MALTA – After five weeks of terrible luck, Jessey Mueller wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of his quest for his first NAPA Modified win of the season at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Not even his own motor.

Mueller pushed his engine to its limit and beyond Friday night and came away with the victory in the 35-lap NAPA Modified feature at the historic Malta track.

Mueller started on the outside pole and led all 35 laps, but in the end, he had to hope and pray that his engine made it to the finish.

“Oh, I hurt the motor,” he said in victory lane, surrounded by the pungent aroma of burnt oil, boiling water and overheated metal. “I saw the oil pressure dropping and the temperature rising and I got nervous. I picked up a bad vibration with about five to go and a backed off a little bit, hoping to God that it would make it to the end.”

And it did.

Adam Pierson, who started 10th, worked his way into the lead group and was second with five to go. That’s where he ended up, but he was nearly a full second behind Mueller at the finish.

CG Morey crossed the finish line third, with Brian Calabrese, who started on the pole, fourth. That marked the first time either of those two drivers has finished in the top five this season.

Defending track champion Matt DeLorenzo, who was looking for his second straight win, had to settle for fifth, after starting 15th.

Although the track was offering three distinct racing lines Friday night, Mueller opted to remain in the outside lane, and no one was going to argue with him about his choice after the win.

“I felt like the momentum was better up there,” he said. “I knew if I could keep the momentum rolling, it was going to be hard for anyone to get around me.”

The best race of the night was the 25-lap pro stock feature, which offered $1,000 through sponsorship from Benson’s Pet Center.

Beginning with a restart on lap 15, early leader Kyle Hoard and Kim Duell engaged in a door-to-door battle. Duell kept looking for racing room on the inside, pulling even with Hoard in the corners, but Hoard was getting big runs out of turn four to maintain his lead.

When Luke Horning joined the battle with two to go, a buzz went through the crowd. Horning was trying to run an even lower line than Duell, putting Duell into the middie of a three-wide battle.

When the trio took the white flag, Duell had his nose in front by inches and one lap later, that‘s how they took the checkered flag, with Duell nosing out Hoard by .019 seconds, and Horning settling for third.

In fact, when Jay Corbin also crossed the finish line, the top four cars were separated by just .241 seconds.

The win was Duell’s second of the season and the 29th of his career, moving him back into a tie with Rob Yetman at the top of the all-time Albany-Saratoga pro stock win list.

“We finally got a win on our sponsor’s night,” said Duell, who prominently displays the Benson’s Pet Center logo on his Twister race car. “That was a heck of a race. I didn’t even know who was inside of me, and I can’t say enough good things about Kyle Hoard.”

Horning also won the Four States Enterprises Dash for Cash, earning a $200 bonus.

The sportsman again ran dual 20-lap features, with each paying $1,000 to win through sponsorship from HICO Fabrications. Both 20-lappers were marred by cautions and a lot of contact that created frayed tempers and bad feelings. Pat Jones dominated the first feature, and Dylan Madsen started on the outside pole and led flag-to-flag to notch his first win of the season in the second feature.

Jones started fifth and took the lead after a restart on lap three in the first feature. Travis Witbeck finished a distant second, with Zach Buff third.

Madsen was never challenged in the second feature, ever after a caution of lap 12 bunched the field. He crossed the finish line 2.4 seconds ahead of Jeff Washburn, with Nick Lussier third in what was easily his best run of the season.

Chase Zimmer recorded his first career win in the 20-lap limited sportsman feature, which was marred by three red flag periods that resulted in a lot of damaged race cars, but no injuries. The win came at an opportune time, as Zimmer collected $400 in bonus money; $300 from JCO Plumbing and Heating, and $100 from fellow limited sportsman competitor Wesley Sutliff.

Mike Bussino became the sixth different winner is as many weeks in the 20-lap street stock feature. Bussino started on the pole, relinquished the led to Chris Stalker early in the feature and then went back out in front after Stalker developed a flat tire as a result of contact with Bussino on a restart on lap five.

