Friday July 27, 2012 – Malta, NY – Kenny Tremont, Jr. is no stranger to victory lane at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway and he put into play all his years of experience to record his second win of the 2012 season at the Malta oval on Friday night.

Starting from the 14th position Tremont took over second position on lap six with a high side pass of Dustin Delaney in the new Delaney Construction No. 39 Teo Pro car and then set his sights on leader Tony Ballestero, who had started from the pole.  It took only one more lap for Tremont to put the S&S Paving/Rifenburg Construction Bicknell chassis No. 115 into the lead position and then weave his way through traffic for 27 more laps to beat a fast-closing Brett Hearn in the Madsen Motorsports No. 20 and Stewart Friesen in the Jake Spraker Used Cars sponsored No. 1J.

A smiling Tremont was greeted by cheers from the crowd as he emerged from his car in victory lane.  Referencing the three wide pass that put him in victory lane, Tremont stated “…you have to make a choice and you can’t hesitate once you do.”

The win earned Tremont a $2,000 paycheck that included a $500 bonus from Morris Ford, Inc. (Burnt Hills, NY).

Hearn had started the feature from 13th position and Friesen had started from 15th position and each utilized every inch of track surface to get to the front to challenge Tremont.  They were thwarted by lapped traffic during the last five laps of racing, unable to catch Tremont, and settled for second and third spots respectively.

Finishing in fourth was Dustin Delaney followed by JaMike Sowle’s best run to date for his fifth place finish.  The two young guns gained valuable experience following the three veteran drivers who raced in front of them for over 20 laps.

Rounding out the top ten in the Modified division were Ronnie Johnson, Bodie Bellinger, Elmo Reckner, Jimmy Cottrell and Matt DeLorenzo.

In 1999 the Albany-Saratoga Speedway set a record of 17 consecutive events, and that record was tied this night.  Fans and track management are very hopeful that this coming Friday night will see that record broken and a new one established.

The 25-lap LebanonValley/Albany-Saratoga Sportsman Challenge Race produced another first time winner at the Malta oval with Brian Gleason recording his first win in the BBL Construction/ShopRite No. 14G Teo Pro car.  Gleason, a recent high school graduate, took the lead on lap five and never looked back while working his way through lapped traffic.

Brian Gleason celebrates on the frontstretch before his first trip to Victory Lane at A-S

Jeremy Pitts challenged Gleason for most of the feature event, ready to spring into the first spot should the No. 14G make a mistake.  That mistake never happened and Pitts had to settle for a second place run followed by Ken Aanonsen Jr. in third, Adam McAuliffe in fourth and Tim Hartman, Jr. in fifth.  High point man Bobby Hackel IV finished in the sixth position.

A very happy Gleason stated “we had the right car with the right setup” for the night.  The season has been a tough one for the young driver with several opportunities for good finishes having eluded him.  “We needed this, big time,” said Gleason.  “I knew Pitts was catching me because of the lapped traffic and it meant racing side-by-side with the lapped traffic to hold my position.”

In the Pro Stock division it was another first time winner with Brandon Emigh taking the checkered flag ahead of Dean Charbonneau, Dan Older, Jeff Washburn and Chad Jeseo.  The feature event was sponsored by Outerzone Laser Tag and was worth $500 to Emigh.

Jumping out to the early lead was the 25J of Washburn but that was short lived as Charbonneau took the lead on lap seven.  While that pass was taking place there was a torrid battle going on between Rob Langevin and Chad Jeseo for fifth place with Emigh quietly sliding into the second position.

Emigh eventually gained the front spot on lap 20 with Charbonneau holding on to second.  For the remaining five laps they held on to positions one and two and were followed across the finish line by two-time winner Dan Older in third, Jeff Washburn in fourth and two-time winner Chad Jeseo in fifth.

In victory lane a jubilant Brandon Emigh was quick to point out his first win came because “the car finally had something this week and I was able to run and stay on the top.”  For Emigh this is his second career win at Albany-Saratoga with one win accomplished last year on the asphalt surface.

The 20-lap Street Stock feature race was a race-long battle between eventual winner Paul Mulrain and Rowdy Burch.  Mulrain, who had four wins coming into this event, pulled ahead when the No. 76 of Burch became loose coming off turn four for the checker flag.

Driving his familiar No. 55 Mulrain commented “the track had a little more bite than it looks.  I had to go to the top to get around him (Burch).”  The win keeps Mulrain solidly in the top point position towards the track championship.

BITS:  once again this week Ronnie Johnson was the fastest in the initial warm-up session turning an impressive best lap speed of 90.186 mph in his Teo Pro Car No. 12A…Rocky Warner didn’t report to the grid for the start of his Budget Sportsman heat and wasn’t able to qualify for the feature race with a fifth place B Main finish after spinning on lap 8…Adam Pierson and Josh Sunn, weekly runners at the Bear Ridge Speedway in Vermont, were on hand for the first time in 2012…popular Modified driver Jeff Trombley was forced into the inside berm going into turn one during his heat race and rolled over his 21J.  He came back to run the feature event…Donnie Corellis, driver of the Rifenburg Construction No. 57, had to be pushed to the pits at the end of pre-feature hot laps and did not start the feature race…  Many, many, many thanks to Jo Ann Davies for handling the press release duties while I recover from an automobile accident.

