Decker wins DIRT Advance Auto Parts tour race 

MALTA - There’s something about big block tour races at Albany-Saratoga Speedway that bring out the best in Billy Decker.

Decker overcame a bobble of his own early in the race and then held off a late charge from Gary Tomkins to win Tuesday night’s 100-lap Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series race at the Malta track.

The last time Albany-Saratoga Speedway hosted a big block tour race was on July 8, 2000, when Decker won the New Yorker 200 in the now-defunct USNA series.

Decker, who won his first race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in 1994, was dominant Tuesday night. He set fast time during time trials, stopping the clock in 16.283 seconds, easily beating Bobby Varin (16.441) for the top time of the night.

During the prerace draw, Decker drew the No. 6 position, but that certainly wasn’t a deterrent, as it only took Decker 11 laps to put the Gypsum Wholesalers No. 91 into the lead.

With the first 26 laps of the race being run under green-flag conditions, Decker had trouble pulling away from Tomkins, who started on the outside of the front row in the Elaine James Motorsports car, and Jimmy Phelps, who had started on the pole, was doing an impressive job on his first visit ever to Albany-Saratoga.

The first yellow came out on lap 27, when Andy Bachetti bounced off the turn four wall. On the lap 28 restart, Decker made a mistake that could have easily cost him the race. Jumping on the throttle, he went into turn one too hard, and slipped over the banking in turn two. But because there had been five lapped cars between Decker and his two closest pursuers, Decker was able to maintain the lead, even though he now had Phelps right on his back bumper.

"I just think the tires cooled off too much," said Decker after the race. "I couldn’t believe I almost lost it."

A pileup in turn four on lap 32, which involved series point leader Pat Ward and Albany-Saratoga Speedway regular Brett Hearn, who was driving his own big block in the tour race, again realigned the field, and on lap 40, Tomkins moved back into second.

With 30 laps to go, Varin, driving the Jake Spraker big block, became a definite factor. Varin had moved up to third, and was really gaining momentum on the high side of the speedway. But while Varin battled with Tomkins for second, Decker, who was running in heavy traffic, was able to open up a little bit of a cushion.

Tim Fuller, who had started fifth and was never far from the lead pack, then stuck his nose and the B&M General Machine big block into the fray in the final 15 laps. Fuller had been running fifth with 15 to go, but rocketed past both Phelps and Varin to move into third, and was putting heavy pressure on Tomkins for second. Fuller, who was also out in the high groove, was just about to take the No. 2 position away from Tomkins on lap 88 when Phelps stopped off turn two, bringing out the yellow and keeping Tomkins in second.

Because of two late cautions, one coming with three laps to go, neither Tomkins nor Fuller could get the momentum to get past Decker, who went on to pick up his ninth career win at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Tomkins held off Fuller for second, with Varin fourth and Mitch Gibbs getting up for fifth.

Completing the top 10 were Steve Paine, Alan Johnson, Tom Sears Jr., Hearn and Justin Haers.

Orange County regular Pat Zimmer pulled into Albany-Saratoga Speedway for the first-time ever for the 50-lap open pro-stock race, and led all 50 laps to walk off with the top prize of $1,000. Don Williams kept the pressure on Zimmer for most of the race, until he was involved in an incident with five laps to go, which put defending track champion Butch Irwin into second.

And did Irwin ever make it interesting. On the last lap, Irwin pulled right up alongside Zimmer going into the third turn, and the two came out of four side-by-side. The two cars bounced off each other heading to the flagstand, but Zimmer kept the wheel straight and nosed Irwin out at the finish.

NOTES: Thirty-seven modifieds pulled into the pits for the Advance Auto Parts Series race, the first held at Albany-Saratoga since 1984. Matt Sheppard, Fuller, Gibbs and Jack Johnson were heat race winners.

Shawn Beardsley put on the crowd-pleasing move of the night in the third big block heat. Going into the third turn, Beardsley and Jeff Isabel came together, with Beardsley’s car getting sideways. The corner dug in, and Bearsdley did a complete barrel roll, landing on the wheels of the car. But as safety crews rushed across the track, Beardsley refired the car, rejoined the field and came away with the final qualifying spot.

ADVANCE AUTO PARTS SUPER DIRT SERIES (100 LAPS): BILLY DECKER, Gary Tomkins, Tim Fuller, Bobby Varin, Mitch Gibbs, Steve Paine, Alan Johnson, Tom Sears Jr., Brett Hearn, Justin Haers, Danny Johnson, Vic Coffey, Ken Tremont Jr., Pat Ward, Jack Johnson, Matt Delorenzo, Shawn Beardsley, Stewart Friesen, Jim Secor, Dan Vauter, Ryan Odasz, Ray Bliss, Jimmy Phelps, Chad Brachmann, Matt Sheppard, Bob McCreadie, A.J. Romano, Don Mattison, Andy Bachetti, Jeff Brownell Jr.

PRO-STOCKS (50 LAPS): PAT ZIMMER, Butch Irwin, Robert Langevin, Jimmy Eaton, Scott Duell, Bob Schmidt, Jeff Washburn, William Smith IV, Adam Tranka, David Peck Jr., Joe Santoro, Matt Anatriello, Don Williams, Lori Cary, Rod Slater, Ed Thompson, Vince Santoro, Steve Burega, Chip Smith, Erik Yager, Jimmy Duncan, Kim Duell, Chris Maxon, Dan Madigan, Nick Stone, Don Piper, Mike Bussino, Brian Ashline, Cale Kneer, Guy Klob, Chris Klauss, Mark Dresher.