MALTA – You know it’s been a wild night when Marc Johnson stands in victory lane and says, “I’m sure some guys are mad at me.”

There were fireworks in the air, as well as on the track, as Johnson scored his second big block win of the season Friday night as Albany-Saratoga Speedway kicked off its pre-4^th of July celebration with the Mark Hughes Memorial Race, presented by Next Generation Enterprises.

Johnson picked a perfect time to return to victory lane for the first time since May 3, as he received $3,023 for the win, with the extra cash being kicked in by Next Generation.

Johnson started 15^th in the bulky field of 31 modifieds, and while everyone else wanted to dazzle the crowd with breathtaking runs around the top, Johnson, like he normally does, made his runs along the bottom.

And a string of cautions allowed him to pick off cars one by one. He methodically worked his way up to third, now trailing just leader Matt DeLorenzo and Jessey Mueller, when the complexion of the race took a dramatic turn on lap 29.

DeLorenzo and Mueller were both running the risky top line, and as they went through the third turn, Mueller jumped the cushion and slid off the track, bringing out the last of five yellow flags.

DeLorenzo and Johnson made contact on the restart, with DeLorenzo maintaining his lead, but by the time they came out of the second turn, Johnson had built up enough momentum to take the lead for good to complete lap 29.

Peter Britten, who started 18^th, got around DeLorenzo for the No. 2 position on lap 31, and made one short run at Johnson. But Johnson had found some grip in the middle of the racing surface and beat Britten to the finish line by 0.457 seconds.

“Me and my guys worked our butts off this week,” said Johnson later. “We got back to basics.”

Then he addressed running the bottom, while the lure was to go to the top.

“The top kept getting more dangerous,” he said. “It was hard work. Guys were switching lanes and when you found a lane, you had to go. The track was slippery, so if you wanted to commit, you really had to commit.”

“Mark got going quickly,” said Britten. “It seemed like he was six or seven cars ahead of me at one point. But sometimes, that’s how it goes. He got out there first. If I had gotten out there first, he might not have been able to get around me.”

DeLorenzo, who had abandoned his usual ride in the 3D for Tuesday’s Don Davies Memorial race, was back in teammate Brian Gleason’s 3G again Friday and finished third, his best finish since May 10. But he thought it could have been better.

“Either I was going to win or Mueller was going to win, before he jumped the cushion,” DeLorenzo said. “(Turns) 3 and 4 were out as far as I’ve even seen it. But I was getting looser as the race went on, and I figured someone was going to go to the bottom.”

Jack Lehner, looking for his second straight Friday night win, came across the finish line fourth, with Mike Mahaney fifth.

The heat races also paid $223 to win, a tribute to the No. 23 that Mark Hughes had on the side of his race cars. Those bonuses went to Mueller, Marc Johnson, Ronnie Johnson and DeLorenzo.

Jon Miller scored his third career win in the 25-lap sportsman feature, starting on the pole and leading all 25 green-flag laps. Miller and Taylor LaPlante turned the race into a two-car duel, with Miller coming away with his first win since July 8, 2016.

“The last time I was here (in victory lane), my wife was pregnant with my daughter, and tonight, my daughter was selling lemonade outside,” said Miller in victory lane. “This is awesome.”

Chucky Dumblewski also found out the front row was the best place to be, as he recorded his first win of the season in the 25-lap pro stock feature. The “Rockin’ the ‘Rez” feature paid $2,000 to win, through support from Ron Mensing’s Native Pride program.

“When the track is like this, it’s always an advantage to start on the pole,” said Dumblewski.

Slater Baker finished second while Dumblewski’s son, Caden, completed the podium. The pro stocks also competed in the Four States Enterprises Dash for Cash, with Beau Ballard taking home the $200 bonus money.

Nick Auspelmyer grabbed the lead on lap 13 and went on to record his first win of the season in the 20-lap limited sportsman feature. A late restart bunched the field, but Auspelmyer was able to hold off Nick Brundige and Tanner Coon to get the victory.