Modified (35 Laps) – 1. Ken Tremont Jr, 2. Brett Hearn, 3. Stewart Friesen, 4. Dustin Delaney, 5. Jamike Sowle, 6. Ronnie Johnson, 7. Bodie Bellinger, 8. Elmo Reckner, 9. Jimmy Cottrell, 10. Matt Delorenzo, 11. Don Ronca, 12. Rich Ronca, 13. Jeff Trombley, 14. Matt Depew, 15. Marc Johnson, 16. Tony Ballestero, 17. Mike Perrotte 18. Mark Kislowski, 19. Keith Flach, 20. Justin Barber, 21. J.C. Flach, 22. Hector Stratton, 23. C.G. Morey, 24. Neil Stratton, 25. Erik Nelson, 26. Chris Busta, 27. John Lutes Jr, 28. Floyd Billington, DNS. Donnie Corellis

Budget Sportsman A-Feature (25 Laps) – 1. Brian Gleason, 2. Jeremy Pitts, 3. Kenny Aanonsen Jr, 4. Adam McAuliffe, 5. Tim Hartman Jr, 6. Bobby Hackel IV, 7. Dave Baranowski Jr, 8. Leo Sousie, 9. Jack Gentile, 10. Mark Hughes,  11. Mike Tholin, 12. Frank Hoard III, 13. Andy Durie, 14. Rick Lamont, 15. Brett Wright, 16. Jack Speshock, 17. Scott Duell, 18. Chuck Dickinson, 19. Ken Martin, 20. Josh Sunn, 21. Fred Proctor, 22. Anthony Marro, 23. Derrick McGrew, 24. Dan Santabarbara, 25. Mike Minick, 26. Paul Dunham, 27. Mike Burdo, 28. Stan Lemiesz, 29. Joey Budka, 30. Robert Bublak

Budget Sportsman B-Feature #1 (15 Laps) – 1. Mike Tholin, 2. Dan Santabarbara, 3. Mike Duclos, 4. Nick Anatriello, 5. Butch Wilcox, 6. Jon Miller, 7. Lenny Peckham, 8. Elliott Lussier, 9. Ron Casey, 10. Derrick McGrew, 11. Joe Orlando, 12. Dan Boni, DNS. Jeremy Digert, DNS. Fred Mullberger, DNS. Tom Proctor

Budget Sportsman B-Feature #2 (15 Laps) – 1. Anthony Marro, 2. Paul Dunham, 3. Adam Pierson, 4. Mike Jeske, 5. Rocky Warner, 6. D.J. Brundige, 7. Jay LaMountain, 8. Jack Swinton, 9. Mike Ostrander, 10. Chris Murray, 11. Shannon Donnelly, 12. Bert Film, 13. Nick Hotaling, 14. Scott Duell

Outerzone Laser Tag Pro Stock Series Race (25 Laps) – 1. Brandon Emigh, 2. Dean Charbonneau, 3. Dan Older, 4. Jeff Washburn, 5. Chad Jeseo, 6. Kevin VanChance, 7. Bill Smith, 8. Chip Smith, 9. Bernie Companion, 10. Rob Langevin, 11. Kim Duell, 12. Dave Emigh, 13. Walt Brownell, 14. Pat Zimmer, 15. Rob Yetman

Street Stock (30 Laps) – 1. Paul Mulrain, 2. Rowdy Burch, 3. Josh Coonradt, 4. Ken Conroy, 5. Yule Cook, 6. Phil Sherman, 7. Scott Lawrence, 8. J.T. Ronner, 9. Curt Condon, 10. David Shippee, 11. Justin Smith, 12. Fred Harris, 13. Jody Thew, 14. Dave Stickles, 15. John Hayes, 16. Matt Mosher, 17. Randy Miller, 18. Nathan Dahoda, 19. Jason Barrett, 20. Jay Severson, DNS. Luke McIsaac

4 Cylinder Combined (15 Laps) – 1. Art Clement, 2. Chris VanDePutte, 3. Phil Defiglio, 4. Hunnter Sanchez, 5. Dan Older, 6. Pete Vila, 7. Anthony Alger, 8. John Lindblade, 9. Dave Labarge, 10. Mehmet Guler, 11. Dave Leith, 12. Keith Tesiero Jr., 13. Keith Tesiero, 14. Stephen Goodness, 15. Mike Cranston, 16. Jay Resch

4 Cylinder Single Cam – 1. Dan Older, 2. Anthony Alger, 3. John Lindblade, 4. Dave Labarge, 5. Mehmet Guler, 6. Dave Leith, 7. Keith Tesiero Jr., 8. Keith Tesiero, 9. Mike Cranston

4 Cylinder Dual Cam – 1. Art Clement, 2. Chris VanDePutte, 3. Phil Defiglio, 4. Hunter Sanchez, 5. Pete Vila, 6. Stephen Goodness, 7. Jay Resch