Johnson stays in the hunt

MALTA - Jack Johnson hasn’t won the track championship at Albany-Saratoga Speedway since 1983, but if he keeps driving the way he did Friday night, that 20-year dry spell is going to come to an end.

Showing the form and racing savvy that has made him the winningest driver in the history of the speedway, Johnson held off a charge from Dave Camara to win the 40-lap Midseason Championships at the Malta track.

The win was the first of the season for Johnson in the Witz Roofing small block at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, but it was his 82nd career victory at the speedway.

But more important, with double points on the line, Johnson, who also has four runner-up finishes at Malta this season, stayed in the thick of the battle for the track championship. Defending track champion Brett Hearn, who finished fourth, regained the lead in the point race, but Jumpin’ Jack is now only seven points out.

Promoter Bruce Richards added a little twist to this year’s Midseason Championships. Billed as Rock ‘n Race, the night also included a concert by the Burners UK, a popular Capital District rock band. But because he needed time for the concert, Richards opted for a features-only format, with extra distance races and added purses in all divisions.

All divisions except the 358 modifieds were lined up according to points, which accounted for some predictable racing. But the top 12 modified drivers drew for position, which created an exciting 40-lap feature.

Ken Tremont Jr., who went into the night as the modified point leader, drew the pole and the fans of the 115 thought this was going to be an easy night, as Tremont went right to the front.

But Jumpin’ Jack had also had a good draw, picking the No. 3 position, and only needed two laps to move into second. Tremont was working the high side of the speedway and used his momentum off the turns to maintain the lead, but Johnson kept plugging away, and on lap 14, made the pass for the lead.

Matt DeLorenzo, who had been sitting just off the leaders, followed Johnson’s move and rocketed past Tremont for second. But Tremont was obviously having a handling problem, because on lap 16, he made contact with the fourth turn wall, bringing out the caution.

That yellow set up some outstanding racing, as Camara, Jack Cottrell and DeLorenzo were now thrown together like rattlesnakes in a small box. Cottrell used the restart to his advantage, blasting into the No. 2 spot, and Cottrell then began to challenge Johnson for the lead.

Cottrell and Johnson ran side-by-side for a number of laps, but another yellow, on lap 21, broke Cottrell’s rhythm and the single-file restart was just what Johnson needed.

Camara used that restart to get the jump on Cottrell and now, it was the Camara Slate-sponsored small block that was putting the heat on Johnson. Camara, who was a Jack Johnson fan as a kid, kept heavy pressure on Johnson, but another yellow, this one on lap 26, again put the field single file, and this time, there was no touching the Witz Roofing small block.

"Dave showed me that the bottom groove was working well for him, so I changed my lane and went down there to protect the lead and get the win," said Johnson in victory lane after the win, which was worth $2,000.

Cottrell got past Camara with two to go and finished second, his best finish since the second race of the season, when he chased Hearn across the finish line.

Camara was third, with Hearn fourth and DeLorenzo fifth. Completing the top 10 were Ronnie Johnson, Frank Hoard Sr., Ray Hoard, Tremont and Don Mattison.

There was no suspense in the 30-lap sportsman feature, which paid $650 to win. Point leader Tim Hartman started on the pole and led flag-to-flag to notch his eighth victory of the season.

One of the best performances came from Jimmy Cottrell, who charged up to second after starting ninth, giving the Cottrell family back-to-back second-place finishes. Erik Mack was third, with Stan Lemiesz fourth and Joe Budka fifth. Budka had started dead last after qualifying through the B main.

Carl Vladyka drove to his fourth win of the season in the 25-lap pro-street stock feature. Like Hartman, Vladyka led the entire distance, beating Butchie Irwin to the finish line by 1.138 seconds. Lori Cary finished third, ahead of Chris Maxon and Adam Tranka.

Mike Tholin held off Jeff Monroe and Byron Westcott to record his second win of the season in the hobby stock division. Tholin led 19 of the 20 laps, as Westcott was credited with leading lap eight. But Monroe hung tough, trailing Tholin by just 0.390 seconds at the finish.

Rich Mrzyglod won the 20-lap cruiser division feature. Jamie McCarthy was the four-cylinder winner, finishing third overall.

The Empire Super Sprints will make their second appearance of the season at Albany-Saratoga Friday night, joining the modifieds, sportsman, hobbys and cruisers on the card.

MODIFIEDS: JACK JOHNSON, Jack Cottrell, Dave Camara, Brett Hearn, Matt DeLorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Frank Hoard Sr., Ray Hoard, Ken Tremont Jr., Don Mattison, Randy Hotaling, Mike Ronca, Scott Noel, Mike Perrotte, Mike Ballestero, Bob Savoie, Tom Proctor, Chuck Higley, Don Ackner, Todd Ryan, Ron Proctor, Gene Munger.

SPORTSMAN: TIM HARTMAN, Jimmy Cottrell, Erik Mack, Stan Lemiesz, Joe Budka, Fred Proctor, Tony Ballestero, Rich Ronca, Dan Bublak, Neal Erickson, Jason Herrington, Dick Bisson, Derrick McGrew, Ken Anatriello, Jack Swinton, Ed Pieniazek Jr., David Peek.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: CARL VLADYKA, Butchie Irwin, Lori Cary, Chris Maxon, Adam Tranka, Roy Fifield, Dean Charbonneau, Tom O’Connor, Scott Duell, Steve Burega, Bob Schmidt, Matt Anatriello, Bernie Companion, Joe Santoro, Mike Paquin, Cale Kneer, Dave Uline, Henry Tanner III, Vince Santoro, Randy Brownell.

HOBBY STOCKS: MIKE THOLIN, Jeff Monroe, Byron Westcott, John Morris Jr., Dan Daniels, Jim Monroe III, Adam Stoddard, Rusty Palmateer, Dave Emigh, Kevin Van Chance, Keith Guilder, John Coon, Jim Monroe Jr., Brian Ashline, Bob Smith, John Filarecki, Chris Busta, Mike Carman.

CRUISERS: Rich Mrzyglod, Brian Myers, JAMIE MCCARTHY, Kevin Connors, Amanda Clemon, Tracy Ash, Thomas Welch, Bill Bradly, Dan Uber, Jon Atwell, Mitch Cranston, Emerson Ostrander, Matt Corbiel, Mike Minick, Joe Naccarato, Luke MacIsaac, Jeremy Brownell.