Hoard Sr. notches first win

MALTA - Sometimes, an accident can be a blessing in disguise.

Running with one of the lowest budgets on the Champlain Valley Racing Association, the last thing Frank Hoard Sr. wanted to do this season was shell out money for a new car. But after a backstretch wreck at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in May, Hoard had no choice.

Now, the elder statesman of the CVRA probably wishes Santa Claus had brought him that new Teo chassis for Christmas.

Hooked up to a heavy race track, Hoard, 61, posted his first victory of the season Friday night in the 35-lap 358 modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. The win was Hoard’s third career victory at the Malta track, and his first since Sept. 7, 2001.

Since getting the new chassis, Hoard also has a victory at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, marking one of the few times in his career that he’s picked up wins at both CVRA tracks in the same season. While others struggled to hook up the surface, which had been battered by a night-long rain, Hoard had no problem. "The car went really good, and with the wet conditions, there was definitely no wheel spin," he said after the race.

It didn’t hurt that Hoard had the No. 6 starting position, either. Mike Ronca and Todd Ryan, who have combined to have just horrible luck this season, started on the front row, with Ronca jumping out to the lead. Ryan ran second until lap 12, when something broke in his modified on the backstretch, giving him another early night.

Ryan’s misfortune put Randy Hotaling second, and he and Ronca than ran off a number of laps side-by-side, with Ronca refusing to give up the top spot. But Hoard then got past Hotaling for second on lap 16, and two laps later, charged past Ronca for the lead.

Jack Johnson, a sentimental favorite at the speedway, had moved up to fourth by lap 20 and set the sights of the Witz Roofing small block on Hoard. On lap 25, Johnson moved up to second.

With Hoard battling lapped traffic, Johnson was able to close in on the leader, but Hoard wasn’t going to be denied, and had a two-second margin of victory when starter Bob Bigelow dropped the checkered flag.

Johnson, still looking for his first victory of the 2003 campaign, finished second for the fourth time this season, while Ronca crossed the finish line third, the first time this season he’s been able to break into the top three.

Ken Tremont Jr., who started 20th in the 23-car field, padded his point lead with a fourth-place finish, and Hotaling was fifth.

Completing the top 10 were Mike Perrotte, Don Mattison, Dave Camara, Matt DeLorenzo and Ronnie Johnson. Brett Hearn, who had been involved in a spin on lap 19, finished 12th, losing more ground to Tremont in the battle for the track title.

Tim Hartman moved another step closer to graduation from the sportsman class with his sixth victory of the season in the 20-lap feature in that division. Last year, Mike Ballestero was promoted to the modified division after finishing the season with five victories. Hartman already has six wins, so it’s a good bet he’ll be the next sportsman driver to get a diploma.

Hartman chased Rich Ronca for most of the 20-lapper, but took the lead with two to go and held off Dick Bisson to get the victory. Ronca was third, finishing off a good night by the Racing Ronca family, with Stan Lemiesz fourth and Derrick McGrew fifth.

Henry Tanner posted his first career victory in the 20-lap pro-street stock feature. After starting fifth, Tanner grabbed the lead on lap 13 and pulled away from Jimmy Eaton to get the popular victory. Eaton, who has come out of nowhere to suddenly become a force in the division, crossed the finish line second, his second top-three finish in as many races. Dean Charbonneau was third, with Butchie Irwin fourth and Brian Holbritter fifth.

Chris Busta made his way to victory lane for the third time this season in the hobby stock feature, holding off Mike Tholin to get the win, while Jamie McCarthy drove to his first victory of the season in the cruiser division, piloting his four-cylinder car to the overall victory. Rich Mrzyglod, driving a six-cylinder, was second overall, and got the victory in his division.

The Central New York Mini-Sprints will be added to the racing card on Friday night, with all other divisions also in action. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.

MODIFIEDS: FRANK HOARD SR., Jack Johnson, Mike Ronca, Ken Tremont Jr., Randy Hotaling, Mike Perrotte, Don Mattison, Dave Camara, Matt DeLorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Don Ackner, Brett Hearn, Ray Hoard, Jack Cottrell, Ron Proctor, Tom Proctor, Dave Manny, Mike Ballestero, Chuck Higley, Tim Laduc, Scott Noel, Todd Ryan, Don Scarborough.

SPORTSMAN: TIM HARTMAN, Dick Bisson, Rich Ronca, Stan Lemiesz, Derrick McGrew, Jeff Sukup, Dan Bublac, Brian McKenzie, Erik Mack, Jason Herrington, Jack Swinton, Mike Catone, Keith Flach, Ken Anatriello, Jimmy Cottrell, Leonard Billings, Neal Erickson, Fred Proctor, Ed Pieniazek Jr., Ray Martindale, Bill Cody, Jimmy Meka, Keith Nichols.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: HENRY TANNER, Jimmy Eaton, Dean Charbonneau, Butchie Irwin, Brian Holbritter, Chris Maxon, Joe Santoro, Carl Vladyka, Bob Schmidt, Vince Santoro, Matt Anatriello, Scott Duell, Lori Cary, Cale Kneer, Steve Burega, Roy Fifield, Walt Brownell.

HOBBY STOCKS: CHRIS BUSTA, Mike Tholin, Jim Monroe III, Jim Monroe Jr., Byron Westcott, Dan Daniels, Adam Stoddard, John Filarecki, Kevin Van Chance, Kevin Sawyer, Shannon Donnelly, John Coon, Ed Frank, John Morris Jr., Jeff Monroe, Dave Emigh, Robert Ross, Bob Smith.

CRUISERS: JAMIE MCCARTHY, RICH MRZYGLOD, Mike Minick, Kevin Connors, Brian Myers, Jeremy Brownell, Keith Keller, Dave Kennedy, Keith Wright, Matt Corbiel, Joe Naccarato, Amanda Clemens, Brittany Ladd, Thomas Welch, Jon Atwell, Pete Jeske, Emerson Ostrander, Ben Terry Jr.