Tremont back in victory lane 

MALTA - Like a good poker player, Ken Tremont Jr. knows when to be patient, and when to go all in.

Sitting in third and waiting for the cards to fall into place, Tremont rocketed past A.J. Romano on lap 28 and went on to post his third victory of the season Friday night in the Bobcat of Saratoga 358 modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Tremont bided his time while Romano and Mike Perrotte kept the fans on their feet by swapping the lead on three different occasions. Tremont moved past Perrotte into the No. 2 position on lap 26, and then made the move that won the race.

Although he had kept the S&S Paving small block in the low groove for most of the feature, Tremont also knew that was where Romano was running. So on lap 28, Tremont suddenly swung to the outside, found clear sailing and grabbed the lead. Just as quickly, he went back to the bottom, knowing he could hold off Romano.

“I was gauging myself against A.J., and I knew he pretty much had the bottom groove covered,” said Tremont in victory lane after recording his 40th career win at the Malta track. “So I moved to the outside until I got by him, and then moved back to the low groove.”

Ronnie Johnson, who was never too far behind the lead pack, worked his way past Romano with four laps to go and finished in the runner-up position for the second straight week and fourth time of the year. Romano came across the stripe third, with point leader Brett Hearn fourth and Jack Johnson fifth.

Bobby Varin had the first big block across the finish line, in the sixth position. He was followed by Matt Delorenzo, who had to come from the rear after bringing out a caution early in the race, Perrotte, Tim Clemons and Don Ronca.

As it turned out, the excitement from the modified feature was only an appetizer for the 20-lap sportsman main, as Joe Budka used a last-lap pass to nip Rich Ronca and pick up his third consecutive win.

Budka had started 14th, but in typical fashion, pulled out all the stops early and made his way into the top five just past the mid-point of the race.

Ronca, still looking for his first win of the season, had taken the lead on lap seven and had his hands full with Mike Tholin and Dan Bublak. But once Budka joined the leaders, he showed who was in charge. He put the B&H Racing Schenectady Unit Parts small block into third on lap 17, found a way to get around Tholin on lap 19 and then nosed out Ronca at the finish for his fifth win of the season.

Ronca's runner-up performance was his best finish of the season. Tholin was third, with Tim Hartman fourth and Bublak fifth. As usual, two B-mains had to be run, as the sportsman division again drew a huge field of 37 cars.

Dean Charbonneau's never-say-die attitude finally paid off, as he picked up his first win of the year in the 20-lap pro-street stock feature. Charbonneau, who has spent the season chasing the Lazzaro Motorsports team as well as defending track champion Butchie Irwin, finally had everything go his way Friday. After starting fifth, Charbonneau kept leader Bill Smith in his sights until finally getting the lead with two to go in the 20-lap feature to notch just his third career victory at Albany-Saratoga.

Rob Langevin also made a late charge and hit the finish line second, with Smith third, Scott Duell fourth and Jimmy Eaton fifth.

For the second week in a row, the first two cars across the finish line in the Rentway Limited feature were driven by Monroes, but this time, the order was switched, as Jim Monroe Sr. beat Jeff Monroe by 0.127 seconds. Kevin VanChance was also part of that nerve-wracking blanket finish, taking third, with Jim Monroe Jr. fourth and Tom Conroy fifth.

Jeremy Brownell won the Pro-Built mini-stock six-cylinder feature while Kevin Connors outran John Baldwin to win the four-cylinder division.

Point champions in all divisions will be crowned on Friday, Sept. 9 as part of Championship Weekend. Double points will be offered in all divisions and the 358 modified feature will also be a Syracuse qualifier.

BOBCAT OF SARATOGA MODIFIEDS: KEN TREMONT JR., Ronnie Johnson, A.J. Romano, Brett Hearn, Jack Johnson, Bobby Varin, Matt Delorenzo, Mike Perrotte, Tim Clemons, Don Ronca, Don Mattison, Frank Hoard Sr., Paul Cirincione, Mike Ronca, Todd Ryan, Ron Proctor, Keith Flach, Marc Johnson, Ken McGuire, Jack Cottrell, Craig Hanson, Mike Kulzer, John Proctor, Erik Mack, Jimmy Davis, Don Ackner.

SPORTSMAN: JOE BUDKA, Rich Ronca, Mike Tholin, Tim Hartman, Dan Bublak, Dustin Delaney, David Peek, Jack Gentile, Tony Ballestero, Chris Busta, Bill Cody, Matt Depew, Jimmy Cottrell, Jim Becker, Ken Anatriello, Bill Bokus, Neal Erickson, Brian Holbritter, Rich Davis, Stan Lemiesz, Mark Kislowski, Dick Bisson, Colleen Salisbury, Adam Tranka, Jack Swinton.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: DEAN CHARBONNEAU, Rob Langevin, Bill Smith IV, Scott Duell, Jimmy Eaton, Butchie Irwin, Bob Schmidt, Joe Mottoshiski, Chip Smith, Nick Stone, Lori Cary, Lenny Brice, Don Piper, Pat Zimmer, Steve Burega, Jason Brownell, John Turco, Matt Anatriello, Mark Dresher, Dan Madigan, Vince Santoro, Jeff Washburn, Bernie Companion, Joe Santoro, Cale Kneer.

RENTWAY LIMITEDS: JIM MONROE SR., Jeff Monroe, Kevin VanChance, Jim Monroe Jr., Tom Conroy, Rich Burke, John Filarecki, Mark Emigh, Mike Minick, Pete Defiglio, Mark Burch, Bob Smith, Bill Burlingame, Mike Scorzelli, Mike Pfau, Paul Mulrain, Tom Glogowski, Curtis Condon, Dan Petronis, Nick Lussier, Dave Emigh. DQ: Rich Holmes.

PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS (SIX-CYLINDER): JEREMY BROWNELL, Kevin Lukasik, Randy Manhey, T.J. Brunelle, Tom Jeffalone, Dan Uber, Mike Duclos, Amy Benacquista, Randy Senecal, Ray Galusha.

PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS (FOUR-CYLINDER): KEVIN CONNORS, John Baldwin, Mike Cranston, Chris Greene, Travis Tromans, Pete Willis, Richard Gorman, Brett Osgood, Jeremy Curley, Mark Emigh, Tim Sayers, Ryan Pechtel, Jason Dickson, Joe Baker.