August 12, 2011: MALTA – After four months of tweaking, tinkering and testing, Dave Manny finally hit on the right combination Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Using the pole position to his advantage, Manny ran a flawless race and came away with his first win of the season in the 35-lap NASCAR Modified feature at the historic Malta track.

The 2011 season has been one constant learning curve for Manny, who had just two top-five finishes in the first 10 nights of racing at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. But when the checkered flag fell Friday, Manny had his second career asphalt win, as he also sat in victory lane on Aug. 27 last year.

With Manny and Jessey Mueller setting a crisp pace from the drop of the green flag, a lot of attention centered farther back in the pack, where Joe Williams and Ron Proctor seemed to be constantly battling for position. It was only fitting that they would be almost glued together, as they are also in a heated battle for the point title at Albany-Saratoga.

Proctor and Williams made a little contact early in the feature, with Proctor doing a good job to avoid a spin, and on lap 14, they banged together again, and once again, Proctor gathered in his car before he got into real trouble.

But those little skirmishes also broke any momentum the top two drivers at Albany-Saratoga had, and it wasn’t until late in the race that Proctor finally made a charge, breaking into the top five with 10 laps to go.

Manny easily handled lapped traffic, but couldn’t shake Mueller until the teenager made a little bobble on lap 29, which gave Manny some breathing room, and he hit the checkered flag nearly two seconds ahead of Mueller, who was the runner-up for the second week in a row.

Cody Sargen came away with his best finish of the season, cracking the top three. Ron Proctor finished fourth and Fred Proctor was fifth.

With Ron Proctor finishing fourth and Williams coming across the line 10^th, Proctor took over the points lead for the first time this season. After chasing Williams all year, Proctor left the track with a three-point advantage.

Dan Petronis picked up his second straight win in the 30-lap pro late model feature, outrunning Brandon Emigh and Darryl Carl. Petronis was sitting third when Emigh and Carl, who were battling for the lead, came together on lap 13, with Emigh spinning out and Carl being sent to the rear. That gave Petronis the lead, and that’s where he stayed.

Bill Dupree made a surprise visit from Devil’s Bowl and won the Rengade feature, Russ Sniffen Jr. recorded his first win of the campaign in the INEX Legends feature and Harold Lavair Jr. returned to victory lane in the Bomber Warriors feature. The win was Lavair’s sixth of the season.

All divisions will be in action on Friday, Aug. 19, and it will also be Bikers’ Night. All fans arriving at the speedway on a motorcycle will receive free admission to the grandstand.

NASCAR MODIFIEDS: DAVE MANNY, Jessey Mueller, Cody Sargen, Ron Proctor, Fred Proctor, Hunter Bates, Jamie Proctor, John Proctor, Paul Dunham Jr., Joe Williams, Skip Shippee.

PRO LATE MODELS: DAN PETRONIS, Brandon Emigh, Darryl Carl, David Emigh, Carl Guilefuss.

RENEGADES: BILL DUPREE, Jeremy Jones, Andy Smith, Frank Monroe, Rowdy Burch. DQ: Josh Coonradt, DNS: Jeremy Hayes.

BOMBER WARRIORS: HAROLD LAVAIR JR., Mark Lindblade, John McCarron, Dan Collins, Dan Older Jr., Jeffrey Doran, Colin Clow.