Tremont wraps up championship


MALTA – There's a new king at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Well, he's the king, but he's not that new.

Ken Tremont Jr. ended Brett Hearn's three-year reign as the top dog at Albany-Saratoga Speedway Friday night, finishing second to Hearn in the double-point Championship Night 35-lap 358-modified feature.

The second-place finish was enough to give Tremont his ninth track championship at Albany-Saratoga, as the Tremont clan reclaimed the territory they virtually owned in the 1990s, when Tremont won six consecutive championships.

Other champions crowned in front of a overflow crowd on Hometown Heroes Night, which honored members of the Armed Services, as well as firefighters, law enforcement officers and EMTs, were Dustin Delaney (sportsman), Lori Cary (pro-street stocks), Jim Monroe Jr. (limiteds), Phil DeFiglio (six-cylinders minis) and Brette Osgood (four-cylinder minis).

Tremont darn near capped off his championship run with a victory. Hearn took the lead away from Jeff Trombley on lap 27 and with five laps to go, Tremont was still running fifth. But he then put on a charge, and moved up to second and got a big break when Don Mattison spun in the first turn on lap 31, bringing out the caution.

Tremont ducked under Hearn and got the lead on the restart, but Hearn, who had a burr under his saddle because of a run-in with track officials earlier in the night, got back around Tremont with two to go and went on to record his sixth win of the season.

The victory was also the 84th of Hearn's career at Albany-Saratoga, moving him to within six wins of Jack Johnson on the all-time win list.

“I remember back when Chuck Ely won a race here in my father's car when it was still asphalt,” said Tremont after the race. “Then, Chuck won the track championship in my father's car the first year that the track was changed over to a dirt track (in 1977). So this championship is special to me and my family for many reasons.”

Following Hearn and Tremont across the finish line were Trombley, Ronnie Johnson and Todd Stone.

Joe Santoro finally got the monkey off his back and picked up his first win of the season in the 25-lap sportsman feature. Santoro, who had a win during his rookie season in 2006, only had one top-five finish going into Championship Night, but everything fell into place on Friday. After starting fourth, Santoro used a restart to get the lead on lap four and then held off Neal Erickson to record his second career win.

While Santoro was getting the win, all eyes were on the battle between Delaney and Mike Ketchum for the title. Ketchum, in his first full season at Albany-Saratoga behind the wheel of the John Kollar-owned small block, finished third, but when Delaney crossed the finish line in ninth, he walked off with his first track championship with a one-point margin of victory.

Cary used a second-place finish in the 25-lap pro-street stock feature to successfully defend her title. Bernie Companion and Darryl Carl battled for the lead until Companion got the top spot for good on lap 17 and went on to record his second win of the campaign. Cary got around Carl for second with two laps to go.

Jim Monroe Jr. only needed to start the limited feature to secure his title, but he didn't take any chances, notching his sixth win of the season. He was followed by Mark Burch, D.J. Brundige, Mike Pfau and Nick Lussier.

Alex Bell came away with his second win of the year in the budget sportsman feature, and DeFiglio and Osgood put the wraps on their dominating seasons with victories in their respective divisions in the mini-stock class. DeFiglio's win was his 15th of the season.

Although the champions have been decided, there's still plenty of racing on tap at Albany-Saratoga. The track will hold its second annual Points Party on Friday, Sept. 14, and the racing card will include budgets, limiteds and mini-stocks. The budgets will be running a 50-lap feature, and competitors should consult the Web site at www.cvra.com for rules.

MODIFIEDS: BRETT HEARN, Ken Tremont Jr., Jeff Trombley, Ronnie Johnson, Todd Stone, Marc Johnson, Elmo Reckner, Matt DeLorenzo, Frank Hoard Sr., Rick Davis, Keith Flach, Mike Perrotte, Mike Ronca, Tony Kawalchuk, Jimmy Cottrell, Matt Sheppard, Don Mattison, Tim Hartman, A.J. Romano, Don Ackner, Don Ronca.

SPORTSMAN: JOE SANTORO, Neal Erickson, Mike Ketchum, Ken Anatriello, Chris Busta, Tyler Curtis, Pep Corradi, Josh Hohenforst, Dustin Delaney, Rob Langevin, Mark Kislowski, Mike Tholin, Stan Lemiesz, Andy Boniewski, Matt Depew, Dick Bisson, Adam Tranka, Corey Gilligan, Chris Hutchinson, Dave DePaulo, Dave Baranowski, Ken Shippee, Jack Gentile, Rich Ronca.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: BERNIE COMPANION, Lori Cary, Darryl Carl, Bill Smith, Jim Monroe Sr., Pete Broderson, Dan Madigan, Gregg McGill, Vince Santoro, Tom Stack, Randy Miller, Kim Duell, Chuck Towslee, Walt Brownell, Mike Paquin, Mike Jeske, Cale Kneer, Matt Anatriello, Jesse Edwards Jr., Kevin Van Chance.

LIMITEDS: JIM MONROE JR., Mark Burch, D.J. Brundige, Mike Pfau, Nick Lussier, Mike Ostrander, John Filarecki, Brian Ashline, Ken Conroy, Dan Petronis, Mark Lester, Mark Dwyer, Amanda Clemens, Dan Older, Francis Clark Jr., Rich Holmes, Rich Burke, Tommy Primeau Jr., John Morris, Curtis Condon, Andy Durie, Tim Brunelle, Mike Minick, Steve Holcomb.

BUDGET SPORTSMAN; ALEX BELL, Bryan Davis, Angela Hoard, Paul Dunham Sr., Ralph Denison, Chuck Allen, Dennis Pennock, Kris Bradbury, Nick Hotaling, Todd Clark, Robert Cole Jr., Whitney Slavin, Mike Visconti, Ken Towne, Frank Hoard Jr., Rick LaMont, Matt Hyde, Al Williams, Kevin Liddell, Jared McMahon, Fred Proctor.

MINI-STOCKS: PHIL DEFIGLIO, Brette Osgood, Jamie McCarthy, Mike Cranston, Dan Older Jr., Erin Older, Howard McEachron, Ray Galusha, Jason Dickson, Chris McCarthy, Michelle Catone, Shane Marks, Brien O'Reilly, Travis Tromans, Jason Rheome.