Hearn dominates all-star field

MALTA - The CVRA took on the World Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, and the CVRA won.

Brett Hearn dominated an all-star field and walked off with $8,000 by winning the 100-lap “General Motors presents the Return of CVRA vs. the World.” Hearn's third win of the season led a sweep of the top-five positions by CVRA regulars.

The win was the 87th of Hearn's career at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, moving him within three wins of tying Jack Johnson at the top of the track's all-time win list.

The $8,000 top prize drew a strong contingent of outsiders, including Billy Decker, Pat Ward, Jimmy Phelps, Gary Tomkins, Stewart Friesen and Frank Cozze, but the best the invaders could do against the CVRA regulars was Phelps' sixth-place finish.

Decker and Friesen drew the front row, but all the CVRA top guns were right behind them at the start, as defending track champion Ken Tremont Jr. drew the three spot, Ronnie Johnson was sitting fourth and Hearn was one row back, in fifth.

Ronnie Johnson had the misfortune of bringing out the first yellow on lap eight, as he had to pit for a new tire, and the ensuing restart was a rough one for Ward, who got caught up in an accident in turn four involving Danny Varin, Ron Proctor, Marc Johnson and Chris Busta.

Decker led the first eight laps before giving up the top spot to Friesen, but Hearn had already found his comfort zone, running the extreme outside, and he easily worked his way by Decker for second.

By lap 15, Hearn had closed right in on Friesen and then put the nose of the Four Star Racing small block in the lead at the starters' stand on lap 17, a lead that he would never give up.

The story of the race then became tires. Tony Kawalchuk brought out a yellow on lap 26 for a flat left front, and that restart helped Dave Camara, who had started eighth, move into second.

Decker was forced to give up his fourth-place spot on lap 40 when his left front went flat, and now Camara drew a bead on Hearn.

Hearn was still cranked up on the outside, but Camara was keeping pace on the inside, and gaining ground each time around. But on lap 53, Camara bounced off the barrier on the inside of the second turn, and that bobble gave Hearn more room to work with.

Camara explained the turn-two incident after the race. “I blew the left rear brake line coming out of four. I've got a switch in the car that I can use to adjust the brakes, so I reached down to shut off the left rear. But I couldn't find the shutoff. I kept reaching down, trying to find it, and finally I looked down, and when I did, I ended up hitting the barrier.”

The final caution, for a flat tire on Varin's car, came out on lap 67, but Hearn had smooth sailing the rest of the way.

Following Hearn across the finish line were Camara, Matt DeLorenzo, Johnson, who came from the rear after getting a new tire, and Tremont.

The rest of the top 10 consisted of Phelps, Friesen, Jack Johnson, Mike Perrotte and Todd Stone.

Although Hearn had plenty of rubber left on his right rear in victory lane, he admitted that that had been his biggest concern during the race.

“We were concerned that the right rear would overheat,” said Hearn, who also won the last CVRA vs. The World, held in 2004. “I didn't think anyone was going to out-think me on tire selection, but if Camara had started to pressure me, I didn't know if the tire was going to hold out, so I was trying to take care of it for a while there.”

Hearn also acknowledged that he's aware that he's closing in on Johnson's record.

“This place has such a great history,” he said. “Jack Johnson is a legend, but it just isn't Jack. It's the whole history of this track. If I could get the record, that would be a real accomplishment for me.”

Pete Broderson picked up his first win of the season in the 25-lap pro-street stock feature, leading from flag-to-flag and holding off Cale Kneer. But Kneer was disqualified after the race for using racing fuel in his car, moving Lori Langevin up to second. Charles Towslee, Bernie Companion and Vinny Santoro completed the top five.

Frank Hoard III found his way to victory lane for the fourth time this season in the budget sportsman feature. Paul Dunham had the early lead, but Hoard took over the point on lap seven and pulled the field to the finish line in the 25-lap feature.

Cullen Howe ran a consistent race and finished second, with Fred Proctor third, Bryan Davis fourth and Pete Carlotto fifth.

Mark Burch drove to his first win of the season in the 20-lap limited feature, taking advantage of a front-row starting position to hold off Dan Petronis and John Filarecki.

The mini-stocks were also in action, with Jason Dickson taking the checkered flag.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway will return to action on Thursday, July 3, with competition in the sportsman, budget sportsman, pro-street stock, limited and mini-stocks divisions. The night will also feature a gigantic fireworks display.

MODIFIEDS - CVRA VS. THE WORLD (100 LAPS): BRETT HEARN, Dave Camara, Matt DeLorenzo, Ronnie Johnson, Ken Tremont Jr., Jimmy Phelps, Stewart Friesen, Jack Johnson, Mike Perrotte, Todd Stone, Billy Decker, Keith Flach, Jeff Trombley, Don Ronca, Pat Ward, Tony Kawalchuk, Rob Langevin, Chris Busta, Danny Varin, Gary Tomkins, Michael Storms, Frank Cozze, Elmo Reckner, Ryan Odasz, Marc Johnson, Ron Proctor, Frank Cozze Jr.

PRO-STREET STOCKS: PETE BRODERSON, Lori Langevin, Charles Towslee, Bernie Companion, Vinny Santoro, Jim Monroe, Phil DeFiglio, Kevin Van Chance, Kim Duell, William Smith IV, Ed Thompson, Jeremy Otis, Rob Yetman, Daryl Carl, Mike Paquin, Bob Schmidt, Ron Zagata, Jeff Washburn, Mike Minick, Jim Groncki, Greg McGill, Jake Losaw, Walt Brownell. DQ: Cale Kneer.

BUDGET SPORTSMAN: FRANK HOARD III, Cullen Howe, Fred Proctor, Bryan Davis, Peter Carlotta, Mike Budro, Al Williams, Ricky Quick, D.J. Brundige, Dennis Pennock, Seth Howe, Matthew Hyde, John Avery, Scot Straight, Jeremy Dygert, Shawn Cassidy, Chuck Dickinson, Mike Visconti, Scott Duell, No. 77, Randy Davis, Janelle Davis, Nick Hotaling, Jared McMahon, Mike Grogan, Jamie Nash, Rich LaMont, Ralph Denison, No. 30, Dan Boni. DQ: Frank Corradi, Paul Dunham.

LIMITEDS: MARK BURCH, Dan Petronis, John Filarecki, Dan Older, Jeff Monroe, Mike Ostrander, Mark Lester, John Morris Jr., Dan Carlton, Steve Burch, David Cook, Andy Durie, Mark Dwyer, Jon Miller, Megan Purstell, Yule Cook, Dave Billings, Nathan Dahoda, Brian Ashline, Curtis Condon, Ken Conroy, Jordan Jeffalone, Brian O'Reilly, Joshua Coonradt,.

MINI-STOCKS: JASON DICKSON, Elmer Montville, Ken Hollenbeck, Michelle Catone, Mike Cranston, Chris McCarthy, Charlie Stoddard, Dan Older Jr., Chris Murray, Jessica Rheome, Ray Galusha, Jonathan Hayes, Justin Comes, Josh Rheome.