He's Baaaack ....

MALTA - If Brett Hearn successfully defends his 358 modified point championship this season, he can point to Friday night's race as the springboard.

Hearn, sitting third in points at the mid-point of the season, charged from his 18th starting position to pick up his fourth win of the season in Friday night's 35-lap feature at the historic Malta track.

Hearn has had problems off and on in the Vinny Salerno-owned small block this season, including a rear end problem that knocked him out of one feature. But it looks like all the wrinkles are ironed out, and Hearn is ready to make his charge.

Don Ronca and Ron Proctor kept the large crowd entertained with some great racing early in the feature on Black Flag Night, when a number of fans were “black-flagged” out of the stands to receive pit passes or take a chance in the CVRA Cash Cube. Ronca and Proctor swapped the lead on two occasions, with Ronca moving back in front on lap seven when Proctor lost his line going into to the third turn.

The man on the move at that time was Jack Johnson, the winningest driver in the history of the speedway. Johnson, who was looking for his second straight win, had started 14th, but was up to third by the seventh lap.

The yellow flag flew on lap eight for an incident involving Keith Flach, Ronnie Johnson and Marc Johnson. The subsequent restart allowed Elmo Reckner, who had started seventh and was never far from the lead group, to grab the lead. Jumpin' Jack took the No. 2 position away from Ronca on lap 13 and two circuits later, was the new leader.

But the race was far from done, as Hearn had the Delaney Construction-sponsored small block humming, and soon joined the battle for the lead.

When the field slowed for another yellow on lap 22, it became apparent that Johnson had a flat left front tire on the Witz Roofing-sponsored small block. Whether that became a factor or not was unclear, but Hearn rocketed into the lead two laps after the restart.

Hearn quickly put distance between himself and the rest of the field, leaving Johnson and Ken Tremont Jr. to battle for second. Tremont took over the No. 2 spot with nine laps left in the feature, but he then bobbled on the final lap, sliding over the banking in the first turn, which allowed Johnson to come away with second.

When Hearn hit the finish line for his 74th career win at Albany-Saratoga, he was over seven seconds ahead of the field.

“I was quick in the beginning, and then fell off a bit,” said Hearn after the race. “The car came on again at the end, and that has been characteristic of the car all season.”

Tremont, who is the points leader in the modified division, finished third, followed by Reckner and Matt DeLorenzo, who had started 22nd.

Joe Budka shook off the early-summer blues and drove to his second win of the season in the 25-lap sportsman feature. Budka, who notched his first win on April 28, had attracted trouble like a magnet during May and June. But on Friday night he started 10th, quickly sliced to the front and had the lead after just five laps.

Points leader Tim Hartman moved into second on lap nine, but all he could do was watch the rear bumper of Budka's Schenectady Unit Parts small block for the remainder of the race. Mike Tholin finished third, followed by Dustin Delaney and Brian Holbritter.

Rob Langevin, who had been embroiled in controversy at the speedway earlier this year, returned to action and notched his third win of the year in the pro-street stock feature. Kim Duell went out on the point on lap eight and set the pace until Langevin, who had been disqualified after a win on May 26, made his presence felt. Langevin made his move with five laps to go, forcing Duell to settle for second. Cale Kneer hit the finish line third.

Kevin VanChance came away with his first win of the year in the highly competitive limited division. VanChance started 15th in the 22-car field, but patiently worked his way to the front and took the lead for good on lap 15 of the 20-lap feature. John Filarecki finished second, with Curtis Condon third.

The mini-stocks were also in action, with Chris McCarthy getting his third win of the year. Travis Tromans was second overall in his four-cylinder, giving him his first win in his division.

MODIFIEDS: BRETT HEARN, Jack Johnson, Ken Tremont Jr., Elmo Reckner, Matt DeLorenzo, Jeff Trombley, Don Ronca, Jimmy Cottrell, Mike Ronca, Todd Stone, Ronnie Johnson, Jimmy Davis, Todd Ryan, Keith Flach, Don Ackner, Vince Quenneville Jr., Ken McGuire, John Lutes Jr., Marc Johnson, Ron Proctor, Josh Pieniazek, Derrick McGrew, Frank Hoard Sr.

SPORTSMAN: JOE BUDKA, Tim Hartman, Mike Tholin, Dustin Delaney, Brian Holbritter, Rich Ronca, David Peek, Eric Mack, Chris Busta, Kris Savoie, Matt Depew, Jack Gentile, Stan Lemiesz, Scott Duell, Chris Johnson, Kyle Sheldon, Dick Bisson, Mike Pinke, Tyler Curtis, Brian Gerrain, Whitney Slavin, Joe Santoro, Dave Baranowski, Alex Sommer, Ken Anatriello.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: ROB LANGEVIN, Kim Duell, Cale Kneer, Jeff Washburn, Vince Santoro, Bill Smith IV, Lori Cary, Dean Charbonneau, Bernie Companion, Dan Madigan, David Peck Jr., Jeremy Pitts, John Turco, Matt Anatriello, Darrell Carl, Greg McGill, Chris Maxon, Tom Stack, Russ Miller, Fred Shippee Sr., Tom O'Connor.

LIMITEDS: KEVIN VANCHANCE, John Filarecki, Curtis Condon, Brian Ashline, Dan Older, John Morris Jr., Tom Conroy, Dan Petronis, David Emigh, Nick Lussier, D.J. Brundige, Pete DeFiglio, Jim Monroe Jr., Mike Wilber, Steve Holcomb, Bob Smith, Tommy Primeau, Mark Burch, Amanda Clemens, Mike Minick, Jim Monroe, Charlie Primeau.

MINI-STOCKS: CHRIS MCCARTHY (6), Travis Tromans (4), Charlie Stoddard (4), Mike Duggan (4), Kevin Lukasik (6), Mike Cranston (4), Renee Nordak (6), Mke Duclos (6), John Baldwin (4), Ken Hollenbeck (4), Brett Osgood (4), Ted Fitzgerald (4), Dan Lorenc (6), Jim Daniels (4), T.J. Brunell (6), Roger Newkirk Jr. (4), Shane Marks (4), Blake Williams (6), Alecia Mason (4), John Willis (6), Joe Tallman (6).