Ronnie Johnson repeats 

MALTA - Some races are won with skill, others with a little racing luck. Ronnie Johnson used the latter Friday night to record his second straight victory in the Bobcat of Saratoga 35-lap 358 modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Johnson was willing to settle for second place Friday night, as veteran Bob Savoie had the field covered. But when Savoie’s tire went down on the final lap, Johnson grabbed the lead and earned his second straight win.

"My father once told me that sometimes he would rather be lucky than good," said Johnson, the son of racing legend Jack Johnson. "Tonight, I was just that."

On a night when the racing surface was a little slicker than usual, it appeared that the drivers who started near the front of the pack would have the advantage, as the drivers who started deeper in the field, including Johnson, who was way back in 22nd, were having trouble getting through the field.

Savoie was one of the drivers who used his starting spot to his advantage. After starting seventh, he quickly moved to the front and had the lead by lap eight.

Running under green-flag conditions, Savoie stretched his lead to a full straightaway before the final yellow of the night came out on lap 22 when Derrick McGrew, who had been running third at the time, came to a stop in the fourth turn.

That was the big break that Ronnie Johnson had been waiting for. When the yellow came out, Johnson was running third, behind Savoie and Ken Tremont Jr., but Savoie was in another area code. But on the restart, Johnson darted past Tremont and set out after Savoie, who was keeping his car tucked in the low groove, while Johnson kept looking for bite on the outside.

But running the low line came back to haunt Savoie, as he clipped the inside Jersey barrier on the final lap, causing his right front tire to lose air. Seizing the opportunity, Johnson moved back to the outside and beat Savoie to the finish line by 0.313 seconds for his eighth career victory at the Malta track.

"Bob Savoie had us all covered tonight," said Johnson after the win. "I could run with him, but I couldn’t get by him."

Savoie finished second, his best finish since Sept. 1, 2000, when he was last in victory lane at Albany-Saratoga.

Brett Hearn, who had started 13th, came across the line third, with Jack Johnson fourth and Matt DeLorenzo fifth. Completing the top 10 were Tremont, Mike Perrotte, Jack Cottrell, Don Ackner and A.J. Romano.

Tony Ballestero recorded his first win of the season in the 25-lap sportsman feature, but like Ronnie Johnson, Ballestero needed misfortune on the part of another driver to get the win.

David Towns took the lead on lap five and appeared to be on his way to his first win of the year in the Mike Parillo-owned 17, but with two laps to go, something in the suspension of Towns’ car broke, flattening the right rear tire. His misfortune gave the lead to Dick Bisson, but Ballestero then roared around Bisson on lap 24 and came away with the victory.

Following Bisson across the finish line were David Peek, Neal Erickson and Jimmy Cottrell.

Joe Santoro drove to his third straight win in the 25-lap pro-street stock feature. Seven was the lucky number for Santoro, as he started seventh and grabbed the lead on the seventh lap from Lori Cary.

Defending track champion Butchie Irwin, who had started right behind Santoro and followed him to the front, haunted the leader for the remainder of the race, but could never find room to make the pass for the lead, settling for second. Santoro’s teammate, Scott Duell, was third, with Cary fourth and Cale Kneer fifth.

Curtis Condon survived a rash of restarts to pick up his first win of the season in the Rentway Limited feature, hitting the finish line nearly a full second ahead of Jeff Monroe. Byron Wescott finished third.

A pair of familiar faces made their way to victory lane in the Pro-Built mini-stock mains, as Kevin Connors recorded his third win of the year in the four-cylinder division, and Jeremy Brownell got his second win in the six-cylinder class.

The Central New York Mini-Sprints were also on Friday night’s card, with Don Harvey Jr. picking up his third straight victory at Albany-Saratoga. Rookie Mike Kiser was second, with Jared Fink crossing the finish line third.

Double points will be on the line in all divisions Friday when Albany-Saratoga holds its annual Spring Championships.

NOTES: Jimmy Davis was behind the wheel of the Ralph Wade 99, replacing Jeff Trombley, who injured his back in an accident at Fonda Speedway. Trombley had replaced Randy Hotaling in the 99, but only ran it for one week before his injury.

BOBCAT OF SARATOGA MODIFIEDS: RONNIE JOHNSON, Bob Savoie, Brett Hearn, Jack Johnson, Matt DeLorenzo, Ken Tremont Jr., Mike Perrotte, Jack Cottrell, Don Ackner, A.J. Romano, Gene Munger, Tim Clemons, Ray Hoard, Frank Hoard Sr., Craig Hanson, Ron Proctor, Don Ronca, Jimmy Davis, Paul Cirincione, Ken McGuire, Keith Flach, J.R. Heffner, Eric Mack, Mike Ronca, Derrick McGrew.

SPORTSMAN: TONY BALLESTERO, Dick Bisson, David Peek, Neal Erickson, Jimmy Cottrell, Tim Hartman, Mike Tholin, Rick Davis, Johnny Lutes Jr., Dustin Delaney, Rich Ronca, Bill Cody, Stan Lemiesz, Dan Bublak, Matt Depew, Jack Gentile, Chris Busta, Mike Ballestero, Jack Swinton, Paul Dunham Jr., Skip Shippee, Joe Budka, David Towns, Ken Anatriello, Ed Pieniazek Jr.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: JOE SANTORO, Butchie Irwin, Scott Duell, Lori Cary, Cale Kneer, Robert Langevin, William Smith IV, Jimmy Eaton, Adam Tranka, Bernie Companion, Chris Maxon, Steve Burega, Bob Schmidt, Dan Madigan, Brian Ashline, Don Piper, Tom O’Connor, Davd Uline, Matt Anatriello, Mike Paquin, Chip Smith.

RENTWAY LIMITEDS: CURTIS CONDON, Jeff Monroe, Byron Wescott, Jim Monroe, John Filarecki, Richard Holmes, Richard Burke, John Morris Jr., Tracy Ash, Mike Minick, Kevin Van Chance, Mike Pfau, Dave Emigh, Thomas Conroy, Bob Smith, Paul Mulrain, Jim Monroe Jr., Mike Scorzelli, Nick Lussier, Amanda Clemens, Tom Pierce, Luke MacIsaac, Mark Burch, Tommy Primeau, Brian Haas.

PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS (SIX-CYLINDER): JEREMY BROWNELL, T.J. Brunelle, Kevin Lukasik, Dan Uber, Randy Senecal, Mike Duclos, Amy Benequista, Lewis Kusalonis, Randy Manhey, Art Howe, Chris McCarthy.

PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS (FOUR-CYLINDER): KEVIN CONNORS, Pete Willis, Jason Dickson, John Baldwin, Mark Emigh, Matt Corbiel, Joe Baker, Tyler Peetz, Ryan Pechtel, Ben Durie, Travis Tromans, Chris Greene.