Johnson gets first win at Albany-Saratoga

MALTA –  It may have been Mother's Day Weekend, but Marc Johnson gave his father a present Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Johnson, driving the Johnson Racing Bicknell chassis that is powered by an engine built by his father, Brett, held off defending track champion Ken Tremont Jr. to record the first 358-modified win of his career in the 35-lap feature at the “Grand Reopening” of the historic Malta track.

“This is awesome,” said Johnson in victory lane after the win. “This one is for my dad.”

The “Grand Reopening” signals the rebirth of Albany-Saratoga Speedway, which has made the switch from dirt to asphalt. Despite a lot of negative response during the offseason, promoter Bruce Richards was more than happy with the results of his first points race.

“I'm elated,” he said. “Several race fans I talked to said they came over because they were curious about the show, and they left with big smiles on their faces, saying they really enjoyed it.”

And there was plenty to enjoy, with a good mix of Albany-Saratoga Speedway regulars and a lot of new faces.

Dave DePaulo set the early pace, but Johnson, who started third, got the lead on lap 11 when DePaulo drifted high in the second turn.

Johnson opened up a big lead and got into lapped traffic, but his first win wasn't going to be that easy. A caution on lap 16 for Keith Flach, who had a flat tire, allowed Tremont to close the gap, and he kept the pressure on Johnson for the rest of the race. But when they hit the checkered flag, Johnson had a half-a-car length advantage.

“I went back to my go-kart days tonight, just trying to hit my marks and stay smooth on the slippery surface,” said Johnson, whose best previous finish at Albany-Saratoga was a third on Aug. 8, 2008.

Tremont, who is third on Albany-Saratoga's all-time win list with 53 victories, was satisfied with his first run on the asphalt.

“We had some fun with it,” he said. “We've run on the asphalt at Airborne a few times, but this is still a learning curve here. Marc was a little better than us in the open, so we have some work to do to make our car better.”

Joe Williams crossed the finish line third, his best run ever at Albany-Saratoga. He was followed by former Busch North Rookie of the Year Mike Bruno and Champlain Valley Racing Association veteran Don Scarborough.

Completing the top 10 were Jimmy Ryan, DePaulo, Mike Perrotte, Kyle Sheldon and Rich Ronca.

Bruno also went home with a little extra cash in his pocket, as he won the DeNooyer Dash.

Chris Ross, who has switched from super late models to modifieds this season, was scheduled to start on the front row, but his car never fired, and he had to start at the rear of the field. He only ran three laps before pulling off with engine problems.

The 50-lap pro stock feature had the fans standing on their feet at the finish, as Jimmy Monroe held off Joe Santoro to get the win. The leaders were nearly inseparable in the final six laps, with Monroe getting the win by just 0.128 seconds. The win was the second of Monroe's career at the Malta track.

Derrick McGrew came away with the checkered flag in the 25-lap sportsman feature. McGrew has been doing his homework ever since the track announced it was going to change surfaces last fall. He won the budget sportsman feature in the Asphalt Assault that concluded the 2009 season, and is 2-for-2 so far this year.

The Renegades started their season on Friday night, with Dave Emigh pulling away from Jon Miller and Brandon Emigh to get the win in the 25-lapper.

Albany-Saratoga will be back in action on Friday, May 14, with Full Fender Frenzy. All divisions will be in action, and the Bomber Warriors will be running a 40-lap feature.

MODIFIEDS: MARC JOHNSON, Ken Tremont Jr., Joey Williams, Mike Bruno, Don Scarborough, Jimmy Ryan, Dave DePaulo, Mike Perrotte, Kyle Sheldon, Rich Ronca, Keith Flach, Kris Vernold, Andy Linderman, Matt Depew, Floyd Billington, Dave Manny, Don Ronca, Adam Bartemy, Mark Ormsby, Randy Hotaling, Jim Introne, Chris Ross, Ron Proctor, George Morse.

DENOOYER DASH: MIKE BRUNO, Don Ronca, Ken Tremont Jr., Adam Bartemy, Marc Johnson, Rich Ronca.

PRO STOCKS: JIMMY MONROE, Joe Santoro, Carl Guilefuss, Fred Little, Darryl Carl, Kim Duell, Scott Duell, Bobby Schmidt, Mike Paquin, Jim Monroe, Mike Scorzelli, Sheldon Martin, Jeremy Houghtaling.

SPORTSMAN: DERRICK MCGREW, Luke Klob, Andy Durie, Fred Proctor, Hunter Bates, Mark Hughes, Paul Dunham, Cody Sargent.

RENEGADES: DAVE EMIGH, Jon Miller, Brandon Emigh, Dan Petronis, Dan Older, Frank Monroe, Josh Coonradt, Ben Durie, Glen Watkins, Tony Brayton, Bill Burlingame, Justin Combs.

BOMBER WARRIORS: RANDY MARTIN, Brent Warren, Dan Older Jr., Daniel Clow, Mark Lindblade.