Tremont wins and scores double points at Malta


MALTA – If Ken Tremont Jr. can break Brett Hearn's stranglehold on the track championship at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, he can look back at Rock & Race Night as the night the balance of power shifted.

Although he didn't have the fastest car on the track, Tremont just kept grinding and came away with his third victory of the season in Friday night's 35-lap feature that offered double points.

In looking at the speed charts for the feature, Tremont's fastest lap was only the sixth-quickest of the night, but the speed charts don't measure experience and determination. After starting 13th, Tremont quickly got into contention. Following a restart on lap 15, when Bobby Varin, driving one of the Vinny Salerno team cars, suffered a flat tire, Tremont was up to fifth.

But it was already obvious that leader Matt DeLorenzo was flying, as was Matt Sheppard, who had blown right by Tremont on his way to the front.

But DeLorenzo's strong run would later be spoiled by a flat tire with five laps to go, leaving Sheppard and Tremont to duke it out.

Tremont kept the S&S Paving-sponsored small block stuck low, while Sheppard was running the high groove in the Randy Ross-owned ride. With two laps to go, Tremont got the lead, and beat Sheppard to the checkered flag by a couple of car lengths.

“When Matt Sheppard passed me, I thought he was gone,” said Tremont in victory lane after his 46th career victory at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. “Really, I think this was Matt DeLorenzo's race to win. It was too bad he got that flat tire.”

Hearn overcame a long night to post an impressive third-place finish. Hearn got stuck in a traffic jam, caused by a fatal accident on the Northway, on his way to the track and never got to run a heat race, putting him dead last in the 26-car field. But he put on a show in getting up for third, in front of Todd Stone and A.J. Romano.

Neal Erickson ended his long absence from victory lane, picking up his first win of the season in the 25-lap sportsman feature, Erickson, whose last win at Albany-Saratoga came on Aug. 2, 2005, started on the outside pole and never looked back, pulling away for an easy win over Tyler Curtis, who had his best run ever at Albany-Saratoga and got the runner-up position. Joe Santoro, who has been struggling all season, hit the line with a confidence-boosting third-place finish, with Stan Lemiesz fourth and Matt Depew fifth.

Kim Duell controlled the pro street stock feature, making his first trip to victory lane since opening night. Duell started eighth, but used three early restarts to make a quick charge to the front, and took the lead away from Jim Monroe Sr. on lap seven. With the feature going caution-free the rest of the way, Duell hit the finish line nearly three seconds ahead of Monroe, who had his best finish of the year. Completing the top five were Jimmy Eaton, Dan Madigan and Cale Kneer.

Rich Burke drove to his first win of the season in the 20-lap limited feature, becoming the ninth different winner in that division this season. Burke started sixth, but had the lead after just three laps and easily outran Ken Conroy to get the victory.

The mini-stock feature was won by Phil DeFiglio, his seventh consecutive victory.

Two big events are coming up in the next two weeks at Albany-Saratoga. On July 27, the Central New York Mini-Sprints will join the regular CVRA divisions, and the annual CVRA.com 100 on Aug. 3 already has the fans buzzing. Hearn is the defending champion in the CVRA.com 100, but Tremont is always tough in the extra-distance races, and both Jack and Ronnie Johnson are due for breakout performance. Additional information about upcoming races at Albany-Saratoga Speedway can be obtained from the track's Web site at www.cvra.com.

MODIFIEDS: KEN TREMONT JR., Matt Sheppard, Brett Hearn, Todd Stone, A.J. Romano, Tony Kawalchuk, Marc Johnson, Keith Flach, Jimmy Davis, Vince Quenneville Jr., Mike Perrotte, Elmo Reckner, Rick Davis, Tim Hartman, Matt DeLorenzo, Bobby Varin, Jimmy Cottrell, Don Ronca, Ronnie Johnson, Mike Ronca, Jack Johnson, Jeff Trombley, John Proctor, Frank Hoard Sr., Ron Proctor, Don Ackner.

SPORTSMAN; NEAL ERICKSON, Tyler Curtis, Joe Santoro, Stan Lemiesz, Matt Depew, Mike Tholin, Josh Hohenforst, Dick Bisson, Kory Sandstedt, Dustin Delaney, Mike Ketchum, Mark Kislowski, Rich Ronca, Jack Gentile, Chris Busta, John Willis, Whitey Slavin, Pep Corradi, Ken Anatriello, Dave DePaulo, Adam Tranka, Chris Johnson, Rob Langevin, Scott Duell.

SPORTSMAN B MAIN: WHITEY SLAVIN, Mark Kislowski, Scott Duell, Jack Gentile, Adam Tranka, Rob Langevin, David Peek, Colleen Salisbury, Ken Shippee, Justin Barber, Corey Gilligan, Andy Boniewski, Cass Bennett, Dave Baranowski.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: KIM DUELL, Jim Monroe Sr., Jimmy Eaton, Dan Madigan, Cale Kneer, Pete Broderson, Vince Santoro, Lori Cary, Gregg McGill, Carl Vladyka, Kevin Van Chance, Josh Joseph, Bernie Companion, Randy Miller, Chuck Towslee, Darryl Carl, William Smith IV, Jake Losaw.

LIMITEDS: RICH BURKE, Ken Conroy, Dan Petronis, Mike Minick, Jim Monroe Jr., Mark Burch, John Morris, John Filarecki, D.J. Brundige, Mike Duclos, Bill Burlingame, Anthony Marro, Ben Durie, John Miller, Harry Coonradt, Curtis Condon, Tommy Primeau Jr., Steve Kahler Jr., Dan Older, Nick Lussier, Jeff Monroe, Mike Ostrander, Brandon Emigh, Paul Mulrain.

MINI-STOCKS: PHIL DEFIGLIO, Jamie McCarthy, Brette Osgood, John Baldwin, Travis Tromans, Andy Hickok, Dan Lorenc, Mike Cranston, Jason Dickson, Shane Marks, Tim Anagnos, Charlie Stoddard, Dan Older Jr., Erin Older, Ray Galusha, Rennie Noradki, Rick Howe, Michelle Catone, Blake Williams, Ted Fitzgerald, Chris McCarthy.