Ronca ends long winless streak at Albany-Saratoga

MALTA - If Don Ronca's smile had been any bigger Friday night, his face probably would have cracked. But the veteran driver from Clifton Park had a good reason to be happy.

Using a front-row starting position to his advantage, Ronca won Friday night's 35-lap 358-modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, finding his way to victory lane for the first time in nearly 11 years.

How long is 11 years? Consider that the last time Ronca won a feature at Albany-Saratoga, on June 6, 1997, Bill Clinton was president, the World Trade Center was still standing and Ronnie Johnson was a rookie in the sportsman division on the Champlain Valley Racing Association.

It was Johnson who was Ronca's biggest threat early in Friday night's feature, charging from his 12th starting position and chasing Ronca around the Malta track like a cat chasing a mouse. Johnson took over the No. 2 position on lap seven and began to run side-by-side with Ronca, who was sticking to the cushion in his Scott Noel-powered small block.

Thanks to a restart on lap 13, Johnson managed to put his nose in front and actually lead a lap, but Ronca regained the advantage on lap 14.

If they had had rear-view mirrors, they would have seen Brett Hearn sitting right on their rear bumper in the Vinny Salerno-owned modified. Hearn was following Johnson around the race track, and every time Johnson tried to make a move on Ronca, Hearn attempted to pounce on Johnson for second.

Hearn made the move stick on lap 23, taking over the No. 2 spot, and when Ronca had to break his rhythm for a lapped car with two laps to go, Hearn moved in for the kill. But Ronca hit the throttle just in time, and beat Hearn to the finish line by a half-second for his 11th career victory at Albany-Saratoga.

“I'm really lucky to even be racing again, after blowing my engine in practice (in mid-April),” said Ronca, a two-time modified point champion at Albany-Saratoga (1989 and 1992). “I really can't believe it.”

Almost as happy as Ronca was his father, Nick, who watched what his son had to go through years ago when he was forced to retire after breaking his back in an accident at the family's garage.

“You work so hard at it, realizing that you may never win again,” said Nick Ronca. “I am so happy for him.”

Hearn and Johnson finished second and third, respectively, but Johnson was later disqualified when he came up three pounds light on the post-race run over the scales. That moved Ken Tremont Jr. up to third, with A.J. Romano fourth and Jack Johnson fifth.

Completing the top10 were Marc Johnson, Todd Stone, Keith Flach, Tony Kawalchuk and Ron Proctor.

Rob Langevin picked up his first win of the year in the25-lap sportsman feature. Langevin started 10th, but inherited the lead on lap 18 when Mike Ketchum, who was on the point, was forced to drop out. Ken Anatriello finished second, followed by Matt Depew, Chis Busta and Kory Sandstedt.

Alex Bell held off Scott Duell to take the checkered flag in the budget sportsman feature, ending the two-race winning streak of Frank Hoard !!!. Bell started in the front row and set the pace for the first 19 laps, before Duell moved out in front. But Bell made a last-lap pass to get the win.

Kim Duell nailed down his first win of the year in the pro-street stock division, taking the lead on lap nine and outrunning Jeff Washburn, and Ken Conroy charged from his 11th starting position to pick up his first win on the season in the limited division.

The mini-stock features were won by Ray Galusha (six-cylinder) and Jason Dickson (four-cylinder).

A full card of racing is scheduled for Friday, May 16, which will also be CDL Night at the track.

MODIFIEDS: DON RONCA, Brett Hearn, Ken Tremont Jr., A.J. Romano, Jack Johnson, Marc Johnson, Todd Stone, Keith Flach, Tony Kawalchuk, Ron Proctor, Jim Ryan, Mike Perrotte, Matt DeLorenzo, Vince Quenneville Jr., Dustin Delaney, Dave Camara, Gene Munger, John Proctor, Robert King, Jimmy Cottrell, Jim Becker, Don Mattison, Elmo Reckner, Robert Allen, Jeff Trombley. DQ: Ronnie Johnson.

SPORTSMAN: ROB LANGEVIN, Ken Anatriello, Matt Depew, Chris Busta, Kory Sandstedt, Josh Hohenforst, Rich Ronca, Mike Tholin, Mark Kislowski, Joe Santoro, Adam Tranka, Jeff Watson, Whitey Slavin, Bill Bokus, Corey Gilligan, Dave DePaolo, Pat O'Hanlon, Kale Groff, Pep Corradi, Dave Baranowski, Dave Manny, Mike Ketchum, Jake Gentile.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: KIM DUELL, Jeff Washburn, Pete Broderson, Charles Towslee, Vince Santoro, Ed Thompson, William Smith IV, Nick Stone, Jim Monroe, Kevin Van Chance, Cale Kneer, Josh Joseph, Randy Miller, Bernie Companion, Lori Langevin, Daryl Carl, Phil DeFiglio, Jim Groncki, Walt Brownell, Mike Paquin, Greg McGill, Bob Schmidt.

BUDGET SPORTSMAN: ALEX BELL, Scott Duell, Frank Hoard III, Anthony Morro, Fred Proctor Jr., Jim Nagle, Paul Dunham Jr., Mike Visconti, Al Williams, Matt Hyde, Scot Straight, Seth Howe, Frank Corradi, Nick Lussier, Pete Carlotto, Nick Hotaling, Ralph Denison, Ricky Quick, Jimmy Eaton, Mike Burdo, Chuck Dickinson, Bryan Davis, Cullen Howe, Angelo DiCarlo.

LIMITEDS; KEN CONROY, David Billings, John Filarecki, Mark Lester, Dan Petronis, Jeff Monroe, Jon Miller, No. 112, Brian O'Reilly, Rich Howe, Amanda Clemens, Steve Burch, Curtis Condon, Dan Older, Charles Burkhart III, Mark Goss, Andrew Durie, Mike Ostrander, Jim Monroe, Yule Cook, Megan Purstell. DQ: Mark Burch.