MALTA – For years, the Friday night regulars at Albany-Saratoga Speedway were little more than spectators when the Super DIRTcar Series pulled into town, watching invaders waltz in and take home the top prize.

But that’s all changed in recent years, and when Albany-Saratoga hosts Round 5 of the Super DIRTcar Series on Friday, the regulars will be more than ready to defend their home turf.

Friday will mark the first time that Albany-Saratoga has hosted a Super DIRTcar Series race on its normal racing night. The 71-lap feature will pay $7,500 to win, with racing starting at 7 p.m.

When Brett Hearn’s “Big Show” had the distinction of being Albany-Saratoga’s Super DIRTcar Series race, the list of winners included Bobby Varin, Danny Johnson, Jimmy Phelps, Stewart Friesen and Tim McCreadie. The only Malta regular who could crack that lineup was Hearn himself, who won “Big Show 5” in 2013.

But for the last three years, Friday night regulars have owned victory lane.

It started in 2019, when Demetrios Drellos pulled off one of the biggest Super DIRTcar Series upsets ever, outrunning Billy Decker and Mat Williamson to take home the $10,000 top prize. In 2020, Anthony Perrego made Albany-Saratoga his Friday night home and ended the year with a victory in the OktoberFAST Series, which replaced the Super DIRTcar Series in the COVID-19-ravaged season.

Last year, Mike Mahaney chalked up the biggest win of his career, taking home $13,000 after holding off Friesen in one of the most exciting Series races ever witnessed at Malta.

The list of serious contenders on Friday night includes two-time track champion Marc Johnson, who notched his first win of the season in his new Scott Hamlin Racing Bicknell last week; Matt DeLorenzo, the only modified driver with more than one win this season; Peter Britten, the only Friday night regular who has a victory in the Super DIRTcar Series this year; Jack Lehner, who debuted a new DKM chassis last Friday and came away with a fourth-place finish; and Hall of Famer Ken Tremont Jr., the 13-time champion at Malta who, ironically, has never won a Super DIRTcar Series race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Friday night’s racing card will also include sportsman, pro stocks and limited sportsman, with the limiteds running just a B-main and a feature. The limited sportsman winner will receive $500, in memory of Kevin R. McMillen. The pro stock feature will pay $1,000 to win, through sponsorship from Elmo’s Speed & Supply.

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