The 4th Turn

~ By Tom Boggie

It’s official.

As soon as Brett Hearn pulled into victory lane last Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, the thought hit me. Is he the oldest driver (he turned 60 last September) to win a modified feature at the historic Malta track (which would make his 134^th career win at Malta even more historic)?

Rather than jump to conclusions, I thought it would be best to do some research, because I could instantly think of two drivers who might have been in that category: Dick Nephew and Frank Hoard Sr.

So I started with Nephew. He won the final race of the 1985 season, the Miller Time 100. Then, matching that date with information found in his obituary, I discovered that he was 57 when he won his only feature at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Legend has it that Nephew, who finished in a controversial tie with Bill Wimble for the NASCAR National Sportsman Championship in 1961, announced his retirement in victory lane at Malta after the Miller Time 100 win, but he continued to campaign his Olsen chassis for the rest of the decade.

That left Frank Hoard Sr., and I knew that was going to be a little tougher.

Hoard recorded his first modified win at Albany-Saratoga in June of 1990, and didn’t win another feature until Sept. 7, 2001, a span of 11 years. That win in 2001 came on a night of Twin 35-lap features. Hoard Sr. started on the pole, beat Ron Proctor to the first turn and led the rest of the way. Two years later, on July 11, 2003, he recorded his final modified victory, beating Jack Johnson to the finish line

Doing a little more hunting, I discovered that Frank celebrated his 77^th birthday this year, in March. OK … his last win was 16 years ago, four months after his birthday, which would have made him 61 at the time.

Sorry, Brett. You’re only No. 2 this time.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

Jackie Brown Jr. doesn’t get a lot of publicity these days, not since making Albany-Saratoga Speedway his Friday night home.

But that wasn’t always the case.

“The Hurley Hurricane,” who finished second to Hearn last Friday night, which was his best finish ever at Albany-Saratoga, was the modified champion at Accord in 2013, the same year he won the “King of the Catskills” feature. From 1987-2015, he chalked up 17 wins at Accord. His biggest win came in 2014, when he won “The Gobbler,” a victory that put $7,808.11 into his pocket.

In 2015, he ran the final four races of the season on the newly built dirt track at Devil’s Bowl (which was then Albany-Saratoga’s sister track, but you know how dysfunctional families can be), and the next year, Brown was a regular at the Bowl, competing on both asphalt and dirt.

During the 2016 season, he finished second to Vince Quenneville Jr. in the C.J. Richards Memorial race,, and on the night of Sept. 4, he finished second to Justin Comes on asphalt and second to Bobby Hackel IV on dirt.

He also ran at the Bowl in 2017 (with a number of top-five finishes, but no wins), and last year, he became a regular at Albany-Saratoga, wanting to take a step up in class, so to speak, and he struggled all year. His best finish was an eighth on June 8, and that was the only time he cracked the top 10 all year.

So it was no surprise that, after last Friday’s feature, Brown had a smile that was so big it looked like it was going to break his face.

“We’ve gotten to the point where we can make adjustments to the car,” said Brown after the race. “Before, we didn’t have any notes to work with. Bob Wallace has put the right pieces together, and now, I feel really good about where we are.”

Had it not been for a late restart, Brown might have been in victory lane. But the final yellow came out with seven laps left, giving Hearn a chance to close the gap on Brown and later make the winning move.

STEWART’S CORNER

Here’s a rarity. Stewart Friesen put in a whole weekend of dirt track racing, and didn’t get a win.

On Friday, he showed up at Albany-Saratoga to do a little test-and-tune for next Wednesday’s twice-delayed “Come ‘N Get It” modified shootout. He looked good right off the bat, making a late rim-riding charge to qualify through his heat, which put him 15th in the feature field. He got caught up in a jingle with Marc Johnson, LJ Lombardo (who was making his first appearance of the year at Malta), and C.G. Morey on the third lap, ducked into the pits and restarted in 21^st spot. From there, he charged back up to sixth.

On Saturday, the modifieds were rained out at Fonda, ending his night early.

On Sunday, he went to the Short Track Super Series race at Thunder Mountain, and finished second to Billy Decker. On Monday, it was off to the Weedsport for the Heroes Remembered 100 Super Dirt Series. He was just a tick off all night, and had to settle for third.

Friesen is scheduled to be back at Albany-Saratoga this Friday night.

AROUND THE TRACKS

It was a busy holiday weekend for a lot of local drivers.

Tim Hartman Jr. finished third in the sportsman feature at Albany-Saratoga on Friday, and on Sunday, went to Thunder Mountain to do double duty. He made his modified debut in the Jimmy Becker-owned car, and finished 19^th. But he also won the STSS North Region sportsman race, which was worth $1,500. Not bad for someone who had never even seen Thunder Mountain before.

Ken Tremont Jr. finished third in the modified feature at Albany-Saratoga, recorded his second win of the season at Lebanon Valley on Saturday night, and then finished second to Hackel in the opening race of the season at the Bowl on Sunday. Hackel picked up $2,000 for his win at the Bowl.

Jack Lehner continued his “Let’s See How Much Seat Time I Can Get” Tour. After finishing ninth at Albany-Saratoga on Friday, he was seventh at Utica-Rome on Sunday and 21^st at Weedsport on Monday.

Demetrios Drellos wasn’t at Albany-Saratoga on Friday. He was up in Hogansburg, racing at Mohawk International, where he finished fifth.

The CSRA sprints were also part of the Heroes Remembered program at Weedsport, with Jeff Trombley finishing fifth in that feature.

Oh, and let’s not forget “The Flying Squirrel.” Rocky Warner won the first race of the season Sunday at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park. Looks like only eight 602s and six limited sportsman were on hand.

Wow. I thought I stepped into a time machine Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, when both Mike Tholin and Tony Ballestero rolled out for the sportsman feature. Tholin and Tony Ballestero were part of the loaded sportsman field in the mid-2000s at Albany-Saratoga that also included Tony’s brother Mike, Tim Hartman Sr., Joe Budka, Chris Busta, Dustin Delaney and Derrick McGrew Sr., among others.

The last time Tholin and Tony Ballestero won features in the same season at Malta was 2005 (when Tholin recorded his first career win), and on Aug. 4, 2006, Tholin led Tony Ballestero across the finish line in a 1-2 finish.

Extra money will be on the line in the sportsman division at Albany-Saratoga Friday, with the feature paying $1,000 to win, thanks to support from Greg Davis Towing. Then, on Wednesday, it’s the completion of “Come ‘N Get It,” the 54-lap modified shootout that will pay $5,400 to win. The first two rows in the shootout field will be made up of Anthony Perrego, Decker, Larry Wight and Matt Sheppard.

Saturday’s card at Lebanon Valley will be topped by the $2,500-to-win Maynard Forrette Memorial for big block modifieds. It would be good karma to see one of DKM’s Cyclone chassis in victory lane.

A lot of local sportsman drivers will be heading to Utica-Rome Sunday for the Wild 100 Ultimate Sportsman Showdown, which will pay $2,500 to win.