Halloween Havoc: Local Ballston Spa Racers Take the Day

MALTA –  Brandon Uline of Ballston Spa "endured" 200 laps of racing to emerge victorious in the annual Halloween Havoc enduro race.  It was also a good day for another hometown favorite named Brandon, as Brandon Emigh of Ballston Spa won the 50 lap renegade feature by taking the lead on the sixth lap and never looking back, as he led the field of 15 cars to the finish line.

The little ones and their parents also had great fun playing games, racing bicycles on the pavement around the speedway and riding the Fun Bus.

Emigh had checked out by the halfway point of the 50 lap renegade race with a straightaway lead, but was challenged near the end by a caution thrown when Philip Wood spun out on lap 45. On the restart Kevin Boutin did his best to stay with Emigh but had to settle for second, followed by Paul Mulrain, Dan Petronis and Jon Miller.

The sportsman division came to the track for their last race of 2010 with Derrick McGrew (also of Ballston Spa) winning a 30 lap race over a hard charging Hunter Bates of Pittsford, VT. McGrew took the lead early with a bonsai move coming out of turn two as the second row went four wide and everyone in the stands held their breath. Somehow emerging intact on the backstretch, the field straightened itself out and the race went 30 laps caution free. With five to go McGrew had to contend with lapped traffic, allowing Bates to close the gap to pressure him, hoping for a mistake that would allow him to win. McGrew never made one, and Bates ended the feature in second place followed by Adam McAuliffe, Mike Tholin and Jim Introne. McGrew later revealed that "something broke" during the lap one incident and he just hoped to hang on to the lead until the end of the race.

The bomber warrior race winner was Colin Clow and the winner of the ladies Powder Puff enduro was Sandra Reulet of Saratoga NY.

The large field of 58 enduro cars took to the track as the last race of the day. At the end of 200 laps there were only 13 cars still running, the infield and outer edges of the track were littered with debris and cars, but the entire race was run non-stop with no red flags. A very good job by all involved as drivers were careful to get off the track as they experienced problems.

The lead during the race changed several times but was dominated for the first 100 laps by the Long Island Gang as the guys from Riverhead Speedway, including Bryan Kelly, Shawn Wanat and Christian Conklin looked like they were going to run away with it. But Kelly dropped out on lap 83, and Conklin relinquished the lead on lap 115 to Mike Kamm (Averill Park NY) as he went to the pits.

The race then became a battle with a more local flavor, as Kamm was chased by Kevin Sorel of Plattsburgh and Brandon Uline of Ballston Spa. When the smoke cleared, Kamm had apparently secured the victory, but in post-race inspection was ruled illegal. That gave the win to Uline and second went to Sorel. The score sheets revealed a close finish for third between two first-timers, Robert Reed of Saratoga and Duane Colon of Altamont. Reed emerged as the third place finisher, with Colon fourth. Both had just finished 200 rookie laps of racing and said the exact same thing, "I had a great time!"

They'll be able to give it another try at sister track Devil's Bowl Speedway on November 6th during the 6/60 race which will include six laps of reverse-gear racing followed by a 60 lap enduro, or at the last race of 2010, "The Aftermath," another 200 lap enduro to be held on Saturday, November 27 at Albany-Saratoga. Details on either race can be found on the Champlain Valley Racing Association website at www.cvra.com.