Jim Dellea, driving for Lebanon Vally Speedway rival Chris Stalker, who was attending a graduation, proved to be more than a fill-in driver as he drove Stalker’s car to victory in the 20-lap street stock feature. PJ Cram Jr. provided most of the drama, coming from the rear of the field three times to finish second, less than a second behind Dellea. Al Relyea crossed the finish line third.

Two familiar faces were back in victory lane after the four-cylinder feature. David Frame picked up his third win of the season, pulling away from Adam Montville, who developed handling problems midway through the race, and Kyle Lanfear finished fourth overall and remained undefeated in the single-cam division with his sixth straight win.

NAPA MODIFIEDS: MARC JOHNSON, Peter Britten, Matt DeLorenzo, Jack Lehner, Mike Mahaney, Brian Calabrese, Justin Stone, Rich Scagliotta, Josh Masterson, Neil Stratton, Garrett Poland, Brendan Darrah, Ronnie Johnson, Derek Bornt, David Schilling, Kolby Schroder, Jessey Mueller, James Meehan, Dale Gray, Scott Huber, Jack Speshock, Chris Bisson, CG Morey, Tom D’Angelo, Ryan McCartney, Rich Ronca, Eric Mack, Matt Depew, Robert Bublak Jr., Joe Pravia, Demetrios Drellos.

DOUG WHOLEY’S IDEAL EXCAVATING SPORTSMAN: JON MILLER, Taylor LaPlante, Brendon Gibbons, Taylor Wason, Mike Benson, Chris Jakubiak, Cody Ochs, Chris Crane Jr., Mike Coffey Jr., Tim Hartman Jr., Scott Duell, Zach Buff, Bryce Breault, Dylan Madsen, Michael Wagner Fitzgerald, Craig Wholey, Connor Crane, Dylan Grogan, Joey Scarborough, Pat Jones, Travis Witbeck, Drew Cormie, Derrick McGrew Jr., Dan Grignon, Jeff Washburn, Mike Ballestero, Dave Baranowski Jr., Daryl Nutting.

SARATOGA MASONRY SUPPLY PRO STOCKS: CHUCKY DUMBLEWSKI, Slater Baker, Caden Dumblewski, Shane Henderson, Brandon Emigh, Rob Yetman, Kyle Hoard, Jordan Modiano, Nick Stone, Jason Casey, Beau Ballard, Pete Stefanski, Mike Baker, Jaxson Ryan, Dave Stickles, Kim Duell, Pete Vila, Dean Charbonneau.

HAUN WELDING LIMITED SPORTSMAN: NICK AUSPELMYER, Nick Brundige, Tanner Coon, Dakota Green, Chase Zimmer, Matthew Gebo, Mike Baker, Cordell Younger, Dan Seguin, Chad Gregory, Craig Coons, John Santolin, Dan O’Dell, Lucas Duncan, James Galarneau, Dana Palumbo, Gus Kamburellis, Mike Block, Jordan Hill, Colton Emigh, Damon Anderson, Alex Smith, Sara Arnold, Nick Arnold, Steve Burch, David Zelker, Noah Carlo.

CORNELL’S AUTO PARTS STREET STOCKS: JIM DELLEA, PJ Cram Jr., Al Relyea, Ray Pierre Jr., Dan Madigan, John Filarecki, Mark Lester, Josh Hemming, Mike Duggan, Derek Van Veghten, Dan Buell, Jason Barrett, Matt Mosher, Dana Van Veghten, Damien Ward, Mark Burch, Jimmy Duncan.

GREG’S TOWING FOUR-CYLINDERS: DAVID FRAME, Adam Montville, Chris Hall, Kyle Lanfear (first single-cam finisher), John Mason, David Mullineaux, Josh Ramsey, Dawson Thompson, Anthony Johnson, Chris Duffey Jr., Tom Hill, Lucas Condon, Josh Allen, Dan Joubert, Chris Danylieko, Ashlynn Ramsey, Dave LaBarge, Ben Ladd.