Bussino was leading a tight four-car pack that included Matt Mosher, Josh Hemming and Al Relyea, and a caution on lap 13 put the leaders into an even tighter pack.

Despite two more restarts, Bussino got the win, with Relyea second, after starting 11th, and Mosher third.

The Extreme DMA USAC Midgets were also on Friday night’s card, with Chris Murray dominating the 15-lap feature. Murray, who won the street stock feature at Albany-Saratoga on May 12, was making just his third start with the Extreme DMA group. Will Hull finished second, with Seth Carlson third.

NAPA MODIFIEDS: JESSEY MUELLER, Adam Pierson, CG Morey, Brian Calabrese, Matt DeLorenzo, Mike Mahaney, Jack Lehner, Peter Britten, Demetrios Drellos, Don Ronca, Marc Johnson, Keith Flach, Jeremy Pitts, Brian Gleason, Jack Speshock, Ronnie Johnson, Rich Ronca, Ken Tremont Jr., Derek Bornt, Ryan McCartney, Justin Stone, Brandon Daley, Kyle Armstrong, Neil Stratton, Kris Vernold, Matt Depew, Robert Bublak Jr.

NORTHEAST PAVING & SEALCOATING SPORTSMAN (first feature, 20 laps).: PAT JONES, Travis Witbeck, Zach Buff, Mike Ballestero, Tyler Rapp, Travis Billington, Dave Baranowski Jr., Mike Benson, Mike Coffey Jr., Kasey Hufcut, Eric Mack, Jim Osgood, Tony Farone, Tommy D’Angelo, Scott Bennett, Justin Barber, Tim Hartman Jr., Brandon Darrah, David Boisclair, Scott Duell, Ron Proctor, Craig Wholey.

NORTHEAST PAVING & SEALCOATING SPORTSMAN (second feature, 20 laps): DYLAN MADSEN, Jeff Washburn, Nick Lussier, Andrew Buff, Cody Ochs, Bryce Breault, Elliot Lussier, Joey Scarborough, Chris Crane Jr., Chad Edwards, Jon Miller, Chris Jakubiak, Michael Wagner Fitzgerald, Floyd Billington, Dan Grignon, Derrick McGrew Jr., Taylor LaPlante, Mike Jeske, Drew Cormie, Taylor Wasson, Daryl Nutting.

SARATOGA MASONRY SUPPLY PRO STOCKS: KIM DUELL, Kyle Hoard, Luke Horning, Jay Corbin, Jay Casey, Dean Charbonneau, Rich Crane, Brandon Emigh, Randy Miller, Jason Casey, Devon Camenga, Chucky Dumblewski, Jaxson Ryan, Shane Henderson, Phil Difiglio, Jordan Modiano, Pete Vila.

HAUN WELDING LIMITED SPORTSMAN: CHASE ZIMMER, Dylan Grogan, Tanner Coon, Wesley Sutliff, Dakota Green, James Venditti, Nick Arnold, Mike Parodi, Kyle Swart, Chad Gregory, Alex Palmer-Sawyer, Ron Delease Jr., Nick Auspelmyer, Mike Arnold, Phil Arnold, John Santolin, Mike Baker, Walter Cook, Damian Anderson, Scott Towslee, Ben Balzer, Kameron McConchie, Connor Crane Jr., James Galarneau, Steve Burch, Steve Miller, Brent Bouplon, Dan Seguin, Sara Arnold.

LAKE AUTO PARTS STREET STOCKS: MIKE BUSSINO, Al Relyea, Matt Mosher, Josh Hemming, Jimmy Duncan, Jason Meltz, Josh Bussino, Mark Lester, Nick Napoli, CJ Burgess, Fred Shippee, Jeff Meltz Sr., Dan Buell, Joey Wilson, PJ Cram, Dana Van Veghten, Jason Barrett, Chris Stalker, Ray Pierre Jr., Milo Campbell.