Hearn returns to victory lane


MALTA -- Five weeks may not seem like a long time to some people, but when you're Brett Hearn, and it's been that long since you've won a race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, five weeks feels like an eternity.

Hearn, who has a winning percentage of 48 percent at Albany-Saratoga since first climbing behind the wheel of the Vinny Salerno-owned small block to begin the 2004 season, ended one of his longest winless streaks Friday night, winning the 35-lap, double point Spring Championships at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Hearn got his first win of the 2007 season at Albany-Saratoga on May 4, but then went into his slump, as he tried to work the bugs out of a new car.

But after failing to crack the top five in the last three races, finishing seventh, 10th and 10th in his last three starts, Hearn went back to his old car, and came away with his 80th career victory at Albany-Saratoga. Only Jack Johnson (90) has more career wins at the Malta track.

“We went back to square one this week because we just weren't where we wanted to be,” said Hearn after the victory. “We brought out a new car earlier this year and we were trying different things with it to try to move forward, but instead, we went backward.”

Hearn started 13th in the large 33-car field for the feature and quickly worked his way through traffic while Don Ackner and Mike Perrotte battled on the front end of the field.

Ronnie Johnson, who has also been in a slump, started seventh and used a pair of restarts to take the lead on lap 10. By that time, Hearn was already up to second.

Another restart on lap 12 was all Hearn needed, as he pushed the Delaney Construction-sponsored small block to the front and left Johnson to battle with Marc Johnson and Vince Quenneville Jr. for second.

Ronnie Johnson won that battle, hitting the finish line second, but he was nearly four seconds behind Hearn. Marc Johnson, who is no relation to Ronnie, hung on for third, his best finish ever at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Quenneville was fourth, with Ken Tremont Jr. fifth.

Josh Hohenforst officially joined the Young Guns Club in the sportsman division, recording his first career victory in the 25-lap feature. Hohenforst, 17, a former go-kart racer, joined Chris Busta and Dustin Delaney in the elite group of young teenage drivers who are making their mark in the sportsman division.

The win didn't come easy for Hohenforst, who started 11th in the field. Hohenforst and Neal Erickson came to the front together, and when Hohenforst took the lead away from Mark Kislowski on lap 13, Kislowski and Erickson stayed right on his rear bumper.

Erickson took over second with five laps to go, but Hohenforst held his line and never let Erickson make a serious challenge at the lead, hitting the finish line with a 0.401-second margin of victory. Kislowski was third, followed by Rob Langevin and Jack Gentile.

“I never thought we would win tonight because we were having handling problems with the car, but I just rode it out,” said Hohenforst in victory lane. “When I was watching the modified feature, I saw that they were all running the high line, so that's where I ran.”

Bernie Companion, who has been putting together a string of consistent finishes, finally got the finish he wanted the most, nailing down his first win of the year in the 25-lap pro-street stock feature. Companion, who had five top-five finishes in the first six races, wasted no time getting to the lead, taking over the point on lap eight, and he held off defending track champion Lori Cary for his fourth career victory at Albany-Saratoga. Jeff Washburn, who was gunning for his third straight win, had to settle for third.

Brandon Emigh notched his first win of the year in the 20-lap limited feature, beating Mike Ostrander to the stripe, and Phil DeFiglio visited victory lane for the fourth time this season in the mini-stock division.

MODIFIEDS: BRETT HEARN, Ronnie Johnson, Marc Johnson, Vince Quenneville Jr., Ken Tremont Jr., Jeff Trombley, Matt DeLorenzo, Mike Perrotte, Don Ronca, Jack Johnson, Keith Flach, Elmo Reckner, Don Ackner, Tim Hartman, Todd Stone, Frank Hoard Sr., George Foley, Rich Scagliotta, Ron Proctor, Jim Becker, Tony Kawalchuk, Floyd Billington, Kris Vernold, Tim Turner, Matt Sheppard, Jim Davis, Don Mattison, A.J. Romano, Ken McGuire Jr., Jimmy Cottrell, Mike Ronca, Gene Munger, John Proctor.

SPORTSMAN: JOSH HOHENFORST, Neal Erickson, Mark Kislowski, Rob Langevin, Jack Gentile, Kory Sandstedt, Dustin Delaney, Joe Santoro, Chris Johnson, Stan Lemiesz, Eric Mack, Mike Ketchum, Chris Busta, Mike Tholin, Rich Ronca, Dick Bisson, Ken Anatriello, Scott Duell, Pep Corradi, Dave DePaolo, Adam Tranka, Matt Depew, Mike Pinke, David Peek.

SPORTSMAN B MAIN: CHRIS BUSTA, Dick Bisson, Ken Anatriello, Adam Tranka, Rich Ronca, Mike Pinke, Whitey Slavin, John Willis, Dan Carlton, Justin Barber, Colleen Salisbury, David Baranowski, Brian Holbritter, Tyler Curtis.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: BERNIE COMPANION, Lori Cary, Jeff Washburn, Chuck Towslee, Cale Kneer, Jim Monroe, Vince Santoro, Darryl Carl, Kim Duell, Bill Smith IV, Josh Joseph, Carl Vladyka, Randy Miller, Kevin Van Chance, Frank Twing, Jimmy Eaton, Chris Maxon, Matt Anatriello, Jesse Edwards, Greg McGill, Jake Losaw.

LIMITEDS: BRANDON EMIGH, Mike Ostrander, Dan Older, Jim Monroe Jr., John Filarecki, Brian Ashline, Curtis Condon, Jeff Monroe, John Morris Jr., Ben Durie, Anthony Marro, Mike Minick, Bill Burlingame, Rich Burke, Ed Bradt, Mike Pfau, Harry Coonradt, Charles Primeau, Amanda Clemens, Ken Conroy, Dan Petronis, Mike Duclos, D.J. Brundige.

MINI-STOCKS: PHIL DIFIGLIO (6), Brette Osgood (4), Travis Tromans (4), Shane Marks (4), Dan Lorenc (6), Jason Dickson (4), Andy Hickok (4), Charles Stoddard (4), Mike Cranston (4), Dan Older Jr. (4), Ray Galusha (6), John Baldwin (4), Michelle Catone (4), Ken Hollenbeck (4), Rennie Noradki (6), Jason Reome (4), Tim Anagnos (6), Ted Fitzgerald (4).