Johnson, Hearn winners of double features at Malta 

MALTA - Jack Johnson showed why he’s the winningest driver in the history of Albany-Saratoga Speedway Friday night when he dominated the 35-lap Summer Sendoff, which was the third leg of the DIRT vs. CVRA Challenge at the historic Malta track.

The Summer Sendoff drew an incredible field of 37 modifieds, but the CVRA small blocks held off the big blocks for the third straight time in the series.

The big night of racing at Albany-Saratoga included double features in all divisions, because of a rainout on June 17. Brett Hearn opened the show by picking up his fourth victory of the season in the Vinny Salerno-owned small block.

But it was Johnson who controlled the big block/small block challenge, charging from his eighth starting spot, taking the lead away from A.J. Romano on a restart on lap 13 and then breezing to his 86th career victory at the track.

Romano, who is still looking for his first win of the season at Albany-Saratoga, couldn’t keep up with the leader, and had his hands full trying to hold off Matt Delorenzo. Romano and Delorenzo kept the crowd entertained, swapping the No. 2 position on a couple of occasions before Romano finally got the spot for good.

Romano crossed the finish line second, his best performance of the season. Delorenzo was third, with Bob Savoie fourth and Tim Clemons fifth.

Bobby Varin, driving the Jake Spraker big block, was the first big block across the finish line, in sixth place, which allowed him to grab a firmer hold on the DIRT big block point lead, which will pay a $3,000 bonus at the end of the season. Completing the top 10 were Don Ackner, Craig Hanson, Ronnie Johnson and J.R. Heffner.

Ronnie Johnson did a whale of a job to get into the top 10, as he started 21st in the 30-car starting field after qualifying through the consi.

Hearn ended a four-week absence, which is like a lifetime to him, from victory lane in the first 35-lap 358 modified feature. Hearn got caught in traffic on his way to the speedway and arrived late, just in time to start the feature.

But the lack of preparation time didn’t matter. After starting seventh, Hearn was up to fourth when something broke in the rear end of Jack Johnson’s car, bringing out the yellow on lap 13. Hearn used the restart to rocket past Mike Perrotte and Ken Tremont Jr. to move into second, and two laps later, passed Savoie for the lead.

A late restart closed the field, but Hearn still beat Savoie to the finish line by 0.882 seconds. Clemons was third, his best finish of the year, with Delorenzo fourth and Tremont fifth.

"The car has been awesome the last four weeks, but we haven’t been in the right place at the right time of the track," said Hearn after recording his fourth win of the year. "We have the car and the team; we just need things to fall into place for us."

Hearn didn’t have the car in the second feature, as he had ignition problems in his primary car and was forced to go to his back-up car, dropping out of the feature late in the race with mechanical problems.

Mike Ballestero and Joe Budka ran one-two in the twin sportsman features, with Ballestero getting the win in the first event and Budka taking the checkered flag in his Schenectady Unit Parts car in the second feature.

David Towns set the pace in the first feature before Budka grabbed the lead on lap six. But Ballestero, who had started seventh, took the lead for good on lap 12 and came away with his second win of the season. Budka was a close second, with Towns third, Tony Ballestero fourth and Tim Hartman fifth.

Budka had the outside pole for the second feature, and led flag-to-flag to record his fifth career victory, and first since Oct. 5, 2003. Ballestero, looking for the sweep, hung right on Budka’s rear bumper, but couldn’t find room to pass and had to settle for second, just 0.394 seconds behind the leader. Mike Tholin was third and sportsman rookie Chris Busta was fourth, hitting the top five for the first time in his short career. Hartman came across the finish line fifth.

The Lazzaro Motorsports Racing team once again put the hurt on the pro-street stock field, with Scott Duell and Hollywood Joe Santoro picking up the twin wins. Duell’s win in the first feature ended Santoro’s four-race winning streak.

Despite starting eighth, Duell got to the front quickly in the first feature, taking the lead away from Vince Santoro on lap nine. Defending track champion Butchie Irwin, who is obviously getting frustrated by the dominance of the Lazzaro teammates, moved into second on lap 15 and set his sights on Duell, but he ran out of time and laps, finishing just 0.286 seconds back as Duell picked up his third win of the year. Joe Santoro was third, Vince Santoro finished fourth and Jimmy Eaton was fifth.

Joe Santoro passed Lori Cary with two laps remaining to win the second feature, his fifth victory of the season. Cary, still looking for her first win of the year, had taken the lead on lap 13, but Santoro made a late charge to get the win. Cary finished second, followed by Dan Madigan, Duell and Vince Santoro.

The win was the 24th of Santoro’s career, moving to the top of the all-time pro-street stock win list at Albany-Saratoga.

The only repeat winner came in the Rentway Limited division, where Kevin VanChance pulled off the sweep. His margins of victory were nearly identical, as he beat Richard Burke by 1.387 seconds in the first feature, and had a 1.215-second margin of victory over Mark Burch in the second event.

The Pro-Built mini-stocks ran triple features, with Art Howe and Randy Manhey recording victories in the six-cylinder division, and John Baldwin taking the checkered flag in the four-cylinder race.

Racing will return to Albany-Saratoga on Friday, July 1 with American Pride Night. With the 358 modifieds having the night off, the sportsman division will be in the spotlight. The night will include an enduro and a spectacular fireworks display. Admission will be $10 per carload. Call the track hotline at (518) 587-0220 for additional information.

