The 4th Turn

~ By Tom Boggie 

It must be fall.

Major League Baseball playoff games are dragging on for so long that I can watch the end of an NHL game between the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames, and still catch the final innings of a Red Sox-Astros game that lasted until 1:15 in the morning; the Syracuse football team is only two wins from qualifying for a bowl game (I’ll take the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium…it’s a short ride); and those God-awful 90 degree days with 90 percent humidity are a distant memory.

So it must be time to showcase some of the stars of the 2018 racing season.

Let’s start with Driver of the Year. Although there were a lot of candidates, how can anyone other than Stewart Friesen be declared the winner?

Forget the fact that he qualified for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series playoffs in his first full season in the Halmar-sponsored Chevrolet. I’m talking about his performances locally.

He owned Fonda Speedway. Making the short haul from his home in Sprakers when he wasn’t running the truck series, he chalked up eight victories and three runner-up finishes at the Track of Champions. No one could touch him.

He showed up at Albany-Saratoga four times, winning Brett Hearn’s “Big Show 10” and a 53-lapper in August, and finished third in his two other starts. He was also on his way to winning “The Aftershock” at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park until an incident with Bobby Varin and a lapped car with two laps to go.

He also had an outstanding weekend at Super DIRT Week in Oswego. Although he said he didn’t go to Oswego “to win the little trophies,” he finished second in both the big block and small block races, winning a total of $33,000.

He also leads the Super DIRT Series with five victories (in just 13 starts) and is the leading money-winner with $76,200. In 13 starts, he’s got nine top-five finishes. In comparison, points leader Matt Sheppard has four wins, but has started all 22 series races.

So, yeah, if you’ve got a better candidate for driver of the year, let me know.

Biggest surprise: Derrick McGrew Jr. How can a 10-year-old kid (don’t forget, he was 10 when the season started) accomplish what he did? After moving up to open wheel cars after doing just about everything he could in Slingshots, he won the first limited sportsman race he ever competed in at Fonda Speedway on his way to a six-win season at the Track of Champions; dominated the competition at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, where he had nine wins, won the track championship and was named the Most Popular Driver at the track; and also picked up two wins at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, which drew a full field of 24 highly competitive cars every weekend.

The McGrew team, headed up by Derrick McGrew Sr., is already talking about having Derrick Jr. move up to the regular sportsman division next season.

Biggest surprise II: Ronnie Johnson. I didn’t think Johnson’s decision to leave Fonda Speedway and begin running on Saturday night at Lebanon Valley was a sound business decision, but I was wrong. Johnson put together a dedicated and loyal team, and together they clicked right off the bat on the high banks. Although he didn’t win a feature, he did have six top-five finishes and finished tied for second to Brett Hearn in the battle for the modified point championship.

Beating Father Time: Brett Hearn. Despite turning 60 in September, Hearn once again proved why many people consider him the greatest dirt track driver of all-time. He won modified championships at both Albany-Saratoga and Lebanon Valley (his 13^th title on the high banks), and won the Vermont 200, his first victory at Devil’s Bowl since 1994. Honorable mention has to go to 56-year-old Ken Tremont Jr., who walked off with the top prize of $25,500 in the Mr. Dirt Track U.S.A. race at Lebanon Valley and also won his eighth championship at Devil’s Bowl.

Biggest upset: It has to be Brian Calabrese’s victory in the King of Dirt Crate Nationals at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. The low-budget Johnstown driver was campaigning a 10-year-old Bicknell chassis and wasn’t even sure if the old rear end in the car would last the 100-lap distance. But he hung on for the victory, holding off Robert Bublak Jr., to earn $2,500. Until that night, Calabrese hadn’t finished in the top five all year. His old, black, no-logo firesuit reminded me of the old one that Ron Proctor used to wear before he won the NASCAR Whelen Series championship at Devil’s Bowl and got a new one.

Biggest disappointment: Come on, did you really think I was going there? Anyone who had a bad year doesn’t need me to remind them.

Best finish: Take your pick — McGrew Jr. winning on two wheels at Albany-Saratoga after making contact with another car coming to the checkered flag; Keith Flach nipping Eddie Marshall to the finish line to win the final points race of the year at Lebanon Valley; Tim McCreadie beating Matt Sheppard by one-tenth of a second in the season opening “Bring It” race at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

In memoriam: The racing world doesn’t seem the same without Bernie Heald, Bryan Goewey and John Grady, who all died this year.

AROUND THE TRACKS

McCreadie recorded the biggest win of his late model racing career last weekend when he won the World 100 at Eldora, which paid $51,000 to win. The World 100 had originally been scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 6-7, which forced McCreadie to skip Super DIRT Week. But the original date for the World 100 was rained out, and carried over to last weekend.

There’s still plenty of racing this weekend, highlighted by Eastern States Weekend at Orange County in Middletown. The 100-lap small block race on Saturday will pay $15,000 to win, and the 200-lapper on Sunday will pay $40,000 to win. In addition, there’s a $10,000 bonus to any driver who can sweep both races. Hearn is the defending champion in the Eastern States 200, but you can bet Friesen is going to take a shot at that bonus.

Utica-Rome Speedway, which was plagued by rainouts this season, has added another race to its schedule, on Oct. 27. The card will be highlighted by crate sportsman.

New Fonda Speedway promoter Brett Deyo is already hyping the return of the Fonda 200 next season. The 200, which will pay $20,000 to win, is scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 27-29.

Look for Glen Ridge crate modified champion Dave Constantino to move up to a big block next season and race at Fonda Speedway. He’s taking the seat in the Laudy Hoyenga big block, as Shaun Pangman, who drove for Hoyenga for the last seven years, has decided to retire.

LOST SPEEDWAYS

You might want to bring some popcorn to the annual “Lost Speedways” presentation at the Saratoga Museum on Saturday. Nov. 24

Thanks to Bob James of Bobco Video, videos featuring racing legends C.D. Coville and Jack Johnson, among others, will be run on the big screen beginning at 10 a.m.

From 11:15 a.m., memorabilia will be on display in the main gallery. And to kick the recollections and stories triggered by the memorabilia into high gear, noted author Lew Boyd will be on hand to sell, sign and chat about his highly anticipated book about Lebanon Valley Speedway.

The day’s featured presentations will begin at 12:45 p.m., opening with Vermont racing historian Bill Ladabouche comparing his area’s rather primitive cars of the 1950’s and 1960’s to the more advanced New York racers. 

He will be followed by Ken Parrotte’s look back at AAA and USAC championship car events on the historic Syracuse mile.  Bob Hackel Jr., who has provided some great vintage photos, will then discuss his father’s racing exploits and promotion of the Burden Lake Speedway with “Lost Speedways” host Ron Hedger.

 Following intermission, the program will continue with Hedger interviewing 2017 Northeast Region Promoter of the Year Lyle DeVore about his time working with two notable promoters, the late C.J. Richards and Alex Friesen, who was building a vast network of speedways when he died in a tragic snowmobile crash. 

Lost Speedways will then conclude with the traditional driver interview session featuring modified legend C.D. Coville, which will conclude with Coville fielding questions from the audience.

 As always, there is no extra admission charge for the museum’s most popular annual event. Regular adult and senior admission charges will prevail, with members admitted free of charge.