~ By Tom Boggie

On a beastly hot Friday night, I found myself in the back of a hauler at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, talking to the Hartmans, Tim Jr. and Tim Sr., while Tim Jr.’s daughter, Brexley, was offering me half of her chewed-up Munchkin.

Other than the Munchkin, there really wasn’t anything unusual about the scene, except for the fact that I didn’t expect to see the Hartmans at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in 2020.

They had made it very clear at the end of the 2019 season that they wouldn’t come back to Malta. They felt they were being disrespected by Malta officials, who seemed to be on a mission to find something illegal under the hood of Hartman Jr.’s Troyer, and were ready to find a new home for their Friday night operation.

But then two things happened. First, Hartman Jr. and Albany-Saratoga promoter Lyle DeVore ironed out some problems over dinner during the winter, and then the COVID-19 pandemic threw the state of dirt track racing into upheaval, limiting the options of the Hartman Racing Team.

So they’re back at Albany-Saratoga, and last Friday, Hartman Jr. recorded his 24^th career sportsman victory.

“We’re just going to see how it goes,” said Hartman Jr. before Friday’s racing card began. “We want to race, and right now, there’s really no place else to race on Friday night.”

Hartman Jr. has already had a busy season. He began the year by hauling to Florida and recording three top-five finishes (fourth, third and fourth) in as many starts. Since then, he’s been in victory lane in South Carolina, Louisiana and Pennsylvania before getting his first win in New York last Friday.

The win last Friday kind of cemented Hartman Jr.’s plans for the season. Hartman Sr., a three-time sportsman champion, finished his career with 26 wins at Malta, and Tim Jr. has always made it very clear that one of his goals is to surpass his father in career wins. That Troyer is wicked-fast, and I don’t think Friday night’s win will be Hartman Jr.’s last at Albany-Saratoga this season.

Once Hartman Jr. passes his father on the all-time win list, the only driver he’ll be sitting behind is Mike Ballestero, who has 32 wins at Malta and is hungry for No. 33. Would Hartman Jr. want to stick around long enough to take a shot at the all-time win record?

It’s tough to tell. But at least I know where to go if I need a Munchkin.

KENNY’S WILD RIDE

By now, just about everyone has seen the wild flip that Ken Tremont Jr. took last Friday at Malta. He and leader James Meehan were side-by-side going into the first turn, and neither gave an inch. Contact by the two cars got Tremont sideways, then airborne, and he did a series of barrel-rolls before coming to a stop on the wheels of his modified.

Up until that point, Meehan, who ran in the sportsman division last year before making his modified debut during Malta Massive Weekend, had done a great job on the point and despite what you may read on social media, the accident wasn’t his fault.

“Just two cars going for the same spot at the wrong time,” said Tremont after the race. He should know better than anyone.

IT’S NOT AS EASY AT IT LOOKS

Albany-Saratoga Speedway announcer Dan Martin has been calling races for a long time, but so far this season, he’s had to learn a new technique … making the call while watching a monitor.

With Dirt Track Digest streaming Albany-Saratoga’s races, the camera isn’t always following the leader, so Martin has to keep his eyes glued to the monitor, regardless of what’s going on on the track.

I can tell you, it’s not as easy at it looks. When I first starting working for the DIRT crew and producer Terry Rumsey at Super DIRT Week in the 1980s, one of my first jobs was as a spotter. Gary Spaid and I would be on the roof of the grandstands, and once the leaders got spread out, Rumsey’s voice would come thundering through the headset. “Give me a race! Give me a race!” Even if it meant two cars battling for 10^th, he wanted action.

So cut Martin some slack if his calls seem a bit off at times. That old dog is learning some new tricks.

AROUND THE TRACKS

After having problems with two different engines on opening night at Lebanon Valley on June 13, Bobby Hackel IV was down to his third-string motor, one that his grandfather said had “about 600 laps on it” last Friday and it showed, as he only completed 26 laps of the 35-lap modified feature at Albany-Saratoga, officially finishing 23^rd. He struggled again Saturday at the Valley, but he bounced back with his first win of the season Sunday at Devil’s Bowl.

David Cook did his best Tony Stewart imitation following an incident with Jordan Modiano on the backstretch during the pro stock feature at Albany-Saratoga last Friday. Cook waited on the backstretch, helmet in hand, and then fired it at Modiano’s car. It was almost as good at Stewart’s heave at Matt Kenseth at Bristol in 2012.

Nice run by Dick Bisson, who finished third in last Friday’s sportsman feature at Malta. The veteran has returned to racing full-time this year and is looking for his first win since the 2007 season.

Stewart Friesen will be back at Albany-Saratoga Speedway Friday to begin a busy weekend. He’ll be running in the NASCAR Truck Series at Pocono Saturday afternoon, and then will be shooting up to Orange County Speedway Saturday night for their $5,000 to win modified feature.

Chris Larsen of Halmar, Friesen’s primary sponsor, will match all of Friesen’s winnings from Albany-Saratoga and Orange County and donate that money to local food banks as part of the Halmar Racing to Beat Hunger program. There’s also a bonus planned for the truck race. If Friesen wins at Pocono, Larsen will donate $10,000; if Friesen finishes in the top 10, Larsen will donate $5,000.

Congratulations to Travis Green, who recorded his first crate modified win Sunday at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park. Green is the son of Robbie Green, who was a regular at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in the early 1990s. Robbie Green had four wins under his belt in 1993, including a win on July 23, that was the last race ever for the highly restricted CVRA 358 modifieds. When the big blocks returned to highlight the card, Jack Johnson won two of the final three regular season races, and Tremont won the other.