Malta, NY – Ronnie Johnson closed out the 2016 racing season with a win at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. The win was the second in a row for the third generation driver out of Duanesburg. One week ago Johnson won the Small Block Modified special event.

Demetrious Drellos and Ronnie Johnson led the Upstate GMC Dealers DIRTcar Modified field to the green with Johnson taking the early lead over Drellos, Marc Johnson, Robert Bublak and Matt Delorenzo. On lap two Marc Johnson took over the second spot with Delorenzo moving to third. Elmo Reckner took over the fifth spot from Bublak on lap four as Delorenzo moved to third.

Kenny Tremont, Jr. began to challenge Reckner for fifth by lap ten. Tremont took the position on lap 13. Reckner battled back and was alongside on lap 15. Anthony Alger came to a stop on lap 16 in turn four to bring out the caution flag. On the restart Ronnie Johnson held the lead as Marc Johnson and Delorenzo battled for second. John Lutes, Jr. slowed on lap 16 to bring out the caution flag.

When racing resumed Johnson, Johnson and Delorenzo held the top three positions with Tremont fourth and Drellos fifth. Drellos moved past Tremont on lap 21 while Delorenzo moved past Johnson for second. With five laps to go Ronnie Johnson caught slower traffic. This allowed Delorenzo to close on Johnson. In the end Johnson would pull away for the win over Delorenzo, Marc Johnson, Tremont and Drellos. Heat races for the 24 car Modified field were won by Reckner and Tremont.

Jason Gray won the 25 lap Sportsman feature event. Adam McAuliffe and Derrick McGrew led the field to the green with McAuliffe taking the early lead over McGrew and David Constantino. McGrew took over the top spot on lap five as Jason Gray and Cody Bleau closed in on the top three battle. Joe Orlando spun on lap six to bring out the first caution flag. On the restart McGrew held the lead with Constantino in pursuit. Orlando spun again on lap six to bring out the caution flag.

When racing resumed McGrew was the race leader with Constantino, Bleau, McAuliffe and Gray following. The caution flag waved on lap ten when numerous cars tangled heading into turn four. On the restart McGrew held the lead over Constantino, Bleau, Gray and McAuliffe. Jeremy Pitts took over the fifth position on lap 14 and set his sights on the leaders. David Schilling slowed in turn three to bring out the caution flag on lap 15.

The restart would see McGrew and Constantino battle for the top spot. The duo ran side by side until McGrew claimed the momentum on lap 17. Tony Farone and Nick Lussier came together on the backstretch to bring out the caution flag on lap 17.

Constantino took the lead on the restart with Bleau on his bumper. Jon Miller spun on lap 20 to bring out the caution flag. The restart would see Constantino and Bleau battle for the lead. Bleau took over the top spot on lap 23 but Constantino came right back. The two battled to the final lap. Coming to the checkers Contantino and Bleau made hard contact exiting turn four with both hit the outside wall.

Jason Gray would pick up the win over McGrew, Chris Johnson, McAuliffe and Ken Conroy. With 30 Sportsman on hand the heat races were won by Pitts, Gray and Bleau.

Nick Stone won the 25 lap Pro Stock feature event. Bernie Companion and Stone led the field to the green with Stone taking the early lead over Walt Brownell and Companion. Brownell wasted no time in challenging Stone and was alongside by lap two. Kenny Martin spun on the front stretch on lap three to bring out the first caution period. On the restart Brownell took the lead however Stone regained the lead before they completed a lap. A jingle on lap three brought the caution flag out for the second time.

The restart would see Brownell held the lead over Stone and Robbie Speed. Following a debris caution on lap five racing resumed with the top three remaining the same. After three consecutive caution periods racing resumed with Brownell leading Stone and Norm Loubier. Brownell got a little out of shape on lap 14 which allowed Stone to get past for the lead. Speed moved to third on lap 20.

In the end Stone would pick up the win over Brownell, Companion, Loubier and Brandon Emigh. Heat races for the 19 Pro Stocks were won by Speed and Zach Welch.

Scott Bennett, Jr. won the 20 lap Limited Sportsman feature event. The win was the first of his career. Nick Fretto finished second with John Stowell third, Derek Bornt fourth and Stephen Kneer fifth. The heat races were won by DeRocher and Fretto.

John Morris, Jr. won the 20 lap Street Stock feature event. Morris battled Paul Mulrain late for the win. Mulrain would finish second with track champion Josh Coonradt third, Al Relyea fourth and Mark Burch fifth. Heat races for the 20 Street Stock entries were won by Anderson and Burch.

Alex Bell won the 20 lap Empire Lightning Sprints A-Main. Jamie Beaudry and Rich Wood led the field to the green with Wood taking the early lead. The red flag would fly on lap two when Kathy Bellen spun in turn four and collected Jerry Sehn. Both drivers wound up upside down. When racing resumed Bell would take over the top spot. With five laps to go Bell enjoyed a nearly two second lead. That lead would go away when Shea Montgomery came to a stop in turn four.

On the restart Bell held the lead over Wood and Lou Torres. A two car incident caused the caution flag to fly on lap 17, forcing a restart. Bell led on the restart and held the lead to the finish. Torres finished second with Wood third, Justin Phillips fourth and Nick Denyse fifth. Heat races for the 17 Empire Lightning Sprints were claimed by Jesse Pruchnick, Clint Roehrs and Alex Bell.

