The 4th Turn
~ By Tom Boggie

Preseason questions to ponder:

In a little over two weeks, the 2019 racing season will begin at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. When Rich Peterson waves the checkered flag to end the “Come ‘N Get It” modified shootout, someone will walk out with $5,400.

As with any new racing season, there are more questions than answers right now. The answers will be provided throughout the season, but for now, we’ll concentrate on some of the big questions.

HAS AGE CAUGHT UP WITH BRETT HEARN?

Here’s a tough one, Hearn turned 60 last fall, and few drivers continue to be successful on a consistent basis at that age. Hearn only won two races at Albany-Saratoga Speedway last year, but won his eighth track championship despite running into bad luck in the final points race of the season. Dirt track racing is a young man’s sport, but anyone would be nuts not to figure that Hearn will be battling for another crown.

WILL KEN TREMONT JR. BOUNCE BACK IN 2019?

This is a no-brainer. The 13-time Albany-Saratoga champion wasn’t focused on racing until the latter portion of the 2018 season. His induction into the Northeast Modified Hall of Fame ate up a ton of his time in the spring, and the death of his sister Kathy in July shook the entire Tremont family. Then he had a run-in with Demetrios Drellos at Malta and even considered sitting out the rest of the season. But that‘s all in the past now. Since winning his second track title in 1994, Tremont has never had a four-year stretch without winning a championship. He’s up to three now. Time to buckle down.

IS JESSEY MUELLER THE REAL DEAL?

Mueller stepped up his game last year, and there’s no reason to think that he won’t continue to climb the ladder this season. Remember, the self-proclaimed country boy is only 24, but he’s already been racing modifieds for eight years. He finally got the monkey off his back when he won his first modified feature on dirt at Albany-Saratoga Speedway on June 22 last year, and ended the season with another win after a heck of a battle with veteran Bobby Varin. If there’s one thing Mueller didn’t need, it was more confidence, but those two wins proved he can run with the big boys at Albany-Saratoga, and you can be sure there is a track championship in that boy’s future.

WHICH ONE OF THE LEBANON VALLEY INVADERS WILL BE THE FIRST TO LEAVE?

According to reports throughout the winter, Brian Berger, LJ Lombardo and Olden Dwyer will all join the modified ranks at Albany-Saratoga this season. It’s good to see some of the Valley boys making the decision to run at Malta. Remember, that’s how the Great Race Place made its reputation, with the best from Fonda and the best from Lebanon Valley pulling off Route 9 on Friday nights to do battle. In those days, the Valley contingent consisted of Chuck Ely, Dave Leckonby, Tommy Corellis, Eddle Delmolino, Mert Hulbert and Win Slavin. But the number has dwindled greatly since then. The last Valley regular to make Albany-Saratoga his Friday night home was Donnie Corellis, who started doing double duty in 2012. He only had three top-five finishes all year and although he did win a feature, that came on the night Hearn was in Saratoga Hospital with an infection.  Racing at the Valley is nothing like racing at Albany-Saratoga. Doing 80 miles per hour down the Thruway doesn’t prepare you for navigating the West Side Highway in Manhattan. For the sake of argument, you can’t include Tremont in this conversation, because he’s been racing at Albany-Saratoga for almost as long as he’s been running on the high banks.

HOW WILL DERRICK McGREW JR. FARE IN THE SPORTSMAN DIVISION?

No crystal ball is going to have an answer for this one. McGrew made history last season when he won his first limited sportsman feature at the age of 10, and came away with another win later in the year in one of the most-talked about finishes of the season, when he jumped over the wheel of Scott Bennett’s car coming out of the fourth turn and crossed the finish line on two wheels. But making the move to the regular sportsman class is going to be an eye-opener for the now 11-year-old McGrew. Now, he’s got to contend with the likes of Tim Hartman Jr., Connor Cleveland, Jeremy Pitts, Robert Bublak Jr. and Chris Johnson – all proven veterans – and another handful of solid contenders on a weekly basis. In a division where wins are tough to come by, keeping the car in one piece and getting some top-five finishes should be McGrew Jr.’s primary focus.

WHO WILL BE THE NEW PRO STOCK KING?

Now that Kenny Martin Jr. has headed South, after winning three straight pro stock championships (to run his overall total to six), who will step up to take the throne? The heir-apparent would appear to be Josh Coonradt, who finished third in points last season, but led the division with five victories. He loves to win, but in order to win a championship, you’ve got to finish. That could play into the hands of Jay Corbin, who finished second in the point chase last year in his first season as a regular, after concentrating on racing at Lebanon Valley. The popular choice would be veteran Kim Duell, who chalked up the 50th overall win of his career last year and who has a potent ride in the Curtis Lumber Wagon. And don’t count out Chucky Dumblewski, who finished ahead of both Duell and Coonradt in the points race last year.

CAN RONNIE JOHNSON WIN HIS FIRST TITLE?

This is another tough one. The modified field at Albany-Saratoga is as good as it gets, and it’s going to be even better with Peter Britten, the 2017 champion, returning for a full season, as long as he doesn’t tweak his back again. No one comes to the track more prepared than RJ, a trait he learned from his father, but he can’t afford any off nights, not running against Hearn and Tremont, who have combined to win 14 titles in the last 17 seasons. And don’t count out 2016 champion Marc Johnson, who has one of the most knowledgeable crew chiefs in the business in John “Apples” Albanese. Marc Johnson came on strong last year, winning two races, including the “Stampede at Toga,” and if he can get off to a good start, he’ll be tough to catch in the point race.

WHERE WILL THE “BIG SHOW” DOUGH GO?

Will 2019 be the year that the top prize from Hearn’s “Big Show” goes into the pockets of an Albany-Saratoga Speedway regular? “Big Show 11” will be held on June 25, and will offer a top prize of $11,111. But no Friday night regular has won the Super DIRT Series race since 2013, when Hearn won “Big Show 5,” which paid $9,711 to win. Since then, the winners have been Danny Johnson, Jimmy Phelps, Stewart Friesen (2016 and 2018) and Tim McCreadie. And in 2012, the first year the “Big Show” was held at Albany-Saratoga, the winner was Varin, driving his Andy Romano-owned Glen Ridge car. Invaders haven’t been this dominant since Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard started a series of raids against England in 1003 that culminated in a full-scale invasion that led to Sweyn being crowned king of England in 1013.