Hartman wins 50-lapper

MALTA - All year long, Tim Hartman has felt like the opening act at a Rolling Stones concert. No matter how well he performed, the fans were always waiting for Mick Jagger to come out.

But on Friday night, with the headlining act at Albany-Saratoga Speedway - the 358 modifieds - getting the night off, Hartman really put his talent on display.

Coming out of the three hole by way of a heads-up start, Hartman took the lead on lap eight and dominated the rest of the race, winning the 50-lap sportsman feature that highlighted a special 4th of July holiday card at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Hartman has been one of the stars of the sportsman division at the Malta track for the last two years, but with the fans anxious to watch the weekly wars between 358 stars Brett Hearn, Ken Tremont Jr. and Dave Camara, Hartman’s accomplishments have usually been overshadowed.

Last year, he battled with Mike Ballestero right down to the wire for the sportsman division title, with Ballestero taking the crown with a late-season surge. But this year, with Ballestero running in the premier division, Hartman has been the class of the sportsman field. His win on Friday night was his fifth of the season, and 12th of his career in the secondary division at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. That ties him for third place on the all-time sportsman win list, with Tony Ballestero and David Towns.

John Bellinger, who started from the pole in the 50-lap feature, jumped right into the lead at the drop of the green flag, but Hartman was flying from the start, and had the lead on lap eight.

The tone for the rest of Bellinger’s night was set two laps later. Battling for the lead, Bellinger tried to muscle his way back into the lead in the fourth turn and made contact with the leader, but Hartman was able to keep the car straight, and maintained the top spot.

But the incident caused Bellinger’s left rear tire to go flat, and as he tried to duck into the pits, he banged into Jason Herrington, who had moved up to third. That contact sent Herrington over the bank near the first turn, but officials allowed him to regain his position, as the caution had already come out.

Derrick McGrew, who had started 11th, used the restarts to gain ground and was battling with Herrington for the No. 2 position. McGrew won that skirmish on lap 20, but McGrew couldn’t get away from Herrington, who refused to give up.

Bellinger, pushing the John Kollar-owned small block to the limit, also used the cautions to get back into the fourth position, and again began to put pressure on Herrington and McGrew. But on lap 30, Bellinger was involved in another incident, this time with both Herrington and McGrew, and was sent to the rear of the field.

Herrington and McGrew continued to wage war for the No. 2 position, with McGrew finally taking the spot for good on lap 38. But by that time,. Hartman had checked out on the field, and posted a 3.11-second margin of victory.

McGrew finished second, his best performance of the year, while Stan Lemiesz, who had started 10th, ran a good, steady race and finished third, matching his best finish of the season. Bill Cody hit the top-five for the first time this year, finishing fourth, while Herrington faded to fifth at the finish.

Byron Westcott held off a strong challenge from Mike Tholin to come away with his second straight victory in the 30-lap hobby stock feature. After a slow start, Westcott has recovered and now has three wins in the hobby stock class at Albany-Saratoga.

Westcott started 15th in the 23-car field, but it only took him six laps to get by Bob Smith, who was the early leader. Tholin, who had started 12th, moved into the second spot on lap seven and kept constant pressure on Westcott, but had to settle for second, finishing 0.370 seconds behind Westcott.

Jeff Monroe crossed the finish line third, with John Coon fourth and Jim Monroe Jr. fifth.

The cruisers were split into two divisions, with Keith Wright winning the 20-lap feature for six-cylinder cars, and David Kennedy taking the checkered flag in the four-cylinder division, which also ran 20 laps.

The special holiday card finished with a 50-lap enduro, with Dennis Joslin getting the win over David Trombley and Mike Lanoux.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway will return to action on Friday night with all divisions in action on Armed Services Night.

SPORTSMAN: TIM HARTMAN, Derrick McGrew, Stan Lemiesz, Bill Cody, Jason Herrington, Ken Anatriello, Jack Swinton, Dick Bisson, Doug Sheely, Ed Pieniazek Jr., Dan Bublac, Neal Erickson, Josh Pieniazek, Randy Salisbury, Erik Mack, Rich Ronca, Richard Quick, Leonard Billings, Mike Catone, Jimmy Cottrell, Jimmy Meka, John Cefelo, David Peek. DQ: John Bellinger.

HOBBY STOCKS: BYRON WESTCOTT, Mike Tholin, Jeff Monroe, John Coon, Jim Monroe Jr., Jim Monroe III, Adam Stoddard, Bob Smith, John Filarecki, Dan Daniels, Rusty Palmateer, Kevin Van Chance, Tim Ippoliti, Mike Scorzelli, Chris Busta, John Morris Jr., Pat Cram, Donny Williams, David Emigh, Ed Frank, Richard Burke, Kevin Sawyer, Brett Baker.

SIX-CYLINDER CRUISERS: KEITH WRIGHT, Brian Myers, Luke MacIsaac, Amanda Clemens, Harold Clothier, Ken Wooley, Keith Keller, Rich Mrzyglod, Jeremy Brownell, Mike Minick, Emerson Ostrander, Thomas Welch, Ed Mason, Joe Barcomb.

FOUR-CYLINDER CRUISERS: DAVID KENNEDY, Jon Atwell, Joe Naccarato, Matt Corbiel, Kevin Connors, James McCarthy, Robert Bublac Jr., Brittany Ladd.