Johnson Wins 2007 Opener

MALTA - Right rear tire: $140. Fuel: $6.75 per gallon. Pit admission: $20.

Winning on opening day: Well, it isn't exactly priceless, but it sure let Ronnie Johnson start his 2007 campaign at Albany-Saratoga Speedway on the right foot.

Johnson drew the pole for the Spring Green and led all 35 laps to record his 10th career 358 modified victory Sunday at the historic Malta track.

Although rain on Friday kicked the opener over until Sunday, it was worth the wait for Johnson, who recorded his first opening-day 358 win in the modified division. Coupled with the “Head Hunter Bonus,” Johnson walked off with $2,000. The “Head Hunter Bonus,” instituted by Salisbury Chevrolet, is a $500 payoff for anyone who beats defending track champion Brett Hearn, as long as Hearn finishes on the lead lap. With Hearn third Sunday, Johnson picked up the extra cash. “This feels awesome,” said Johnson in victory lane after the win. “We have a great car for this year, and it was exceptional tonight.”

Although Johnson was the class of the field, Sunday's opener still saw typical, side-by-side Albany-Saratoga racing. Matt DeLorenzo, who started fifth, used a restart on lap six to begin to challenge Ken Tremont Jr., who started in the front row with Johnson, for second. DeLorenzo got that spot on lap 10, and set out after the leader.

Johnson was in lapped traffic by lap 14, but that never proved to be a factor. But the yellow flew again on lap 23, setting up a wild finish for second.

Hearn, who had started 13th, sat right on DeLorenzo's rear bumper on the restart and kept hounding the young driver of the BBL Construction small block. But Hearn wasn't going anywhere, as Johnson pulled away to an impressive win, and DeLorenzo held off Hearn for the No. 2 spot.

Matt Sheppard, who will be a Friday night regular in the Randy Ross-owned small block this season, came out of the box with a fourth-place finish while Jack Johnson grabbed the No. 5 spot.

Completing the top 10 were Tony Kawalchuk, Vince Quenneville Jr., Keith Flach, Don Mattison and Don Scarborough. Twenty-seven cars started the feature.

Matt Depew recorded the first win of his career in the 25-lap sportsman feature. For a while, it looked like Dick Bisson was going to get the win, as he came off the front row and set a torrid pace. But something let go in Bisson's ride on lap 20, giving the lead to Dustin Delaney.

But Depew was sitting second on the restart, and he got by Delaney two laps later and hit the checkered flag 0.145 seconds ahead of Delaney. Chris Busta was third across the stripe, followed by Kory Sandstedt and Mike Tholin.

Veteran Kim Duell had the Lazzaro Auto Body No. 00 humming and dominated the 25-lap pro street stock feature. With Duell out front from the drop of the green flag, the only real question was, who was going to finish second? That turned out to be Dan Madigan, who came out of the fourth row and grabbed the No. 2 spot with five to go. Vince Santoro finished third, with Bernie Companion fourth and Jimmy Eaton fifth.

Jim Monroe Jr. held off Dan Petronis to win the 20-lap limited feature, and Ken Hollenbeck won the 15-lap mini stock feature, passing defending track champion Pete DeFiglio midway through the race and winning by nearly two seconds in his four-cylinder ride.

Albany-Saratoga will return to action Friday night, with the budget sportsman division making its first appearance of the season. Friday is CDL Night, with anyone showing a valid CDL license being admitted free of charge.

MODIFIEDS: RONNIE JOHNSON, Matt DeLorenzo, Brett Hearn, Matt Sheppard, Jack Johnson, Tony Kawalchuk, Vince Quenneville Jr., Keith Flach, Don Mattison, Don Scarborough, Mike Ronca, Gene Munger, Elmo Reckner, Marc Johnson, Tim Hartman, Jimmy Davis, Jim Becker, Chris Vernold, George Foley, Ken Tremont Jr., Jeff Trombley, Jimmy Cottrell, Don Ronca, Frank Hoard Sr., Don Ackner, John Proctor, Todd Stone.

SPORTSMEN: MATT DEPEW, Dustin Delaney, Chris Busta, Kory Sandstedt, Mike Tholin, Jack Gentile, Ken Anatriello, Neal Erickson, Chris Johnson, Rich Ronca, Josh Hohenforst, David Baranowski, Mike Pinke, Joe Santoro, Scot Duell, Dick Bisson, Mike Ketchum, Whitey Slavin, David Peek, Mark Kislowski, Dave Manney, Dave DePaolo, Pep Corradi, Dave Constantino.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: KIM DUELL, Dan Madigan, Vince Santoro, Bernie Companion, Jimmy Eaton, Jim Monroe, Greg McGill, Bill Smith IV, Mike Paquin, Dan Eastman, Charles Towslee, Matt Anatriello, Pete Broderson, Kevin VanChance, Jake Losaw, Jeff Washburn, Frank Twing, Lori Cary, Cale Kneer.

LIMITEDS: JIM MONROE JR., Dan Petronis, Jeff Monroe, Brian Ashline, John Filarecki, Curtis Condon, John Morris Jr., D.J. Brundige, Paul Mulrain, Rich Burke, Nick Lussier, Steve Burch, Dave Billings, Rob Purdy, John Heidrich, Harry Coonradt, Mike Ostrander, Ken Conroy, Steve Holcomb, Anthony Marro, T.J. Pierce, Bill Burlingame.

HOBBY STOCKS: KEN HOLLENBECK (4), Phil DeFiglio (6), Brette Osgood (4), Travis Tromans (4), John Baldwin (4), Mike Cranston (4), Jason Dickson (4), Jim Daniels (4), Shane Marks (4), Charles Stoddard (4), Ted Fitzgerald (4), Ryan Petchel (4), Ray Galusha (6), Jason Rheome, Tim Anagnos (6).