Manny notches first modified win at Albany-Saratoga

MALTA –  Dave Manny races just for fun, but it sure is a lot more fun when you win a race.

The 59-year-old Manny, a former sportsman competitor at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, came off the front row Friday night and led all 35 laps to come away with the first modified victory of his career at the historic Malta track.

Manny, who won four sportsman features from 1996-1998 on the old dirt surface at Albany-Saratoga, became the 13th different winner in the premier division at the track this season.

With the race running without a caution, Manny was able to maintain a comfortable lead over Don Ronca, and handled lapped traffic like a pro during the final stages of the race, beating Ronca to the finish line by just under a second.

“I had a couple of wins on the dirt surface, but this is my first win on asphalt, and to be honest with you, I never thought that I could win here,” said Manny in victory lane after the race.

Ironically, Manny is an unofficial teammate with Kris Vernold, who won his first race the previous week. Manny and Vernold share parts and help each other out as much as they can, and it's been a slow, steady learning process for both drivers.

“In the spring, the car was all over the speedway, and we were just trying to learn the asphalt surface,” said Manny. “But week after week, Jerry Kearns just kept tweaking the car, and here we are.”

Ronca, who is still looking for his first win of the year, finished second for the third time. Matt Depew came across the finish line third, with Chris Ross fourth and Rich Ronca fifth. Ross' finish was his best run since he picked up his only win of the year on May 28.

Scott Duell, who's been doing double duty lately, came away with his first win of the season in the 25-lap sportsman feature. Duell, who has two wins in the pro-stock division, also led flag to flag, outrunning Luke Klob to get the victory. Klob finished second for the third week in a row, while Andy Durie was third.

Darryl Carl held off Duell to win the 30-lap pro-stock feature. The win was Carl's second of the year, and his first since July 2. Chad White set the pace for the first 26 laps and appeared to be on his way to victory, but his night ended on lap 27, handing the lead to Carl, who then beat Duell by two-tenths of a second. Sheldon Martin got up for third.

Jon Miller posted his fourth win of the year in the 25-lap Renegade feature. Miller took the lead away from Frank Monroe on lap 16 and outran the Emigh brothers to the checkered flag. Brandon Emigh finished second, with Dave Emigh third.

Colin Clow returned to victory lane in the Bomber Warriors feature, and Mike Kamm won the 50-lap enduro.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway will be holding its Labor Day Salute on Friday, Sept. 3. All divisions will be in action, with racing beginning at 6:45 p.m.

MODIFIEDS: DAVE MANNY, Don Ronca, Matt Depew, Chris Ross, Rich Ronca, Jim Ryan, Marc Johnson, Joe Williams, Mike Bruno, Ken Tremont Jr., Keith Flach, Leon Gonyo, Kris Vernold, Don Mattison, Andy Boniewski, Skip Shippee, Cass Bennett, John Hines, Randy Hotaling, Ron Proctor.

DENOOYER DASH FOR CASH: KEN TREMONT JR., Jim Ryan, Joe Williams, Chris Ross, Dave Manny, Rich Ronca.

SPORTSMAN: SCOTT DUELL, Luke Klob, Andy Durie, Ricky Quick, Chris Johnson, Fred Proctor, Kenny Martin, Jack Swinton, Angelo DeCarlo, Jason Rheome, Cody Sargen, Adam Tranka, Jacob Zakrzewski.

SPORTSMAN DASH FOR CASH: SCOTT DUELL, Luke Klob, Adam Tranka, Cody Sargen, Ricky Quick, Andy Durie.

PRO-STOCKS: DARRYL CARL, Scott Duell, Sheldon Martin, Carl Guilefuss, Kim Duell, Mike Scorzelli, Andy Lindeman, Jim Monroe Jr., Kevin Van Chance, Derek Chriss, Chad White, Brad LaFountain, Mike Paquin.

RENEGADES: JON MILLER, Brandon Emigh, Dave Emigh, Frank Monroe, Josh Coonradt, Mike Ostrander, Dan Petronis, Paul Moirain, Dan Older, Chris Murray, Rowdy Birch, Bill Burlingame.

BOMBER WARRIORS: COLIN CLOW, Ken Duell, Michael Cranston, Dan Older Jr., Jeremy Hayes, Dan Collins, John McCarron, Ken Hulbert, Keith Tessiero.