malta regulars last Friday, with Mahaney and Johnson being joined by third-place finisher Jessey Mueller. Mueller got as high as second while running the top, but couldn’t hold off Johnson once they got into lapped traffic in the final 10 laps of the race.

“Our goal was a top five,” said Mueller after the race. “This feels really good. These guys are the best around. We’re just a small team and don’t race a lot anymore.”

Mueller thought he had a shot at the win when he moved into the runner-up spot on lap 44.

“I thought I was going to roll right around him (Mahaney),” said Mueller after the best Super DIRTcar Series finish of his career. “But the bottom seemed to come in for some of those guys. I don’t think the top went away. We were just as good up there as we had been.”

Johnson, who went right to the top from his No. 2 starting spot and led the first eight laps, lamented the fact that he waited too long to go to the bottom, his preferred line in the Scott Hamlin Racing 3J. “He (Mahaney) found it before I did,” said Johnson. “I should have known better.”

MORE FROM MALTA

Matt Sheppard, the winningest driver in the Northeast this season, may be Superman when he gets a good draw, but he was just another Clark Kent last Friday. He drew the 11th starting position and ran in the second five for most of the night, finishing 10th. But he did pick up the $100 bonus from Billy Whittaker Cars and Trucks for setting fast time.

It was a rough night for the Ronca brothers, who both found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Rich Ronca didn’t qualify in his heat, putting him in the last-chance qualifier. An aborted start resulted in several cars stacking up coming out of the fourth turn and Ronca wound up with a broken shock.

Then, in the feature, older brother Don, who had qualified in his heat following a last-lap duel with CG Morey, had nowhere to go when Sheppard and Billy Decker came together in the second turn on a restart. The cars that stacked up behind that duo included Ronca and Neil Stratton, and Ronca was done for the night.

Jeremy Pitts had his fans on the edge of their seats early. After drawing the No. 7 starting position, he kept moving forward and passed Mueller for third to complete lap 28. But eight laps later, something broke in Pitts’ car and he pulled into the pits, officially finishing 23rd.

With the SDS Tour providing most of the excitement, David Boisclair’s first career sportsman win didn’t get as much play as it should have. Boisclair, who won three features and finished third in the limited sportsman division in 2019, has been making steady progress since moving up to the regular sportsman class. He finished 17th in points during his first season, and was ninth last year.

THAT’S DEDICATION

Brian Gleason, part of the BBL Companies Racing Team with Matt DeLorenzo, recorded the first modified victory of his career last Saturday. That was Gleason’s first victory in 240 big block starts.

That got me to thinking; what is the longest streak without a win?

Thanks to the good people who maintain the racestatscentral Web site, I discovered that distinction belongs to Dave Rauchser, the veteran driver out of Waterloo. The 67-year-old Rauscher, who was at Albany-Saratoga for the SDS race last Friday, has made 589 modified starts since 2001 without recording a win.

His best career finish is a second, behind Tim Currier, at Canandaigua Speedway on May 22, 2010. Ironically, that was Currier’s only career win at Canandaigua.

Rauscher’s best season came in 2005, when he was competing at Fulton and Utica-Rome on a weekly basis. He recorded five top-five finishes that year; one at Utica-Rome and four at Fulton.

Imagine, still looking for your first modified win after 21 years and nearly 600 starts. That says a lot about Rauscher, his crew and his sponsors.

AROUND THE TRACKS

After his disappointment Friday at Albany-Saratoga, Johnson bounced back to notch his second big block win of the season at Lebanon Valley on Saturday. He took the lead away from Ken Tremont Jr. with two laps to go in the 30-lap feature, which was run caution-free. The win moved Johnson up to second in points, 26 behind leader Andy Bachetti, who only finished 18th last Saturday, running his backup car after his primary car developed engine trouble in the heats.

Speaking of Johnson, Ronnie Johnson made quite an impression with his new DKM chassis last weekend, finishing third on Friday night and second on Saturday. Eric Mack, Dave Constantino and the rest of the DKM crew did a heck of a job to get that car ready to roll in a week.

The big news out of Lebanon Valley this week was that Bobby Hackel IV and car owners Lance and Jill Sharpe have split up. According to a Facebook post, Lance Sharpe said, “We are heartbroken that the team at Lebanon Valley has ended, but Sharpe Racing will return to Lebanon Valley next season with a different team.” The Sharpes and Hackel IV teamed up on a fulltime basis last year, resulting in Hackel’s first career big block win on the high banks in August.

Hackel IV also posted on Facebook. “I’ve been racing modifieds for 13 years and it’s an ever-changing landscape. With that being said, The Hackel Family Racing team will return to the Track of Champions on Saturday night.”

The other big news out of the Valley is that JR Heffner has decided to climb out of the A. Colarusso No. 74 modified and assume a new role as a mentor to former sportsman champion John Virgilio, who will take over the reins of the 74, beginning Saturday night.

WHAT’S AHEAD

Friday is First Responders Night at Albany-Saratoga. All military, law enforcement, EMS and fire and rescue personnel will be admitted free of charge, with proper ID, and the night will include the annual 4th of July weekend fireworks display.

The pro stocks will be running for $2,000 to win in the Tatanka Yotanka feature, which is part of Ron Mensing’s Native Pride program. For those who may not know, or don’t want to look it up, Tatanka Yotanka translates to Sitting Bull, the great Sioux chief. Sitting Bull was named Jumping Badger at birth, but his father changed his name to Sitting Bull for the courage and bravery the youngster showed when he took part in a raid of a Crow camp with his father and uncle at the age of 14.

Lebanon Valley Speedway will be hosting the Bryan Goewey Memorial, which will pay $10,000 to win, on Saturday night. The memorial will also mark the return of Brett Hearn, who is resuming his racing career, to the Valley.

The weekend card will also include the 76-lap Summer Championships, which will pay $7,600 to win, at Orange County Speedway. That race will also determine the top 12 drivers who will be able to battle for the $30,000 big block championship payoff. In the format, the top five in points, and up to seven big block feature winners, will be eligible. So far this season, there have been six different feature winners – Sheppard, Larry Wight, Mat Williamson, Chris Schultz and Anthony Perrego. Going into Saturday’s action, Max McLaughlin is the points leader, with a five-point lead over Danny Creeden. Perrego was a double winner last Saturday, taking the checkered flag in both the big block and small block features.

While looking up information on Rauscher, I discovered (or rediscovered) that Bob McCreadie won 15 features, including the last seven in a row, at Canandaigua in 1994. Joe Plazek finished second to McCreadie in five of those final seven features.