Trombley collects Hearn bounty at Albany-Saratoga

MALTA, NY - Just call him Jeff The Bounty Hunter.

On a night that Albany-Saratoga Speedway promoter Bruce Richards was putting up a $500 bounty for anyone who could beat Brett Hearn (who has been blistering the competition during the month of May), Jeff Trombley used a front-row starting position to record his first win of the year, and take home the bounty, in the 35-lap 358 modified feature at the Malta track Friday night.

Trombley has been mired in a season-opening slump at Albany-Saratoga, cracking the top 10 just once in the first four races of the season. So the front-row starting position helped, but so did adding a little weight.

After the race, Trombley explained that the car he won with is the one he usually races at Fonda Speedway on Saturday nights. “I took the big block out of this car and put the small block in so I could run it here,” said Trombley. “This car is a little bit heavier, but I needed a change.”

And where was Mr. Hearn? After starting 12th, Hearn worked his way up to second in the caution-free feature, but Hearn's right rear tire went flat on the final lap, allowing Todd Stone to nip him at the finish line for second.

“I didn't even know who was leading, (Trombley) was so far ahead,” said Hearn, who had won three of the first four 358 modified features this season.

Stone's second-place finish was his best run at Albany-Saratoga since June 11, 1999, when he finished second to Ken Tremont Jr. Stone's only win at Albany-Saratoga also came during the 1999 campaign, on April 25, when he won one of the Triple 25s that kicked off the season.

Trombley got out front so quickly that his biggest problem proved to be lapped traffic. “I tagged a lapped car with the left front once in turn one, and after that, I was real careful not to do it again and risk getting a flat tire, or worse,” he said.

Ronnie Johnson finished fourth, with Tremont fifth. They were followed by Marc Johnson, Keith Flach, Don Ronca, Mike Perrotte and Rich Scagliotta. Perrotte was impressive, breaking into the top 10 after starting 23rd.

Rookie Tim Hartman Jr. went flag-to-flag to record the first win of his career in the 25-lap budget sportsman feature, which also went clean and green. The teenager, who finished second in his debut on opening night, passed up a weekend trip to Dover for the Sprint Cup race to take advantage of a good starting position, and he made it work, adding his name to the list of father-son combinations who have been in victory lane at the speedway. His father, Tim, is second on the all-time sportsman win list at the track with 26 victories.

Chuck Dickinson chased Hartman across the finish line, with Derrick McGrew third. McGrew, who won the opening night feature, has been in the top five in six of the eight races in the budget sportsman division so far this year.

There was also a first-time winner in the pro-street stock division, as Jimmy Monroe held off Cale Kneer to get his first win in that class. Kenny Martin was third, his best run of the year.

Kory Sandstedt was first under the checkered flag in the 25-lap sportsman feature. Sandstedt became the sixth different winner in as many races at the track this season. Mike Tholin, still looking for his first win of the campaign, had to settle for second, with Dave DePaulo third. The third-place finish was DePaulo's best ever at Albany-Saratoga, and was his first time in the top five since finishing fifth on Aug. 24, 2007.

The only repeat winner came in the limited division, where Mark Burch picked up his second straight win.

Albany-Saratoga will return to action on Friday, June 5 with a busy night of racing. In addition to the regular CVRA divisions, the Empire Lightning Sprints will be back at the speedway. Racing begins at 6:45 p.m.

MODIFIEDS: JEFF TROMBLEY, Todd Stone, Brett Hearn, Ronnie Johnson, Ken Tremont Jr., Marc Johnson, Keith Flach, Don Ronca, Mike Perrotte, Rich Scagliotta, Ron Proctor, Tony Kawalchuk, Jimmy Cottrell, Dave Camara, John Proctor, Cory Gilligan, Mike Ronca, Todd Ryan, Alex Bell, Elmo Reckner, Matt DeLorenzo, Kris Vernold, Don Ackner, Jack Johnson, Vince Quenneville Jr.

SPORTSMAN: KORY SANDSTEDT, Mike Tholin, Dave DePaulo, Mark Kislowski, Pep Corradi, Pat O'Hanlon, Chris Johnson, Whitney Slavin, Matt Depew, Andy Boniewski, Skip Shippee, Dave Baranowski, Dave Manny, Brian Jones, Frank Corradi, Rich Ronca, Ken Anatriello, Dave Constantino, Chris Busta, Tyler Curtis, Rob Langevin.

BUDGET SPORTSMAN: TIM HARTMAN JR., Chuck Dickinson, Derrick McGrew, Marc Hughes, Bryan Davis, D.J. Brundige, Ron Ayotte, Cullen Howe, Anthony Marro, Dan Santabarbara, Dan Peckham, Stan Lemiesz, Jamie Introne, Shannon Donnelly, Mike Grogan, Jim Duncan, Chris Rheome, Jack Swinton.

PRO-STREET SOCKS: JIMMY MONROE, Cale Kneer, Kenny Martin, Kim Duell, Ed Thompson, Jeremy Pitts, Bob Schmidt, Bill Smith IV, Randy Miller, Gregg McGill, Chuck Towslee, Lori Langevin, Jeff Washburn, Bernie Companion, Nick Hilt, Walt Brownell Jr., Dave Cook, Daryl Carl.

LIMITEDS: MARK BURCH, Dan Older, Brandon Emigh, Jason Wood, Mark Lester, Mike Ostrander, Dave Billings, Dan Petronis, Ken Conroy, Jon Miller, Justin Demers, Frank Monroe, Mitch Sequin, Jordyn Jeffalone, Brian Ashline, Ben Durie.