Hotaling defies "jinx" on Friday the 13th at Albany-Saratoga

MALTA –  Friday the 13th turned out to be Randy Hotaling's lucky day.

Battling an ailing race car, Hotaling overcame a late restart to strike a blow for the “little guys” and record his first win of the season Friday night in the 35-lap modified feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

In becoming the 11th different winner in the premier division at the historic Malta track this season, Hotaling made his way to victory lane for the first time since Aug. 8, 2003, when the track had a dirt surface.

He also proved that driving talent can be just as important as a big wallet. Hotaling drives a 2004 TEO car powered by an engine built by his car owner, Bo Karl, and he usually campaigns on used tires that he buys from other drivers.

“They talk about low-budget teams. Well, this is a no-budget team,” said Hotaling after his win.

Hotaling started on the pole and led flag-to-flag, but there were still some tense moments. He had Matt Depew breathing down his neck in the closing laps of the feature, and his race car was also a cause for concern.

“I lost a muffler early on, and lost some power because of it, and with about 10 laps to go, the motor started skipping,” Hotaling said.

Even with a caution flying with two laps to go for debris on the track, Hotaling held off Depew to get the victory, leaving Depew to settle for his second runner-up performance of the season.

There was a wild battle for third, with Rich Ronca beating Marc Johnson and Mike Bruno to the finish line by a matter of inches. With double points on the line, Johnson's fourth-place finish allowed him to take the points lead away from defending track champion Ken Tremont Jr., who finished 10th after starting deep in the field. Johnson began the night trailing Tremont by 17 points, but came out with a three-point lead.

Jason Herrington returned to victory lane after a two-race absence in the sportsman division, chalking up his sixth win of the season. Herrington took the lead away from Luke Klob with two laps to go in the 25-lap feature, and beat Klob to the finish line by just over a second.

Scott Duell borrowed teammate Joe Santoro's car for the night and won the 30-lap pro-stock feature. The win was just his second of the season. Duell's father, Kim, was a distant second, and was followed by Mike Scorzelli, Sheldon Martin and Mike Paquin.

Paquin originally came across the finish line fourth, but after an official review, it was determined that he had passed Sheldon under caution, as a yellow flag flew seconds after Duell had taken the checkered flag.

Dan Older picked up his first win of the year in the 25-lap Renegade feature. Older held off a hard charge from David Emigh to get the win, while Mike Ostrander was third.

Harold Lavair was also victorious Friday, recording his eighth win of the season in the Bomber Warriors class.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway will be holding Bikers' Night on Friday, Aug. 20, with all fans who arrive on motorcycles being admitted to the grandstand free of charge. All divisions will be in action.

MODIFIEDS: RANDY HOTALING, Matt Depew, Rich Ronca, Marc Johnson, Mike Bruno, Kris Vernold, Don Ronca, Andy Lindeman, Chris Ross, Ken Tremont Jr., Joe Williams, Keith Flach, Leon Gonyo, Ray Martindale, Ron Proctor, Skip Shippee, Seth Roberts, Dave Manny, Jim Ryan.

DENOOYER DASH FOR CASH: KEITH FLACH, Mike Bruno, Andy Lindeman, Don Ronca, Chris Ross, Matt Depew.

SPORTSMAN: JASON HERRINGTON, Luke Klob, Adam Tranka, Andy Durie, Chris Johnson, Ricky Quick, Cody Sargen, Scott Duell.

PRO-STOCKS: SCOTT DUELL, Kim Duell, Mike Scorzelli, Sheldon Martin, Mike Paquin, Jim Monroe Jr., Chad White, Carl Guilefuss, Darryl Carl, Kevin Van Chance, Jeremy Houghtaling.

RENEGADES: DAN OLDER, Dave Emigh, Mike Ostrander, Dan Petronis, Frank Monroe, Josh Coonradt, Brandon Emigh, Rowdy Birch, Justin Demers, Jon Miller, Jim Anagnos, Jonathan Hayes.

BOMBER WARRIORS: HAROLD LAVAIR, Colin Clow, John Lindblade, Dan Older Jr., Ken Duell, Jeremy Hayes, Ken Hulburt, Jason Dickson.