DIRT vs. CVRA CHALLENGE MODIFIEDS: JACK JOHNSON, A.J. Romano, Matt Delorenzo, Bob Savoie, Tim Clemons, Bobby Varin, Don Ackner, Craig Hanson, Ronnie Johnson, J.R. Heffner, Jack Cottrell, Gene Munger, Ken Tremont Jr., Paul Cirincione, Don Mattison, Ray Hoard, Ron Dwyer, Keith Flach, Mike Ronca, Ron Proctor, Robert King, Erik Mack, Marc Johnson, John Proctor, Frank Hoard Sr., Jimmy Davis, Brett Hearn, Mike Perrotte, Don Ronca, Todd Ryan.

SPORTSMAN: JOE BUDKA, Mike Ballestero, Mike Tholin, Chris Busta, Tim Hartman, Dick Bisson, Rich Ronca, Tony Ballestero, David Peek, Dustin Delaney, Jack Gentile, Ken Anatriello, Bill Cody, Stan Lemiesz, Dan Bublak, Jimmy Cottrell, Neal Erickson, Cass Bennett, Chris Johnson, Matt Depew, Dan Carlton, Colleen Salisbury.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: JOE SANTORO, Lori Cary, Dan Madigan, Scott Duell, Vince Santoro, Cale Kneer, Kim Duell, Adam Tranka, Steve Burega, Dean Charbonneau, William Smith IV, Bob Schmidt, Chris Maxon, Butch Irwin, Brian Ashline, Matt Anatriello, Jimmy Eaton, Dave Uline, Don Piper, Robert Langevin, Mark Dresher.

RENTWAY LIMITEDS: KEVIN VANCHANCE, Mark Burch, Jeff Monroe, John Filarecki, Jim Monroe, Mike Pfau, Paul Mulrain, Richard Holmes, Tom Conroy, Tracy Ash, Mike Wilber, Bob Smith, Mike Scorzelli, Dave Emigh, John Morris Jr., Curt Condon, Mike Minick, Richard Burke, Byron Westcott, Rodney Barrett, Lucas MacIsaac, Tom Pierce.

PRO-BUILT MINI STOCKS (SIX-CYLINDER): RANDY MANHEY, Chris McCarthy, Lewus Kusalonis, Kevin Lukasik, Mike Duclos, Ray Galusha, Amy Benaquista, Randy Senecal, Jeremy Brownell, Dan Uber, Art Howe.

PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS (FOUR-CYLINDER): JOHN BALDWIN, Pete Willis, Jason Dickson, Tyler Peetz, Ryan Pechtal, Matt Corbiel, Chris Greene, Joe Baker, Mike Cranston, Travis Tromans, Mark Emigh, Ben Durie, Kevin Connors.

MODIFIEDS (RAINED OUT FROM 6/17): BRETT HEARN, Bob Savoie, Tim Clemons, Matt DeLorenzo, Ken Tremont Jr., Ronnie Johnson, A.J. Romano, Jack Cottrell, Mike Perrotte, Mike Ronca, J.R. Heffner, Ron Proctor, Ray Hoard, Todd Ryan, Marc Johnson, Don Ackner, Keith Flach, John Proctor, Tony Kawalchuk, Frank Hoard Sr., Gene Munger, Jimmy Davis, Craig Hanson, Don Ronca, Jack Johnson, Erik Mack, Derrick McGrew.

SPORTSMAN (RAINED OUT FROM 6/17): MIKE BALLESTERO, Joe Budka, David Towns, Tony Ballestero, Tim Hartman, Stan Lemiesz, Neal Erickson, Rich Ronca, Chris Busta, Dick Bisson, David Peek, Dustin Delaney, Matt Depew, Bill Cody, Dan Bublak, Chris Johnson, Paul Dunham Jr., Mike Tholin, Rich Davis, Skip Shippee, Jack Gentile, Jack Swinton, Jimmy Cottrell, Ken Anatriello.

PRO-STREET STOCKS (RAINED OUT FROM 6/17): SCOTT DUELL, Butch Irwin, Joe Santoro, Vince Santoro, Jimmy Eaton, Robert Langevin, Cale Kneer, Bernie Companion, Dan Madigan, Bob Schmidt, Chris Maxon, Lori Cary, Adam Tranka, Dean Charbonneau, Matt Anatriello, Don Piper, Brian Ashline, William Smith IV, Steve Burega, Mark Dresher.

RENYWAY LIMITEDS: (RAINED OUT FROM 6/17): KEVIN VANCHANCE, Richard Burke, Jeff Monroe, Mark Burch, Tom Conroy, John Filarecki, Mike Minick, Jim Monroe Jr., Paul Mulrain, Mike Wilber, Dave Emigh, Mike Pfau, Tracy Ash, Dan Petronis, Richard Holmes, Byron Westcott, Lucas MacIsaac, Bob Smith, Curt Condon, Nick Lussier, Jim Monroe.

PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS (RAINED OUT FROM 6/17): ART HOWE, Randy Manhey, Jeremy Brownell, Kevin Lukasik, Randy Senecal, Lewis Kusalonis, Dan Uber, Chris McCarthy, Mike Duclos, Amy Benaquista, Ray Galusha.