The Four Cylinder feature was a very special event sponsored by Damon Anderson. The Stop the Bullying/Suicide Prevention Awareness event was run in honor of 17-year-old Devin Howe and featured a $1,000 purse. Josh Wood picked up the feature win over Jim Cutler, Robert Garney, Dave Mullineaux and Jason Lang. Cutler was later disqualified.

The season is now complete at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Please stay tuned to www.albany-saratogaspeedway.com for banquet information and news on the 2017 racing season.

Modified Results (35 Laps) – 1) Ronnie Johnson, 2) Matt Delorenzo, 3) Marc Johnson, 4) Ken Tremont Jr, 5) Demetrios Drellos, 6) Bodie Bellinger, 7) Elmo Reckner, 8) Jeremy Wilder, 9) Mark Kislowski, 10) Hector Stratton, 11) Robert Bublak, 12) Ricky Davis, 13) Matt Depew, 14) Brian Berger, 15) Connor Cleveland, 16) Don Mattison, 17) Justin Barber, 18) John Lutes Jr, 19) Jim Nagle, 20) Anthony Alger, 21) Ray Hoard, 22) Rich Ronca, DNS) Jessey Mueller, DNS) Cass Bennett

Empire Lightning Sprint Cars Results (25 Laps) – 1) Lou Torres, 2) Alex Bell, 3) Rich Wood, 4) Justin Phillips, 5) Jesse Pruchnick, 6) Nick DeNyse, 7) Doug Norrie, 8) Shea Montgomery, 9) Jon Moore, 10) Rick Stone, 11) Duby Woodruff, 12) Jamie Beaudry, 13) Phil Bessett, 14) Clint Roehrs, 15) Kurt Conklin, 16) Kathy Bellen, 17) Jerry Sehn

Sportsman Results (25 Laps) – 1) Jason Gray, 2) Derrick McGrew, 3) Tim Hartman Jr, 4) Chris Johnson, 5) Adam McAuliffe, 6) Ken Conroy, 7) Hunter Bates, 8) Jamike Sowle, 9) Mike Ostrander, 10) Ronnie Proctor, 11) Mike Coffey, 12) Mike Tholin, 13) Jack Lehner, 14) David Schilling, 15) Christopher Ronca, 16) Nick Lussier, 17) Floyd Billington, 18) Mike Barrett, 19) Joe Orlando, 20) Timothy Davis, 21) Jon Miller, 22) Dave Constantino, 23) Cody Bleau, 24) Andrew Buff, 25) Pat Jones, 26) Jack Swinton, 27) Jeremy Pitts, 28) Tony Farone, 29) Elliott Lussier, DNS) Daryl Nutting

Limited Sportsman Results (20 Laps) – 1) Scott Bennett Jr, 2) Nick Fretto, 3) John Stowell, 4) Derek Bornt, 5) Stephen Kneer, 6) James Meehan, 7) Gary Derocher, 8) Josh Neal, 9) Dylan Bokus, 10) Dan Grignon, 11) Diana Huyck, 12) Yule Cook, 13) Travis Billington, 14) Clint Bonner, 15) Reggie Bonner, 16) Brandon Daley, 17) Mike Block, 18) Michael Wagner

Pro Stock Results (20 Laps) – 1) Nick Stone, 2) Walt Brownell, 3) Bernie Companion, 4) Norm Loubier, 5) David Emigh, 6) Robbie Speed, 7) Jason Meltz, 8) Dan Older, 9) Yates Lansing, 10) Scott Govertson, 11) Kenny Martin, 12) Darryl Older, 13) Pete Porter, 14) Danny Wood, 15) Nick Arnold, 16) Chris Wemple, 17) Zach Welch, 18) Jeff Washburn, 19) Jimmy Eaton

Street Stock Results (20 Laps) – 1) John Morris Jr, 2) Paul Mulrain, 3) Josh Coonradt, 4) Al Relyea, 5) Mark Burch, 6) Damon Anderson, 7) Paul Braymer, 8) Lisa Miller, 9) Jeff Meltz Sr, 10) Jim Duncan, 11) Chase Aussicker, 12) Joshua Reome, 13) John Hayes, 14) Pete Vila, 15) Zach Sorrentino, 16) Scott Lawrence, 17) David Shippee, 18) Matt Narzynski, DNS) Curt Condon, DNS) Matt Mosher, DNS) Jody Thew

4 Cylinder Single Cam Results (25 Laps) – 1) Robert Garney, 2) Daryl Connor, 3) Tyler Burch, 4) Dave LeBarge, 5) Mike Parodi, 6) James Street, 7) Brandon Ely, 8) Will Ryan, 9) Jim Bleau

4 Cylinder Dual Cam Results (25 Laps) – 1) Josh Wood, 2) Dave Mullineaux, 3) Jason Lang, 4) Jared Powell, 5) Steve Ryan, 6) Jake Currier, 7) Dan Older Jr, 8) Ben Grant, 9) Todd Goldstien, DNS) Shawnee Hazel, DQ) Jim Cutler