Hearn returns to victory lane

MALTA - Off to an uncharacteristically slow start, Brett Hearn decided it was time to go back to basics.

Reverting to a setup that worked early in the year, Hearn picked up his second victory of the season in the 35-lap Bobcat of Saratoga 358 modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway Friday night, spoiling outstanding performances by two young drivers.

While Hearn was nailing down the 72nd win of his career at the historic Malta track, 358 modified rookie Jimmy Cottrell came across the finish line second, obviously the best run of his short career, and Tony Kawalchuk finished third, the first top-five finish of his career.

After two straight rainouts, promoter Bruce Richards wasn't going to let an afternoon thunderstorm wipe out another week of racing, and after some meticulous track prep, the fans were treated to another night of side-by-side racing.

But once Hearn put the Delaney Construction-sponsored small block into the lead, no one could touch him. Hearn, who has won back-to-back championships for Vinny Salerno at Albany-Saratoga, usually dominates the competition early in the season, but his two wins are his only top-five finishes this season.

“The last time we raced here, we were totally put to lunch,” said Hearn in victory lane after his win. “We've tried a lot of new things on this Teo car so far this year, and some of them have worked and some of them didn't. Tonight, we went back to the setup that we had in the car for the first couple of weeks, and the car was good.”

Mark Flach Jr. was strong in the first half of the race, and at one time, had a full straightaway lead over Cottrell. But Cottrell used a restart to move back in front on lap 13 and Hearn, who had started 12th, moved into second by lap 17.

Cottrell did his best to hold off Hearn, who was running the low groove, but on lap 21, Hearn passed Cottrell coming down the front stretch and went on to get the win.

Ken Tremont Jr. finished fourth, with Flach fifth, also his first top-five finish ever. Completing the top 10 were Don Ronca, Matt Delorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Marc Johnson and Mike Ronca.

Veteran Mike Ballestero, the winningest driver in the history of the sportsman division, notched his first win of the season in the 25-lap feature in that division. Ballestero started on the outside pole and led flag-to-flag to get to victory lane for the 31st time in his career. Erik Mack was a distant second, followed by Joe Budka, Brian Gerrain and Matt Depew.

The controversy of the night came in the pro street stock feature, where Rob Langevin drove to his third win in four races. But after the race, Langevin, who is driving a car owned by defending track champion Butchie Irwin, refused to go to tech, and was disqualified. That gave the victory to Lori Cary, putting her in victory lane for the first time this season and just the second time in the last two years. Darrell Carl was moved up to second, the best finish of his career, with Dan Madigan third, Dean Charbonneau fourth and Ed Thompson fifth.

Jim Monroe Sr. picked up his second straight win in the 20-lap limited feature, pulling away from Paul Mulrain to get the win. Tom Conroy hit the stripe third, with Pete DeFiglio fourth and Brandon Emigh fifth. Emigh had a strong run after qualifying through the B main.

The mini stocks were also in action Friday night, with Charlie Stoddard breaking Ken Hollenbeck's two-race winning streak in the four-cylinder division, and Pete Willis getting his first win of the year in the six-cylinder class.

The night ended with the first enduro of the season, with Keith Mulhow winning the 50-lap event. The Central New York Mini-Sprints will join the regular CVRA divisions on Friday night's card. Racing starts at 7 p.m.

BOBCAT OF SARATOGA 358 MODIFIEDS: BRETT HEARN, Jimmy Cottrell, Tony Kawalchuk, Ken Tremont Jr., Mark Flach Jr., Don Ronca, Matt Delorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Marc Johnson, Mke Ronca, Frank Hoard Sr., Vince Quenneville Jr., Gene Munger, Don Ackner, Rich Salisbury, Jimmy Davis, John Lutes, John Proctor, A.J. Romano, Todd Stone, Todd Ryan, Jack Johnson, Keith Flach, Craig Hanson, Ken McGuire, Elmo Reckner, Jeff Trombley, Ron Proctor.

SPORTSMAN: MIKE BALLESTERO, Eric Mack, Joe Budka, Brian Gerrain, Matt Depew, Whitey Slavin, Tim Hartman, Jack Gentile, David Peek, Joe Santoro, Mike Tholin, Scott Duell, Paul Dunham Jr., Cass Bennett, Brian Holbritter, Jeff Sukup, Chris Johnson, Bill Cody, Neal Erickson, Chris Busta, Rick Davis, Ken Anatriello, Stan Lemiesz, Tyler Curtis.

SPORTSMAN B MAIN: PAUL DUNHAM SR., Neal Erickson, Brian Holbritter, Ken Anatriello, Chris Johnson, Cass Bennett, Robert Perry, Dustin Delaney, Ray Martinade, Nick Anatriello, Bill Bokus, Adam Tranka, Colleen Salisbury, Davd Baranowski, Rich Ronca, Mike Pinke.

PRO STREET STOCKS: LORI CARY, Darrell Carl, Dan Madigan, Dean Charbonneau, Ed Thompson, Jeff Washburn, John Turco, Bernie Companion, Matt Anatriello, Greg McGill, Fred Shippee Sr. Cale Kneer, Chris Maxon, William Smith IV, Kim Duell, Mark Dresher, Jeremy Pitts, Charles Townslee, Jimmy Eaton. DQ: Rob Langevin.

LIMITEDS: JIM MONROE SR., Paul Mulrain, Tom Conroy, Pete DeFiglio, Brandon Emigh, Jim Monroe Jr., Mike Minick, John Filarecki, Brian Ashline, Kevin VanChance, Rich Burke, Dan Older, T.J. Pierce, Nick Lussier, Ken Conroy, Dan Petronis, Mike Ostrander, Jeremy Brownell, John Morris Jr., Robert Bublak, Rich Holmes, Curtis Condon, Mike Pfau, Tommy Primeau.

LIMITED B MAIN: MIKE MINICK, T.J. Pierce, Brandon Emigh, Kevin VanChance, Dan Petronis, Jeremy Brownell, Tony Condon, D.J. Brundige, Shannon Donnelly, Charles Primeau, Bob Smith, Tom Glogowski, Mark Burch, Steve Mulrain.

MINI-STOCKS (FOUR-CYLINDER): CHARLIE STODDARD, John Baldwin, Jim Daniels, Tim Sayers, Ken Hollenbeck, Travis Tromans, Brett Osgood, Andy Hickok, Roger Newkirk Jr., Jason Dickson, Mike Cranston, Josh Ramsey, Ted Fitzgerald, Alecia Mason, Shane Marks.

MINI-STOCKS (SIX-CYLINDER): PETE WILLIS, Kevin Lukasik, T.J. Brunell, Chris McCarthy, Amy Benacquista, Tin Anagnos, Chris Andrew.